This Air Fryer Tandoori Chicken features succulent, juicy meat and crispy, flavorful skin. It’s so easy to make and it comes out perfectly every time. Oven instructions included too!
Cooking Tandoori Chicken in your air fryer results in flavorful, crispy chicken that tastes better than takeout. With only five ingredients, it’s an easy weeknight dinner the whole family will love. It goes so well with Coconut Cauliflower Rice for a high protein low carb meal!
If there’s one thing my family can agree on, it’s Indian food. We all love the fragrant flavors and rich, meaty stews. And I love how easy the meals are to pull together, even on a busy weeknight. This Air Fryer Tandoori Chicken has become a standard favorite.
I’ve made similar recipes for this classic Indian dish before, both on the grill and in the oven. But once I discovered how easy it was in the air fryer, it’s become my cooking method of choice. I particularly love how the skin gets crispy, despite the yogurt-based marinade.
If you love the ease of Air Fryer Pork Chops or Keto Lamb Kofta, you’re sure to love this flavorful keto chicken recipe too!
Why we love this recipe
I won’t call this an authentic recipe, because it’s not made in a tandoor. I also don’t mix my own masala, since so many brands do a great job of it. But this tandoori chicken recipe is fabulous!
- 5 ingredients: This recipe utilizes ingredients found at almost any grocery store.
- Short cook time: It takes less than 25 minutes in the air fryer.
- Flavorful marinade: You do want to let it marinate for at least two hours. But you can prep it quickly in the morning and then cook it when you come home in the evening.
- Crispy skin: I love chicken with crispy skin and the air fryer the perfect cooking method to really crisp it up.
- High protein: This easy keto dinner recipe has 40 grams of protein and less than 3g of carbs!
Ingredient Notes
- Bone-in, skin-on chicken: I like to use a combination of thighs and drumsticks, but you can use all of one or the other. Breasts are usually too large and don’t cook through as evenly.
- Plain yogurt: I usually use regular yogurt rather than Greek, because it creates a thinner marinade that covers the chicken more easily. You can use Greek but you may need to thin it out with a little marinade.
- Tandoori seasoning: I usually grab pre-mixed tandoori spice for simplicity.
- Lemon juice: Some acid helps the marinade penetrate the chicken.
- Salt and pepper
Step by Step Directions
- Prepare the marinade: In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, lemon juice, tandoori seasoning, salt, pepper, and cayenne until well combined.
- Toss the chicken: Add the chicken pieces and toss to coat, making sure that each piece of chicken is thoroughly covered in the marinade. Refrigerate for 2 hours and up to overnight.
- Turn on the air fryer: Preheat the air fryer to 375ºF and lightly grease the rack(s). Arrange the chicken, skin-side down, on the rack(s). If you have a small air fryer, you may need to work in batches.
- Cook the chicken: Air fry 12 minutes, then flip the chicken pieces over and air fry another 10 to 12 minutes, until the skin is lightly browned and crisp, and the internal temperature reads 165ºF on an instant read thermometer.
Expert Tips
I like to mix the marinade in a glass bowl and then toss the chicken to coat. This way, I don’t waste a plastic bag. Just make sure to toss the chicken a bit and make sure it’s all very well coated. Then refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Depending on your air fryer size and style, you may need to work in batches. If, like me, you have an air fryer with two racks, make sure to switch the racks during baking a few times. The ones near the heating element tend to get brown faster.
Always start with the chicken pieces skin-side down, then flip over halfway through. This helps both sides get nicely browned and the chicken skin on top gets the crispy finish.
Oven instructions
No air fryer? No problem! Preheat your oven to 400ºF and set a baking rack over a rimmed metal baking sheet. Set the chicken skin side down and cook 12 minutes, then flip over and cook another 12 to 15 minutes. If you want a nice crispy skin, set them under the broiler for a minute right at the end.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tandoori chicken has a complex aromatic flavor from the combination of rich spices such as turmeric, coriander, cinnamon, and cardamom. It may contain a little chili as well, but it’s usually not very spicy. It has a delicious tanginess from a yogurt marinade, which also helps to tenderize the meat.
You can make this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts as well. Skinless thighs won’t take as long to cook through so I recommend a total of 18 minutes in the air fryer. Skinless breasts will take about the same amount of time but they can dry out easily so check them frequently.
This Air Fryer Tandoori Chicken recipe has 2.7g of carbs per serving. This is from the yogurt marinade, much of which stays in the bowl, so the carbs are probably closer to 1.5g.
More keto takeout favorites
Air Fryer Tandoori Chicken Recipe
Servings: 6 servings
This Air Fryer Tandoori Chicken features succulent, juicy meat and crispy, flavorful skin. It’s so easy to make and it comes out perfectly every time. Oven instructions included too!
- 1/2 cup (122.5 g) plain whole milk yogurt
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) lemon juice
- 2 tbsp tandoori seasoning
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- ¼ to ½ tsp cayenne
- 2 1/2 lb (1,133.98 g) bone-in, skin-on chicken , (thighs and drumsticks)
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In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, lemon juice, tandoori seasoning, salt, pepper, and cayenne until well combined.
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Add the chicken pieces and toss to coat, making sure that each piece of chicken is thoroughly covered in the marinade. Refrigerate for 2 hours and up to overnight.
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Preheat the air fryer to 375ºF and lightly grease the rack(s). Arrange the chicken, skin-side down, on the rack(s). If you have a small air fryer, you may need to work in batches.
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Air fry 12 minutes, then flip the chicken pieces over and air fry another 10 to 12 minutes, until the skin is lightly browned and crisp, and the internal temperature reads 165ºF on an instant read thermometer.
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Season with additional salt and pepper as desired and serve.
Storage Instructions: Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Serving: 0.5lb | Calories: 408kcal | Carbohydrates: 2.7g | Protein: 40.2g | Fat: 24.8g | Saturated Fat: 7.6g | Fiber: 0.6g
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