The BEST Air Fryer Chicken Wings

This is the BEST Air Fryer chicken wings recipe. With extra crispy skins, juicy meat and flavorful buffalo sauce, these air fryer buffalo chicken wings rival restaurant quality. Using an Air Fryer omits the unhealthy oil and takes just 30 minutes and 5 ingredients.

Why are Air Fryer Chicken Wings better than traditionally cooked chicken wings? Three reasons: No unhealthy oil from deep frying, reduced cooking time and the forced circulating hot air creates a super crispy skin while maintaining a tender and juicy center. And who doesn’t love all-things-Buffalo and Air Fryer Recipes? (See our other favorite buffalo chicken recipe- Buffalo Chicken Meatballs).

In the market for a new Air Fryer? Amazon has a ton on sale, including our favorite the Ninja Foodie Digital Fry.

We’re such huge fans of chicken wings we’ve shared quite a few chicken wing recipes over the year, including Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings, Spicy Orange Grilled Chicken Wings and Sticky Asian Oven Baked Chicken Wings

How To Cook Chicken Wings In The Air Fryer

Making chicken wings in the air fryer is super simple and requires only 5 quick steps: After patting dry the chicken wings, toss the wings with baking powder (optional) and salt (to taste). Spray the air fryer basket with oil and arrange the wings in a single layer. Cook at 360 degrees for 12 minutes before flipping and cooking for another 12 minutes. To get extra crispy skin, flip them one last time and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove from the oven and toss with butter and Frank’s Hot Sauce. Serve with ranch or blue cheese.

Can You Air Fry Frozen Chicken Wings?

Forgot to defrost your chicken wings? You can absolutely air fry frozen chicken wings. Just lay the wings in the basket and cook at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes, turning the wings every 6-7 minutes.

Can I Stack Chicken Wings In The Air Fryer?

You can, but the skin that isn’t exposed won’t be crispy. And who wants to eat chicken wings with soggy skin? Hard. Pass.

Air Fryer Whole Chicken Wings

Yes! You can use the exact same recipe below using whole chicken wings vs the parts. No changes are needed to the ingredient list or timing.

Chicken Wings Recipe Tips

Why baking powder? Baking powder raises the PH level of the chicken wings to create a super crispy skin like you find in restaurants. You can fore-go the baking powder, if you like. It’s not mandatory but really helps the final product.

Want to make BBQ Chicken Wings vs Buffalo Chicken Wings? Replace the butter and Frank’s Hot Sauce with our BBQ Rub and your favorite BBQ Sauce. I use this Homemade Barbecue Sauce when looking to mix it up.

Looking for an Easy Keto Chicken Wings recipe? This recipe is it. No ingredient changes are required.

Mix it up by coating it with our Creole Seasoning, Jamaican Jerk Seasoning or Prime Rib Rub vs Buffalo sauce.

HERE ARE MORE RECIPES IN THE AIR FRYER:

Air Fryer Baby Potatoes

Air Fryer Mushrooms

Air Fryer Chicken Wings

Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings

Air Fryer Pizza Rolls

Air Fryer Tater Tots

Air Fried Frozen French Fries

Frozen Burrito in The Air Fryer

Print Recipe

4.84 from 6 votes

The BEST Air Fryer Chicken Wings

This is the BEST Air Fryer Chicken Wings Recipe. With extra crispy skins, juicy meat and flavorful buffalo sauce, these chicken wings rival restaurant quality. Using an Air Fryer omits the unhealthy oil and takes half the time of a traditional oven to bake. 

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time35 mins

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Air Fryer, Game Day Appetizer

Servings: 4 People

Calories: 375kcal

Author: Darcey Olson

Cost: $7.00

Ingredients

• 2 Lbs Chicken Wings (*Note 1)
• 1 Tbsp Baking Powder (*Note 2)
• 1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter
• 1/2 Cup Frank's Hot Sauce
• Salt (to taste)
• Ranch or Blue Cheese Dressing

Instructions

• Pat the chicken wings dry with a paper towel.
• Add the chicken wings, baking powder and salt (to taste) to a large bowl and toss to coat.
• Liberally spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray. Transfer the wings to the air fryer basket and arrange in a single layer (they should not touch). Set the air fryer to 360 degrees and cook for 12 minutes. Flip the wings and cook for another 12 minutes. Flip the wings one last time and cook for 5 more minutes to crisp the skins (*Note 3).
• Add the butter to a microwave-safe bowl and cook until melted (approx. 30-45 sec). Remove from the microwave and whisk in the Frank's hot sauce.
• Add the cooked wings and hot sauce mixture to a large bowl and toss to coat. Serve immediately with your preferred dressing.

EQUIPMENT

Air Fryer

Notes

Note 1: Chicken Wings- I prefer using split chicken wings vs whole. You can purchase them pre-cut (my preference) or cut the whole wings yourself. Just make sure to discard the wing tips.

Note 2 -Why baking powder? Baking powder raises the PH level of the chicken wings to create a super crispy skin like you find in restaurants. You can fore-go the baking powder, if you like. It’s not mandatory but really helps the final product.

Note 3- The last turn of the wings is to further crisp the skin vs cooking. If you're short on time, feel free to remove after the initial cook time.

Note 4 - Ranch and Blue Cheese dipping sauce isn't included in the nutritional calculations.

Nutrition

Calories: 375kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 125mg | Sodium: 1329mg | Potassium: 191mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 535IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 194mg | Iron: 1mg