Air Fryer Chicken Wings That Are PERFECTLY Crispy | Works With Fresh or Frozen Chicken Wings

These air fryer chicken wings are super crispy, but still incredibly juicy. And you can use fresh or frozen chicken wings and end up with spectacular results - more on that later. Plus, along with showing you how to make chicken wings in the air fryer, I'm also going to show you how to make some mouthwatering sauces to put on 'em as well.

THE BEST AIR FRYER CHICKEN WINGS

Ok, if you're having people over for a football game, party, or just a weeknight dinner these air fryer chicken wings are one of the best things you can make!

Seriously, in just about 30 minutes you can have top-quality homemade chicken wings that'll taste just as good - or better - than anything you'll get at a restaurant. That is, of course, unless you're in Buffalo, and ordering wings from Duff's Famous Wings.

There's always an exception to the rule, right?

Now, some of you don't know this - probably most of you actually - but my dad is the owner of Duff's - one of the world's oldest chicken wing restaurants. So, I guess I may be a little biased, but I think they're the best true authentic Buffalo wings you can get anywhere.

If you're ever in the Buffalo area, you'll have to try them for yourself and see what I mean.

But for now, making these chicken wings in the air fryer is going to be as close to Duff's wings as you can get. They are incredibly crispy, have an ideal crunchiness, and are just so darn juicy too.

Plus, as I mentioned earlier I'll show you how to make 3 of my favorite sauces - authentic  Buffalo wings, BBQ wings, or garlic parmesan wings. 

If you're making these air fryer wings for a football game or party, you should definitely make a batch of all three flavors, so there's something for everyone! And this is seriously one of the best chicken wings recipes you'll ever make, so you can't go wrong with whatever flavor you choose.

INGREDIENTS 

A great thing about this air fryer chicken wings recipe is you'll only need 1 main ingredient and then a couple more depending on what sauce you make.

For the main part of this recipe, you'll need:

• 10 Medium-sized chicken wings 

Then if you want to make Buffalo wings:

• ¾ Cup Buffalo Hot Sauce
• 4 Tbsps Unsalted Butter

For garlic parmesan wings:

• 3 Tbsps Salted butter 
• 3 Cloves garlic 
• 4 Tbsps grated parmesan cheese
• Dried chives
• Salt to taste

And for BBQ wings:

• ⅓ Cup Sweet Baby Ray's sugar free sweet heat bbq sauce

All three sauces are insanely delicious, so you can't go wrong with whichever one you choose.

Now, for the BBQ sauce, I like to use this sugar free bbq sauce recipe to keep my crispy wings low carb, but any bbq sauce of your choice will work just as well! 

Oh, and for the crispy chicken wings, you can use frozen or fresh chicken wings, and you can make a large batch too - more on all of that below.

By the way, if you love chicken wings, I've got a feeling you'll love these baked chicken wings and baked turkey wings too! So def give that recipe a shot soon it is so good.

HOW TO COOK CHICKEN WINGS IN THE AIR FRYER

As I mentioned, the process of making chickens wings in the air fryer is really simple.  

And if you follow my tips for success, your crispy wings will turn out absolutely delicious.

So if you're ready for some of the best chicken wings you'll ever have, let's get air frying!

STEP 1: COOKING THE WINGS

First, use a paper towel to pat the wings and make sure that they're totally dry. 

Next, set the air fryer to 360 degrees Fahrenheit (182°C) and lay your wings flat in the air fryer basket, giving them a little room between each one. 

Then cook the wings for 12 minutes, flip them over, and cook for another 12 minutes. 

After that, flip the wings again, turn the air fryer up to 400°F (205°C), and cook for another 4 minutes. 

To finish up, flip the wings one last time and cook for 4 more minutes. And while they are finishing air frying, you can prepare the sauce. 

STEP 2: MAKING THE SAUCES

So, when the wings are finishing up cooking, it is the best time to prepare the sauce because you'll want to sauce up your crispy chicken wings while they are hot out of the air fryer.

AIR FRYER BUFFALO WINGS 

For Hot Buffalo wings, add the hot sauce and butter to a pot over medium heat until the butter melts and the hot sauce and butter are combined. 

The once the wings are done cooking, add them to a bowl, pour the sauce over them, and mix with tongs until the wings are fully coated in sauce. I like to serve them with some blue cheese dressing for the ultimate chicken wing experience.

AIR FRYER GARLIC PARMESAN WINGS

To make garlic parm wings, first, add the butter to a small pot and cook over medium heat until melted.

Then add the minced garlic and air fry for about 2-3 minutes until fragrant.

Next, add the wings to a bowl, pour the butter garlic sauce on top, and use tongs to mix the wings until they're coated with the sauce. Then add the grated parmesan, dried chives, and a little salt on top. 

AIR FRYER BBQ WINGS

And to make BBQ wings, once the wings finish cooking, add them to a bowl and pour the BBQ sauce on top. Then use tongs to mix them around until the wings are covered in sauce.

Now, if you want to make Char-B-Q wings, heat your grill to around 500°F (260°C) and cook the coated BBQ wings on the grill for about 1-2 minutes on each side until charred.

Then if you want, coat the wings in some more BBQ sauce.

FROZEN CHICKEN WINGS IN AIR FRYER

If you always want some wings on hand, you can make air fryer frozen chicken wings.

And what's great about doing this is you don't have to thaw the frozen wings before cooking! So you can whip them up for dinner or game-day on short notice.

All you have to do is air fry them for about 10 minutes at 360°F before following the process above. And if the frozen wings are all stuck together, make sure to break them apart after - if they don't break apart yet, cook for a few more minutes.

Now, if your frozen wings have ice on them, check your air fryer basket after pre-cooking them and pour out any water from the bottom of the basket before moving on. 

MAKING A LARGE BATCH OF CHICKEN WINGS

If you'd like to make a large batch of chicken wings in the air fryer as fast as possible, the best thing to do is pre-cook 2 batches of wings in the oven while 1 batch cooks in the air fryer.

So to do this, first preheat your oven to 400°F (205°C) and line two baking sheets with cooking racks. 

Then add 10-12 chicken wings to each rack and cook the wings in the oven for the entire time the first batch of air fried chicken wings cook. Make sure to turn and rotate the wings every 10 minutes - or so - as the wings cook in the oven. 

Once the wings are done cooking in the air fryer, add the first 10-12 chicken wings that just cooked in the oven to the air fryer and cook at 400°F for 8 minutes. Then add the next batch of 10-12 wings from the oven and cook them in the air fryer for 8 minutes.

Now, don't be afraid to make more wings than you'll think you'll eat because they store and reheat super well! Seriously, they're absolutely delicious left over.

If you have any leftover chicken wings, you can keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

And you'll want to transfer any wings that haven't been eaten to the fridge after sitting out at room temperature for 2 hours. 

HOW TO REHEAT CHICKEN WINGS IN AIR FRYER

So, reheating chicken wings in the air fryer is super quick, and they come out tasting amazing!

First, preheat your air fryer to 375°F (190°C). Then place your leftover wings in the air fryer basket, and make sure to leave space between each one.

Cook the wings for about 5-7 minutes - flipping them halfway through cooking chicken wings - until they are hot and crispy.

And if you want some more reheating methods, here are some really good ones.

FAQS About This Air Fryer Chicken Wings Recipe

More Appetizer Recipes

If you want some more recipes that are great to serve on game day or at a party, I have a few low carb recipes that are perfect.

Give one of these a try:

• Buffalo Chicken Dip
• Spinach & Artichoke Dip
• Jalapeno Poppers
• Pizza Dip
• Tortilla Chips
• Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries

More Air Fryer Recipes

Oh, and if you want to try some more air fryer recipes, give one of these a shot next:

• Air fryer pork chops
• Air fryer chicken breasts
• Air fryer cornish hen
• Air fryer kale chips
• Air fryer chicken thighs

WRAPPING IT ALL UP

That is how you make chicken wings in the air fryer!

These wings are the best thing you can make for watching football, having people over, or just for a family dinner. 

And since there are three sauces, you can air fry wings tonight that everyone will love!

I hope you enjoy my take on making chicken wings in the air fryer. If you make them, leave a comment below and let me what your favorite sauce is and what you think about the tasty wings!

And, of course, for even more recipes, check out my Youtube Channel and Instagram page.