Make this crispy, easy Air Fryer Chicken with Sauces, this recipe uses a variety of store-bought sauces to easily sauce up your chicken!
This post is going to show you exactly how you can use store-bought sauces on your Air Fryer Chicken. This is by far the easiest way to make some of the best dinners; however, if you are looking for homemade versions, check out these Asian Air Fryer Chicken Recipes.
I almost always use homemade sauces to mix with our Air Fryer Chicken because it’s the only way I can be certain my sauce is gluten-free; however, today I want to focus on store-bought sauces.
What store-bought sauces can be added to chicken?
I am only highlighting a few of them, but they are easy to find at your local grocery store and come in a variety of brands and flavors. A few brands we regularly see are Panda Express, P.F. Chang’s, Kikkomen, and MORE!
For this post, I will highlight Panda Express Kung Pao Sauce and Panda Express Orange Sauce.
Each of these is easy to find at Walmart or your local Grocery store.
Also, this is not at all a sponsored post, these are simply the two that we picked up, choose your favorites!
How do you prepare Air Fryer Chicken?
The first step is to prepare your chicken in the air fryer.
When we are using this sauce for chicken, we are trying to make bite-size chicken cut into chunks. I prefer to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs because they do not dry out as quickly as chicken breast. This is a personal preference and is totally up to you.
Once you have your chicken cut into chunks, place it in a bowl, add about 1/4 cup of cornstarch, and mix the chicken in the cornstarch. The chicken should be fully coated.
Coat the air fryer basket with grapeseed cooking spray, this is going to be the oil spray. Once the basket is coated, evenly place the chicken in the basket, getting in a single layer as much as possible. It’s important to remember that the chicken pieces will need to be coated with oil spray throughout the cooking time, this is what will make the chicken crispy.
Give it another coat of oil and then cook at 390 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken, when checked with a meat thermometer, reaches at least 165 degrees F.
The cook times will vary based on the air fryer that you use because they all heat differently. That means it’s very important to have a meat thermometer on hand to check the chicken and be sure it’s done.
When the chicken is done, pour the chicken into a large bowl or if you are using a Ninja Foodi, simply pour the chicken into the main pot of the Ninja Foodi and discard the air crisp basket.
How do you use store-bought sauces with Air Fryer Chicken?
With the chicken in a bowl, pour about 1/4 cup sauce of choice right on top of the chicken and mix it up. I always recommend starting with 1/4 up, then add more to taste. This way the chicken is not overpowering.
ANY sauce of choice can be added at this point. We split our chicken in half and coated half of it with Orange Sauce and half of it with Kung Pao Sauce. This worked perfectly for those in our house who prefer tangy over spicy.
How to serve Air Fryer Chicken with Sauces?
The chicken can be coated with sauce and then served over rice with broccoli and additional spices, herbs, or salt and black pepper.
Then, garnish it with green onions or sesame seeds before serving.
How do you store leftover chicken with sauce?
The leftover chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
When you are ready to reheat, place it on a microwave-safe plate and heat for 2-3 minutes, or reheat in the air fryer at 330 degrees F for 2-3 minutes.
Remember that Air Fryer Chicken with Sauce is best served hot and fresh.
Remember to check out these Air Fryer Recipes if you are looking for a Homemade Version!
Air Fryer Honey Garlic Chicken
Each of these recipes will use a variety of pantry ingredients along with a small saucepan to create the homemade sauce.
Enjoy this method of learning how to serve air fryer chicken with sauces!
Air Fryer Chicken with Sauces
Ingredients
Chicken
- 6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs About 1 1/2-2 Pounds
- 1/2 Cup Cornstarch
- Grapeseed Oil Spray
Sauce
- 1/4 Cup Store-Bought Sauce Panda Express or P.F. Chang's Sauces
Optional
- Green Onions
- Cooked Rice
- Cooked Broccoli
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into cubed chunks, then toss in a bowl with Cornstarch or Potato Starch. Use enough to coat the chicken evenly.
- Coat the basket of the air fryer with grapeseed oil spray, then place the chicken evenly into the air fryer basket. Coat the chicken again with additional spray. Cook at 390°F for 7 minutes, then stir or mix up the chicken, add more grapeseed oil spray, and continue cooking for about 6-8 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches at least 165°F.
- Once the chicken is done, carefully move it to a glass or ceramic bowl or if using a Ninja Foodi Multi-Cooker, pour it into the main pot of the Ninja Foodi.
- Add about 1/4 cup of sauce and mix it to fully coat the chicken, add additional sauce if needed.
- Serve over cooked rice with broccoli and top with green onions.
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