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This air fryer chicken wings recipe is my favorite way to cook wings, because they get SO crispy! With just a couple simple ingredients and a few minutes of prep time, these are as easy as it gets, but also easy to customize with your favorite sauce. Perfect for game day, or–let’s be real–or any day! Let me show you how to cook chicken wings in the air fryer perfectly — I’ll show you the simple steps and a few key tips for the crispiest skin ever.
If you like air fryer chicken recipes, try air fryer drumsticks, air fryer chicken thighs, or whole chicken next. For those, there’s a different method for getting the skin super crispy.
Why You’ll Love This Air Fryer Wings Recipe
- Juicy, flavorful, and tender chicken
- Super crispy skin
- Just 2 simple ingredients (plus salt and pepper)
- No oil required
- Only 5 minutes to prep
- Packed with tips for the best air fryer chicken wings ever – see below!
Basic Ingredients
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for wings in the air fryer, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
- Chicken Wings – Buy them trimmed, or separate whole chicken wings at the joint (to make wingettes and drumettes) before cooking.
- Baking Powder – This surprising ingredient makes the wings nice and crispy! This is because it soaks up extra moisture, helping to dry the skin. (Be careful not to use baking soda by mistake, which won’t work and will have an aftertaste.)
- Sea Salt & Black Pepper
Seasoning Variations
Chicken wings in an air fryer are delicious plain, but you can also mix it up with a variety of seasonings or sauces:
- Simple Spices – If you don’t want to make any special seasoning or sauce, the easiest way to spice up your wings with sometjhing basic like garlic powder or paprika.
- Lemon Pepper – Season with lemon pepper seasoning, or try my baked lemon pepper wings.
- Buffalo – Cook wings as written below, and after cooking, toss in this buffalo sauce.
- Ranch – Skip the salt and season wings with dry ranch seasoning instead.
- Cajun – Skip the salt and season wings with Cajun seasoning.
- Garlic Parmesan – Air fry wings like below, and toward the end, toss in the sauce from this garlic parmesan wings recipe. (Some Italian seasoning is also delicious with this one.)
No matter what seasoning or sauce you use, I recommend keeping the baking powder on the skin — it’s the key to super crispy air fryer wings.
How To Cook Chicken Wings In The Air Fryer
This section shows how to make chicken wings in the air fryer, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
- Dry. Pat the wings with paper towels to dry them. This is another key tip for making them crispy!
- Season. In a large bowl, toss wings with baking powder, sea salt, and black pepper.
- Air fry at low heat. Place wings in the air fryer basket in a single layer. Cook in batches to not overcrowd. Cook at 250 degrees F for 15 minutes.
- Flip & air fry at high heat. Flip wings and increase the temperature to 430 degrees F. Air fry until wings are cooked through on the inside and crispy on the outside.
Tips For The Best Air Fryer Wings
- Let wings come to room temperature if you have time. This is not required, but letting them sit out for 20-30 minutes before cooking will help them cook more evenly.
- Dry the skin. Moisture is the enemy of crispy skin, so patting dry with paper towels helps you achieve maximum crispiness.
- Use the right salt ratio. A good rule of thumb for meat and poultry is a teaspoon of salt per pound of meat, but since chicken wings have mostly bones, only about 1/3 of their weight is actually meat. This air fryer chicken wing recipe is for 2 pounds of wings, which is about 11 ounces of meat, and that’s why I used 3/4 teaspoon of sea salt. Adjust accordingly if you make a bigger or smaller batch.
- Sprinkle baking powder on the skin. This is the main trick for extra crispy skin! Don’t skip it.
- Grease the air fryer if needed. Mine is pretty nonstick, but you can spray with cooking spray or brush lightly with olive oil before adding the wings if you like, for easier cleanup.
- Don’t crowd the air fryer basket. This ensures that the air can flow through and crisp up the skin. It’s okay if the wings touch a little, but try not to have their entire sides touching. If you have patience to have them not touching each other at all, even better.
- Start at low temperature. Cooking the wings at 250 degrees F first makes the meat super juicy. Also, if you are cooking frozen chicken wings in the air fryer, starting at low temp helps them cook more evenly.
- Flip and max out the heat. Flipping halfway through helps with even cooking as well, and increasing the heat is necessary to crisp up the skin on the outside.
- Check internal temperature. The best way to know the wings are done is to use a meat thermometer to confirm that the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
How Long To Cook Wings In An Air Fryer?
Air fry chicken wings for 15 minutes at 250 degrees F first, then flip and air fry for 15-20 more minutes at 430 degrees F. The total time is 30-35 minutes.
How Long To Cook Frozen Chicken Wings In An Air Fryer?
Air fry frozen chicken wings for 25 minutes at 250 degrees F (that’s 10 minutes longer than thawed ones), then flip, increase heat, and proceed with the same cooking time (15-20 more minutes), until crispy and cooked through.
If you prefer to thaw the chicken wings first (for more even cooking), you can do so in a few ways:
- Water: Put the wings in a zip top bag (not straight into the water!), then place the bag into a bowl. Fill the bowl with cold water and use something heavy to submerge the wings in the water.
- Microwave: The defrost setting on your microwave is by far the fastest way to thaw chicken wings, but can lead to pre-cooked spots. Select the weight of wings you have, and rotate frequently if your microwave doesn’t have a turntable. (Cook immediately with this method.)
- Fridge: Thaw frozen chicken wings overnight in the refrigerator.
Storage Instructions
Store leftover cooked wings in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Can you freeze air fryer chicken wings?
Yes, freeze air fryer chicken drumettes in an airtight container the freezer for 2-3 months.
How to reheat wings in the air fryer?
Reheat wings in the air fryer at 350 degrees F for about 5 minutes, until hot.
What To Serve With Air Fryer Wings
- Dipping sauces – Blue cheese dressing is a classic, and ranch dressing, keto teriyaki sauce, or bbq sauce are always hits. For a spicy sauce, try buffalo sauce or hot sauce.
- Raw veggies – Carrots and celery sticks are classic sides to air fryer wings. You can also use cucumber, radishes, or bell pepper strips.
- Air fryer veggies – Serve the best air fryer chicken wings with a veggie like air fryer eggplant, air fryer brussels sprouts, or air fryer zucchini chips.
- Simple salads – Veggie salads always pair well with wings! Try my creamy cucumber salad, coleslaw, or wedge salad.
- Other appetizers – Serve wings with rotel dip, zucchini pizza bites, or caprese salad skewers.
More Easy Air Fryer Recipes
If you like this air fryer chicken wings recipe, you might also like some of these other easy air fryer recipes:
Recommended Tools
- Air Fryer – My favorite basket air fryer for all my air fryer recipes!
- Air Fryer Oven – If you want to make a bigger batch of air fryer wings, this version has a space for two racks.
Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings Recipe
Air Fryer Chicken Wings Recipe (Super Crispy!)
Learn how to cook chicken wings in an air fryer! This easy air fryer chicken wings recipe includes tricks for extra crispy skin, seasoning ideas, and even how to air fry frozen wings.
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Ingredients
Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them. Please turn Safari reader mode OFF to view ingredients.
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
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Pat the chicken wings very dry with paper towels. (This will help them get crispy.)
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In a large bowl, toss the wings with baking powder, sea salt and black pepper.
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Place the chicken wings in the air fryer in a single layer, without touching too much. (Cook in batches if they don't fit.)
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Air fry the chicken wings for 15 minutes at 250 degrees F. (If your wings are frozen, add an extra 10 minutes at this step.)
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Flip the wings over. Increase the air fryer temperature to 430 degrees F (or the highest your air fryer goes). Air fry for about 15 to 20 minutes, until chicken wings are done and crispy.
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Readers Who Liked This Easy Recipe Also Made:
Recipe Notes
Serving size: 4-6 chicken wings, or 1/4 of entire recipe
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.
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171 Comments
Adrienne Garcia
0Easy & best spices for both real crispy wings & chicken.
Ginette
0Thank you for this great recipe. My husband said that he hasn’t ever had crispy chicken that was so good!
Laura Hahn
0Great recipe and easy. Love them
Laurie Hill
0I always use aluminum free baking powder to make chicken skin crispy. It eliminates any metallic taste to the chicken.
Bandy
0Hello, can you make this with chicken legs the wings were fab? Thanks.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Bandy, Here is my recipe for air fryer chicken legs.
Pearl Groefsema
0Tried this recipe for wings the other night! One word OUTSTANDING! Easy and great flavor! Looking forward to making them again in the very near future!!!!
Lisa
0I’ve made this several times, but tonight’s was superlative! I added onion powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. I also planned earlier so I could let the wings sit out to dry and come to temperature. My air fryer is only 3 qts so I did only six cut up pieces at a time. Also important, sometime I eyeballed the quantities of salt, baking powder, pepper. Tonight I measured those (not the extras 🤷🏻♀️). I probably never added enough salt or baking powder to get the best results.
Peggy Robinson
0Dear Wholesome, I have the Aria counter top air fryer oven not the round container style basket style like yours. I was wondering will this recipe come out the same way in the oven style air fryer if I prepare & cook it according to this recipe?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Peggy, I have never made this recipe in that type of air fryer but it should work for you.
Michael Scott
0I followed your recipe to a “T” and my wings didn’t come out looking like yours, at all! Mine remained white and pasty looking……to the point it was difficult to “see” if they were even cooked.
Biting and chewing them confirmed that they WERE, in fact, cooked thoroughly, but they certainly didn’t look appetizing.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Michael, To me, this sounds like an issue with the air fryer. If you followed the recipe and cooking time exactly the air fryer should have made the skin crispy on the outside.
Tess
0How long should we marinate the chicken pieces?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Tess, There is no need to marinate the chicken in this recipe.
Scott
0Here’s the truth. Following this recipe ruined my Sunday dinner. This is, undeniably, be the worst recipe for wings I’ve ever tried. The baking powder is an absolute mistake. It imparts a flavor that throws everything completely off. It may be impossible for me to overstate how much you should avoid this recipe.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Scott, Sorry this recipe didn’t turn out as expected. Did you only use 1 tsp per 1 pound of wings? This is a small amount of baking powder and should not overwhelm the flavor.
B Sa
0The wings recipe was my 1st recipe made in my new air fryer. I haven’t ever used an air fryer before. Boy, am I glad I chose this recipe. The wings were moist, juicy and, as advertised, super crispy! The only change I made was after tossing the raw wings in the baking powder mixture, I drizzled a little EVOO over the wings and tossed them to coat evenly. I’d read several crispy wing recipes and all others had used some oil on the wings before cooking. Again, the wings turned out great, hubby and I both loved them and they will be my go-to recipe for wings!
Rob Lumpkin
0Excellent comment and I agree with you. I also drizzled a little EVOO over the wings but after turning up the heat and they came out crispy, crunchy and juicy brown! Thanks for that addition!
Kelly H
0These were EXCELLENT! The only change I made was to substitute the salt and pepper with BWW Salt and Vinegar dry rub. They were SO good!!
Mathew
0Best chicken recipe I every came across, and they are so delicious crispy and juicy when cooked.
Lori Hawkins
0My air fryer did not go as high or as low as the recipe stated, so I cooked the wings at 300 degrees for the first half and 400 degrees for the second. They came out tender inside and crispy on the outside. Threw on BWW sauce and it was like eating out!
Carole
0These wings are awesome! I use a lot of wholesomeyum recipes because they are so good but these wings are fantastic!!
Derek
0I tried this last night. Baking powder is that secret ingredient. Thank you, they turned out perfect 🙂
Derek
0I’m counting on you for this. Will give you full report on results : )
Peter M
0This works really well – thank you!!
Sharon Krezanski
0Dear Yum-Did your Air fry Eggplant tonight-YUM!-looked up recipe for Air Fry Chicken wings-going to do it!-Need to tell everyone-your recipes are easy to follow-not many ingredients & delish-Thank you so much-you are GREAT!!
Lois Clarke
0Easy and crisped up air fry wings perfectly.