Air Fryer Bang Bang Chicken Recipe (2024)

This Air Fryer Bang Bang Chicken Recipe has crispy and tender chicken breast chunks tossed in a simple creamy and slightly spicy sauce.

Forget the mess and grease that comes with deep frying, air frying is the way to go! If you haven’t jumped on the air fryer train yet, now is the time. I use my air fryer at least 5 times per week. Worth it!

Air Fryer Bang Bang Chicken Recipe

If you’re not familiar with Bang Bang Chicken, it’s a classic Asian dish that consists of deep fried, crispy breaded chicken breast pieces that are then tossed in a creamy, slightly sweet and spicy sauce. Now you can easily make this fantastic dish at home without the mess of a deep fryer!

You’ll be hooked. Trust me.

Ingredients Needed For Breaded Chicken

The list of ingredients for the breaded chicken is short and sweet. However, it’s a great jumping off point for any “fried chicken” recipe, and can take on just about any flavor profile you like.

• Boneless skinless chicken breasts – cut into 1″ pieces
• All purpose flour
• Eggs
• Panko Breadcrumbs – can be found in the Asian aisle of most grocery stores
• Seasonings – garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper

How To Bread Chicken Without Getting Clumpy Fingers

This method of breading chicken is pretty straightforward, but can get messy pretty quickly if you’re not paying attention. Using one hand to manage dry ingredients and the other hand to manage the wet ingredients, you’ll be able to keep your fingers fairly clean and reduce buildup of breading ingredients in the bowls.

1. First, you’ll use one hand to pick up your chicken breast pieces that have been seasoned with salt and pepper and dip them in the flour. (this is now your “wet hand”)
2. Next, use the opposite hand the pick up the floured chicken and place it in the lightly beaten eggs. (this is now your “dry hand”)
3. Now use your wet hand to coat the floured chicken in the eggs and then place it in the bowl of breadcrumbs.
4. Finally, use your dry hand to coat the egg dipped chicken piece with breadcrumbs and then transfer the breaded chicken to a plate until ready to air fry.

This is the most time consuming part of the recipe, however, it should only take about 10 minutes to complete the whole process. Well worth it, in my opinion.

Crispy Air Fryer Breaded Chicken

While you’re finishing up with breading your chicken, turn on your air fryer to get it preheated. To preheat an air fryer simply let it run for about 3 to 5 minutes at the desired temperature before adding the ingredients.

• Cooking Spray Give the breaded chicken pieces a good spritz with non-stick cooking spray to help give the chicken a nice golden brown finish.
• Shake the Basket About halfway through cooking, open the air fryer and either flip the chicken pieces over or give your basket a little shake to make sure they’re evenly cooking.
• Temperature For this recipe I’m cooking at 400 degrees F.; agreat temperature to quickly cook and crisp the outside of the chicken.
• How Long Depending on the size of your chicken breast pieces and the wattage of your air fryer, it should take 12 to 15 minutes to get perfectly crisp and cooked chicken.

Try my Air Fryer Crispy Chicken Tenders for a bigger crunchy version!

Bang Bang Chicken Sauce

This classic sauce is mayo-based and filled with sweet chili sauce, Sriracha hot sauce and a little bit of sugar to balance it all out.

You can find the Sweet Chili Sauce and Sriracha hot sauce in the Asian section of the grocery store.

I’ve used the sweet chili sauce in recipes like my Thai Cucumber Salad and in the dipping sauce for Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp. It’s a great condiment to have in your fridge. You’ll love it!

This recipe makes for quite a bit of sauce. Either coat the hot chicken in the sauce, drizzle it over the top of the chicken, or serve it on the side for dipping.

You may find you have more sauce than you need, but no worries, you can easily refrigerate and store this sauce for up to 2 weeks. Perfect for making this Air Fryer Bang Bang Chicken recipe again and again!

Best Side Dishes To Serve

You can serve this crispy chicken as an appetizer or pair with any of these easy sides and make it a main dish.

• Steamed White Rice
• Salted Edamame (soy beans)
• Sweet and Spicy Green Beans
• Quick Fried Rice
• Crispy Chicken Egg Rolls

More Quick Asian Recipes To Try

Here are a few of my favorite Asian recipes that are a hit with the family!

• Honey Garlic Chicken Stir Fry
• Kung Pao Ground Beef
• The Best Orange Chicken
• Chili Shrimp Stir Fry

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. I’m confident you’ll be hooked!

PIN THIS IMAGE TO SAVE THE RECIPE