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This crispy and juicy Air Fryer Bang Bang Chicken is drizzled with creamy sweet chili mayo. It’s the most perfect appetizer for house parties or picnics. The best part is that it’s not fried – by using the air fryer, you can achieve the same taste and texture without deep frying so that you can indulge without all the grease!
Sometimes, you just need to treat yourself to something as scrumptious as bang bang chicken. The issue is, what if you want to treat yourself… But want to avoid all the grease that accompanies fried chicken?
That’s where your trusty air fryer comes in! Honestly, I don’t know how I ever survived without my air fryer. Especially when it comes to this bang bang chicken – it’s crispy on the outside, juicy and cooked through on the inside. And not greasy!
As delicious as the air fried chicken is, I think the star of the show here may just be the homemade bang bang sauce. It calls for just four simple ingredients – mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, hot sauce, and honey. Those four ingredients mix together to create a seriously finger-licking good sauce for the chicken.
The chicken doesn’t just get its flavor from the sauce, though. It’s also marinated in a concoction of ingredients that are sure to make your mouth water!
How to Make Air Fryer Bang Bang Chicken
- Mix the marinade. In a bowl mix buttermilk, cornstarch, all-purpose flour, salt, pepper, hot sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, and egg. Next, add in the chicken pieces and mix properly. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Coat. Next, take the chicken pieces out from the marinade, allowing excess to drip off. Then coat them properly with the bread crumbs.
- Chill. Arrange the coated chicken on a baking tray and keep it inside the refrigerator to chill for at least half an hour.
- Cook. Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes at 180°C / 350°F. Brush the basket with little oil and put the coated chicken in it. Brush some oil on the top. Cook for 7-8 minutes on one side, then turn and cook for another 5 minutes or until golden brown. Repeat with the rest of the chicken pieces.
- Make it saucy! To create the bang bang sauce, simply combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl.
- Enjoy! Pour the sauce over the air fried chicken and toss properly or serve it as a dip. Serve hot garnished chopped cilantro.
How to Store Leftovers
You can store the air fried chicken nuggets and sauce separately in airtight containers for 4 days in the refrigerator or around 2 months in the freezer. Do not coat it with sauce while storing.
Which Hot Sauce To Use
Honestly, I think everyone’s choice of hot sauce should be different. Why? Because you should just pick whatever your favorite hot sauce is, that way you know you’ll like it! There are so many different brands out there with varying levels of heat, so pick one that is just right for you. This bang bang chicken and sauce can be mighty spicy if that’s what you like! You can also tone it down with a milder hot sauce too.
Air Fryer Bang Bang Chicken Recipe
Equipment
- air fryer
Ingredients
FOR CHICKEN:
- 2 chicken breast fillets cut into bite-size pieces.
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1 ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- Oil for brushing
BANG BANG SAUCE:
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- In a bowl mix buttermilk, cornstarch, all-purpose flour, salt, pepper, hot sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, and egg. Next, add in the chicken pieces and mix properly. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Next take the chicken pieces out from marinate allowing excess to drip off. Then coat them properly with the bread crumbs.
- Arrange the coated chicken on a baking tray and keep it inside the refrigerator to chill for at least half an hour.
- Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes at 180-degrees C / 350-degrees F. Brush the basket with little oil and put the coated chicken in it. Brush some oil on the top. Cook for 7-8 minutes on one side then turn and cook for another 5 minutes or until golden brown. Repeat with the rest of the chicken pieces.
- Next mix all the ingredients under Bang Bang sauce.
- Pour the sauce over the air-fried chicken and toss properly or serve it as a dip.
- Serve hot garnished chopped cilantro.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Don’t be chicken, try more of my favorite spicy chicken recipes!
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