This air fryer chicken wings recipe creates perfectly crispy wings every time!
Chicken wings in the air fryer are just as crispy as deep fried but so much easier to make!
Anytime apps, snacks, or sides are in order, the air fryer gets ‘em on the table in minutes with minimal cleanup!
Crispy Chicken Wings Every Time!
- Enjoy the deep-fried crunch of chicken wings with the convenience of air frying!
- Quick and effortless, air frying skips the mess of deep frying and cooks much faster than oven baked.
- With less oil than frying, crispy chicken wings are a low-carb snack that everyone loves.
- Satisfy a crowd by preparing batches of air-fried chicken wings. Heat all of the batches together for 3 minutes before serving.
Ingredients for Air Fryer wings
This easy recipe is for cooking a basic batch of wings with a light sprinkle of salt and pepper, but there are also ideas for savory seasonings, and tasty dips and sauces, too!
Chicken Wings – Split wings are best in this recipe, where the flat or wingette part is separated from the drumette and the wing tips have been removed and discarded.
You can use either fresh or frozen wings. If using frozen wings, air fry for 5-7 minutes extra cooking time. Check your air fryer manual for recommended settings and cooking times.
Seasonings – These wings are flavored simply with salt and pepper. You can also add other seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, lemon pepper, or ranch dressing mix.
They also pair well with any sauce from buffalo sauce to honey garlic or garlic parmesan.
How to Make Air Fryer Wings
These really are the best air fryer chicken wings. Simple, crispy and juicy tender inside.
- Season the wings in a bowl per the recipe below.
- Place the wings in a single layer in the air fryer basket and cook until crispy, flipping halfway through.
- Cook in batches if needed and reheat all wings in the air fryer for 3 minutes before serving.
Serve wings with carrot and celery sticks and your favorite dipping sauce like blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing.
Seasoning and Sauces for Wings
Use your favorite sauces from buffalo sauce, hot sauce, to honey garlic. Once the wings are cooked, place them in a large bowl and toss them with the sauce.
If you’d like to add seasonings in place of sauce, place the wings in a large bowl and toss them with a few tablespoons of melted butter and the seasonings. The butter will help the seasonings to stick.
Tips for Crispy Wings
- Pat the wings dry before cooking, liquid causes them to steam instead of crisp.
- Gently toss with a touch of oil or spray with nonstick cooking spray, this helps the seasonings stick.
- Shake or flip the wings every 10 minutes to allow all sides to brown evenly.
- Don’t overcrowd the air fryer. If needed, make a few smaller batches and then place them all back into the air fryer for 3 minutes to heat/crisp before serving.
Storing & Reheating
Keep leftover air fryer chicken wings in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. It doesn’t take long to reheat them in the air fryer! Cooked wings can be frozen in a zippered bag and then reheated from frozen in the air fryer.
Sauce 'em Up!
Add your favorite homemade or store bought sauces to the wings. If preferred, skip the sauce and toss them with a bit of butter and seasonings like lemon pepper or everything bagel seasoning.
What’s your favorite way to cook crispy chicken wings? Leave us a comment below!
Air Fryer Chicken Wings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds chicken wings split and tips removed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F.
- Use a paper towel to pat the wings dry.
- In a medium bowl, toss the wings with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- Place the wings in a single layer in the air fryer basket.
- Bake wings 20-22 minutes until skin is crisp, flipping the wings after 10 minutes.
- Remove wings from air fryer and toss with additional salt and pepper or desired sauce.
Notes
- Pat the wings dry before cooking, liquid causes them to steam instead of crisp
- Don’t overcrowd your air fryer. If needed, make a few smaller batches and then place them all back into the air fryer for 3 minutes to heat/crisp before serving.
- If your air fryer is similar to a toaster oven, place a foil-lined pan on the rack under the wings to catch any drippings for easy clean-up.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer, Chicken
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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very good, but not the same as deep fried. Not as crispy, a bit chewy on the skin. Hard to swallow. But very tasty recipe.
I have a convection oven (also considered an air fryer). What temperature do you suggest and how long should I cook them?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Kathryn, but I would follow the recipes as written and make sure to cook the chicken to 165 F! I also have these wonderful oven baked wings that you could try.
What temp, you didn’t say
The temperature is listed in step 1, 400°F for 20-22 minutes happy cooking! :)
The recipe sounds easy enough for wings that are thawed… My question is, when making frozen wings, you can’t pat them dry (cuz, they’re frozen) so, how do you add the baking powder & seasoning? Do you cook them a little bit, then add the ingredients?
This recipe doesn’t call for baking powder. I find the air fryer wings crisp up just as well without it!
Excellent recipe. The only issue why I’ll never air fry wings again is the time it takes to make a plate of wings. My friends & I love wings so eating 25 – 30 wings times 3 or 4 people gets over a 100 wings. Being able to cook 8 wings extra crispy takes 35 minutes. I took roughly 8 hours to make wings. Even just a plate for myself is over an hour and a half. So much easier to order out.
That’s a lot of wings to love Donnie! Glad you enjoyed the recipe. You could try using this same seasoning and make a couple of trays of baked wings instead!
I won’t make chicken wings any other way! Thank you!
Made these and they were so crispy! Had to add paprika for them to start crisping up and cooked them for about 25 mins. But dang they were delicious
Thanks I was looking for Ideas on cooking with my new air fryer
Find more air fryer recipes here Ann!