If you haven’t tried making frozen chicken breast in air fryer, you are missing out on a quick and easy way to cook chicken. My air fryer frozen chicken breast recipe checks all the boxes. These are seriously juicy and delicious!
Look no further than this tasty well cooked chicken when in search of a scrumptious side dish for dinner. This perfectly fried chicken will pair very well with salads, rice dishes and lots more. The is a stress free keto or low carb dinner you would love to make over and over.
Air fryer Frozen Chicken breast recipe
You may be wondering ‘can I really cook frozen chicken breasts in the air fryer?’ Yes you can. Just like you can cook frozen chicken wings and thighs in the air fryer. Air fryer frozen chicken breast are for real and I am happy to share with you why it works.
- I know I’m not alone when it comes to forgetting to pull out frozen foods in time from the freezer. This recipe helps you get dinner on the table on time, no one has to know you forgot the meat in the freezer. That’s our little secret. However if you are good at remembering to pull it out in time to thaw or if you’ve got fresh chicken breasts you should try this air juicy tender chicken breasts recipe.
- They really turn juicy and tender, no dried out chicken allowed here.
- Oh my! Are they flavorful? Oh yes they are flavor packed and delicious, these are so good. You really need to try.
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Do you have to defrost chicken breast before air frying?
The air fryer does an amazing job with frozen foods and chicken breasts are no different. The best part is that you don’t need to defrost before air frying. Simply season with your favorite seasoning blend and air fry to delicious juicy perfection.
A meat thermometer is encouraged and recommended. Especially if you like your meats really juicy. This way you can know exactly when it’s cooked to the minimum safe temperature which is 165°F / 74°C for chicken.
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What you’ll need! The Best Chicken breast seasoning.
- Frozen chicken breasts
- Oil
- Red pepper flakes
- Oregano
- Paprika
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
- White pepper
- Salt
How to cook frozen chicken breast in air fryer
This is an overview of the recipe. A Full printable recipe card is at the bottom of this post. The following are the steps to cook frozen chicken breast that’s flavorful and not dry.
Place frozen chicken on a cutting board. Mix the spice blend with the oil. Brush the spice and oil blend generously on both sides of the chicken breasts.
Place frozen chicken in the air fryer basket and air fry at 400°F / 200°C for 10 mins. Pull out the air fryer basket, apply some of the rest of the oil and spice blend, flip chicken over and apply the remainder.
Continue cooking chicken for another 10-15 mins or until internal temperature reaches 165°F / 74°C
How long do you cook frozen chicken breasts in an air fryer
This will depend on the size of the chicken breasts. Frozen chicken breasts will cook any where from 15 mins to 20 mins at a temperature of 400°F / 200°C. The internal temperature should be at-least 165°F / 74°C
Tips
- Size is important: Choose frozen breasts that are similar in size so they all cook at the same time.
- Switch things up and use your favorite chicken seasoning.
- No need to thaw, cook from frozen.
- You can prepare the oil and spice blend mixture right before getting the frozen chicken out. So that when you apply it in the chicken. The ice helps to keep it on the chicken and it doesn’t slide off before you get the chance to place the meat in the air fryer.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to cook frozen chicken in an air fryer?
Yes it’s very safe to cook frozen chicken in an air fryer. The air fryer cooks frozen food to perfection. You get juicy delicious chicken in less time than it would take you to defrost and cook the recipe if using a different method.
How do you cook frozen chicken in an air fryer.
Easy peasy! Season the chicken, place in the air fryer and bake / air fry for the stated length of time in the recipe. You might need to adjust timing upwards or downwards depending on the size of the chicken.
Can you put frozen meat in an air fryer?
Most definitely. The air fryer cooks frozen foods to perfection.
More air fried chicken recipes
- Air fryer chicken drumsticks
- Honey sriracha chicken wings
- Juicy Air fryer chicken breast recipe
- Air fryer Chicken legs recipe
- Greek chicken souvlaki air fryer recipe
Check out all our >>> Air fryer Chicken recipes!
Other frozen foods made in the air fryer.
- Air fryer frozen chicken wings
- Frozen breaded chicken breasts in air fryer
- Dino chicken nuggets in the air fryer
- All our Air fryer frozen foods!
Check out all our >>>Air fryer Recipes!
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Happy Air frying!
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Air fryer frozen chicken breast recipe
Equipment
- Cosori air fryer 5.8 qt
- Kitchen tongs
- Perforated Parchment paper (optional)
Ingredients
- 3 large Frozen chicken breasts (all 3 weighed close to 3 lbs)
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons Oil
- 1 teaspoon oregano (substitute with Italian seasoning)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 ½ Teaspoons pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
Instructions
- Place frozen chicken breasts on a flat plate
- Mix seasoning and oil together in a bowl to make Marinade.
- Brush Marinade generously all over frozen chicken. You may have some extra left. Reserve it for later.
- Place frozen chicken in the air fryer basket. Set temperature to 400°F / 200°C and cook for 15 mins.
- Flip Chicken over and apply the rest of the marinade and continue cooking for another 10-12 mins or until internal temperature is 165°F / 74°C.
- Let it rest rest for 2 mins before serving
Video
Notes
- Recipe was made in a non preheated air fryer. However keep an eye on subsequent batches as they may cook faster since the air fryer got preheated while cooking the first batch.
- This recipe can be doubled or tripled to suit your needs.
- The length of time it will take to cook the chicken will depend on the size of the chicken. Your best bet would be to use the a meat thermometer to make sure the internal temp is at least 165°F / 74°C
Nutrition
NUTRITION DISCLAIMER
Nutritional information is an estimate and may change based on products used. Please read full nutrition disclaimer here.
Found this recipe just when I needed it and i am happy with the result. Thank you.
Happy to hear that Marly! You are welcome
Worked great! Made for a quick after work meal paired with some homemade Mac and cheese. We just used some mild Cajun seasoning and the kids ate it all!
Hi Laura,
I love Cajun seasoning too. It must have tasted absolutely delish. Happy you found this recipe helpful.Thanks for your awesome feedback!
Blessings
The chicken was nice and juicy, but I found it way too spicy. Next time will use much less red pepper flakes.
Hi Lisa,
Sorry about the heat. You can adjust the proper next time you try it. Happy you enjoyed it. Thanks for letting me know.
May I freeze this after it’s been air fried?
Hi Carly.
Yes you can freeze this in an air tight container or freezer bag for up to a month. However I prefer to freeze for two weeks for best flavor retention. Enjoy
Thank you so much! I appreciate all of the yummy recipes. 🙂
Hi Carly,
You are welcome! The feeling is mutual cos we appreciate you being here. Enjoy!
Turned out great! Quick and easy. The breasts I used were a lot bigger than usual so it was nice to have the instructions bc I just kept turning like you said and to use the meat thermometer. Cooked it just right. Not dry and great flavor.
Hi Annique!
Thank you for letting us know you enjoyed it. That makes us super happy! Enjoy.
Can you cook steak or pizza rolls ?
Hi Jazmin,
Yes you can. I will put those recipes up this week. In the mean time refer to the air fryer chart linked below
https://www.airfryeryum.com/air-fryer-cooking-chart-printable-cheat-sheet/
Wonderful! And wonderfully easy! Thank you for sharing.
You are welcome Tyler,
Happy you liked it.
EHRMAGAWD, this is SO good! We made it the first time and loved it, and made it a second time tonight just to see if it was really that good, or a one off miss in the air fryer, but it was just as good this time as well!
Served it with rice made with chicken bouillon and then some melty cheese put in it and mixed in and bearnaise sauce on the side!
Hi Naomi,
Yay!! That’s awesome! Thank you so much for taking out time to leave your feedback. Happy you enjoyed it. This recipe always saves dinner when I forget to get the chicken out of the freezer.
I think that for those who find it a bit spicy a yogurt and herb sauce OR a fresh and cool tzatziki sauce would really work well with it!
Thanks for the tip Naomi. I should try that too. Yum
Just made this tonight. My husband has never been so excited about chicken breasts. It was a hit, and I followed exactly what your recipe said. Thank you for the easy meal.
You are welcome! Thank you Robin for letting me know! Happy it turned out well for you.😊
Made this exactly as written. I had fairly thick chicken breasts so they had to cook an additional 10-15 minutes / but no matter- they were DELICIOUS!!!! Rave reviews from the kid who doesn’t say much :). Thank you!!
Hi Amanda!
Happy to hear you loved it! Glad you were able to figure out what to do too. Thanks for letting me know 🙏
I’d really like to try this recipe. What kind of oil do you recommend? And is it okay to use black pepper instead of white? Thanks!
Hi Marc,
Any oil you would normally use for cooking will work here. I usually use canola oil and sometimes olive oil. Yes you can swap out the white pepper for black. Hope that helps. Please feel free to reach out if you have more questions.
This was great and the first thing I used my air fryer for. IEnded up making it two night in a row. I had to reduce the pepper flakes by about half because my kids don’t like spicy stuff. It’s also great to use to make chicken salad if you have any left. Cut it up, added Mayo, chopped tomato and some shredded Mexican cheese.
Hey Jim,
That’s amazing! Happy you and your family enjoyed it. Thank you for taking out time to leave a feedback. Hope you get to try more recipes from here in your air fryer. Enjoy!
Haven't tasted it yet because the chicken is taking way longer than the recipe states. Glad to have the meat thermometer. Was looking forward to a fast frozen to done meal.
Hi Ashley,
Depending on the size of the chicken breast, it may take a little longer than stated in this recipe. Also air fryer brands cook differently. What brand of air fryer are you using?
Glad you have a meat thermometer because that’s the most accurate way to check for doneness. However please watch the video and glance through the tips section of the post. Between those you will definitely get it right.
This is a game changer! We constantly forget to set chicken breast out to thaw, and I think the texture is gross when it’s defrosted in the microwave prior to cooking. Love this recipe!
Hi Jessi!
You are welcome! I always forget as well. Happy you found the recipe helpful. Thank you for letting us know. 😊
Trying recipe for first time - and I can tell you that the amount of oil you have listed is not enough, unless you have very small pieces of chicken. That's my only advice to others - don't be shy about tripling that marinade recipe!!
Hi APimpNamedSlickback!
Thank you for your suggestion. The amount of oil worked well for the chicken in this recipe. The trick is mixing the ingredients to form the marinade then brush it on to the frozen chicken. Depending on the size of the chicken you are cooking you may need to add more oil but that would be at your own discretion. Hope you enjoyed the recipe when you finished cooking, I’d love to hear all about it.
I love this recipe and it’s easy to change it up. I used some paprika and oregano and a few other spices and added some sliced lemon for the last 10 minutes— tuned out amazing!
Hi Amy!
Thank you for your feedback. Happy you found it useful! I love oregano! Switching up spices always spices things up.