Our Air Fryer chicken wings recipe is life changing. We thought we figured out the best way to cook air fried chicken wings without using the regular oven and deep fryer. It wasn’t until we tried our first air fried batch that we were proven wrong.

Healthy Air Fryer Chicken Wings in a bowl

Air Fryer Chicken Wings Recipe

Wow, these air fryer chicken wings are incredible. These wings were quick to air fry and best of all, there wasn’t any need for oil. They come out perfectly cooked with a nice crispy crust and when the sauce is added, the flavors are outstanding. The one bad thing about this technique is that they are so easy to eat because they’re so easy to make. Beware. Don’t eat them as fast as you can cook them!

Air Frying vs. Deep Frying vs. Oven Roasting the Wings

In comparing the different ways to cook chicken wings, we still love traditional frying for plain wings, the crust just can’t be beat. But if you are going to sauce the wings, using an air fryer is the best technique. We won’t even bother cooking them in the oven anymore after air frying them. The Air Fried chicken wings have a better texture, cook quicker, and is an easier cleanup. Also, the oven takes too long to pre-heat. Even if the deep frying method gives a crispier crust, it’s sometimes not worth the hassle to deep fry a few wings. Overall, the air fryer method uses significantly less oil. The huge reduction of oil usages means less calories and a lot healthier.

Healthy Air Fried Chicken Wings in a basket
Air fried Chicken Wings from air fryer in bowl

Video: Air Fryer Chicken Wings Recipe

Tips for Air Frying Chicken Wings

  • try to lay the chicken wings in a single layer. This helps cook crispy chicken wings by allowing all the hot circulating air of the air fryer to cook all sides of the wings.
  • Use a large bowl to combine the raw wings with all the seasonings. The more evenly the seasonings are coated, the more flavorful they are.
  • Toss the wings in your favorite sauces. Here’s a few of our favorites: bbq sauce, homemade chili crunch, sriracha hot sauce, buttermilk ranch dressing, buffalo sauce, blue cheese dressing. Even some melted butter is simple but gives so much flavor.
  • For sides, serve the wings with celery sticks, carrot sticks or cucumber slices. Or make some of our air fryer french fries, homemade!
  • When cooking wings, try to cut them into separate wings tips from wing drumsticks. They will cook quicker.

Best air fryer chicken wings: Great Cooking Results in the Air Fryer

If you haven’t discovered the amazing cooking benefits to using the air fryer, you should give it a chance.  From salmon and air fryer pork chops to vegetables like brussel sprouts and cauliflower, the air fryer cooks them perfectly. Air frying chicken wings has the same terrific results. With your favorite sauces handy, the possibilities are endless when you’re craving chicken wings. Whether you want to have a big wing spread for your next Game Day party or just wings for two eaters, the air fryer can do the job. For larger group, you’ll just need to cook in batches. But because the wings cook so quick, it’s totally fine to cook in batches. You’ll always have a hot and crispy batch ready for the hungry eaters. Check out our complete collection of air fryer recipes. 

Our Favorite Air Fryer Tools

Evo Oil Sprayers
Evo Oil Sprayers

We LOVE the Evo Oil Sprayers. Great for grilling, air frying, and everyday cooking. They don’t clog up like many others we’ve bought. There’s different styles, but all seem to have the same great spray head. Works great for grilling!

Perforated Silicone Mat
Perforated Silicone Mat

Square Mats or Round Mats depending on your needs. Perforated non-stick silicone mats minimize food sticking in your air fryer or steamer. Holes allow the hot air to circulate, cooking quick & even.

Perforated Parchment Sheets
Perforated Parchment

Parchment sheets make clean up easy and minimize sticking food in your air fryer or bamboo steamer. Choose from different sizes, shapes, white and brown (unbleached). Holes allow air to cook food evenly.

Healthy Air Fryer Chicken Wings Recipe with NO OIL | @whiteonrice

Air Fryer Chicken Wings

We cooked the 2 pounds of chicken wings in a mid sized Air Fryer. For that size of air fryer, 2 lbs. is about the most you can cook without overcrowding the air fryer. If you have a larger size of air fryer, you can up to about 3-4 pounds, depending on the air fryer. It is better to cook in smaller batches than to overcrowd. 
Adjust cooking time for thicker or thinner chicken wings. Some brands of Air Fryers will cook slower or faster than others, adjust accordingly.
5 from 13 votes

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds (907 g) chicken wings
  • Kosher salt , or sea salt, to taste
  • fresh ground black pepper , to taste
  • garlic salt or garlic powder , optional

Equipment

Instructions 

  • Rinse and pat dry the chicken wings. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and optional garlic salt. For Salt & Pepper Wings, make sure to season them liberally.
    Turning raw chicken wings in a bowl with salt and pepper
  • Put the wings in the air fryer in an even layer. Don't overfill the basket/tray or they won't cook evenly.
    Uncooked chicken wings in air fryer
  • Air Fry at 400°F for 20 minutes. Flip/shake the wings.
    Partially cooked chicken wings in air fryer
  • Continue to air fry for another 10-15 minutes or until cooked through. Optional – If using a sauce, toss wings with a light coating of sauce, and then air fry for another 2-4 minutes.
    Wings cooked with some sauce in air fryer
  • For serving, if using a sauce for the wings, toss the wings with extra sauce or serve with the sauce on the side for dipping.
    Sauced chicken wings in a bowl with sliced celery

Notes

  • No Oil Necessary. The wings have enough fat in them to air fry.
  • Shake and turn the wings 2-3 times for even cooking.  Remember to set a timer to shake/flip/toss the wings.
  • Don’t overcrowd fryer basket. 2 batches will cook better than 1 overstuffed batch. If cooking in multiple batches, the first batch will take longer to cook if Air Fryer is not already pre-heated.
  • If using a sauce, it is added in just at the end, otherwise it will usually burn before the chicken wings are cooked.

Video

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 271kcal, Protein: 22g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 94mg, Sodium: 89mg, Potassium: 191mg, Vitamin A: 180IU, Vitamin C: 0.8mg, Calcium: 15mg, Iron: 1.2mg

What is the Best Air Fryer?

We have 15 different air fryers, all different brands and we definitely have our favorites.

Here’s our extensive write up on Air Fryer World’s Best Air Fryer Guide. There’s so many on the market now. You just need to research and find the ones that fits your needs, capacity and style. We group the basket style air fryers into 2 main size groups: 3-4 qt. range & the 5-6 qt. range.  There’s oven style and basket style. With so many to choose from, we highlight the ones that are most popular for small to medium sized families. Here’s our favorites:

Good Mid-Sized Air Fryers

The non-stick basket style (non-wire base) & smoothness of the basket tray is great for clean up. Easily cooks 2-3 servings of fish & meat.

Great ceramic coated basket for easy clean-up. Super powerful fan that often cooks food hotter & faster than other air fryers.

Good Larger Air Fryers

One of our favorite larger basket style air fryers. Great basket size for about 4 servings. Clean up is great. It has become one of our kitchen favorites.

Instant Pot Brand makes air fryers. The Vortex plus 9-in-1 is beyond the conventional air fryer. Broil, Bake, Dehydrate, Rotisserie, Roast and Re-heat.

Sauce Recipe for Air Fryer chicken wings (homemade recipes)

  1.  sticky honey garlic sauce
  2. Easy Honey Mustard Sauce (photo above)
  3. Vietnamese Fish sauce wings
  4. All our chicken wing recipes are perfect for Super Bowl or Game Day parties.

More Easy Recipes: