If you ever wondered if you can cook frozen chicken legs or drumsticks in your air fryer, the answer is yes! This simple method for air fryer frozen chicken legs will help you get dinner on the table even if you forgot to thaw out your chicken. Chicken legs are affordable and can be flavored anyway you want making them a great budget friendly option too. 

After posting my Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Legs recipe, I got a lot of questions about air frying frozen chicken. Since I love cooking frozen foods in my air fryer, I gave it a shot and it was successful!

Here’s What You’ll Need

• Air Fryer: I’ve tried many in the past but my favorite is the Ninja Foodi hands down. It’s an air fryer and pressure cooker all in one and it saves me so much time cooking healthy meals for my family.
• Chicken Legs Or Drumsticks: This is the part of the chicken leg that has a round top and skinny bottom. Chicken quarters also attach the thigh and would need a longer cooking time. 
• Olive or Avocado Oil: This is to coat the chicken after it’s been thawed so that it gets crispy enough for the seasonings to stick.
• Salt, Pepper & Garlic Powder: You could use any seasoning you like but this one is pretty standard and simple.

How Long To Cook Frozen Chicken Legs

This depends on the size of your drumsticks. The drumsticks should NOT be chicken wing sized for this recipe. Here is the best way to air fry frozen chicken:

1. Add them to your air fryer basket in a single even layer. You can grease your basket if you’re worried about it sticking but this rarely happens.
2. Air fry at 375 for 20 minutes making sure you flip halfway through.
3. Remove partially cooked drumsticks from the air fryer basket and add to a bowl. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with seasonings. Toss everything together until seasoning is fully coated on the skin of the chicken.
4. Return seasoned chicken legs to the air fryer basket and set to 400 degrees cooking for another 15-20 minutes flipping halfway through. Remove and serve.

NOTE: The last step may take a few minutes MORE or LESS depending on how big your chicken is and how powerful your air fryer is. During the last step, it’s best to check the chicken every 5-7 minutes until they are cooked through with an internal temperature of 165.

Air Frying Chicken Quarters:

If you’d like to cook frozen chicken quarters, increase the initial cook time by 10-15 minutes then follow the rest of the recipe as written.

Try These Frozen Air Fryer Recipes

• Air Fryer Frozen Turkey Burgers
• Air Fryer Frozen Beef Burgers
• Air Fryer Frozen Brussels Sprouts
• Air Fryer Frozen Tater Tots

Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Legs

Yield: 5-6 servings

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

If you ever wondered if you can cook frozen chicken legs or drumsticks in your air fryer, the answer is yes! This simple method for air fryer frozen chicken legs will help you get dinner on the table even if you forgot to thaw out your chicken. Chicken legs are affordable and can be flavored anyway you want making them a great budget friendly option too.

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Ingredients

• 2lbs Chicken Drumsticks, about 5-6 pieces
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Sea Salt
• 1 tsp Ground Black Pepper
• 2 tbsp Avocado Oil

Instructions

1. Add them to your air fryer basket in a single even layer. You can grease your basket if you’re worried about it sticking but this rarely happens.
2. Air fry at 375 for 20 minutes making sure you flip halfway through.
3. Remove partially cooked drumsticks from the air fryer basket and add to a bowl. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with seasonings. Toss everything together until seasoning is fully coated on the skin of the chicken.
4. Return seasoned chicken legs to the air fryer basket and set to 400 degrees cooking for another 15-20 minutes flipping halfway through. Remove and serve.

Notes

NOTE: The last step may take a few minutes MORE or LESS depending on how big your chicken is and how powerful your air fryer is. During the last step, it’s best to check the chicken every 5-7 minutes until they are cooked through with an internal temperature of 165.

Air Frying Chicken Quarters: If you’d like to cook frozen chicken quarters, increase the initial cook time by 10-15 minutes then follow the rest of the recipe as written.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 322Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 192mgSodium: 536mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 36g

It is the reader's responsibility to determine the value and quality of any recipe or instructions provided for food preparation and to determine the nutritional value, if any, and safety of the preparation instructions.