These Air Fryer Chicken Wings have crisp, salty skin and a tender, juicy center. They’re tossed with a simple savory spice rub and a surprising ingredient that helps create irresistible crispiness. They take less than 20 minutes to cook, and there’s no marinating time required. You can use this recipe with a variety of sauces to coat or dip the wings.
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Air Fryer Chicken Wings Video
Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings
Cooking Chicken wings in the air fryer is brilliant, and you will make wings way more often if you try this air fryer method. Cooking chicken wings in the air fryer is one of the fastest ways to get crisp skin and juicy meat. Baking powder helps dry the skin without adding flavor, while the circulating hot air makes the wings blistered and crisp. Did I mention this method is super FAST?
The air fryer cook time is three times faster than my Baked Chicken Wings, Baked Buffalo Wings, or Lemon Pepper Wings when cooked in a traditional oven. There’s no need to preheat the air fryer, which saves you prep time and makes this the fastest crispy chicken wings recipe. All you need is your favorite wing sauce for dipping (more on that below).
Ingredients for Air Fryer Chicken Wings
- Chicken Wings – cut into flats and drummettes. I love the big packs of organic chicken wings from Costco.
- Oil – helps the spices stick to the wings and helps with browning.
- Spice Rub – the best and most versatile chicken seasoning, all you need is salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Baking powder – my secret ingredient to make the wings extra crispy because it dries out the chicken skin.
How to Split Chicken Wings
If your chicken wings are sold whole (and they are less expensive this way), you will need to cut them for even crisping. To cut a chicken wing, locate the joint between the wing tip, the middle section (drumette), and the end section (the flat). Use a sharp knife to cut into the joint between these sections to create three pieces. You’ll only use the drumettes and flats. Wing tips don’t have any meat and tend to burn, so save those for chicken stock or discard them.
How to Air Fry Chicken Wings
- Prep Wings – Pat the chicken pieces dry with a paper towel and set into a large bowl. This is the key to extra crispy chicken wings.
- Drizzle with oil and toss to coat.
- Season – In a small bowl, stir together the seasonings and baking powder (if using), then toss the wings to evenly coat.
- Air Fry – Arrange the wings in the air fryer basket in a single layer and air fry right away. You can let them marinate if you’re making them ahead, but there’s no need to pre-marinate chicken wings. Air Fry at 400˚F for 8 minutes, then shake the basket to flip and air fry for another 8-12 minutes. They should be crispy and golden brown when ready.
How Long to Cook Chicken Wings in the Air Fryer
Air fry chicken wings at 400˚F for 16 to 20 minutes, flipping or shaking the basket halfway through. Smaller wings may be done closer to 16 minutes, while larger wings may need the full 20 minutes. The wings are ready when the skin is crisp and golden, and the thickest part of the chicken reaches at least 165˚F on an instant-read thermometer. If you let them reach 175˚F to 185˚F, they will have even more flavor and texture.
Tips for the Best Air Fryer Wings
- Pat dry to remove excess moisture, so the skins get crisp instead of steaming.
- Let Air Circulate – leave some space between the wings and air fry in a single layer for optimal crispiness on all sides.
- Use a little baking powder – for extra crispy wings, about 1 tsp per pound of wings helps dry out and blister the skin for an extra golden and crispy skin. I also did this with my crispy Baked Chicken Wings.
- Sauce after cooking: wait until the wings are cooked to add any sauce. If you add sauce too early, the wings lose crispiness.
What to Serve with Air-Fried Chicken Wings
I love serving this restaurant style. My husband used to work at a Chilis restaurant, and they served their wings tossed in Buffalo Chicken Wing Sauce paired with fresh celery and blue cheese dressing – classic! They also pair really well with these dips and sides:
- Ranch Dressing or Avocado Ranch
- Veggie Dip
- Potato Wedges
- Air Fryer French Fries
- Coleslaw or Caesar Salad
- Corn on the Cob
- Baked Potatoes
We love crispy chicken like my Chicken Schnitzel, Popcorn Chicken or General Tso’s Chicken, but the air fryer is our new best friend for chicken wings because it’s so much faster, requires less oil, and is memorably crispy!
Air Fryer Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken wings, split into flats and drummettes*
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, or add to taste*
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp baking powder, optional (do not use baking soda)
Instructions
- Thoroughly pat dry chicken wings with paper towels and place in a mixing bowl.
- Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat.
- Season – In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, paprika, garlic and onion powder, and baking powder (if using), then sprinkle over the chicken and toss to evenly coat wings with seasoning.
- Air Fry – Place in air frying basket, spacing evenly, and air fry at 400˚F for 16-20 minutes, flipping halfway. Air-fry until chicken wings are crisp and golden brown on the outside. They should reach 165˚F on an instant-read thermometer, and they will taste even better if you let them reach 175˚F to 185˚F.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Easy Air Fryer Recipes
If you’re looking for quick and simple meal ideas, you’ll love these air fryer recipes:
- Air Fryer Salmon
- Crispy Air Fryer Roasted Potatoes
- Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries
- Easy Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
- Air Fried Pork Chops
- Crispy Air Fryer Bacon (my fave method!)
- Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
- Air Fryer Whole Chicken
Hopefully I didn’t just ruin them. Just noticed your ingredients list says 1 tsp garlic salt but then in your written instructions it says 2 tsp so just in reading I did 2 🙁
Hi it’s 1 tsp garlic salt but if you want it a bit more salty you can add more to taste.
I am goingto make these with my new air fryer from pampered chef
I love all your recipes ,you are such a wonderful person,and then I am making your chicken thighs.
OK, I am the queen of wings, (well, in my family, anyway) home alone and craving quick GOOD! wings! You know the wing you never wish to share, with anyone. It took a few extra minute to get them crispy, but these rock! Natasha? GIRL? thank you! These are great! Just like your sheet pan chicken fajitas! Thanks chick! keep the great recipes coming, PLEASE!
Hi Julie! You’re very welcome, so glad you loved the recipe!
Make these all the time, but I do add some garlic powder to the lemon pepper for a little extra flavor. Great recipe.
Could you provide me a good brine recipe that would make the chicken fall off the bone? Thank you!
Hi Brent! Please see my Easiest Turkey Brinerecipe here. You can use this on chicken too.
What brand of Air Fryer would you suggest..I don’t have one and no idea what kind,size etc to buy..Thank you Natasha..
Hello Corinne! You can visit my Amazon Affiliate Shop to see the air fryers that I’m using.
What does one need to do for a covection oven?
Hi Cam! I haven’t tested these in a convection oven, but they will take longer and won’t get as crispy if you’re using convection or air-fry mode in an oven.
Absolutely delicious and super easy clean up. Just trying the air fryer we’ve had for about a year. I’m a fan.
Question and perhaps I missed it. Preheat or not necessary? Did not or totally missed in instructions. Thank you!
Hi Robynne! I do not, but it depends on the air fryer model. Some automatically preheat when turned on and tell you when to add the food. If yours does not, then likely you don’t need to manually preheat it.
Quick, simple and tasty! I bought your recipe book as a result!
Had a little trouble. We are new to air frying, so I used the wire rack, like it shows. But there was so much smoke. What do you suggest?
Hi Delores? A few things I would check, make sure your air fryer and basket is clean. If there is any residue prior cooking in there, it will burn. I would also make sure there is a tray to catch any drippings underneath the basket. If you need to lower the temperature and increasing the baking time to help, you can do that too.
So so simple! Had a bit more than 2x the chicken. Tastes excellent. Could use another 2minutes to the 22. A keeper!
Thank you Natasha ! sprinkling a little Love on your post
These turned out great! We agreed that we liked the naked wings with your seasoning combination better than the ones we sauced! Natasha, I can always depend on your recipes; thank you!
Do you recommend using baking powder. Noticed that in many of the recipes
Hi Pat! You can, like we do in our Buffalo wings recipe.
It came out perfectly!!! I’m 62 but I still learned so much from this blog!
Can this be done with frozen wings or do they need to be thawed?
HI Stephanie, it’s best to thaw the wings first.
I didn’t have lemon pepper, substituted it with lemon juice, lemon zest, and black pepper, instead, and baked it in the oven. It turned out better than what I expected! Pretty tasty, yet minimal and simple to make.
Thank you for sharing that with us.
przepyszne danie, moi domownicy pochłonęli w mgnieniu oka
TRANSLATION: A delicious dish, my household devoured it in the blink of an eye.
I’m so glad your family enjoyed the recipe! Thank you.
Delicious! The best part about your recipes is that besides being delicious, they’re so easy! This one was too easy, much appreciated!