Air Fryer Popcorn Chicken

Description

These air fryer popcorn chicken bites are seasoned with lots of flavorful herbs and spices for crisp, juicy white meat morsels ready in 30 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch pieces

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard

• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

• 1/8 teaspoon ground thyme

• 1/8 teaspoon dried basil

• 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1/8 teaspoon dried sage

• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

• cooking spray (such as Misto®)

Directions

1 Place chicken into a medium bowl.

2 Combine salt, paprika, black pepper, mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, basil, oregano, and sage in a small bowl; reserve 1 teaspoon seasoning mixture. Sprinkle remaining seasoning mixture over chicken and toss to coat evenly.

3 Combine cornstarch and reserved 1 teaspoon seasoning mixture in a large resealable plastic bag; shake to combine. Add chicken and seal the bag; shake to coat evenly. Transfer chicken to a fine mesh strainer and shake to remove excess cornstarch. Let rest until cornstarch begins to absorb into chicken, 5 to 10 minutes.

4 Preheat an air fryer to 390 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease the air fryer basket with cooking spray.

5 Arrange chicken in a single layer in the prepared basket, making sure not to overlap. You may have to do two batches, depending on the size of your air fryer. Mist chicken with cooking spray.

6 Cook in the preheated air fryer for 4 minutes. Shake the air fryer basket and mist chicken again with cooking spray so there are no dry or powdery areas. Continue cooking until chicken is no longer pink on the inside and the juices run clear, 4 to 5 more minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).