How Long and How to Cook Chicken Drumsticks in Air Fryer

Let me show you how to cook chicken drumsticks in air fryer that are incredibly tasty, have a beautiful color, and take very little time and effort to make. Drumsticks are my favorite part of the chicken, they are flavorful and easy to make. There's no coming back after you try these air fryer drumsticks, they'll be on your table often.

Why I ❤️ it • Recipe • Video • Ingredients • Preparation

Chicken drumsticks cooked in an airfryer.

Why I ❤️ it

There's a reason why most of my chicken breasts recipes are stuffed with something, and I avoid air frying them: I find chicken breast to be the most boring part of the chicken. Air fryer chicken breast – in my opinion – is not the best use for that cut.

In the air fryer, drumsticks are the best part of the chicken, if you ask me. We cook them often at home in many different ways. But for a quick dinner meal with simple ingredients and a simple recipe, this is the to-go recipe. I'll show you how long to cook chicken drumsticks in air fryer, and how simple it is to season them for juicy chicken drumsticks that are flavorful, colorful, and with crispy skin. Say hello to your new favorite of air fryer chicken recipes.

Utensils and tools

• Large bowl
• Kitchen tongs
• Air fryer
• Aluminum foil or parchment paper (see notes)

Ingredients

Chicken drumsticks

• 1 dozen chicken drumsticks

Chicken dry rub

• 1¼ teaspoon black pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground)
• 1¼ tablespoon salt
• 1¼ tablespoon garlic powder
• 1¼ tablespoon onion powder
• 1¼ tablespoon of sweet paprika
• ¼ cup vegetable oil (you can use avocado oil, or olive oil)

Ingredients note:

I made the video with 8 drumsticks because I have a small-sized air fryer and had to split it into two batches.

Preparation

Before starting, please make sure you have all the ingredients and utensils ready.

Step 1

Pat the raw drumsticks with a paper towel to remove excess moisture, this will result in crispier drumsticks (be mindful of cross-contamination!).

Step 2

Season the chicken with pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. Drizzle with the oil and coat the drumsticks with the seasoning using a pair of tongs.

Stir to coat the chicken all over. Place in a lidded airtight container and let it rest in the fridge for 1-2 hours for best results though you can cook them right away if you're in a hurry.

Step 3

Preheat the air fryer to 350°F [175°C] or the temperature in the chart further down for other cuts of chicken.

Place the chicken drumsticks in the air fryer basket in a single layer (see notes below).

Step 4

Cook for 15 minutes and rotate to cook evenly, and keep cooking for another 15-20 minutes until the chicken skin is golden brown AND the internal temperature of the chicken measured in the thickest part reaches 165 °F (73.9 °C).

Remove from the basket and serve.

Variations

If you want some spicy crispy drumsticks, add 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper or chili powder to the spice mixture.

Other chicken parts that work for this recipe are wings and full chicken legs. For the latter, cut the chicken legs into drumsticks and thighs. They will cook faster, and result in crispy air fryer chicken drumsticks and legs that are also more flavorful.

Top tips

A good idea that will save you some time later is to line the bottom pan under the air fryer basked with aluminum foil or parchment paper to catch the drippings.

For best results, do not pile up the chicken pieces. Place drumsticks in a single layer in the air fryer basket so the hot air circulates evenly. This may be a problem if you only have a smaller air fryer, in which case you may need to do it in two batches.

Some people swear by this tip, and you may want to try it: substitute ¼ of teaspoon of baking powder for ¼ teaspoon of the salt the recipe calls for for extra crispy chicken drumsticks.

How long to cook chicken in air fryer

Different cuts of chicken require different cooking times, so to air fry chicken legs or drumsticks you need to use higher temperatures than for breasts, for example. So if you make air fryer chicken wings, they will cook faster than drumsticks. Chicken thighs take longer than drumsticks to cook.

I have found that the cook time suggestions in my air fryer are quite inaccurate. The best way to do it – for safer and better results – you should use a meat thermometer to measure the internal temperature of the chicken [source].

Serving suggestions

You can serve this chicken with many of your favorite sides. My favorite choices are pasta salad, potato salad, or air fryer French fries. The drumsticks come out very juicy, so I didn't find it required any sauce, but check this homemade BBQ sauce, if you want to try one.

Nutritional information

Serving: 3 drumsticks - Calories: 127kcal - Carbohydrates: 12g - Protein: 1g - Fat: 9g - Saturated Fat: 1g - Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g - Monounsaturated Fat: 7g - Cholesterol: 1mg - Sodium: 1781mg - Potassium: 291mg - Fiber: 1g - Sugar: 3g - Vitamin A: 240IU - Vitamin C: 16mg - Calcium: 56mg - Iron: 2mg

FAQs

Print card

This is just a printer-friendly summary, some useful details are found in the recipe above.