Air Fryer Chicken Breasts
Meal prep chicken breasts cook quickly in your air fryer in minutes. Use the diced chicken as the base for chicken casseroles, pizza toppings, salad toppings, and so much more. Freeze the chicken in ready-to-grab portions for quick weeknight dinners. You can easily scale the recipe to cook as many chicken breasts as you like if you prefer to do a big batch meal prep.
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 drizzle olive oil about 1/2 tablespoon
- 1 teaspoon seasoning see notes
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts on a plate or in a small mixing bowl. Drizzle the olive oil the top and turn the chicken with a fork to coat both sides in oil. Sprinkle your seasoning over the top and turn the chicken over again to make sure both sides are coated in seasoning.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F.
- Cook the chicken breasts in a single layer for 7 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook for an additional 4 - 8 minutes or until the thickest part of the chicken registers 165°F with an instant probe thermometer. The final cook time will depend on the thickness of your chicken pieces and could be affected by the size of your air fryer.
- NOTE: Since this chicken breast recipe is intended for meal prep where you will likely be cooking the chicken a second time as part of a casserole or pizza topping, I cook the chicken to the lowest safe temperature possible. This helps ensure your chicken isn't dry in the final dish. However, if you plan to eat the chicken right away for a main dish or use it on top of a cold dish like a salad, you may want to cook it to 170° - 175°.
Recipe Notes
Best Seasoning for Chicken Breasts:
Chicken is such a popular main dish protein because it pairs well with all kinds of delicious seasonings and sauces. When I bake chicken breasts for meal prep, I tend to keep things a little more neutral so that the chicken will pair well in any casserole, salad, pasta, or pizza topping I want to use it for. Here are my favorite suggestions:- Garlic salt and black pepper
- Seasoned salt
- Lemon pepper
- Italian herb blend (mix of oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, and marjoram)
- Mediterranean herb blend (mix of rosemary, garlic, lemon peel, dill, fennel, sage, marjoram