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5 Ingredient Crispy Cheesy Air Fryer Chicken Dinner Recipe

Jan 15, 2021 · 17 Comments

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This 5 ingredient crispy cheesy air fryer chicken dinner recipe is super juicy and tender on the inside, and crispy on the outside (like any good crispy chicken should be!) You’re going to love how easy and delicious this crispy cheesy air fryer chicken is, and will be using your air fryer to make this recipe on repeat!

5 ingredient crispy cheesy air fryer chicken this image

I have to tell you, I was preeetttyyy skeptical about using an air fryer.  I thought, ya know, I have enough appliances in my kitchen.  But, after making this crispy cheesy chicken, I’m hooked!

The best air for any recipe

It was actually my husband who bout us an air fryer. After seeing them all over online and being touted as a healthier alternative for making fried foods, I asked him if he thought we should get one, and the next week (after he did a lot of research) he purchased us the Philips Advance Digital Turbostar Air Fryer.

How to make the best crispy cheesy chicken in an air fryer

So what exactly is an air fryer? What are the benefits of using an air fryer?

  • An air fryer is an appliance that cooks food by circulating hot air around the food using the convection mechanism. A fan circulates the hot air around the food at high speed, cooking the food and producing a crispy layer (thank you for the definition of an air fryer wikipedia).
  • Traditionally, when frying food, food is submerged into oil. The air fryer works by coating the food in a thin layer of oil while circulating the heat, and uses so much less oil (80% less!) than traditional deep-fryer methods.
  • Air fryers cooks food at a very high speed, so it’s loved for its convenience and health benefits (since you’re using so much less oil, if any, you’re saving all the calories from the oil)

The most delicious crispy cheesy chicken dinner recipe

Cons of using an air fryer?

The only con I found about an air fryer is that the frying basket was so much smaller than I thought it would be! Since you don’t want to overcrowd the basket, you can only get two chicken breasts in (or 4 if you cut them in half). So I ended up making these chicken breasts in two batches. But because the cooking time is so quick (only takes about 10 minutes total!) so in the meantime you can put together a quick salad.

The most amazing air fryer crispy chicken dinner recipe

Sides for crispy cheesy chicken- if you’re looking for sides to serve with this crispy cheesy chicken recipe to make it a meal, here are some suggestions:

  • Spinach salad
  • Oil and vinegar potato salad
  • Easy cucumber salad
  • Creamy Italian herb pasta salad
  • 5 ingredient tortellini pasta salad

If you’re looking for a stovetop version of a chicken salad, I’d suggest this recipe for crispy chicken and arugula salad.

5 Ingredient air fryer cheesy chicken dinner

 

I’d love to hear from you in the comments section: do you have an air fryer? do you love cooking with it? I’m hooked, I can’t wait to make healthier versions of some of my favorite fried foods: french fries, empanadas, chicken wings, falafels (I have a recipe coming up next week that I think you’re going to LOVE!) The air fryer recipes ideas in my head are endless, I can’t wait to use this amazing device more, for now, I’ll be over here making these 5 ingredient crispy cheesy air fryer chicken breasts on repeats (looking for other easy and delicious 5 ingredient recipes? Check out my 5 ingredient Fridays series.)

Other recipes you might enjoy:

  • Air Fryer Chicken Piccata
  • Air Fryer Falafel Bowls Recipe
  • 5 Ingredient Cuban Air Fryer Empanadas
5 ingredient crispy cheesy air fryer chicken

5 Ingredient Crispy Cheesy Air Fryer Chicken Dinner Recipe

Made with only 5 ingredients, this crispy cheesy chicken is made in an air fryer and is super juicy and tender on the inside, and crispy on the outside (like any good crispy chicken should be!) You’re going to love how easy and delicious this crispy cheesy air fryer chicken is, and will be using your air fryer to make this recipe on repeat!
3.95 from 37 votes
Print Rate
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes minutes
Total Time: 18 minutes minutes
Servings: 4 chicken breasts

Equipment

  • Air fryer

Ingredients

  • 4 thin chicken breasts or two chicken breasts cut/pounded to be thin
  • 1 cup milk
  • [1/2 cup panko bread crumbs]
  • 3/4-1 cup shaved Parmesan-Asiago cheese blend can use any type of hard shaved or shredded cheese like Parmesan, Asiago, Romano
  • salt + pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees. Spray the cooking basket lightly with cooking spray.
  • In a large bowl place the milk and chicken breasts. Sprinkle in a generous pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper. Allow to marinate in the milk for 10 minutes.
  • In a shallow bowl combine panko bread crumbs and shaved cheese.
  • Dredge chicken breasts through panko and cheese mixture (press the mixture on top of the chicken generously) and place in the air fryer basket. Make sure that the basket is not overcrowded. I fit 2 chicken breasts in the basket, so I did this in two batches. Spray the top of the chicken lightly with cooking spray (this 'locks on' the cheesy bread crumb topping).
  • Cook for 8 minutes, flipping the chicken breasts halfway through.
  • Remove from the air fryer, repeat the process with any remaining chicken breasts. If you want to warm everything, you can add the already cooked chicken breasts into the basket and cook them for 1 minute to warm them! Enjoy

Notes

The nutrition information presented on this site should be considered an estimate as the calculations will change based on the exact products you use in your own kitchen.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 570kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 55g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 128mg | Sodium: 1133mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g

Disclaimer: some of the above links are affiliate links, if you purchase through the links at no cost to you, I will earn a few pennies. As always, all opinions are mind alone, thank you for supporting the brands and products I love that make the Sweetphi blog possible.

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Comments

  1. Jodi says

    May 27, 2021 at 6:11 pm

    4 stars
    We have made this several times and 3 of the 5 of us liked it. The breadcrumbs stay a bit mushy. Today we were out of breadcrumbs and I had already planned to make this, so I crushed some tortilla chips and used those instead. Much crispier! A nice crunch and the flavor was great. Even the picky ones liked it.

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      May 28, 2021 at 8:37 am

      Thanks so much for your feedback, so glad you made this work for you!

      Reply
  2. Mary says

    January 25, 2020 at 6:26 am

    I made this last night and overall it was great. However, after flipping the chicken the bottom size became soggy….what did I do wrong? (the top was perfect and crispy).

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      January 28, 2020 at 3:09 pm

      Thank you for the comment, so glad you liked it. That is truly odd about the chicken bottom becoming soggy…My air fryer has a net that the chicken sits on, so the air is still circulating underneath it…does your airfryer basket have that?

      Reply
      • Mary says

        January 28, 2020 at 5:26 pm

        No net in mine. The next time I make it I will put it on the rack to be sure air circulates. Thanks!

        Reply
        • Jodi says

          May 27, 2021 at 6:13 pm

          Or, when you flip it, spray more olive oil on that side and it crisps up.

          Reply
  3. Germaine says

    March 30, 2019 at 7:27 am

    I love my air fryer- I have “The Big Boss” and we do Chicken Wings a lot they come out so crispy and juicy – I change the seasoning on them each time..
    Thank you for sharing this sir fryer recipe – which I will be trying out.. and Congratulations on your announcement of expecting “twins” and one of each..

    A fan-Germaine

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      March 30, 2019 at 4:45 pm

      Thank you so much for your kind words! I think you’ll love this recipe!!

      Reply
  4. Pat Balch says

    December 6, 2018 at 4:07 pm

    Did your husband research the Gowise and the Nuwave as well as the Phillips model?

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      December 7, 2018 at 2:51 pm

      I think so, it was between the Nuwave and the Phillips I believe and the Phillips won out. I’ve been using it for a little over a year now and it’s amazing

      Reply
  5. Stephanie Kay says

    September 22, 2018 at 3:25 am

    Wow… This recipe is so simple and easy to make and I hope this will also very yummy. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe with us.

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      September 25, 2018 at 2:06 pm

      You’re welcome, so glad you liked it!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Catching up with the Kelnhofers-88 - Sweetphi says:
    April 18, 2021 at 5:35 am

    […] air fryer chicken salad This cheesy air fryer chicken is just perfection. We used grated parmesan cheese and had it over salad with caesar […]

    Reply
  2. Air Fryer Chicken Piccata - Sweetphi says:
    April 3, 2020 at 9:10 am

    […] 5 ingredient crispy cheesy air fryer chicken […]

    Reply
  3. 5 Ingredient Cuban Air Fryer Empanadas - Sweetphi says:
    April 12, 2019 at 5:00 am

    […] for other air fryer recipes? I love this 5 ingredient crispy chicken and these air fryer falafel […]

    Reply
  4. Air Fryer Falafel Bowls Recipe - Sweetphi says:
    January 21, 2019 at 4:00 pm

    […] If falafel isn’t your favorite, I’ve also made a perfect weeknight meal – crispy cheesy chicken – and it’s only 5 Ingredients (I literally have to stop myself from eating more than […]

    Reply
  5. Carne Asada Fries Recipe - Sweetphi says:
    October 15, 2018 at 7:51 am

    […] this sweet potato and sausage soup) and Air Fryer (I’ve loved sharing recipes like this crispy cheesy chicken)to use making these […]

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3.95 from 37 votes (36 ratings without comment)

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