Air fryer chicken quarters with scrumptious flavors and crispy skin are always sure to please all my poultry lovers out there.
Making them in the air fryer is not only super easy but this cooking method seems to beat out oven roasting almost every time.
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Why we Love this juicy Chicken Dinner
It’s easier to find what’s not to love honestly. There are so many great things about this air fryer chicken recipe.
- It’s one of the easiest recipes for busy people as well as for those who are just learning to use their air fryer.
- Inexpensive! Chicken quarters are usually some of the cheapest poultry pieces to buy at the grocery store.
- Flavor: Chicken quarters consist of both the drumstick and the chicken thigh put together. Considered the dark meat of the bird, it’s usually higher in fat, and fat always means loads of flavor.
- Even picky eaters love this recipe (well, at the least the ones I know!)
Ingredients Needed
Here’s another simple part. Only two ingredients are needed.
- Chicken quarters: Also known in some grocery stores as legs with thighs attached. They’ll be bone-in chicken pieces (again, more flavor) and with the skin still on.
- Seasonings
***Check below at the bottom of this post for a printable recipe card that contains the full recipe as well as extra notes to make this chicken quarters recipe absolutely perfect.

Making this Air Fryer Chicken Recipe
- Pat dry the chicken pieces
- In a small bowl, combine all the seasonings. Sprinkle this seasoning mix over the entire top and underside of the chicken.
- Preheat your air fryer for 5 minutes
- *Optional step – Spray the skin side of the chicken pieces with avocado oil to help get the skin super crispy. If you don’t have avocado oil, use any you have on hand or you can leave it out to save on some calories.
- When the air fryer is up to temperature, place chicken in the air fryer basket, in a single layer, skin side up, and start to air fry.
- *Optional step – halfway through you can flip the chicken quarters over and fry for the remaining time. I find that doing this helps ensure juicy meat.
- After the air frying time is complete, be sure to check the chicken with an instant read thermometer through the thickest part of the thigh because you don’t want to serve raw chicken to anyone. The internal temperature you’re looking for is 180 degrees.

What’s Important to Know about this Air Fryer recipe
You’ll want to keep a few things in mind for this recipe.
- As long as your air fryer reaches 400 degrees F, any brand of air fryer should work just fine for making super juicy chicken. I used my Cosori Air Fryer for this recipe and the basket will fit two large chicken quarters. Your appliance might be bigger and can fit more at one once. The cooking time will stay the same as long as they are placed in a single layer.
- A key step that I highly recommend doing is to be sure to pat dry the chicken parts with a clean paper towel before you season them.
If they are too wet, it may take too long for the skin to get crispy before the chicken meat is cooked. Also, you can’t pat dry the pieces after you’ve seasoned them without removing the seasoning you just put on them!

Questions You Might Have
Not at all. I used these seasonings because I love the spice blend together, but if you have other favorites or want to amend this recipe like adding more or less garlic powder, more or less black pepper, etc, go ahead and make it your own.
You could even add your favorite bbq sauce in the last few minutes of air frying or simply serve the sauce on the side for dipping. I do recommend keeping the smoked paprika in the list of seasonings because it adds a nice smoky flavor, almost like they were grilled.
Yes. If you’d like, check out my other air fryer recipes. I have an Air fryer chicken bone-in chicken breast or my other recipe that makes ultra-crispy air fryer chicken thighs. Keep in mind that sometimes white meat can dry out much quicker than dark meat, so the timing has to be watched closely on this.

Dealing with Leftovers
If you have any leftovers of this easy chicken dinner, placed them in an airtight container they stay great in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Keep in mind that the skin will no longer be crispy on reheating them, but they will still taste absolutely delicious!
You can also freeze air fried chicken quarters as well. In a freezer-friendly container, they’ll keep well for up to 2 months.

Well, friends, that wraps up this post all about air frying chicken quarters. I hope I’ve shown you how easy it can be done and if you have any questions, or you’ve made this recipe already, please leave a comment below, I’d love to hear from you!

Air Fryer Chicken Quarters
Air Fryer Chicken Quarters are not only super delicious cooked in an air fryer, they are incredibly easy as well. Perfect for busy people or newbie cooks, this air fryer chicken recipe will be a regular addition to the family cookbook.
Ingredients
- 2 Chicken quarters, patted dry
- 1 Tbsp Seasoned Salt
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
- Pepper as desired
Instructions
1. Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes. Be sure to pat dry the chicken pieces with a clean paper towel.
2. In a small bowl, combine all the seasonings.
3. Sprinkle all over the chicken pieces, both on top and underneath.
4. **Optional step - spritz the chicken with some avocado oil to encourage even more crispiness.
5. Place the chicken pieces into the air fryer basket, skin side up.
6. Air fry for 20 minutes at 400 degrees F.
7 Halfway through the cooking cycle, carefully flip the chicken over. This is an optional step.
8. After the cooking time is up, remove the chicken quarters from the air fryer and let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 207Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 80mgSodium: 2343mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 21g
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
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