Air Fryer Harissa Honey Chicken Thighs

There are endless chicken recipes for the air fryer, and although this recipe is for air fryer chicken thighs, the same harissa and honey marinade can be used on any cut of chicken.

It’s a simple to put together recipe and the perfect way to use up any harissa paste you may have.

What You Need

Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredients quantities and full detailed method.

This recipe keeps it simple with just a few ingredients, but feel free to tweak the spice levels to suit your taste.

Harissa Paste

Harissa is a North African chilli paste that adds warmth, smokiness, and depth. I used a regular store-bought version, but you can make your own harissa paste if you prefer. Adjust the quantity depending on how spicy you like things.

Honey

Honey adds just the right touch of sweetness to balance the heat of the harissa. It also helps create that gorgeous sticky glaze in the air fryer.

Olive Oil

A splash of olive oil helps bring the marinade together and promotes browning. You can use another neutral oil if preferred, or leave it out completely.

Garlic Powder

Garlic powder gives you all the flavour of garlic without the risk of burning, which can sometimes happen with fresh garlic in the air fryer. If you only have fresh garlic, you can use it, but make sure it’s well blended into the marinade.

Chicken Thighs

I used bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, which come out juicy on the inside with really crispy and charred skin. This recipe uses around 1.5kg, which is about 8 thighs. You can also use boneless thighs – but you will need to reduce the cooking time.

Preparing And Cooking The Chicken Thighs

It only takes a few minutes to prepare the marinade. You can cook the chicken right away or leave it to marinate for a bit if you have the time.

Step 1: Mix the Marinade

In a large bowl, combine the harissa paste, honey, olive oil, and garlic powder. You can optionally add salt and pepper.

Step 2: Coat the Chicken

Add the chicken thighs to the bowl and turn them to coat well in the marinade. If you have time, cover and marinate in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours or overnight. If you’re short on time, you can go straight to cooking.

Step 3: Cook the Chicken

Place the chicken in the basket, making sure not to overcrowd it. Cook at 200°C for 10 minutes. Then turn the chicken and cook for another 10 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked through and the skin is crisp and golden. The internal temperature should reach at least 75°C.

Note: Honey adds great flavour and helps create a sticky glaze, but it can also cause the chicken skin to brown, or even burn, more quickly in the air fryer due to its high sugar content. At 200°C, sugars caramelise fast, especially on exposed edges. Keep an eye on the chicken in the final minutes, especially if your air fryer runs hot. If you find the skin browning too quickly, you could try starting the cook with the skin side facing down as an option for next time.

I quite like the charred edges as you can see in the photo above, but they can go from being like this to burnt skin quite quickly so keep an eye on them 😉

Step 4: Serve

Serve hot with your favourite sides, you could have rice, couscous, salad, flatbreads or sweet potato fries.

More Air Fryer Chicken Recipes

If you’re looking for more chicken recipes for your air fryer, check out some of these for inspiration!

• Air Fryer Chicken, Chorizo and New Potatoes
• Air Fryer Chicken Wings
• Air Fryer Chicken Kebabs
• Air Fryer Chicken Fajitas
• Air Fryer Piri Piri Chicken Legs
• Air Fryer Whole Roast Chicken
• Air Fryer Hunters Chicken