Sharing all the tips and tricks How to Reheat Chicken Breast in Air Fryer while keeping it moist and tender without drying out.
Air fryer is amazing not only for cooking our food but also reheating it too!
Have you ever wondered if you can reheat chicken breasts in air fryer without drying them out?! The answer is “yes” and it’s actually the best way!
And air fryer is perfect for reheating and making almost any kind food crispy, warm or cheesy again. Think pizza, croissant, steak, roasted vegetables and especially chicken breast.
Lean meat like chicken breast or turkey breast can be tricky to reheat because it can easily dry out. Not with an air fryer!
Air fryer is basically a mini convection oven, where hot air circulates evenly around the chicken breast within short amount of time, reheating it without drying it out.
What Chicken Breast Recipes Can You Reheat?
You can reheat any type of cooked chicken breast in the air fryer! Not only the one you cooked in air fryer in the first place. Recipes like:
- Air fryer chicken breast
- Air fryer frozen chicken breast
- Baked chicken breast
- Stuffed chicken breast
- Grilled chicken breast
- Instant Pot chicken breast
How to Reheat Chicken Breast in Air Fryer
Here is how to reheat chicken breasts in air fryer and keeping them moist and tender rather than dry and rubbery. There is also full recipe card below for quick reference and printing.
Preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees F. It takes 4 minutes with my large basket air fryer.
You do not want to place your cooked meat into cold air fryer because cooking time will be longer and it will have more chances of drying out.
Place leftover chicken breasts in the air fryer basket. No need to spray the basket or breasts with cooking spray. It is important though to arrange them in a single layer and not stacked on top of each other.
Then cook for about 5 minutes until warmed thoroughly.
Check if your chicken breast is warm enough. Just insert an internal read thermometer into the center of the chicken breast and your food is warm when it reads 165 degrees F. Once again, it’s the magic number with proteins.
Another nice thing about reheating in a small appliance versus big oven is that you can always open the basket and check on the meat.
Remove from the air fryer and enjoy!
Air Fryer Tip
I have this large Cosori air fryer. Its square basket allows me to cook or reheat 3 to 4 chicken breasts at a time for our family of four.
How Long to Reheat Chicken Breast in Air Fryer?
Reheating time depends mostly on the size of your chicken breasts and type of air fryer you own. Small basket air fryer may take less time to preheat and reheat the meat versus the air fryer with a large basket like mine.
Here is a general guideline:
- Small-medium cooked chicken breasts – 4-5 minutes.
- Large-extra large cooked chicken breasts – 5-6 minutes.
The rule of thumb is to open the basket and check on the meat at 4 minute mark.
Helpful Tips
- Add the sauce: Coating the outside is also a great way to lock in the moisture inside. Brush your favorite low sugar barbecue sauce after first 3 minutes of cooking time. It will not only keep the chicken breast juicy but also add extra flavor too.
- Don’t overlap the food: While it might be tempting to reheat a large amount of chicken leftovers at same time, let’s say like chicken wings, try not to do that. For best results, it is important to allow hot air to circulate in the basket of air fryer to reheat tender chicken evenly.
- Don’t cover it or add liquid: While it is recommended to add a splash of water or cover with aluminum foil when reheating chicken in the oven or microwave, it is not necessary in the air fryer.
- Bone-in vs. boneless chicken breasts: Air frying time is the same. Since they are already cooked and the bone is quite thin, reheating time is the same for either boneless chicken breasts or bone-in chicken breasts.
- Crispy skin chicken breasts: If you are reheating skin-on chicken breasts, you can cook it for 1-2 minutes longer to crisp up that skin. Skin on chicken breasts have that flexibility since chicken skin acts like “a blanket”.
What to Serve with Reheated Chicken Breasts
- Traditional Greek salad
- Healthier Caesar salad
- Mashed potatoes
- Instant Pot baked potatoes
- Pasta salad with veggies
- Instant pot corn on the cob
- Garlic green beans
FAQs
No, you do not have to allow cooked chicken to come to room temperature but rather it’s important to preheat the air fryer.
While it’s better to reheat thinner foods at 400 degrees F, I recommend to reheat thicker food like chicken breasts at 350 degrees. So it will have enough time to warm through without burning on the outside and staying cold inside.
While you can do it if you wish, it is not necessary. There is actually inner basket with small openings that is sitting in the main basket of the air fryer, allowing the air to circulate on the top and on the bottom of food.
Yes. Cook time will be 2-3 minutes. I would check on cubed chicken after 2 minutes and on sliced meat after 3 minutes.
I do not recommend it. It runs at 160-170 degrees F, it will take about 12 minutes for your chicken breast to warm through, and will likely dry it out.
More How-To Tutorials
How to Reheat Chicken Breast in Air Fryer
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Cooked chicken breast
Instructions
- Preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees F.
- Place leftover chicken breasts in the air fryer basket in a single layer without overlapping each other.
- Air fry for about 5 minutes until warmed thoroughly or until an internal read meat thermometer inserted into the center of the chicken breast reads 165 degrees F.
Notes
- Small-medium cooked chicken breasts – 4-5 minutes.
- Large-extra large cooked chicken breasts – 5-6 minutes.
I am buying an air fryer this week! I will absolutely need these instructions! Thank you for posting
So glad you find it helpful!