Smoky, slightly sweet and savoury chicken thighs with smoked paprika, garlic, cumin, oregano and honey. This is an easy air-fryer chicken recipe with plenty of flavour and a slightly charred finish.
I used Bloodwood honey for this version because I wanted to experiment with a stronger honey against the smoky paprika and spices. You don’t need Bloodwood honey to make it though. Use whatever honey you have at home, or check my Cooking with Honey guide for alternatives.
Smoky Honey Paprika Chicken
Ingredients
- 500 g boneless chicken thigh fillets
- Marinade
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp Bloodwood honey
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Method
- Add the smoked paprika, sweet paprika, cumin, oregano, garlic, honey, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and black pepper to a bowl and mix until combined.
- Add the chicken thigh fillets and coat thoroughly in the marinade.
- Cover and marinate in the fridge for 1–4 hours. If you’re short on time, you can cook it sooner, but giving it some time to marinate will allow the flavours to develop.
- Remove the chicken from the fridge while you preheat the air fryer to 180°C.
- Arrange the chicken thigh fillets in the air-fryer basket in a single layer.
- Air fry at 180°C for 8 minutes.
- Flip the chicken and cook at 180°C for another 6–8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets.
- Increase the temperature to 220–230°C and cook for another 2–3 minutes to caramelise and lightly char the outside. Keep an eye on it during this stage because the honey can darken quickly.
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