These Air Fryer Chicken Wings have crisp salty skin with a hint of garlic and lemon pepper in every bite. These are seasoned to perfection and cook so fast with no marinating required!
We love crispy baked chicken like my Mom’s famous Chicken Drumsticks these Garlic Dijon Baked Chicken Legs or baked Honey Glazed Chicken but the air fryer is our new best friend for chicken because it’s so much faster and memorably crispy!
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Air Fryer Chicken Wings Recipe:
Chicken wings in the air fryer is brilliant and you will be making chicken way more often if you try them in the air fryer. The forced circulating hot air makes the skin super crisp which is difficult to achieve in a conventional oven and the center is perfectly cooked, tender and juicy.
Air fried chicken wings cook time is just 16 minutes (3 times faster than a traditional oven). There’s no need to preheat an air fryer which makes this the fastest crispy chicken wings recipe.
Can I Double the Recipe?
For all-around crispy chicken wings, it’s best to keep the wings in a single layer. If you have a larger air fryer like our Cuisinart model, you can double everything. When doubling, air fry for 18-22 minutes, or until the skin is crisp, flipping the wings half way. Bake time will vary based on the surface area of your air fryer basket.
What is the Best Air Fryer?
There are 2 very different styles of air fryers. The first type is a toaster oven style with a little oven door like this Cuisinart model that we have, this Cosori model that my sister has, or this fancy one by Breville.
The second type is a slide-in drawer/basket type like the Phillips air fryer, Gourmia or Nuwave brands. We prefer the Cuisinart toaster oven style air fryer because it can accommodate more food and serves a variety of functions. It replaced our old toaster oven because it air fries, bakes, broils and toasts.
Can I Bake these in a traditional oven?
It takes significantly longer to achieve crispy chicken wings in the oven. To bake these chicken wings in a conventional oven, preheat oven to 400˚F and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until crispy, flipping the wings after 30 minutes.
How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Wings:
The dry rub for these chicken wings is so simple with our go-to spices for baked, sautéed or air fried chicken. All you need is garlic salt and lemon pepper.
Toss the wings in a little oil and the 2 seasonings, arrange them on the basket and bake right away. You can let them marinate if you prefer but there’s no need to pre-marinate.
These Air Fried Chicken Wings have a crisp salty skin with a tender center. Pair them with fresh celery and avocado ranch to dip and let the snacking begin!
Air Fryer Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken wings, split into flats and drummettes
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp garlic salt
- 1 tsp lemon pepper
Instructions
- Thoroughly pat dry chicken wings with paper towels and place in a mixing bowl.
- Coat in 1 Tbsp oil then sprinkle on 2 tsp garlic salt and 1 tsp lemon pepper. Toss to evenly coat with seasoning.
- Place on air frying basket, spacing evenly and air fry at 400˚F for 8 minutes per side, or a total of 16 minutes, or until chicken wings are crisp and golden brown on the outside.
Notes
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Way too salty. Will use recipe again but cut the garlic salt in half.
I’m sorry to hear that, Patricia! You can definitely use less but we found that 2tsp was not too much. Did you use any dipping sauce with them that could have been too salty?
Love this recipe. My go to for chicken wings night at home
So happy to hear that you enjoy this, Jessica! Thank you for the feedback.
Mine are anemic. Flavor is wonderful. Added a total of 10 minutes, but they are not golden or crispy.
Hi Irene. Are you using the convection setting on a large oven? If so, they will take longer and won’t crisp up quite as much. I used a small countertop convection oven. Some convection ovens may also need to preheat.
If I were to add cornstarch to this recipe how much should I add??
Hi Karin! I don’t use cornstarch in this recipe so I don’t have those instructions. You could toss the wings in cornstarch until completely coated.
A rub of baking powder produces great results!
Thanks Nat the wings are great as usual. Love your recipes for sure.
Great to hear, Seth!
Hi Natasha, can I use this recipe for a whole chicken?
Hi Lizette, I haven’t tried this specific recipe for a whole chicken to advise, but I do have a few recipes for whole chickens that you can either bake – Whole Roasted Chicken or cook in your instant pot – Instant Pot Whole Chicken.
Love this air fry recipe…added a few spices and even made a sweet and spicy sauce to coat them in
Made such a mess of the whole toaster/air fryer
You can try to apply a sheet of parchment paper on top to help catch splatter.
Any hints on changes to make if you are using an induction oven with a built in air fryer? I have a new oven, and no counter space for an air fryer, but my oven has an air fryer feature. I want to give this a try but just curious if you have any suggested adjustments to make if using an oven vs a countertop air fryer appliance. Thanks
Hi Polly! They won’t get as crisp in an oven with air fryer mode and may need to be baked for longer since the internal area of the oven is a lot larger than a counter top air fryer.
Good recipe and I loved the flavor. Unfortunately mine didn’t not get crispy without overcooks (they were at 180f). Next time I’ll add 2 tsp baking powder to get them crispy as one food scientist says “sodium bicarbonate reacts with moisture on the chicken—tiny carbon dioxide bubbles form, which dries and hardens. The result is crackly chicken skin.”
How do you keep the wings from getting grease all over air fryer when using wire basket?
Hi Pam, you can try to apply a sheet of parchment paper on top to help catch splatter.
Wouldn’t the paper be free to fly all around and catch on the heating element (mine is on top)?
Hi Coni! Yes, it could. If you have ceramic pie weights, these can help hold the edges down.
The best English muffin recipe I’ve tried yet!! So airy and fluffy! Could I use a sourdough leavening instead of the yeast?
Thanks, Ericka! I have not tested that version yet to advise. We’d love to know how it goes if you give that a try!
These are the best chicken wings ever. I followed your recipe exactly and perfect crispy wings.❤️
That’s wonderful to hear!
Can we cook the chicken wings on 2 shelves of the airfryer cooker?
If there is enough room for air to circulate without overcrowding the air fryer, if it’s overcrowded, they will not get as crisp and will need to stay in longer.
Can I use pepper and lemon grated rind. I don’t have lemon pepper.
Hi Mary, technically yes but it does take a little time to re-create that seasoning from scratch. Here’s a recipe for Homemade Lemon Pepper that you can reference to get an idea of how to make it.
My family love it! I don’t have lemon pepper seasoning so I used lemon juice and ground black pepper instead. It turned out delicious! Thanks Natasha for sharing this recipe.
Glad you all enjoyed this!