Learn how to make these Whole30 and keto air fryer drumsticks EXTRA crispy and addicting. Oven method is also included in case you don’t own an air fryer!
Crispy chicken drumsticks are very popular in our house. We probably eat it once a week and we just love how flavorful and juicy they turn out every time with the most addicting crispy skin.
I’ve probably cooked chicken drumsticks many different ways, but these crispy chicken drumsticks cooked in the air fryer are always our favorite. If you don’t own an air fryer, no worries. I’ve included oven instructions as well!
Extra Crispy Air Fryer Drumsticks Recipe
Every time I make a skin-on chicken dish with a dry cooking method (without sauce), it’s important that the skin turns out super crunchy. It’s honestly my favorite part when I’m eating it! I’ve found that the high concentrated heat and air circulation of the air fryer makes this possible, along with coating the chicken with baking powder.
I’ve been using baking powder for crispy chicken for a while after reading this excerpt from Serious Eats:
“Baking powder, it turns out, is good for quite a lot more than baking. The slightly alkaline mixture raises the skin’s pH levels, which allows proteins to break down more efficiently, giving you crisper, more evenly browned results. Simultaneously, it combines with the bird’s natural juices, forming carbon dioxide gas that leaves you with a layer of tiny bubbles. It’s these bubbles that increase the skin’s surface area, allowing it to develop a crunchy texture once cooked.”
Serious Eats
Isn’t that super cool? The first time I tried it, I was so surprise at how well it worked and using this method really yields the best air fryer chicken drumsticks!
How to Cook Chicken Drumsticks in the Air Fryer
I have several Whole30 and keto air fryer recipes on the blog and I love using the air fryer so much, because of how fast food can cook in it and it yields a much better texture than a standard oven.
Here’s an easy and quick step-by-step of how to cook chicken drumsticks in the air fryer:
- If your air fryer instructions say that it needs to be preheated, make sure to preheat it for at least 5 minutes before cooking.
- Coat the chicken drumsticks with avocado oil, then with the dry rub spices. The spice combo will also include baking powder which will give the chicken an extra crispy skin.
- Cook in the air fryer in a single layer for 20 minutes, making sure to flip halfway through for even cooking. I also try to not have the drumsticks touch each other for more thorough cooking, but it’s not necessary especially if you have a smaller air fryer.
- Enjoy right away! They will be the crispest right out of the air fryer.
How to Bake Chicken Drumsticks in the Oven
Don’t own an air fryer? You can also make these crispy chicken drumsticks in the oven and I’ve included instructions for that as well. The skin will definitely be more crunchy and crispy using the air fryer method, but they’ll still turn out delicious!
To bake chicken drumsticks in the oven, you’ll coat them with the same spices and baking powder combo as the air fryer method. It’ll just take a little big longer to cook. In the same temperature, the chicken drumsticks actually take about 40 minutes to cook through and become golden and crispy.
If you are looking for a quick and easy dinner, these low carb and Whole30 chicken drumsticks come together in no time and go so well with various sides. If you try them out, please let me know in the comments below how you like them!
Other recipes you might love…
- Pineapple Sriracha Drumsticks
- Lemon Garlic Chicken Drumsticks (Paleo, Whole30, Keto, AIP Option)
- Extra Crispy Whole Roast Chicken
- Air Fryer Keto Popcorn Chicken (Paleo, Whole30)
- Paleo & Whole30 Sesame Chicken – Stovetop & Air Fryer Method
Extra Crispy Air Fryer Drumsticks (Paleo, Whole30, Keto) – Oven Method Included
Ingredients
- 8 chicken drumsticks
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 tbsp baking powder gluten free
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F for 5 minutes, if needed.
- Place the drumsticks in a large bowl and toss with avocado oil.
- Combine baking powder and the spice in a separate bowl.
- Sprinkle the chicken with the spice mixture and toss together until evenly coated.
- Cook in the air fryer in a single layer for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- The internal temperature of the drumsticks should have reached 165 degrees F. If not, cook for longer until they do.
Oven Method
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and coat the chicken with spices the same way as the air fryer method.
- Place the drumsticks in single layer on a greased baking sheet.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- The internal temperature of the drumsticks should have reached 165 degrees F. If not, cook for longer until they do.
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After using this recipe, I knew I wouldn’t make chicken drumsticks any other way anymore! Thank you!
There’s nothing better than crispy and delicious chicken! So good!
So good! This is the perfect dinner!
I love that you include air fryer and oven-friendly directions in this recipe. I’m collecting air fryer recipes but don’t have one yet, still with my little ol’ oven 😉 Drumsticks are my favorite pieces so I’ll 100% be making this recipe!
Every time you post one of your delicious air fryer recipes, I head to Amazon to look for one of these gadgets. Definitely need to invest into a good one. Which air fryer do you use? Not sure if you mentioned in this post.
Wayfair has great prices. I bought a 6qt for $89. It’s perfect.
Oooh so good — I just have a little air fryer and I didn’t want them to touch (for extra crispiness) so I made in 2 batches. Need to get a bigger air fryer!
I don’t have an air fryer but the oven version worked perfectly for me. So good!
I’m obsessed with my new air fryer and have been looking for more recipes for it. This one is so simple & I love it!
I only had Chipotle Avocado Oil, which gave my chicken a kick. DELICIOUS! I will certainly make this recipe again.
Sounds amazing. So glad you enjoyed!!
These came out AMAZING! Thanks!
So glad you liked it! 🙂
I don’t have Avocado oil available at this time.. what will be a good substitute if any?
Any cooking oil you have will work like olive oil.
So good! Thanks for the help. Got my air fried two years ago and just didn’t used it. Can’t wait to see what is next.
Ok so the 400 degrees in the oven does not work. Halfway through when I turned over it stuck to the greased pan.
And the chicken was not browned. Soggy skin. Not hood.
Being from deep GA and learning how to cook from my grandmother and this includes fried chicken and homemade chicken and dumplings, makes me judge all food to that standard. This is by far the easiest and great chicken in no time. I added more seasoning and cooked it a total of 23 minutes and the results were awesome. Thanks for adding and I will cook this again when I don’t want to cook in my cast iron frying pan.
I used this recipe last week and the drumstick where soooooo delicious..perfect …
I’m going to do a whole chicken tonight . Assume I could use this recipe as well . Similar crispy ness
I had these tonight pared with instant pot buttered cabbage and it was a delicious meal! The chicken was even better cold from the fridge for a quick snack so I’m sure I will be making this often! Thanks so much for sharing this great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed!!
My first recipe in my new toaster oven air fryer! It felt very experimental to me and I learned a few things. Anyway delicious outcome and I had all the ingredients on hand. My only issue is cleanup. How does one clean the air fryer basket? That’s quite a chore. Thanks for the amazing recipe.
I have a toaster oven style with a removable base so it’s fairy easy to clean. When I had a basket style air fryer, I just used my handheld vaccuum to suck up as much debris as possible and then wiped it down with a kitchen rag and all-purpose spray.
The whole family loved them!
The best compliment. 🙂
Wow! Just wow! It was delicious!
Thanks so much!!
So Great! Perfect directions! my whole family loves it! It comes out delicious
Thank you for sharing!
This fried chicken recipe was a hit, even with my pessimistic daughter. She found out there was hot sauce in it & she spent days trying to convince me not to make it. She begrudgingly admitted that she liked it. I WILL be making this a regular in our house. Thank you
Haha that’s amazing!! Thank you so much for leaving a review
I have made these several times and they are very flavorful we love them. Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks for this recipe. I’m still getting used to using my new air fryer. I came across your recipe and it came out great. I had to sub chili powder because I didn’t have paprika, but the chicken legs still came out great.
Sounds wonderful with chili powder!
I made this tonight for dinner and it was delicious. The entire family enjoyed it. Will definitely made it again.
Amazing! Thank you!!
Why avocado oil? Who has that in their pantry?!
It’s a healthy cooking oil that won’t oxidize at high heat like many other oils. You can use any kind of cooking oil you prefer though.
Can you cook them from frozen or do they need to be thawed 1st?
They need to be thawed first.
we just love how flavorful and juicy
This was delicious. Came out crispy and juicy. Been looking for a good fried chicken recipe that I didn’t have to do on the stove. Well I found it and it’s done in the air fryer even better. Thank you for the recipe. Will definitely be making again. Also can you use this recipe for boneless skinless chicken thighs and also can you use it on fish? Thank you.
Thank you so much! You can definitely use it with fish and chicken thighs, but if there’s no skin, it won’t turn out crispy. You can add some breading if you want to get them to crisp up!
Thank you. I tried the fish last night. I added 2TSP almond flour to the spice mix. Oh I use smoked paprika instead of regular paprika so much better. It turned out delicious. Oh it did need some lemon added to it next time.
OMG! So easy and delicious! A new family fave
Aww, yay! Thank you so much!!
My oven is broken right now, so air fryer to the rescue!! This had great flavorf, but I accidentally used too much salt. Sea salt is really strong! That was my fault. I don’t know why mine started to burn after 20 minutes; maybe I used too much oil….Live and Learn!
This is the first recipe I made in my IP Air Fryer! I had 10 drumsticks and stood all of them up to cook. It took 25 minutes and I rearranged them halfway through. They were perfectly cooked. The spice was a little too heavy on the paprika, but they were a hit with my family. I’m definitely saving and trying this recipe again!
Yes, I’m a huge paprika fan so I get that. Thanks for trying it out and reviewing!
If i don’t have baking powder, can I use something else? Looks delish!
Baking powder is what makes it crispy. You can just omit for regular drumsticks or use some kind of breading, like breadcrumbs!
I broke in my air fryer with this recipe and it was delicious. Didn’t have avocado oil, so I used canola oil instead. I’ll definitely be making this again!
This recipe was SOOOOO good! I was originally going to use airfryer but since I had a few things I needed to make with the air fryer, I decided to use the oven route. Honestly it came out so well that I have no regrets going the oven route. Everything was on point. Thank you for including all the details you did 🙂
Yay, thank you! So glad you enjoyed!!
Really loved this recipe. I cooked mine at 180 but next time I’ll do it on 200. Very tasty and succulent- thank you
So glad you liked it!
I tried it for my family. My family loves it and requests it for family get togethers. Thanks you!