Crispy Asian Glazed Air Fryer Chicken Thighs

These Asian Glazed Air Fryer Chicken Thighs are tender on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside. They’re smothered with a sweet Asian glaze and then topped with crunchy sesame seeds and green onions. It’s the perfect quick and easy Asian chicken thigh recipe!

cooked chicken thighs in an air fryer

Juicy Air Fryer Chicken Thighs

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I love my Air Fryer. Seriously, I’m starting to wonder how I ever survived without it. Soon I’ll be measuring my life as BAF or AAF – before air fryer and after air fryer. If you don’t have an air fryer yet, run to Amazon and get one ?AIR FRYER.

With summer and warmer days just around the corner, you’re going to want an air fryer. It doesn’t heat up the whole house and cooks food that’s juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside. I know this summer it will be my go-to for crispy and juicy air fryer chicken recipes (like this one) when I don’t feel like getting hot standing in front of the stove.

Recipe Ingredients

These air fryer chicken thighs have all of the Asian flavors you love. If you cook in this style often, you’ll likely have everything you need right on hand – there’s nothing super specialty or hard to find in this recipe.

Here’s what you’ll need:

boneless, skinless, chicken thighs
low sodium soy sauce or Tamari
honey
garlic
ketchup
chopped fresh parsley
dried oregano
sesame seeds and chopped green onions, for garnish, optional

raw chicken thighs marinating in honey soy sauce

How to Marinate Chicken Thighs

Marinating chicken is an important step in any flavorful and tender chicken recipe.

To marinate your chicken, you want to start by mixing together your marinade ingredients. For this recipe, that’s the soy sauce, honey, garlic, ketchup, parsley, and oregano. I like to whisk my marinade together until everything is completely incorporated.

Then, I pour my marinade in a large bowl and add the chicken to the marinade. Cover the bowl and marinate the chicken for 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours. If you’re not planning to cook the chicken within 2 hours, be sure that you place the bowl in the refrigerator.

I reserve 1/4-cup of the marinade to use for my glaze later on.

raw chicken thighs in an air fryer

How to Cook Chicken Thighs in the Air Fryer

Prep: Preheat the air fryer to 400˚F.
Cook: Remove the chicken from the marinade and transfer 4 chicken thighs to the air fryer. You’ll have to cook in 2 batches.
Cook for 8 minutes. Then, flip the chicken over and continue to cook it for 6 more minutes.
Continue with the rest of the chicken.
Sauce: In the meantime, pour the reserved sauce in a small pan or pot and cook it over medium low heat for about 2 minutes, or until it thickens and it’s slightly reduced.
Serve: Remove chicken from the air fryer and transfer to a plate.
Brush the reserved sauce over the chicken.
Garnish the chicken with sesame seeds and green onions, and serve.

cut up cooked chicken thighs served over rice

Tips for the Best Air Fryer Chicken Thighs

Follow these steps to make sure your chicken thighs come out perfect:

It is important that your chicken thighs don’t touch each other in the air fryer. You’ll likely need to cook them in batches. I find that 4 chicken thighs at a time fit nicely in the air fryer.
If you’re new to the air fryer and you’re not 100% sure the chicken is cooked through, use an instant read meat thermometer to make sure the chicken’s internal temperature registers at 165˚F.
You could use this exact same technique with a different marinade/glaze. I’m thinking of an Italian theme, or curry, or BBQ.

Serving Suggestions

I absolutely love this chicken served over Jasmine rice, or cauliflower rice if you’re a low-carb pal. If you’re feeling fancy, try it with a fried rice recipe.
On the side, I suggest broccoli, string beans or snap peas. All go great with Asian flavors. I’d even add the sauce right over the veggies, too.
If you’re loving the chicken, but don’t want to go for a full-on Asian feast, you could serve roasted or mashed potatoes on the side instead of rice.

top view of glazed chicken thighs topped with sesame seeds and green onions

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

To store your leftover chicken thighs, let them come to room temperature. Then place them in an airtight container and pour the glaze over them. This will keep the chicken from drying out.
Then, you can store them in your fridge for 3-5 days.
If you choose to freeze them, just make sure your airtight container is freezer safe and store them in the freezer for about 3 months.
To reheat, simply place the chicken and sauce on a baking sheet and heat in the oven until warmed through.

More Air Fryer Recipes

ENJOY!

Tools Used in this Recipe

Air Fryer Asian Glazed Chicken Thighs

These juicy marinated Air Fryer Asian Glazed Chicken Thighs are tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. They’re smothered with a sweet Asian glaze and then topped with crunchy sesame seeds and green onions.

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Asian

Servings: 4

Calories: 361 kcal

Ingredients

8 boneless, skinless, chicken thighs
½ cup low sodium soy sauce
¼ cup honey
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
sesame seeds, for garnish, optional
chopped green onions, for garnish, optional

Instructions

In a mixing bowl whisk together soy sauce, honey, garlic, ketchup, parsley, and oregano; whisk until completely incorporated.
Reserve 1/4-cup of the marinade in a small bowl and set aside for later. Pour remaining marinade in a large bowl.
Add chicken to the marinade; cover and marinate for 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours. Refrigerate if not planning to cook the chicken within 2 hours.
Preheat the air fryer to 400˚F.
Remove chicken from marinade and transfer 4 chicken thighs to the air fryer; you’ll have to cook in batches.
Cook for 8 minutes; flip the chicken over and continue to cook for 6 more minutes. Remove and set aside.
Continue with the rest of the chicken.
In the meantime, pour the reserved sauce in a small pan or pot and cook over medium low heat for about 2 minutes, or until it thickens and it’s slightly reduced.
Remove chicken from air fryer and transfer to a plate.
Brush warm glaze over chicken.
Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.