Delicious Air Fryer Chicken Wings can be cooked from fresh or frozen, with a simple spice rub, then tossed in your favorite wing sauce. They are crispy and only take 5 minutes to prepare.
If you love appetizers, try our Hawaiian Meatballs, Tomato and Basil Bruschetta, Blistered Shishito Peppers, and Bacon Wrapped Dates.
Why I love Air Fryer Wings:
- Faster than the oven: my oven baked wings are amazing, but they can take 30 minutes to an hour to cook and get that great crispy skin. This air fryer chicken wings recipe only takes about 20 minutes.
- Crispy Skin: Like my other air fryer recipes, you end up with a crispy product that’s just as good as if it were truly “fried”, but without the extra calories. Here are all of my air fryer tips, if you need help getting started.
- 5 minute prep!
How to Make Air Fryer Wings:
Dry the wings well with paper towels. This is essential to getting a crispy coating.
Toss with dry spice rub. Combine the salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and baking powder in a small bowl. Sprinkle the seasoning over the wings, tossing to evenly coat.
Air Fry. Arrange wings, skin side up and bake, turning every 5 minutes until wings are crispy and browned (about 15 minutes total). The total cook time will depend on the size of the wings but may take up to 20 minutes.
Toss in sauce. Remove from oven allow to rest for 5 minutes before tossing the air fryer wings in your desired sauce.
For Crispy Wings:
- Pat them dry. As with many other air fryer foods, the trick to crispiness is to ensure you dry them really well before adding seasonings.
- Use (aluminum free) Baking Powder. This is another secret to crispy air fryer chicken wings and will help add that nice brown crispy coating. The red label Rumford brand is aluminum free.
- Single layer. Be sure to lay the wings in a single layer with a little space between. If you have an air fryer that allows for multiple layers, your cook time may need to be increased.
Wing Sauce Suggestions:
- Hot Buffalo sauce (recipe below)
- Honey BBQ sauce
- BBQ sauce
- Ranch
Recipes Variations:
- Baked Chicken Wings.
- Frozen Chicken Wings: Prepare the wings the same and add them, frozen, to the air fryer. Cook for about 10 additional minutes, or until crisp and cooked through.
Serve With:
- Fresh veggies and dip
- Other finger foods or game-day appetizers, like:
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Recipe
Air Fryer Chicken Wings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 pounds chicken wings , halved at joints, wing tips discarded
- 2 Tablespoons baking powder* (aluminum free)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Buffalo Sauce*:
- 1/3 cup Frank's Wings Hot Sauce
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon water
Instructions
- Dry wings well with paper towels. This is essential to getting a crispy coating.
- Season: Combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and baking powder in a small bowl, and then sprinkle seasoning over the wings, tossing to evenly coat.
- Air Fry: Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees. Spray the fry basket with cooking spray. Arrange wings in an even layer, skin side up. Spray the top of the wings with cooking spray and air fry, turning the wings every 5 minutes for about 15 minutes or until crispy. Total cook time will depend on the size of the wings and air fryer but may take up to 20 minutes.
- Sauce: Remove from air fryer allow to rest for 5 minutes before tossing in desired sauce.
- Buffalo wing sauce: In a medium saucepan over medium heat stir together all sauce ingredients. Mix well until sugar has dissolved.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe April 2021. Updated December 2023.
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Good seasoning, and air fryer instructions, but the sauce is WAY too sweet. I used 1/3 the sugar, and it was still too sweet for my taste.
Great in the oven, even better in the air fryer!!
So good! Husband said better than restaurant and he is the cook in the family.
Added garlic powder to the sauce. Yum.
Love hearing this!!
Doesn’t work, coating flakes off.
I tried this recipe and don’t know what I did wrong. I followed the directions to a T and the skin on the wings were tough. I did use my air fryer. I have the emril Lagasse one.
And it was almost like I could taste the baking powder. I used my own sauce but I know it had to do something with the way I cooked them. Any suggestions
I’m not sure what went wrong other than that I would check that you used aluminum free baking powder, and if the wings were tough it may be more due to the quality of the meat purchased, then the cooking method.
Question regarding the amount of light brown sugar. Is that correct
Yes, the amount is correct! If you don’t like sweet wings you can use a different sauce!
Great recipe! Wings were crispy and delicious
This recipe is a great foundation for chicken wings. The wings came out crispy. I used straight wing sauce as I don’t like my wings sweet. I will definitely use this recipe again. Thanks
Wow! You have got to make these wings. Easy recipe and great directions. I set my air fryer to 400 degrees and flipped every 5 minutes for 20 minutes. The wings came out crispy and so flavorful. Its a keeper!
Just made your gumbo. 👍👍👍 it’s delicious. I’m going to follow you totally 💕❤️👍 thank you
THE ABSOLUTE BEST CHICKEN WINGS according to my husband and his buddy watching football this past Saturday! I left some crispy and some I covered in barbeque sauce and broiled in the oven… his buddy even asked for the recipe! Thanks for making this wife look good! 😉
What a game changer! Never would I have thought to do wings in the air fryer, but I am so glad I saw this post. We were looking for any excuse to make wings (although, admittedly, my husband was a little skeptical about making them in the air fryer). They couldn’t have been better! They were cooked perfectly – they had a nice crispy outside and it took half the time of doing them on the grill. Will definitely be making these in the air fryer from now on. Thanks for all the great tips!