Air Fryer Chicken Breasts for Meal Prep
Air fryer chicken breasts are perfect for batch cooking for easy meal prep. Store them in the fridge or freeze chicken packets for easy dinners later.
Having bags of pre-cooked chicken in my freezer or fridge is one of my favorite busy family dinner time-saving hacks.
When I spot a package of chicken breasts on sale at the grocery, I stock up to make these tender and juicy air fryer chicken breasts for my meal prep bags.
You can use chicken breasts or even my air fryer chicken tenderloins to add a bit of protein to a dinner salad, a quick soup, or even top a homemade pizza in minutes.
Why This is the Best Recipe
I often keep bags of shredded rotisserie chicken in my freezer but this is the best air fryer chicken breasts recipe because:
- Control the Seasoning: Especially if you don't like rotisserie chicken seasoning, you can cook chicken with just the right spice mix for your meals.
- Tender Chunks: If texture matters to you and you don't want shredded chicken, air fryer chicken cooks up crispy on the outside and so tender and juicy on the inside. Cut it into cubes/chunks or even slice it for larger bites of chicken in your final dish.
- Easy to Scale and Freeze: Cook just 1 - 2 chicken breasts or buy the whole darn family sized pack when it goes on sale. You can easily adjust this recipe to make a big batch meal prep in minutes and freeze single-portion chicken packets.
Ingredients
All you need is 3 easy ingredients:
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts: I prepped just 2 breasts to make chicken pizza toppings but when chicken breasts go on sale I like to make a bigger pan for the freezer.
- Olive Oil
- Seasoning: There are several different ways you could season the chicken. See my notes below.
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How to Season the Chicken
Chicken is such a popular main dish protein because it pairs well with all kinds of delicious seasonings and sauces.
When I bake chicken breasts for meal prep, I tend to keep things a little more neutral so that the chicken will pair well in any casserole, salad, pasta, or pizza topping I want to use it for.
Here are my favorite suggestions:
- Garlic salt and black pepper
- Seasoned salt: Your favorite brand or you can make my homemade seasoned salt recipe.
- Lemon pepper
- Italian herb blend: This versatile blend includes a mix of oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, and marjoram.
- Mediterranean herb blend: My favorite prepared season blend includes a mix of rosemary, garlic, lemon peel, dill, fennel, sage, marjoram
Air Fryer Cooking Instructions
Preheat your air fryer to 400°F.
Toss the chicken in a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle your seasoning over the top.
You'll want to cook the chicken in single layers so with smaller air fryers you may need to work in batches.
Air fry the chicken for 7 minutes.
Turn the chicken over and continue to cook for 4 - 8 minutes or until the chicken registers 165°F at the thickest part of the meat.
NOTE: Since this chicken breast recipe is intended for meal prep where you will likely be cooking the chicken a second time as part of a casserole or pizza topping, I cook the chicken to the lowest safe temperature possible. This helps ensure your chicken isn't dry in the final dish.
However, if you plan to eat the chicken right away for a main dish or use it on top of a cold dish like a salad, you may want to cook it to 170° - 175°.
Serving Suggestions
Let the cooked chicken rest for a minute or two before you slice it. This lets the juices redistribute throughout the meat and keeps your chicken nice and juicy.
You can slice the chicken or cut it into cubes depending on what dish you plan to serve it with.
Cooked chicken is the perfect shortcut when you need a topping for a homemade pizza like my chicken pesto pizza or to add protein to a salad like my strawberry feta salad.
When you have packets of cooked chicken stashed in the freezer, you're just minutes away from making a chicken casserole like my chicken wild rice casserole or stirring it into a homemade chicken soup like my chicken pot pie soup.
Pretty much, any one of these shredded chicken recipes would work with chunks of air fryer chicken breast instead.
Make Ahead and Freeze
You can prep the cooked chicken up to 5 days in advance of eating it. This means it makes an excellent item for meal prep lunches or dinners you plan to store in the fridge.
If you want to keep it even longer, divide the cooked chicken into individual servings and bundle them up in freezer bags.
Mark the date on the bag and nest the smaller bags in one larger bag to keep your freezer organized.
How to Use Frozen Chicken Breasts
You can thaw the frozen chicken overnight in the fridge or just use it directly from frozen if you plan to cook the final dish.
For example, if I were going to use the chicken in my lighter chicken pot pie, I would just grab a bag from the freezer and let it warm through in the pot pie filling sauce.
However, if I wanted to use it on top of my quick garden salad for protein, I'd thaw it in the fridge the night before.
More Air Fryer Chicken Recipes
Once you know how to cook chicken breasts in the air fryer, you'll be eyeing up that handy appliance for all kinds of quick family dinners. Here are a few more of my favorite recipes:
📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 drizzle olive oil about 1/2 tablespoon
- 1 teaspoon seasoning see notes
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts on a plate or in a small mixing bowl. Drizzle the olive oil the top and turn the chicken with a fork to coat both sides in oil. Sprinkle your seasoning over the top and turn the chicken over again to make sure both sides are coated in seasoning.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F.
- Cook the chicken breasts in a single layer for 7 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook for an additional 4 - 8 minutes or until the thickest part of the chicken registers 165°F with an instant probe thermometer. The final cook time will depend on the thickness of your chicken pieces and could be affected by the size of your air fryer.
- NOTE: Since this chicken breast recipe is intended for meal prep where you will likely be cooking the chicken a second time as part of a casserole or pizza topping, I cook the chicken to the lowest safe temperature possible. This helps ensure your chicken isn't dry in the final dish. However, if you plan to eat the chicken right away for a main dish or use it on top of a cold dish like a salad, you may want to cook it to 170° - 175°.
Recipe Notes
Best Seasoning for Chicken Breasts:
Chicken is such a popular main dish protein because it pairs well with all kinds of delicious seasonings and sauces. When I bake chicken breasts for meal prep, I tend to keep things a little more neutral so that the chicken will pair well in any casserole, salad, pasta, or pizza topping I want to use it for. Here are my favorite suggestions:- Garlic salt and black pepper
- Seasoned salt
- Lemon pepper
- Italian herb blend (mix of oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, and marjoram)
- Mediterranean herb blend (mix of rosemary, garlic, lemon peel, dill, fennel, sage, marjoram
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