Quick & Easy Air Fryer Chicken Wings

4.93 / 5 ( 13 Reviews )
3 Comments Jump to Recipe

air fryer chicken wings

Easy Chicken Wings in the Air Fryer!

Perfectly cooked chicken wings in a lot less time and practically no prep! That’s why I love this air fryer chicken wings recipe – done in 40 minutes, straight from frozen. I’m seriously loving the air fryer. If you don’t have one yet, take a look at our air fryer reviews.

easy air fryer chicken wings

How to Cook Chicken Wings in the Air Fryer

Dump the frozen chicken wings into the air fryer basket. No need for oil. No need to thaw. The air fryer will take care of all of that! Easy peasy.

frozen chicken wings in air fryer

It’s ok if the chicken pieces overlap quite a bit at first because they will shrink in size as they cook. The amount you can cook at one time will depend on the size of your air fryer. I can easily cook a little over 2 pounds of bone-in skin-on “chicken party wings” in my 4-quart air fryer.

cooking chicken wings in the air fryer

The first 10 minutes of cooking are at a lower temperature to get those chicken wings nicely thawed. Then season both sides of the chicken pieces with garlic salt and pepper. Now we’re ready for the main cooking time.

How Long to Cook Chicken Wings in Air Fryer

Set the air fryer at 380°F and let it cook for 25 minutes, flipping halfway through the cooking time. Flipping halfway helps the chicken cook and crisp up evenly. Cooking chicken wings in the oven usually takes 45-60 minutes, so this feels a lot faster!

air fryer chicken wings with bbq sauce

The air fryer chicken wings are looking good at this point! Now coat the chicken with your favorite BBQ sauce. I love this homemade Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce. Any of your favorite sauces will work though. In fact, you could use this yummy Sweet & Spicy Wings sauce, if that’s more your style.

Depending on the BBQ sauce you choose, these air fryer wings can be made pretty healthy – keto, low carb, gluten-free, and/or dairy and egg free. It’s all up to you!

how to make air fryer chicken wings

The final cooking time is just for 5 minutes at 400°F to caramelize that sauce and finish them off. Serve warm and enjoy! If you them more saucy, just add more sauce after cooking.

My kids totally devour these air fryer chicken wings, so it is safe to say they are a big hit around here. 🙂

Check out more of our favorite air fryer recipes!

air fryer wings

air fryer chicken wings

Quick & Easy Air Fryer Chicken Wings

Make perfectly cooked chicken wings in the air fryer - straight from frozen, with almost no prep time, and less cooking time than in the oven!
4.93 / 5 ( 13 Reviews )
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 42 minutes
Serves: 4
Adjust Servings: 4

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Dump frozen chicken wings into air fryer basket. It's ok if they overlap because they will shrink as they cook. The amount you can cook at once will depend on the size of your air fryer.
  • Cook at 350˚F/177˚C for 10 minutes to thaw.
  • Season both sides of chicken with garlic salt and pepper.
  • Cook at 380˚F/193˚C for 25 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking time.
  • Coat chicken with your favorite BBQ sauce.
  • Cook at 400˚F/204˚C for 5 minutes. Serve warm and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

My 4-qt air fryer fits just over 2 pounds (almost 2.5 pounds) of frozen wings at one time.

Nutrition

Calories: 320kcal | Protein: 26g | Fat: 23g | Sodium: 105mg

Ingredients: BBQ Sauce, Chicken, Garlic, Pepper
Meal Type: Appetizers and Snacks, Main Dish, Side Dish, New Year's Eve, Super Bowl Party, Clean Eating, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Low Carb and Keto
Categories: Finger Food and Dips, Meat and Poultry, Air Fryer

Comments & Reviews

  • You do need to let you know how happy I am with all the videos on YouTube. You have inspired me to get my 1st Cosori 5.8. As I filled the warranty at the Cosori website I made sure I let them know how inspiring you are. Thank you so very much. God bless you to continue in your ministry (yes what you do it is)

  • Cathy,
    Your cookbook is the first thing I grab when I want to know how to cook something in my air ftyer.
    Recently, that was frozen chicken wings. This recipe is fantastic! The bag of wings had enough to so it twice. Both times things went exactly as you indicated they would. Thaw, remove wings from basket, pour out water, put wings back in basket and air fry. Turn half way. At the end add BBQ sauce and air fry 5 more minutes. Then serve. Fabulously great both times.
    Cooking for an army of one your recipe presentations are scalable, easy to read and figure out.
    I have a Vortex 5.7q but I’m eyeballing that Cosari II 5.8q. Your crew of taste testers are reliable and trusted to give their own unbiased opinions. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and expertise.

    • Hey David, thanks so much for taking the time to share such a positive and kind review! We appreciate all your support! So glad to hear you are loving our recipes 🙂

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