If you haven't cooked air fryer chicken wings yet, you are seriously missing out. Using the air fryer, you can get perfectly tender and crispy chicken wings every single time in as little as 18 minutes!
Keep reading to see how you can easily make 3 types of chicken wings in the air fryer!
Almost any occasion can call for chicken wings. Mid-week dinner? Chicken wings. Sporting event? Chicken wings. Small gathering? Chicken wings. You name an occasion and there can be a place for these air fryer chicken wings!
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This air fryer chicken wings recipe is so versatile you can make them plain, with a dry rub, or toss them in a sauce. I'm including instructions for an easy buffalo sauce and if you enjoy BBQ my Keto BBQ sauce recipe on this site is the way to go.
Prefer a creamy sauce? Blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing works perfectly too. However you dress up these fryer chicken wings, they're absolutely delicious! Best wings ever.
Which air fryer is best?
You will need an air fryer to make these wings. These wings were made using the Instant Vortex Plus 6-Quart Air Fryer. You may prefer an oven-style air fryer or a double air fryer. These are great for easy meal prep.
I love this air fryer because it preheats quickly and has a large enough basket so that I can cook enough to feed the whole family. The hot air circulates very evenly resulting in a perfectly cooked chicken wing.
I also love that I keep an eye on my food through the window without opening the basket. No more accidentally burning my food!
Free Air fryer cheat sheets (printable)
If you love using your air fryer, I have 101 keto air fryer recipes for you to choose from (chicken, pork, ground beef, salmon, vegetables, and even desserts). Discover how to use your air fryer plus FREE printable air fryer cooking cheat sheets.
Ingredients
To make air fryer chicken wings all you need is some defrosted raw chicken wings and some olive oil to lightly coat the wings. The olive oil helps make the wings crispy.
Even though you are air frying the wings you still need a bit of oil, but you will use significantly less oil when air frying. If you are wanting to add a dry rub or keto sauce to your wings you'll find a few recommendations in the recipe card below.
- chicken wings
- olive oil
- seasoning or sauce of choice.
See the air fryer chicken wings recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
To make air fryer wings with frozen wings, you'll want to make sure they are fully defrosted before cooking.
Then, start by patting the defrosted wings dry with a paper towel and then lightly coating the wings with extra virgin olive oil. You can use olive oil spray or just brush regular olive oil on all the wings.
If you want to use any seasoning such as smoked paprika, garlic powder, or lemon pepper seasoning, sprinkle any seasoning you desire over the wings. I also highly recommend tossing these air fryer wings in the delicious dry rub seasoning found in the recipe card.
If you want to coat your wings with buffalo or keto BBQ sauce I recommend doing that after the air fryer chicken wings have cooked. This will keep the sauce from burning while in the air fryer.
Cook wings
To cook wings, preheat your air fryer to 385F/195C and set the timer to 18 minutes. Once you have a preheated air fryer, open the basket and lightly coat the air fryer basket with nonstick cooking spray to keep the wings from sticking to the basket.
Arrange the wings in the basket keeping them spaced apart so they aren't touching. Depending on the size of your air fryer you should be able to fit 8-10 wings in the basket at a time.
Close the air fryer basket and air fry for 18 minutes. Halfway through cooking flip the wings to ensure they are evenly cooked. Once the wings are done toss them in your desired sauce and serve.
Easy, right? This is one of my favorite air fryer recipes! It's a hit every single time.
Hint: Want crispy wings? The crispiest wings? Patting the wings dry first before adding the oil helps you get the best chicken wings that are crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. So don't skip this part.
1: The best dry rub wings
If you are looking for a tasty dry rub to use on your wings then look no further. To make an amazing and flavourful rub you only need these 6 ingredients.
- Garlic Salt - substitute for garlic powder (only use ½ the amount) if you need a low-sodium rub.
- Pepper
- Chili powder
- Dried Oregano
- Smoked paprika
- Onion Powder
Simply mix all these ingredients together in a bowl and toss your wing in the rub before placing them into the air fryer basket for amazing flavourful chicken wings! Serve your sauce on the side and dip your wings.
Variations
If you love these air fryer chicken wings, why not try these other herbs and spices for the best chicken wings in town. Toss, rub, or sprinkle over your chicken before placing in the air fryer basket.
- Garlic powder, garlic salt, and onion powder - for the classic fried chicken wings
- Lemon pepper seasoning - for tasty wings at a BBQ
- Curry powder and yogurt - for delicious wings with a curry flavor.
2: Keto buffalo chicken wings
Do you prefer a saucy wing over a dry rub? Then we have you covered. Making a delicious homemade buffalo sauce is so quick and easy, if you haven't done it before you will be shocked.
To make buffalo sauce add ½ cup hot sauce and 4 tbsp. butter to a microwave-safe bowl. Pop that bowl in the microwave for 30-45 seconds until the butter is softened and mostly melted.
Mix the butter into the hot sauce and you have a delicious buffalo sauce. It really is that easy. I like to use Frank's Red Hot sauce when making buffalo sauce. When the homemade wings are done cooking toss them with Frank's hot sauce and enjoy!
3: Keto bbq chicken wings
To make keto BBQ chicken wings just toss your cooked wings in some of my keto BBQ sauce. A little bit of the sauce can go a long way.
If you don't already have a bottle of this BBQ sauce in your refrigerator, you can quickly whip a jar using my Keto BBQ Sauce recipe while your wings cook. Be sure to let the sauce cool before storing the leftover BBQ sauce.
Storage
Cooked wings can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
To reheat your wings microwave them for 1-2 minutes or reheat them in the air fryer at 375F / 190C for 5-7 minutes.
Top tip
Most of the crisping of chicken wings cooked in an air fryer happens during the last minute of cooking. However, if you need to cook your wings a bit longer you can just pop them right back in the air fryer and bake a bit longer.
Chicken should always be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 °F (74 °C). Be sure to use an instant-read meat thermometer to ensure your wings are fully cooked. Bigger or thicker wings might need another minute or two to cook.
More keto air fryer recipes
If you have just bought an air fryer and want some easy keto air fryer recipes for beginners, you'll love how to make air fryer bacon and air fryer pork chops.
And the best summer air fryer recipes have to be air fryer chicken kebabs and air fryer lamb kebabs.
So, who's making air fryer chicken wings tonight? Enjoy your perfectly crispy air fryer chicken!
📖 Recipe
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How To Cook Air Fryer Chicken Wings (Keto Chicken)
Calculate ingredients
Ingredients
- 2 lbs (1 kg) chicken wings defrosted, about 8 wings
- extra virgin olive oil
Wing Dry Rub
- 1½ teaspoon garlic salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano dried
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
Keto Buffalo Sauce
- ½ cup Frank's hot sauce
- 4 tablespoon butter unsalted
Keto BBQ Sauce
- ¼ cup (4 tablespoon) keto BBQ sauce
Equipment
Instructions
- Pat defrosted chicken wings dry with a paper towel to remove any excess liquid. Then light spray/brush the wings with olive oil and season as desired.If using the dry rub mix the dry rub ingredients together in a bowl and then toss the wings in the seasoning so that they are evenly covered.
- Preheat the air fryer to 385°F/195°C and set the timer to 18 minutes. When the air fryer is hot open the basket and lightly grease the basket with olive oil to keep the wings from sticking. Arrange the wings in the basket ensuring the wings aren't touching. Close the basket and let cook. Flip the wings halfway through to evenly cook the wings on both sides.
- Serve cooked wings as is with a side of buffalo or keto BBQ sauce, or cover the wings with the sauce and enjoy!
Keto Buffalo Sauce
- Add the hot sauce and butter to a microwave-safe bowl. Place in the microwave for 30-45 seconds to melt the butter. Stir the hot sauce and butter together to make buffalo sauce.
Notes
5-INGREDIENTS COOKBOOK
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YOUR HOLIDAY PANTRY & GIFT GUIDES
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Approximate nutrition information is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. For the most accurate nutritional data, use the actual ingredients and brands you used in your preferred nutrition calculator.
Martha
I have to tell you, the keto chicken wings with BBQ sauce is hands down the best chicken wings I have ever tasted (and I have eaten a few in my time). Thank you for all your delicious keto recipes.
Libby Jenkinson
Aw thank you, Martha, I am so pleased you love my recipes. I love creating them for everyone.
Catherine
I love cooking chicken wings in my air fryer, do you have any other keto air fryer recipes please?
Libby Jenkinson
Oh yes, I have just recently created an entire air fryer recipe section PLUS you can also download and print my air fryer cheat sheets and cooking charts.