How To Reheat Fried Chicken In Air Fryer?

Cold, soggy, and sad, these are the properties of leftover fried chicken.

While everyone loves the crispy delightful flavor and crunch of freshly fried chicken, you will hardly find those who like cold chicken.

Let’s get to know about ways to reheat leftover fried chicken using your air fryer to make it crispy and mouth watering again.

To reheat fried chicken in the air fryer, preheat the unit for 3 minutes at 350F. Add the chicken to the basket, set the timer to 5 minutes and temperature to 375F, and begin reheating.

How To Reheat Fried Chicken In Air Fryer

Begin with preheating your air fryer to 375 F to ensure it crisps up chicken skin evenly
Take out the leftover chicken from the refrigerator and arrange it on a wire rack.
Let the chicken come to room temperature before putting in the air fryer.
For an extra crisp, add a few spritz of oil to the chicken pieces.
Arrange the chicken piece in the air fryer basket in one layer, spacing them out evenly.
If your air fryer has a deep basket, you can use a wire rack to reheat more chicken in one batch.
Set the temperature to 375 F and reheat the chicken for 3-4 minutes.
During this initial heating, the chicken will warm up evenly.
Open the air fryer basket to check if the chicken has been warmed through.
Change the sides of the chicken pieces.
To achieve the golden color and crispy texture let the air fryer work for another 2-3 minutes.

How Long Do You Reheat Different Chicken Cuts In An Air Fryer?

While a rough idea is that reheating fried chicken in an air fryer takes about 10 minutes.

However, the precise time can change depending on the cut of the chicken. Here is a quick summary for you.

Fried Chicken Breasts: 8 to 10 minutes
Fried Chicken Wings: 5 to 6 minutes
Fried Chicken Thighs and legs: 7 to 8 minutes

If you are directly placing frozen fried chicken leftovers in an air fryer, increase the cooking time by 3-4 minutes and the temperature by 25°F.

This means that if you are using the temperature/time settings of 375°F/5-7 minutes for reheating room temperature fried chicken, you should use 400°F/8-11 minutes for frozen fried chicken.

Reheating Fried Chicken in Air Fryer vs Microwave

The main difference between reheating fried chicken in a microwave vs air fryer is in terms of the results.

If you reheat fried chicken breast in air fryer, the piece will have a crunchy texture and succulent interior. In addition, the meat will be reheated more evenly.

Doing the same in a microwave will make the chicken soggy, soft, and even a little chewy.

This is because of the moisture loss that happens during microwaving.

In addition, in a microwave, some parts of the food overheat while others remain cold.

Can You Reheat KFC Chicken in AirFryer?

Yes, you can easily reheat fried chicken in an air fryer.

Place KFC chicken pieces in an air fryer and heat at 350F for 4 – 5 minutes, flipping the sides halfway through the timer.

If you are reheating large pieces, you may need an additional 1-2 minutes.

Quick Summary

Preheat Time: 3 minutes

Time To Reheat Fried Chicken In Air Fryer: 5-7 minutes

Temperature For Reheating: 375F

Ingredients:

Leftover fried chicken breasts, thighs, legs, or any other cut (homemade or takeout leftover)
Equipment: Air fryer. I like to use my Cosori Air Fryer.
Oil spray (optional)
Waster (optional): adding a little water at the bottom of the air fryer basket prevents chicken from drying out.

Other meals you can reheat in an air fryer:

Final Words

This article touches on the nitty-gritty of reheating fried chicken in an air fryer to retain its crispy texture. The method above offers a complete understanding of the steps for rewarming chicken pieces in an air fryer. With this technique at your fingertips, you can effortlessly enjoy leftover fried food the next day, saving time preparing a meal or serving your guests.