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 and Smoked Chicken Wings).

Chicken wings covered with buffalo sauce

We’re such huge fans of chicken wings we’ve shared quite a few chicken wing recipes over the year, including Mango Habanero Chicken Wings, Honey Lemon Pepper Wings, 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 sauce.

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.

Chicken wings on an air fryer basket

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.

Air Fryer Chicken Wings 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.

More Air Fryer Recipes

Air Fryer Baby Potatoes
Air Fryer Mushrooms
Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings
Air Fryer Pizza Rolls

Plate of Air Fried Chicken Wings with ranch and celery stick

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. 
4.91 from 11 votes
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Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 4 People
Calories: 375kcal
Author: Darcey Olson
Cost: $7.00

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 2 Lbs Chicken Wings ((*Note 1))
  • 1 Tbsp Baking Powder ((*Note 2))
  • ¼ Cup Unsalted Butter
  • ½ 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.

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
Tried this recipe?Mention @foodieandwine or tag #foodieandwine!

Join the Conversation

  1. Tossing wings in corn starch also makes them crispy.

  2. 5 stars
    These come out amazing! Creates really nice crispy wings for any sauce.

  3. 5 stars
    Just made them. The baking soda technique was amazing for getting them crispy. I just mixed my dry rub with the baking powder and dusted them with that. Perfect!

  4. Which is it?! You say baking soda up top and baking powder in the recipe

    1. Sorry about that! It should read baking powder.

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