Air Fryer Chicken Wings

Quick and easy Air Fryer Chicken Wings come together in less than 30 minutes. Serve them for wing night, game day or weeknight dinner!

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Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings recipe

A big platter of chicken wings served with veggies and an array of sauces is the pinnacle of party food, if you ask me.

Brushed with barbecue sauce, these homemade chicken wings are made in the air fryer, and they take just 30 minutes to get crisped to perfection. That makes them way healthier than deep-fried wings.

Dip them in your favorite dipping sauce or eat them plain — there are no rules when it comes to chicken wings!

Bonus: Chicken wings make a great weeknight dinner or dish for a backyard barbecue.

More bar snack recipes: Popcorn Shrimp • Fried Pickles • Beer Cheese Dip • Steak Nachos

Why you’ll love this recipe

Chicken wings in the air fryer are going to be your new favorite recipe, for a few reasons:

• The air fryer is a great way to make chicken wings! The cooking time for this easy recipe is less than 30 minutes.
• You only need five ingredients to make these delicious chicken wings.
• People at parties can really chow down on some wings! They’re the perfect appetizer.
• Wings make a great pub-style dinner at home or dish for a barbecue, too.

Serve them up for a Super Bowl party, March Madness watch parties or any time you get the craving for extra crispy wings!

You can mix them up with your favorite rubs and sauces, too. These hot honey lemon pepper chicken wings are an especially great spin.

Ingredients

This recipe calls for just a handful of ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need to grab at the grocery store to make these homemade chicken wings.

• frozen chicken wings: You’ll need about 1.5 lbs., which is about 16 wings.
• olive oil: I prefer extra virgin olive oil, but you can use any neutral-tasting oil like avocado oil.
• kosher salt: Sea salt works too, but don’t use table salt. (The iodine in it makes it taste too salty.)
• black pepper: Freshly cracked is the most flavorful.
• barbecue sauce: You can omit this or use other sauces. See some options below in the Variations and Substitutions section.

Variations and substitutions

Make them sugar-free. You can buy sugar-free barbecue sauce at the grocery store, or make your own.

Change up the flavors. You can brush them with your favorite wing sauce or use a rub. This recipe calls for barbecue sauce, but serving a few flavors is fun.

• Lemon pepper wings: Rub them with salt and lemon pepper before cooking.
• Air fryer buffalo wings: Brush them with buffalo sauce (mild, medium or hot — up to you!).
• Honey garlic wings: Toss them with sweet honey garlic sauce.
• Sweet and spicy wings: Brush them with sweet chili sauce.
• Teriyaki wings: Cover them in teriyaki sauce.
• Garlic parmesan: Sprinkle on grated parmesan cheese and garlic powder or garlic salt.

How to make frozen chicken wings in the air fryer

Making chicken wings from frozen in the air fryer is so easy! Here’s what to do:

Let the frozen wings sit out for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until you can easily break apart the ones stuck together.

Place wings in a large bowl, season with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Stir to coat wings, or use your hands (just make sure to wash them well after!). The olive oil is what provides that extra crispy skin.

Add wings to the basket of your air fryer in a single layer. Air fry at 400°F (205°C) for 15 minutes, flip, then air fry again for 8 more minutes.

The wings should be 165°F (74°C) — if they need more time, cook in 2 minute increments.

Place them in a large bowl and add the barbecue sauce. Toss to coat — I use tongs for this, and then a brush to get into the nooks and crannies.

Store leftover cooked wings in an airtight, food-safe container for up to 5 days.

Boneless wings in the air fryer

Prefer to make frozen boneless chicken wings in the air fryer? You totally can! Since they don’t contain bones, they don’t need to cook as long as bone-in wings.

Season them as written in the recipe card below. Place them in an even layer in the air fryer basket.

Cook for 6 minutes, until the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C). Then remove the boneless wings from the air fryer and brush on your favorite sauce.

Tips & tricks

For the crispiest wings, don’t overcrowd the air fryer basket. Air fryer wings need that hot air to circulate around them, so when they are packed into the basket, there’s no room for the air to move around and crisp them up.

Keep in mind that cook times may vary depending on the type of air fryer you have.

Use an instant read meat thermometer to verify that the chicken is 165°F (74°C).

Need to make a big batch of these juicy chicken wings? Feel free to double the recipe, but you’ll need to work in batches. (Or ask a friend to bring over their air fryer to help.) Keep them warm on a baking sheet in a 200°F oven. Brush them with the sauce just before serving.

Dipping sauces for chicken wings

Chicken wings go with so many dipping sauces! Here are some ideas to try:

• ranch dressing (or variations like buffalo ranch, buttermilk ranch or jalapeño ranch)
• blue cheese dressing
• honey mustard
• hot honey
• Bang Bang sauce
• cheese sauce
• garlic dip
• aioli
• Alabama white sauce
• soy sauce
• pesto
• sweet chili sauce
• Chick-Fil-A sauce
• Blooming Onion sauce
• Comeback sauce
• Yum Yum sauce
• BBQ sauce
• hot sauce

If that’s not enough ideas, my friend Jennifer has a huge list of chicken wing dipping sauces with even more ideas. I’d love to know: What is your perfect combination?

What to serve with chicken wings

In addition to your favorite sauces, chicken wings go with so many things.

If serving them as an appetizer, try them with other savory snacks like a charcuterie board, dips like pizza dip or finger foods like cheddar popcorn.

You’re going to want to cut up some veggies to serve on the side, too. They’re a great healthy snack to dip in the sauces, too. Try serving a few options, such as:

• celery sticks
• carrot sticks
• red pepper slices
• cauliflower florets
• broccoli florets

You can even air fry some of the veggies, like breaded cauliflower in the air fryer. This is a great option for vegetarian folks!

If you’re serving chicken wings for dinner, you can make it a complete meal with some broccoli and a baked potato.

For a barbecue, serve with classic salad sides like melon salad, potato salad red cabbage slaw and pasta salad. Other sides could be green beans, mac & cheese and cathead biscuits.

And we can’t forget the drinks! Serve them with your favorite beer, or better yet — a beer cocktail! Try Beer Margaritas, Micheladas or Beer Mimosas.

Not a beer fan? Serve with mojitos or margaritas.

When to serve chicken wings

You can serve these crispy chicken wings for just about any occasion!

• Football parties and tailgates
• March Madness parties
• Summer cookouts
• Baby showers and wedding showers
• Weeknight dinners

Honestly, any time you feel like eating chicken wings is a good time to make this recipe.

FAQ

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