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Want to how to cook frozen chicken wings in an air fryer? These Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings are super easy to make and a great option when you don’t have fresh chicken wings on hand. They’re ready in about 30 minutes with simple ingredients. Enjoy these with air fryer frozen Brussels sprouts or frozen broccoli in the air fryer for quick weeknight dinners. Or, add your favorite dip and chopped vegetables like celery sticks as an easy appetizer for a football game.
Why Make This
- Cooks from frozen: there are so many frozen foods that you can make in your air fryer. Like my air fryer frozen meatballs, frozen Brussels sprouts, frozen broccoli, and air fryer frozen turkey burgers, these delicious wings cook from frozen without thawing.
- Ready in less than 30 minutes: if you’re looking for a main course or the perfect appetizer for game day that is ready in less than 30 minutes without thawing, then this Ninja Foodi air fryer frozen chicken wings recipe is a great option.
- No Flour or Breading: similar to my dry rub chicken wings and cajun chicken wings, this is a naked wings recipe, making it perfect for those who want an option without flour.
Ingredients Needed
- Chicken Wings: I buy these individually frozen and do not thaw them out before cooking.
- Seasoning: You can use any complete seasoning mix that you wish for these. I’m using my DIY dry rubs because I tend to have them on hand and they taste great. They all include spices like black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, along with other flavors. Some options are Homemade Cajun Seasoning, BBQ Seasoning, or the Best Chicken Dry Rub
- Avocado Oil: this is one of my favorite oils for air frying. You can use olive oil as well for this. I personally add regular bottled oil, but you can also use avocado oil cooking spray.
How to Cook Frozen Chicken Wings in an Air Fryer
- Add the frozen wing parts to a large bowl with the avocado oil and seasoning (cajun seasoning or chicken dry rub). Toss the wings to coat.
- Add the wings in a single layer to the air fryer basket.
- Air fry at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
- Flip the wings. Air fry at 400 degrees for 10 minutes more.
Top Tips & FAQs
- Toss frequently for best results: I’ve made this recipe with one flip halfway through cooking as well as multiple flips. I find that the chicken defrosts and cooks best when it is flipped at least 3 times while cooking. This is especially true if your wings are not about the same size.
- Use individually frozen wings: this recipe works best for wings that are individually frozen. They typically come in a package. I don’t recommend this for fresh wings that you added to a freezer bag and froze at home because those wings generally freeze as an ice block. Individually frozen wings are easier to season and cook more evenly.
- Use my crispy air fryer chicken wings recipe for fried chicken crunch without deep frying: starting from frozen makes it a bit difficult to get the same crispy skin as my popular Ninja Foodi Chicken Wings. You can use that recipe instead with raw wings.
- Add your favorite wing sauce: some of my favorite options are the sauces from my lemon pepper wings, buffalo chicken wings, Garlic Parmesan Wings, and honey sesame ghost pepper wings.
- Pair them with your favorite dipping sauce: some popular options include ranch dressing, blue cheese dressing, and hot sauce.
- Works with different air fryer models: even though I use a Ninja Foodi air fryer, this recipe was also tested in the Cosori Air Fryer. Since different brands cook differently, you may need to adjust the cook time.
Storage & Leftovers
Add your leftover chicken wings to an airtight container and enjoy them within 5 days.
I personally prefer to eat fully cooked wings cold, but you can reheat your leftover wings in the air fryer using the reheat setting or 350 degrees for a few minutes.
From frozen, chicken wings take about 25 minutes in the air fryer. The cook time will vary though based on the size of your wings. So, be sure to add more cooking time until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Almost. If you’re in a pinch, then definitely make frozen wings in your air fryer. However, you should know that they don’t taste exactly the same as fresh. For frozen wings, I almost always use a dipping sauce like BBQ sauce or buffalo sauce.
I don’t prefer this method, but some have added 1 cup of water to the bottom of the Ninja Foodi cooking pot, then used the pressure cooker setting on high for 1-2 minutes to thaw them out. Once the wings are thawed, you can pat them dry with paper towels and add your favorite seasoning.
Easy Side Dishes
More No Thaw Air Fryer Recipes
- Air Fryer Frozen Turkey Burgers
- How to Cook Frozen Meatballs in an Air Fryer
- Air Fryer Frozen Shrimp & Broccoli (15-Minute Meal)
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Air Fryer Frozen Wings
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Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb Chicken Wings, Frozen. Do not thaw.
- 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning, click for recipe, or use chicken dry rub
- 2 tbsp Avocado oil
Instructions
- Add the frozen wing parts to a bowl with the avocado oil and chicken dry rub. Toss the wings to coat.
- Add the wings in an even layer to the air fryer cooking basket.
- Air fry at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
- Flip the wings. Air fry at 400 degrees for 10 minutes more.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Details
The nutrition facts come from entering the recipe ingredients into Spoonacular API, a database of food ingredients. They may vary for any recipe based on the exact product used. The keto sweeteners I use have 0g net carbs & are not included because sugar alcohols do not impact most people. This is provided as a courtesy, but you can do your own calculations if you wish!
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