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More delicious chicken made in the air fryer. Love ranch flavor? You’ll love this ranch chicken..
Ranch Chicken Fast And Easy
I love chicken–it’s no secret. I also love fast chicken and I get it fast from my air fryer!
But there’s more to it than fast and easy. Chicken takes on wonderful qualities when done by this method. The powerful convection of an air fryer seems to keep chicken–any way you make it–moist and if you want to talk “crispy” it’s the only way to go!
I don’t look on this appliance as a replacement for deep frying because I don’t think it measures up since it’s pretty much two different cooking methods; therefore, it’s apples and oranges. What I love about these “fryers” is the powerful convection. Things cook so quickly, they don’t have time to dry out as the can in an ordinary oven. This ranch chicken is no exception!
Keep It Simple
There’s really nothing complicated or exotic about this ranch chicken recipe. It’s about as simple as you can get.
The coating is two ingredients. That’s it. One you may have to buy–and that’s the flour.
I discovered quite by accident that cake flour produces a much better and crunchier coating than all-purpose flour. Now I pretty much use cake flour exclusively for chicken coatings. It seems to work very well for chicken done in the air fryer. Since I discovered that, I’ve encouraged many readers to try it!
To Spritz Or Not To Spritz
I belong to a few air fryer groups. The most common question asked is, “Why does the coating on my chicken look uncooked.” That question is generally answered with another question–“Did you spray it with oil first.” And the answer is 99 percent of the time, “No.”
This is one of the things you just have to do if you want the coating to look cooked (even though it really is) and to crisp it up. Don’t omit doing it. You don’t use much oil–maybe about a teaspoon or two. It won’t break the fat or calorie bank.
This is the sprayer I use. It’s all stainless and it’s easy to clean too. I’ve tried others, but I like this one the best. The spray is much like a mist which distributes well over the food.
The Recipe
Air Fryer Ranch Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (about 4 lbcut up into 8 parts -OR- equivalent pre-cut chicken
- oil for spraying
Seasoned Flour
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1/4 cup Ranch Seasoning -OR- 1 envelope ranch dressing/dip mix
Instructions
- Place flour and ranch seasoning mix in a plastic zipper bag and shake to combine.
- Coat chicken parts with seasoned flour and place in a single layer in the air fryer basket skin side down. Spray lightly with oil.
- Cook at 370 degrees F for 12 minutes; turn, spray lightly with oil and cook for an additional 12-14 minutes or until chicken is 165 degrees/juices run clear.
- Unless your air fryer is very large, you will have to cook this in shifts. If you do, repeat above steps. Times are based on air fryers that are 1700-1800Your times may vary.
Video
Nutrition
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