Why you’ll love this air fryer chicken recipe
- You truly can get juicy chicken breasts straight from frozen! Be sure to read the recipe tips below to get perfectly cooked chicken every time.
- The recipe has an easy sauce that coats the chicken and adds some ridiculously delicious flavor. If you’re thinking this is a boring chicken breast recipe – think again! No extra seasoning required.
- If you are in a pinch and forgot to plan dinner, this is a great way to still get a homemade dinner on the table in around 30 minutes!
How to cook a frozen chicken breast in the air fryer (step-by-step)
- It’s really pretty simple. Start by preheating your air fryer to 400° Fahrenheit. Even if it doesn’t preheat, manually set it to 400° to preheat for a few minutes. Then follow these steps:
Related ->> Check out this listing of easy and tasty air fryer recipes!
How long to cook frozen chicken breasts in the air fryer
Depending on the size of your chicken breasts, they will take around 20-30 minutes, to cook from frozen in the air fryer. Here are some notes on cooking:
- Size matters – Large, thick chicken breasts will take longer to cook. Try and find breasts that are approximately the same size to ensure even cooking. We tested with various sizes of breasts and noted that times range between 25-40 minutes depending on the size. Shoot for smaller breasts if you want them to cook in under 30 minutes.
- Temperature – I highly recommend checking the internal temperature of the chicken with an instant-read thermometer to ensure the chicken is fully cooked to 165° in the thickest part.
Recipe tips and tricks
- No thaw – Cook the chicken from completely frozen. If your chicken breasts are stuck together, submerge the package in warm water for about 5 minutes. Then, open them up and carefully pry the breasts apart with a fork or knife.
- Use an instant read thermometer – It’s essential for this recipe as each individual chicken breast is slightly different and will come to temp at a different time.
- Check each breast – You’ll want to check the temp of each breast and pull it when it reaches temperature. You can simply set the fully cooked breast aside to rest while the remaining chicken cooks.
- Check the thickest section – Insert your thermometer into the thickest section of each breast. Since you’re cooking from frozen, the innermost section will be the last to thaw and cook completely.
- Cut the chicken – If you have chicken pieces that are thick on one end and thinner on another (most are), you can cut off the thin end and let it rest while the thick end finishes up. This prevents the thin half of the chicken breast from getting overcooked and rubbery.
- Watch the temperature closely at the end – When the chicken reaches the 130°- 140° mark, check it every few minutes. The internal temperature can rise 10°-15° every 2-3 minutes of cooking after this point.
- Sauce at the very end – If you end up pulling some chicken out, wait until the very end to sauce up all of the breasts. Then you can just put it back in the air fryer for 2-3 minutes to finish the chicken.
Other frozen foods made in the air fryer
The air fryer is amazing at turning frozen food into a delicious meal – quickly! Try these out:
- Buffalo Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings
- Easy Air Fryer Frozen Salmon (No Thaw)
- 20-Minute (Crisp-Tender!) Air Fryer Frozen Broccoli
Or just browse all of our air fryer recipes!
We hope you love this recipe as much as we do!
Don’t forget to leave a quick star rating and review below, we read every comment and truly appreciate your feedback. Also, be sure to browse the rest of our easy air fryer recipes to find some other favorites too!
Get the Recipe:
Juicy Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Breasts (No Thaw)
There's no need to thaw the chicken, just toss it in your air fryer straight out of the freezer. It's a quick and easy way to cook juicy chicken breasts!
Ingredients
- Cooking oil spray, (for the basket, optional)
- 3 frozen chicken breasts, (of the same approximate size)
For the sauce:
- 2 tbsp avocado or olive oil
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
Equipment
Instructions
- Make the sauce by adding all of the sauce ingredients to a bowl and mixing well.
- Preheat air fryer to 400° Fahrenheit. Even if it doesn't have a preheat function, preheat it for a few minutes.
- If desired, spray your air fryer basket with cooking oil. Place the chicken breasts in the basket.
- Set the breasts to cook for a total of 30 minutes (you'll flip them after 15 minutes).
- After 15 minutes of cooking, flip the breasts.
- Cook for another 10-20 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165° in the thickest part of the breast.
- In the last few minutes of cooking, brush the sauce on both sides of the breasts. Note: Don't brush the sauce on too early, as it will burn after a few minutes. If you don't want to risk it burning, simply brush the sauce on after the chicken is completely cooked.
- Remove the chicken and serve.
Notes
Nutrition amounts are an estimate provided for those following a Ketogenic or low-carb diet. See our full nutrition information disclosure here.
Calories: 360kcal, Carbohydrates: 3g, Protein: 48g, Fat: 16g, Fiber: 1g
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I had preseasoned some chicken breast following some other tip and froze them for later use. Tonight, I was desperate to find an easy way to cook those breasts from frozen in a way that tasted good. I only followed the cooking time and temp from this recipe and didn’t make the sauce. The chicken was superb. The best and easiest way to make chicken breast period. It was so juicy and moist. Thanks for this recipe!
Glad everything worked out for you!
Nice & juicy
My chicken breast was overcooked but the sauce was DELICIOUS! Will definitely be making again for less time in the air fryer. Our local grocery store didn’t have coconut aminos so I substituted say sauce.
An air fryer temperature would be super helpful.. it’s mentioned as a preheat temp, but not clarified after.. assuming it’s 400 for 30 minutes, hopefully not dry
Yes, you keep the air fryer at 400° once preheated for the cooking.
this turned out great!! very juicy with a crispy outside.
Sounds perfect!
I had never heard of coconut aminos, but fortunately my local grocery store had a bottle and I’m so glad they did. The sauce is fantastic! I used a couple boneless thighs and a breast. I would recommend the thighs as they were so much juicier and better cooked. The breast was dry and overcooked.
So glad you were able to enjoy the sauce! One of favorite ingredients for sauces is coconut aminos. Thanks so much for giving our recipe a try and coming back to share how it went! 🙂
Yum! Thanks
What would be the cook time of making one chicken breast?
The cook time is the same as noted in the recipe. 1 vs 2 breasts won’t change anything for the air fryer cooking time.
Really didn’t feel like cooking but this recipe was SO EASY and quick and delicious. Thank you for this recipe. I didn’t have the coconut amino but I will try this again and add it. My only regret is that I only cooked 3 breasts!
Glad this recipe was a good one for you Joan!
Thank you for a time-saving recipe in these few hectic days before Christmas.I only had frozen chicken breasts on hand and wow did these come out great, tender and juicy.
Happy to hear that Karen, you’re welcome!
Very easy saved a lot of time for a last minute healthy dinner! Used different sauce at end just making them with Italian dressing and some salt and pepper came out amazing. Might try with lemon and pepper next time. 🤔 just glad I found a way to cook these things a different way!! Super juicy!
Glad you found our recipe!
Just tried these and turned out great! Saves me time when I freeze everythng.
Definitely takes longer than 20 minutes. It’s going on 90 and still not done 🙃
The only thing I can think of that would cause this is a setting on your air fryer? Large breasts may take longer than 20 minutes but 90 seems like something is not working with the air fryer.
Very good recipe thank you
You’re very welcome, thanks for coming back to leave a review!
This turned out great and it was so easy! We loved the sauce and I’ll plan to serve it as a dipping sauce of sorts next time.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great, quick and easy.
This recipe worked great! I seasoned with salt pepper and Italian seasoning, and little bit of garlic and some paprika.
Tasted amazing
Great recipe
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for coming back to leave a review 🙂