Air Fryer Chicken Leg Quarters (Keto, Low Carb, Gluten Free)
Can you air fry chicken leg quarters? Absolutely! No collection of air fryer recipes is complete without these air fryer chicken legs with mustard and herbs.
Ingredients
- 4 lbs chicken leg quarters, bone-in, skin on 1.8 kg (4 chicken legs; can substitute 2-3 lbs./0.9-1.4 kg chicken drumsticks)
- 4 tablespoons grainy mustard (unsweetened, NOT honey mustard)
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon dried sage
- salt and pepper, to taste
- cooking oil spray of choice
Instructions
- Mist two air fryer oven trays with the cooking spray. Put your chicken pieces in a single layer on the racks. Spray the chicken with the cooking oil spray.
- Stir the mustard, avocado oil, garlic, thyme, rosemary, sage, salt, and pepper together.
To Air Fry Chicken Leg Quarters:
- Air fry for 10 minutes at 400°F (200°C), then switch the position of the trays and air fry 10 more minutes at 400°F (200°C). Spread the mustard mixture in a thin layer on the tops of the chicken pieces with the back of a spoon.
- Air fry 10 more minutes at 400°F (200°C). Then switch the position of the trays in the air fryer and air fry a final 5-10 minutes at 400°F (200°C). (Total air frying time: 35-40 minutes.)
- Ensure the chicken reached the minimum safe internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) with the meat thermometer. If not, you will need to air fry a little longer.
- Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before eating.
To Air Fry Chicken Drumsticks:
- Spread this mustard mixture in a thin layer all over the top of the chicken pieces with a spoon.
- Put the air fryer racks with the chicken into your air fryer oven. Bake at 400°F (200°C) for a total of 30 minutes, switching the position of the trays in the oven at 10 minutes, 20 minutes, and 25 minutes. This is long enough to get a nice mustard crust and for there to be no blood around the bones of the chicken.
- Use a meat thermometer to check that the chicken has reached the minimum safe internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) after cooking.
- Let the drumsticks rest for 10 minutes after air frying.
Notes
This is a level 2 recipe (transition or weight maintenance). The nutrition information provided is a calorie and nutrient overestimate that subtracts the bones but not the fat loss. (Fat does drip off of the chicken when you cook it in an air fryer.) If you are tracking calories and/or macros, keep in mind that you are overestimating portions if you use raw meat and poultry weights for calculations...
That said, this how I've always done things personally to help with my weight management because it is easier. Professionally, we calculate the EP (edible portion) when conducting a nutrient analysis on a recipe. I don't think it's necessary to do that at home, as it makes tracking unnecessarily difficult.
That issue aside, some will want to remove the skin from the chicken to reduce the fat and calories in this dish. Removing the skin before air frying is harder than peeling it off after it cooks.
Also, cooking the chicken with the skin on provides more flavor. The skin also helps to preserve more moisture; your chicken is more likely to dry out when air fried without the skin.
There’s one more downside to removing the skin after making this recipe. The mustard and herb crust gets removed from the chicken if you remove the skin. IMVHO the extra fat and calories are worth it, and I leave the skin on there.
Chicken leg quarters around here are always sold with the skin on. If anyone tries air frying a mustard-crusted skinless chicken leg quarter, I’d love to know how it went. You can drop me a comment below!
Nutrition information is for one serving of the recipe (one chicken leg quarter). Carbohydrates listed are net carbs (total carbs minus the fiber).
Nutrition
Calories: 641kcalCarbohydrates: 3.4gProtein: 50gFat: 44.4gSaturated Fat: 10.9gSodium: 337.8mgVitamin A: 5.5% DVVitamin C: 0.5% DVCalcium: 2.4% DVIron: 11.6% DV