Ninja Foodi Firecracker Chicken Thighs

This sweet and spicy spin on Ninja Foodi chicken thighs is one of the easiest ways to prepare chicken in bulk. Just whisk up a simple firecracker sauce, pour over boneless skinless chicken thighs, turn on the Foodi’s slow cooker function, and walk away. You’ll have fall-apart tender chicken in a rich, flavorful broth in a few hours.

Ingredients for Firecracker Chicken Thighs

It doesn’t get much easier than this. You only need two things—boneless skinless chicken thighs (or breasts) and a firecracker sauce.

Firecracker Sauce

• Brown Sugar – or a sugar free substitute like the Swerve Brown Sugar from my firecracker ground chicken or firecracker meatballs
• Buffalo Sauce – I use Frank’s RedHot
• Rice Vinegar
• Ground Ginger
• Granulated Garlic or Garlic Powder
• Salt and Pepper
• Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

You can experiment with things like freshly minced ginger and garlic, different types of vinegar, and adding a bit more heat via dried chiles or hot sauces.

How to Cook Chicken Thighs in a Ninja Foodi

You can cook two pounds of chicken thighs using the Ninja Foodi’s slow cooker function in about two hours on high or three to four hours on low. The chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165ºF.

You can also speed things up by pressure cooking in the Ninja Foodi for about 10 minutes with high pressure like my chili coconut pulled chicken.

Another optional way to add an extra layer of flavor is using the sauté function on the Ninja Foodi to sear the chicken before adding the firecracker sauce and slow cooking or pressure cooking. See my Mexican shredded chicken recipe for an example of this.

Once your chicken thighs are fully cooked, you can shred with forks or chop with a knife before adding back to the sauce. The sauce will be a bit broth-like with the water that cooks off the chicken.

If you’d like to thicken the sauce, you can use the sauté function on the Ninja Foodi for 5-10 minutes to reduce it while you shred the chicken. You can also use a 2:1 corn starch to water slurry like in my Ninja Foodi pot roast to speed this process up.

Ways to Serve Firecracker Pulled Chicken

I like to keep things simple with rice and a garnish of scallions, black sesame seeds, and chili crisp. The rice soaks up the extra broth in the most wonderful way. Check out my slow cooker Korean chicken bowls for more pairings like pickled veggies and a creamy kimchi sauce. They also use my low cal rice blend that could add volume to your rice bowls here.

If you’re planning to thicken the remaining sauce, you might want to use your firecracker chicken thighs for something like my bang bang chicken wonton cups or recipes like shredded chicken banh mi or Chinese BBQ chicken sliders. Or to keep things lightened up, you could serve in lettuce wraps or on a sesame vinaigrette dressed salad.

However you end up serving your firecracker chicken, I’d love to hear about it. Let me know in a comment or recipe review. I hope you enjoy it! And be sure to check out all my Ninja Foodi recipes if you’re looking for more ideas.