Extra Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings are simple to make, requiring just 6 ingredients and 30 minutes. A crispy, delicious, low-cal, low-fat twist on a traditional favorite.
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Air Fryer + Chicken Wings + Buffalo = MATCH. It's science.
Today I'm sharing with you a method for making the crispiest, healthiest, most flavorful chicken wings. Best part... they aren't even deep fried. In fact, there is no added oil required. I'd even go so far as to say that if you make a careful buffalo sauce selection (aka.. not the recipe provided below - see FAQ's for recommendations), these guys could be considered good for you!
Alright, so maybe I've made a few overly dramatic claims (no surprise), but in all seriousness.. these wings are as good as any wings I've ever ordered in a restaurant AND boast about 70% less calories than their traditional deep fried counterpart. If you don't have an air fryer, well.. today's the day my friend. This is a situation that you NEED in your life.
Let's talk details.
WHAT ARE AIR FRYER CHICKEN WINGS?
They are chicken wings prepared in the air fryer instead of deep fried or baked in the oven. They are lower in calories AND in fat, but you have my word, they still taste great!
HOW TO MAKE AIR FRYER CHICKEN WINGS:
- Season the chicken wings and arrange them into a single layer in the air fryer.
- Cook the wings for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees before raising the air fryer's temperature to 390 and finishing them off for another 5 minutes.
- Remove wings from the air fryer and toss them in your favorite buffalo sauce. Serve immediately with fresh veggies ranch and/or blue cheese dip and any extra buffalo sauce.
TIPS FOR MAKING EXTRA CRISPY AIR FRYER CHICKEN WINGS:
- Use olive oil spray to coat the air fryer basket before adding the chicken. This helps prevent sticking and adds a little extra oil to help the wings crisp up.
- DO NOT pile the chicken into the air fryer. It is very important that the wings are arranged into a single layer. You can use a trivet as shown in the picture below to cook twice as many wings at once.
- Don’t bother pre-heating your air fryer. Just toss in the chicken and start cooking.
- Cooking the wings at a lower temperature for the first 25 minutes allows the fat to break apart slowly, raise the temperature for the last 5 minutes to crisp up the skin.
- Shake the basket roughly several times throughout the cooking process. This will help them cook more evenly.
- These chicken wings do contain fat so they may cause your air fryer to smoke. If this happens, simply stop the air fryer and wipe out any fat from the bottom of the air fryer pan and then resume cooking.
HOW TO CUT CHICKEN WINGS:
I alway recommend that you purchase pre-cut wings, it's just easier. I have had great luck finding these fresh (not frozen) at Whole Foods. If you can't find pre-separated wings at your local grocery store, just follow the steps below.
- Locate the 2 joints by feeling the wing with your fingers. You should be able to tell where the 3 pieces connect.
- Use a pair of sharp scissors to snip through the joint. You will be left with 3 individual pieces (drumette, flat and tip)
- Use the drumettes and flats to make your wings. You can either discard the tips or save them for making homemade chicken stock.
FAQ's ABOUT EXTRA CRIPSY AIR FRYER CHICKEN WINGS:
ARE EXTRA CRISPY AIR FRYER CHICKEN WINGS HEALTHY:
Cooking wings in the air fryer makes them healthier and makes clean up so much easier! They don't contain the added oil that is required when you fry wings. Wings cooked in the air fryer have approximately 70% - 80% less calories that deep fried chicken wings.
To make these wings even healthier, skip the butter + hot sauce based buffalo sauce and replace it with a healthier store-bought version (see below for my recommendation.
WHAT IS AN AIR FRYER AND WHICH AIR FRYER DO YOU RECOMMEND?
An air fryer is a counter top kitchen appliance that uses convection to circulate hot air and oil around food in order to cook it.
I have THIS PHILIPS AIR FRYER and I love it! My only complaint would be that it is too small. I do not own this CUISINART AIR FRYER TOASTER OVEN, but have heard that it is a great choice if you are looking for something larger.
CAN I USE STORE-BOUGHT SAUCE? WHAT BRAND DO YOU RECOMMEND?
Traditional buffalo sauce is made from butter and hot sauce. If you are looking for a healthier version New Primal's Dipping Wings Sauce Medium Buffalo is my favorite.
CAN YOU COOK FROZEN WINGS IN THE AIR FRYER?
Yes, you can cook frozen chicken wings in an air fryer. Just cook the wings about 30 minutes at 350 degrees before raising the temperature to 390 degrees and finishing them off for an additional 4-6 minutes.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO COOK AIR FRYER CHICKEN WINGS?
This recipe can be served start to finish in about 30 minutes.
CAN YOU REHEAT CHICKEN WINGS IN THE AIR FRYER?
Reheat chicken wings at 350 degrees for 5 minutes, then increase the temperature to 400 and cook for 3-5 more minutes.
CAN I DOUBLE THE RECIPE?
It depends on the size of your air fryer. It’s very important that the chicken wings are arranged into a single layer. Stacking them on top of one another reduces air-circulation and will result in a soggy wing.
CAN YOU MAKE AIR FRYER CHICKEN WINGS IN THE OVEN? I DON'T HAVE AN AIR FRYER.
Cooking chicken wings in the oven takes a much longer time than in the air fryer and there are a couple different steps that you need to take to ensure that they are crispy. Get my favorite recipe for Oven Baked Whole Food Hot Wings.
WHAT DO YOU SERVE WITH AIR FRYER CHICKEN WINGS?
I serve these chicken wings with the usual suspects... ranch dressing and lots of fresh carrots and celery sticks. Ree Drummond's Homemade Ranch is my very favorite. If you are looking for something a little lighter this recipe from A Couple Cook's is also very tasty.
📖 Recipe
Extra Crispy Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings
- Prep Time: 1 minute
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 31 minutes
- Yield: 20 chicken wings/drumettes 1x
- Category: Snack
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
Description
Extra Crispy Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings are simple to make, requiring just 5 ingredients and 30 minutes. A crispy, delicious, low-cal, low-fat twist on a traditional favorite.
Ingredients
For The Wings:
- 10 whole chicken wings, cut into flats and drumettes (20 pieces total)
- cooking spray (I use avocado or olive oil)
- salt and pepper
For the Sauce:
- ½ stick butter
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ¾ cup hot sauce
- 1 Tbs honey
Instructions
Directions for Wings:
- Lightly season drumettes and wings with salt and pepper.
- Coat the air fryer base (and rack if using) with cooking spray. Arrange the wings into the air fryer in a single layer (you may have to cook multiple batches). Cook for 23-26 minutes at 350 degrees. Once air fryer beeps, raise the temperature to 390 degrees for 4-6 minutes or until wings are crispy. NOTE.. check on wings frequently as cooking time may vary based on wing size and air fryer model.
- Remove wings from air fryer and dump them into a large mixing bowl. Add desired amount of buffalo sauce (you may not use it all). Toss to coat and serve immediately with fresh veggies, ranch/blue cheese and any extra buffalo sauce.
Directions for Sauce:
- In a small pot over medium heat, add the butter and garlic. Stir continuously until butter is melted and garlic is fragrant. Add hot sauce and honey. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.
Notes
- Wings come in three parts, the tip, the wing and the drumette. I was able to purchase the already trimmed version that has these parts separate and the tip discarded, I’d recommend this!
- I use a Philips HD9220 Black Air Fryer and don't have any complaints!
- One of the drawbacks of an air fryer is that you can't make large quantities of food all at once. I purchased THIS rack that allows me to cook twice as much at once. NOTE: make sure that the rack you purchase fits your particular air fryer model.
Keywords: chicken wings, hot wings, air fryer
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Nicole says
very crispy and delicious. I'd like to recommend it to every chicken wings lover. It's so easy for making. Thanks for the recipe guys!
★★★★★
Bailey Sissom says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Shirley says
Can these be made frozen or should they be thawed?
Bailey Sissom says
They can be made frozen! Just increase the cooking time a bit!