(upbeat music) - Are you tired of eating
bland, dry chicken breast when you're trying to be healthy?
You need today's secret,
how to make juicy chicken breast in the air fryer.
Hey, everyone, it's Erin from wellplated.com.
I believe in making healthy recipes
that are easy, budget-friendly, and family-approved.
Nothing says easy, healthy, and affordable
quite like boneless skinless chicken breasts,
but they're often better in theory
than they are in execution.
So many times they can end up dry and rubbery.
Well, I have one trick
to make sure that your chicken breasts turn out juicy
every single time, I use the air fryer.
When I have those chicken breasts on hand,
I can whip up quick salads, wraps,
other healthy lunches and dinners
that I actually look forward to eating, instead of dreading.
Let's make it.
Start by pounding your chicken breasts
into an even thickness.
This is critical to make sure that they cook evenly.
You can do it with a meat mallet.
If you don't have a meat mallet, a rolling pin works, too.
And if you don't have a rolling pin, your good old fist.
I know you have one of those.
(Erin groaning)
A meat mallet is the easiest.
Just get it relatively even.
You don't have to be scientific or measure.
Whoo.
Our next step is to brine the meat.
Now, I know brining sounds very fancy and culinary-esque,
but it's just really a way of saying that we salt the meat.
You can do this with a dry brine, which is what I'm doing.
All you have to do
is sprinkle the kosher salt all over the top.
Brining changes the structure
of the proteins in the chicken,
allowing it to retain more moisture,
and therefore turn out more juicy.
And folks, juicy chicken is what we are after.
Once it has sat in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes,
or up to one day if you're the sort the plans ahead,
we're ready to add olive oil and stir up our seasonings.
I love adding paprika
'cause it gives the chicken a beautiful golden color,
plus garlic powder and onion powder.
Between you and me,
mincing garlic is probably my least favorite kitchen task,
so garlic powder works perfectly here,
plus, bonus, it doesn't burn,
Sprinkle your seasoning all over the chicken,
every last bit.
And then with your trusted kitchen tool, aka your hands,
give it a toss to evenly coat the chicken with the spices.
This is my go-to blend for everyday purposes,
but you can use any seasonings you like.
Preheat your air fryer to 375 degrees,
and then we're going to cook the chicken breast
on the first side for six minutes.
I like to put it smooth side down, aka presentation side.
Grab yourself a pair of tongs, and then put the smooth side
so it is touching the air fryer.
This will just give you prettier chicken breasts.
I know that appearances aren't everything,
but you'll thank yourself
when you pull it out of the air fryer.
Slide the basket back in, and then we just wait six minutes,
and it's time to flip.
From here, the amount of time you need afterwards
really depends on the size of your chicken breast.
These are pretty sizeable,
most of the ones at my grocery store are,
so they will need about six to 10 minutes more.
You know chicken is done when it hits 165 degrees
on an instant-read thermometer. (kissing)
Don't be afraid to pull it a couple of degrees early,
because we are going to let it rest,
and the carryover cooking will finish the rest.
My kitchen smells pretty amaze right now,
so I don't really want to wait,
but you must let the meat rest
so that the juices can reincorporate into the chicken.
Suspense is over,
my kitchen smells like some delicious garlic and spices.
Chicken is rested, it is time to cut into it.
Ooh, I just love the gorgeous color of that paprika.
This is something that I try to do every week
for the sake of meal prep.
I thank myself all week long.
This also freezes really easily as well,
which is nice when you are trying to get ahead.
I feel like we are constantly behind schedule,
so I can't even tell you how grateful I am
when I find some of this in my freezer.
All right, moment of truth.
Let's try this juicy chicken.
If you are a fan of juicy baked chicken recipes
like this one, don't miss my baked chicken Parmesan.
It's another healthy weeknight fave.
Mm, so juicy.