Quick & Easy 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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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!

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!

4.92 / 5 ( 12 Reviews )

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 42 minutes

Serves: 4

Adjust Servings: 4

Equipment

• Air Fryer

Ingredients

• 12 frozen chicken wings
• garlic salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• BBQ sauce to taste

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