Sweet Chili Air Fryer Chicken (Printable Version)

Crispy glazed chicken thighs with sweet chili, soy, and honey—ready in under 35 minutes.

# What You Need:

→ Chicken

01 - 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 lbs)

→ Marinade & Glaze

02 - 1/3 cup sweet chili sauce
03 - 2 tbsp soy sauce
04 - 1 tbsp honey
05 - 1 tbsp rice vinegar
06 - 1 tbsp olive oil
07 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
08 - 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
09 - 1/4 tsp salt
10 - 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

→ Garnish

11 - 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
12 - 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
13 - 1 lime, cut into wedges

# Directions:

01 - Pat the chicken thighs thoroughly dry with paper towels to ensure optimal crisping during air frying.
02 - In a mixing bowl, whisk together the sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, olive oil, minced garlic, grated ginger, salt, and black pepper until well combined.
03 - Place the chicken thighs in a large zip-top bag or shallow dish. Pour 2/3 of the marinade over the chicken, reserving the remaining 1/3 for glazing. Seal and marinate for at least 20 minutes, or up to overnight in the refrigerator.
04 - Preheat the air fryer to 390°F.
05 - Remove the chicken from the marinade, shaking off any excess. Arrange the thighs skin-side down in the air fryer basket in a single layer. Air fry for 12 minutes, then flip the chicken and brush generously with the reserved marinade. Continue air frying for another 10 minutes, or until the skin is golden and crispy and the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
06 - Remove the chicken from the air fryer and let rest for 3 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro, toasted sesame seeds, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice before serving.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The marinade doubles as a glaze, so every ounce of flavor gets used with zero waste.
  • Crispy skin and tender meat happen simultaneously without deep frying or babysitting a pan.
  • Cleanup is basically rinsing the air fryer basket and tossing a zip bag.
02 -
  • I once skipped the drying step and ended up with rubbery skin that peeled off in one sad sheet.
  • Reserving part of the marinade before raw chicken touches it means your glaze is safe to brush on mid cooking.
03 -
  • Crowding the air fryer basket is the single fastest way to steam instead of crisp, so cook in batches if needed.
  • A basting brush dipped in the reserved marinade right after flipping creates layers of sticky glaze that build on each other.

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