I love to reheat fried chicken in air fryer appliances it’s quick and easy to do and doesn’t dry out the chicken or make it soggy. I have received quite a number of questions regarding reheating foods in the air fryer so I decided to create this simple guide to show you how to reheat chicken in air fryer machines in easy steps.
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Table of Contents
- Can you reheat chicken in air fryer?
- Join our Air fryer Recipe group on Facebook!
- Why you’ll love this air fryer hack
- What you’ll need
- How long to reheat fried chicken in the air fryer
- How to reheat fried chicken in air fryer
- Storing
- Tips
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More chicken recipes that can be reheated in the air fryer.
- How to reheat chicken in air fryer
Can you reheat chicken in air fryer?
Reheating fried chicken in the air fryer is super easy and quick. Perfect for when you want crispy chocolate that’s as good as the day it was made.
You can reheat any part of chicken in air fryers from chicken breasts, wings, thighs, drumsticks, to chicken strips and tenders
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Why you’ll love this air fryer hack
Easy: Reheating chicken has never been easier. Simply place chicken in the air fryer and hit the button. It’s that easy and beginner friendly.
Quick: The air fryer saves you time. Besides the microwave, the air fryer is your best bet when you need chicken reheated quickly.
Taste: Reheating chicken in air fryer doesn’t compromise on taste. You still get that crispy skin and juicy insides just like the day it was made.
Related: How to reheat pizza in the air fryer, reheat wings in air fryer, how to reheat fish in the air fryer, reheat French fries in the air fryer.
What you’ll need
Chicken: You can use any left over chicken if choice here. Restaurant Leftovers or homemade leftovers work just fine.
Oil: This isn’t necessary for leftover deep fried chicken because it has residual oil on it. You may need a little spritz of oil if the chicken you are reheating was air fried.
Liquid: A spritz of water or broth is optional but may be needed to add some moisture and keep the chicken from drying out if reheating larger pieces.
Recommended tools: Perforated parchment paper (use this one if reheating in the oven style air fryer) Kitchen tongs, Instant read digital meat thermometer, Spritz bottle for water or broth (optional)
How long to reheat fried chicken in the air fryer
This will depend on the size of chicken being reheated and the state at which it is being reheated from. It can take anywhere from 5 to 8 mins to reheat chicken. Chicken wings take a shorter time like 5 minutes but breasts and thighs can take up to 8 mins.
If the chicken is being reheated from frozen it will take a longer time to heat throug so a digital thermometer will be a great tool to have to check and know when the internal temperature reaches 165°F / 74°C. If you don’t have one you can cut up the chicken and touch to see hot the inside has become.
How to reheat fried chicken in air fryer
Easy peasy! Place chicken in the air fryer basket. Do not over crowd the basket. Set temperature to 360°F / 180°C and air fry for 6 to 8 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°F / 74°C.
To ensure even reheating remember to flip the chicken half way through cooking time.
Storing
To store leftovers from freshly fried chicken or restaurant leftovers, let the chicken cool completely before storing in the refrigerator in an air tight container.
Storing reheated chicken to reheat again later is not recommended. It’s best to reheat refrigerated chicken the quantity needed at a time.
Tips
- No need to preheat the air fryer, it heats up pretty fast.
- Reheat similar sized pieces of chicken to help them warm through evenly. If you don’t do this, you’ll find that this smaller pieces may have dried out by the time the larger pieces have warmed through.
- Use a instant read digital thermometer to ensure it gets to the right internal temperature. If you don’t have one, tear up the chicken and check the insides are warmed through.
- Though you can reheat frozen fried chicken, if it’s leftovers and not original frozen chicken that should be cooked from frozen, it may be best to let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you reheat chicken without drying it out?
Keep a close eye on the chicken while it reheats. Do not cook at high temperature and do not cook for too long. If reheating larger pieces, a spritz of water or broth before air frying will help keep it from drying out.
What temperature should you reheat chicken to?
The internal temp the chicken should get to is 165°F / 74°C
Why can chicken only be reheated once?
The process of cooking, cooling and reheating several times can give room for contamination from bacteria. To limit the chances of this happening It’s best to reheat chicken only once. So before reheating be sure you reheat the quantity you can consume at a time.
More chicken recipes that can be reheated in the air fryer.
- Marinated chicken thighs in the air fryer
- Air fryer chicken quarters
- Boneless chicken thighs in air fryer
- Air fryer frozen chicken breasts
- Honey Sriracha chicken wings
- Air fryer chicken breast
- Chicken legs in the air fryer
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How to reheat chicken in air fryer
Equipment
- Gourmia Air fryer
- Perforated Parchment paper
- Kitchen tongs
Ingredients
- 8 Pieces Leftover fried chicken
- Oil spray
- Water or broth
Instructions
- Place chicken in air fryer basket in a single layer. If reheating larger pieces spray some water or broth to keep them from drying out.
- Set temperature to 360°F / 180°C and timer to 8 minutes. Hit the start button and begin reheating.
- Flip the chicken half way through cooking time and start checking if it’s fully warmed through at 6 minutes. The internal temperature should read 165°F / 74°C when warmed through.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- No need to preheat. This recipe was made in a non preheated air fryer. If you decide to, the chicken will cook at a shorter time than when the air fryer wasn’t preheated. Please keep a close eye on it.
- Try to cook similar sized chicken pieces so they cook evenly.
- If reheating deep fried chicken you do not need to use oil however you may need it when reheating air fried chicken.
- A little spritz of water may be needed when reheating larger pieces of chicken.
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