Air Fryer Chicken and Waffles
Air Fryer Chicken and Waffles
Chicken and waffles pairs crisp fried chicken with a stack of hot waffles and a sweet-heat sauce, a combination that dates back to Wells Supper Club in Harlem in 1938, where it was served to jazz musicians coming off a late set. This version fries the chicken in an air fryer instead of a pot of oil, so the seasoned crust crisps up with a fraction of the mess.
The chicken is boneless thighs, brined in buttermilk and hot sauce, then dredged in a well-seasoned flour and cornstarch mix. Cornstarch is what makes an air-fried crust crisp rather than pasty, and a firm rule applies here that deep-frying doesn’t need: the coated chicken has to be sprayed generously with oil before and during cooking, or the flour stays dry and powdery instead of browning.
The waffles are a straightforward buttermilk batter, made separately in a waffle iron while the chicken cooks. Both components only work hot — waffles turn soft fast, so everything is stacked and served the moment it’s ready, finished with a drizzle of warm spicy maple syrup or hot honey butter.
Ingredients
Serves 4
The chicken
- 700 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 6 thighs)
- 240 ml buttermilk
- 1 tbsp hot sauce (Louisiana/Crystal style; optional)
- 180 g all-purpose flour
- 40 g cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp fine salt
- 1.5 tsp garlic powder
- 1.5 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
- 1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- neutral oil spray (avocado or canola), for the air fryer
The waffles
- 240 g all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp fine salt
- 480 ml buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 113 g unsalted butter, melted
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
The spicy maple syrup (or hot honey butter, below)
- 120 ml maple syrup, warmed
- 2 tsp hot sauce
The hot honey butter (alternative to spicy maple)
- 60 g honey
- 4 tbsp butter
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 pinch salt
Directions
The chicken
Whisk the buttermilk with the hot sauce in a bowl or dish large enough to hold the chicken. Add the thighs, turn to coat, cover, and refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, cayenne, and black pepper.
Lift each thigh out of the buttermilk, letting the excess drip off, then press it into the seasoned flour on all sides until fully coated. Set the dredged pieces on a rack and let them rest for 5 minutes — the coating turns slightly pasty and grips the meat better once it goes into the air fryer.
Preheat the air fryer to 200°C (400°F) and spray the basket with oil. Arrange the chicken in a single layer, without crowding — work in batches if needed — and spray the pieces generously with oil until no dry, powdery flour remains visible.
Air fry for about 20 minutes, flipping the chicken halfway through and spraying it again with oil at that point. It’s done when the crust is deep golden and the internal temperature reads 74°C (165°F).
The waffles
While the chicken cooks, make the waffle batter. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in one bowl. In another, combine the buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and fold together just until no dry streaks remain — don’t overmix. Let the batter rest for 5 minutes.
Cook the waffles in a greased, preheated waffle iron until golden and crisp. If the chicken isn’t ready yet, hold the finished waffles on a rack in a 95°C (200°F) oven so they stay crisp rather than steaming soft.
To serve
For the sauce, warm whichever one you’re making: gently heat the maple syrup with the hot sauce stirred in, or melt the honey, butter, cayenne, and salt together until smooth.
Stack a waffle, top with a piece of chicken, and drizzle generously with the warm sauce. Serve immediately, while both the chicken and waffles are still hot.
Notes
No buttermilk on hand? Stir 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice into 1 cup of milk and let it sit for 5 minutes before using.
The cornstarch in the dredge, at roughly a fifth of the flour weight, is the main thing making the crust crisp in an air fryer rather than a deep fryer; the baking powder adds a bit more lift and crunch on top of that.
An air fryer crisps the top of the chicken more than the bottom. Flipping and re-spraying evens this out, but expect the underside to end up a little less crisp than a deep-fried piece would be.
For cornbread waffles, a common Southern variation, swap 1 cup of the flour for 1 cup of cornmeal and leave out the baking soda.
Store the chicken and waffles separately for up to 3 days. Reheat the chicken in the air fryer to re-crisp it, and never rest fried chicken on paper towels — a wire rack keeps the bottom from steaming soft.
See Also
Corn Bread
