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These air fryer fried chicken wings are golden brown and crispy, and covered in some of my favorite seasonings. They’re every bit as good as deep-fried wings, and they only take about 30 minutes to make with far less oil and without flour or breading.
Chicken wings are one of my favorite foods, but I’ve never a fan of the deep fryer. Luckily, this air fryer chicken wings recipe proves that you don’t need inches of oil to get crispy, crunchy skin and moist meat. I rub the wings with simple but savory spices, including garlic, onion, paprika, and freshly cracked pepper. It takes minutes to prep and then the air fryer takes over!
Why Air Fryer Fried Chicken Wings Will Be On Repeat
- Ready in 30 minutes. As much as I love oven-baked chicken wings, air frying is much faster. I’m always throwing wings into my Ninja Foodi during the week for fast, easy meals and snacks.
- Better homemade. Restaurant chicken wings are usually deep-fried, but this recipe achieves the same results with a fraction of the oil. All you need is chicken and seasonings.
- No mess. One of my favorite things about cooking in the air fryer is that it’s far less mess. There’s no splattering oil, and also no leftover oil to have to deal with afterward.
- Crispy. And good chicken wings need to be crispy. This recipe uses baking powder to increase the crunch, one of my best chicken wing secrets.
Ingredients Needed
Here’s everything you need to make these flavorful air fryer fried chicken wings. Be sure to check out the recipe card at the bottom of the article to see the exact quantities for each ingredient.
- Chicken wings – You can use the whole wing or a mix of flats and drumettes.
- Seasoning – I use a simple mix of paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, plus salt and freshly ground pepper. You could also season your wings with poultry seasoning.
- Baking powder – It’s important to note that you cannot substitute baking soda for baking powder. Speaking from experience, your wings will taste awful!
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How to Make Fried Chicken Wings in the Air Fryer
Here’s how to make this easy and flavorful 30-minute air fryer fried chicken recipe.
- Dry the chicken. Remove the chicken from the fridge and pat the wings dry with a paper towel.
- Season the wings. Mix the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, baking powder, salt, and pepper together in a bowl. Sprinkle the spice rub on the chicken, and toss until it’s well coated.
- Add oil. Place the wings in the basket of your air fryer in a single layer and drizzle with olive oil.
- Cook. Turn your air fryer on to 400ºF, or to 390ºF if using the Ninja Foodi. Cook the wings for 12-15 minutes. Flip all of the wings over. Cook the wings for another 12-15 minutes, then serve hot.
Wing Sauce Options
As is, these fried chicken wings are mouthwatering with just their savory spice rub. That being said, I’ll sometimes toss them in the sauce from my garlic parmesan chicken wings or another wing sauce right as they come out of the air fryer. Here are some of my favorites:
- Buffalo sauce
- Homemade BBQ sauce
- Sweet chili sauce
- Sugar-free teriyaki sauce
- Sweet and sour sauce
- Cajun garlic butter sauce
Cooking Tips and Variations
- Bring the chicken to room temperature. If you have the time, remove your chicken from the fridge about 30 minutes before making this recipe. If the wings are at room temperature when you cook them, they’ll stay juicier in the air fryer.
- Space them out. Make sure to not crowd the wings in the air fryer basket. There should be space between each wing, which will allow the wings to get crispy. If you have too many wings to cook without crowding, then cook the wings in batches.
- Dry the wings. This recipe tells you to dry the wings before seasoning them. Make sure to take that step seriously. The drier the wings, the crispier they’ll get in the air fryer.
- Adjust the seasonings. I love this spice rub, but feel free to mix it up based on your tastes. If you like a more intensely flavored piece of chicken, add a little extra garlic, onion, and paprika. If you’re a fan of spicy wings, you can add some chili powder.
What to Serve With Air Fryer Fried Wings
I’m a huge fan of serving crispy wings with homemade blue cheese dressing or Ranch to dip them in. This copycat Chick-fil-A sauce is another kid-friendly option. Then, it’s a matter of enjoying these wings alone or serving them as a meal. These are just a few of my favorite side dishes for chicken:
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Refrigerate. These air fried wings will last in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days.
- Reheat. You can reheat your chicken wings in the air fryer at 360ºF for 6-7 minutes, or in the oven at 350ºF for 15-20 minutes.
- Freeze. Store the wings in an airtight container and freeze them for up to 3 months. You can reheat them straight from the freezer, but you’ll need to add a few minutes of cooking time.
More Air Fryer Chicken Wing Recipes to Try
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Air Fryer Fried Chicken Wings
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Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
Chicken Wings
- 1.5 pounds Chicken Wings, sectioned into flats and drums
- 1/4 teaspoon Natural Ancient Sea Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 tablespoon Baking Powder, You cannot swap baking soda in this recipe – I promise that the wings will not taste good if you do
- 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
Instructions
- Remove the chicken wing parts from the refrigerator and pat dry (removing as much moisture as possible helps to have a crispy wing skin).
- Mix the sea salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and baking powder in a small dish or ramekin.
- Sprinkle the seasoning mixture on the wings and toss to coat.
- Place the wings on the cooking basket. In the Ninja Foodi, this is called the “Cook & Crisp” basket.
- Drizzle olive oil on the chicken wings.
- Use the Air Crisp setting on 390 degrees for the Ninja Foodi or 400 degrees on other fryers to cook the wings for 12-15 minutes per side.
- Enjoy the wings alone or add your favorite keto or low-carb dips and sauces.
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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.
