Ninja Foodi Fried Chicken
This Post Contains Affiliate Links. Click Here To Read Our Full Disclosure.
Ninja Foodi Fried Chicken. How to cook delicious crispy fried chicken in the Ninja Foodi. Using the air fryer function the Ninja Foodi does an amazing job of perfectly cooking chicken drumsticks. Much lower in calories to the deep fryer this is a family air fryer favourite.

Ninja Foodi Fried Chicken
In the Milner house it feels like a wonderful romance that we have been having with our Ninja Foodi. We went from Ninja Foodi hard boiled eggs for our first recipe and less than a month later we are publishing recipe #10 which is the best crispy southern fried chicken ever.
And all thanks to the Ninja Foodi.
I gave the hubby a list in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet of all the recipes I wanted to cook in the Ninja Foodi. Some had been requested by our readers and others were ones I just wanted to make.
He skimmed down the list which had about 40 Ninja Foodi recipe ideas on it and what caught his attention was Ninja Foodi Fried chicken.
My hubby is a HUGE fried chicken fan, but sadly can’t go to KFC to have them because of a food allergy. He is allergic to both sage and to tarragon. Both seasonings that are heavily featured in traditional Kentucky fried chicken when you eat out.
Though, I love to make air fryer fried chicken because it is much lower in the calories and you can choose what seasonings you put in the chicken. You also don’t have to limit it to JUST chicken drumsticks either.

Can You Make Fried Chicken In The Ninja Foodi?
Absolutely and fried chicken in the Ninja Foodi is amazing.
I was a little nervous about it at first. After all the air fryer we normally use adds a much better crisp to it. Plus, I had tried it with the Mealthy Crisplid and it was not as good as I would have thought.
But the Ninja Foodi impressed me and produced delicious fried chicken that we all loved.
Ninja Foodi Fried Chicken Legs
While over in Europe they would call it chicken drumsticks, in America, you might call what we are making today Ninja Foodi fried chicken legs.
To us Europeans it would only be a chicken leg if the thigh was included.
So, if you are reading this and wondering why we call them Ninja Foodi fried chicken drumsticks then you know now!
Ninja Air Fryer Fried Chicken
When we cook Ninja fried chicken, we use the air fryer button. This way we can focus on achieving perfectly crispy chicken.
You can of course pressure cook it for a little while first to make it more tender, but we found the results from the air fryer were amazing on their own.
How To Cook Fried Chicken In A Ninja Foodi?

The quick version of cooking fried chicken in Ninja Foodi goes as follows:
- Bread chicken in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs.
- Load into air fryer basket.
- Air fry + enjoy.
There is a little more to it than that, but those are the simple basics!
Ninja Fried Chicken Production Line

Organisation is key when making Ninja Foodi Fried Chicken. You want to create a bowl system that way you can bread your chicken drumsticks quickly and get them cooking.
Have one bowl for your beaten egg, another bowl for your flour and a third with your breadcrumbs.
I also keep a stock of breadcrumbs in the freezer. Each time I have spare stale bread I will load it into the blender. Then blend and load into my freezer bag. Then when I make fried chicken, I have a good supply.
Also note that you can only cook a small amount of chicken drumsticks at once because the cooking pot for the air fryer is not that big. Instead get the next batch ready, while another batch is cooking.

Ninja Foodi Recipes
You can follow along with our Ninja Foodi series at Recipe This. Simply click through to the links below and see what else we have to say and recommend for the Ninja Foodi.
- How To Use Ninja Foodi
- Ninja Foodi Hard Boiled Eggs
- Ninja Foodi Sweet Potato Fries
- Ninja Foodi Mac And Cheese
- Ninja Foodi French Fries
- Ninja Foodi Frozen French Fries
- Ninja Foodi Potatoes
- Ninja Foodi Bacon
- Ninja Foodi Ribs
- Ninja Foodi Pot Roast

Ninja Foodi Fried Chicken
Ingredients
Kitchen Gadgets:
Ninja Foodi Fried Chicken Ingredients:
- 10 Chicken Drumsticks
- 3 Eggs beaten
- 250 g Breadcrumbs
- 100 g Plain Flour
- 5 Tbsp Southern Fried Chicken Seasoning
- 1 Tbsp Paprika
- 1 Tbsp Oregano
- 3 Tbsp Black Pepper
- Salt & Pepper
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil Spray
Instructions
- Create your production line. Have one bowl for your eggs, one for your flour and a third for your breadcrumbs. Season the flour with salt and pepper and extra pepper. Add the other seasonings to your breadcrumbs. Make sure each bowl is well mixed.
- Generously season chicken drumsticks with salt and pepper. Then load the chicken drumsticks into the flour, egg and then the breadcrumbs. Making sure it is drenched in each bowl.
- Load your chicken into the Ninja Foodi trivet in the lower upside down position. Place the air fryer lid on the Ninja Foodi and cook for 10 minutes at 180c/360f. When it beeps turn the chicken over, season with extra salt and spray with a little extra virgin olive oil. Cook for another 10 minutes at the same temperature.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Can’t make it now? Then pin it for later!

These makes me not want to go to KFC as often, they were delicious and juicy and very tender. For someone who is new to this gadget trying new things is always a challenge, thank you for making it easy for me Sam.
My first air fried chicken and to my surprise it turned out not dry like some Facebook groups were saying about air frying, these were succulent and juicy and very tasty, my wife who is not a big fried chicken fan demolished 3 drumsticks on her own, many thanks.
Can you use chicken breast
Hello Dencat,
Yes you could do but adjust the cook time slightly as the drumsticks in our experience cook quicker than a chicken breast ????
How about using chicken thighs?
Hi Marilu,
Yes you could use chicken thighs instead of the chicken drumsticks but the cook times will have to be changed as the thighs take quite abit longer to cook 🙂
Awesome recipe! Since I’m allergic to wheat I used gf cracker crumbs instead, and the legs I bought were extra meaty so I lengthened the time to 12 and 11 minutes – worked out very well! Thank you, recipe pinned!