LAST UPDATED: BY NICKKI THOMPSON FIRST PUBLISHED: Leave a Comment
Love chicken wings? Have you ever tried making them in the air fryer? This crispy air fryer chicken wings recipe is ready in just 35 minutes!
Chicken wings are perfect for gatherings and parties – they don’t tend to hang around for long, especially if you’re cooking for a bunch of teenagers (in my experience!)
These chicken wings have a simple seasoning of salt, pepper, garlic and onion granules. I’ve also added chilli flakes, but if you’re not a fan of heat just leave them out. Of course, if you have a favourite spice mix, feel free to use it instead.
Chinese 5 spice, cajun or Southern fried would be good, to name just a few!
how to serve crispy chicken wings
You can of course serve these chicken wings on their own, but they are delicious with a sauce. Buffalo sauce or blue cheese sauce is a popular pairing, but I love wings with hot honey butter. It’s an addictive sweet and spicy sauce made from melted butter, hot sauce, honey and a little seasoning. I add a little lime juice to cut through the richness. It’s SO good with chicken!
Benefits of cooking chicken wings in an air fryer
- Easy– for me, this is the real beauty of air fryer cooking.
- Healthier – we all know fried chicken wings are adelicious treat, but you need a lot of oil to cook them. With the magic of an air fryer, you just need one tablespoon of oil for this recipe! You’ll have crispy chicken wings with tender meat that are much healthier but don’t sacrifice on flavour.
- Oh so crispy – the intense heat of the air fryer will give you super crispy chicken– but you don’t need to cook them in a vat of oil!
how to cook crispy air fryer chicken wings
dry the chicken wings
- Place the chicken wings in a large bowl (or use a large tray). Pat dry thoroughly with paper towels – removing as much excess moisture as possible will ensure the chicken skin crisps beautifully.
add the seasoning
- Pour the vegetable oil over the wings and using your hands, stir to lightly coat the chicken wings in oil. I know it might seem like there isn’t much oil, but I promise you don’t need anymore.
- Combine the garlic and onion granules, salt, black pepper, chill flakes (if using) and baking powder in a small bowl. Sprinkle this mixture all over the chicken wings and mix lightly to coat the chicken.
time to cook
- Place the chicken wings in the air fryer and cook at 200C/400F for about 35 minutes or until the chicken is very crispy and golden brown all over.
- Don’t over crowd the fryer with the chicken pieces – unless you have a giant air fryer, you’ll need to cook them in batches.
make the hot honey butter
- To make the hot honey butter, melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir in the hot sauce, honey, lime juice, pinch of salt and black pepper. Keep stirring until everything is well combined.
- Keep the hot honey butter warm over a low heat, or if you’re making in advance, remove from the heat, cool completely and place in the fridge. Reheat in a small saucepan over a low heat.
- Brush the chicken wings with the hot honey butter (I use a silicone pastry brush) and serve the extra as a dipping sauce.
tips for recipe success
Here’s what I did to ensure the chicken wings turned out as crispy as possible.
- Firstly, pat the chicken wings dry with paper towels. Removing as much of the moisture as possible will make sure the chicken skin is as crispy as crispy can be.
- Sprinkle the chicken wings with baking powder. The alkaline in the baking powder raises the ph level in the chicken skin, giving you perfectly crispy results. One word of warning – please don’t confuse baking powder with baking soda! Using baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) will make your chicken taste terrible.
can you reheat chicken wings in air fryer?
Yes. If you’re making these chicken wings in advance, they can be re-heated. Cool any leftover wings as quickly as possible, then reheat in the air fryer at 190C for 5-6 minutes.
more air fryer recipes
- Air fryer roast chicken
- Air fryer chicken fajitas
- crispy air fryer roast potatoes
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
I hope you enjoyed! Do let me know how you got on with the recipe by leaving a comment below. If you loved it, please considering leaving me a review by clicking on the stars in the recipe card. Any feedback is always welcomed.
Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings
Yield: 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
These crispy air fryer chicken wings are tender, succulent and delicious! Serve as they are or with your favourite sauce. Plenty of napkins required!
Ingredients
- 1kg chicken wings
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic granules
- 1/2 teaspoon onion granules
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried chilli flakes (optional)
- 1 level tablespoon baking powder (NOT baking soda)
- FOR THE HOT HONEY BUTTER
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 80ml (1/3 cup) hot sauce (such as Sriracha or Franks)
- 2 teaspoons runny honey
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- pinch of salt to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your air fryer according to the manufacturer's instructions (some models don't need pre heating but check the instructions).
- Place the chicken wings in a large bowl (or use a large tray). Pat dry thoroughly with paper towels - taking away as much excess moisture as possible will help the skin crisp up beautifully.
- Pour the vegetable oil over the wings and using your hands, stir to lightly coat the chicken wings in oil. I know it might seem like there isn't much oil, but I promise you don't need anymore. Combine the garlic and onion granules, salt, black pepper, chill flakes (if using) and baking powder in a small bowl. Sprinkle this mixture over the chicken wings and mix lightly to coat the chicken.
- Place the chicken wings in the air fryer and cook at 200C/400F for about 35 minutes. Don't over crowd the fryer - unless you have a giant air fryer, you'll need to cook them in batches.
- To test if the wings are ready, remove from the fryer and pull one apart - they should be very crispy with tender meat and no traces of pink meat. Serve with your favourite sauce.
- To make the hot honey butter, melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Keep warm over a low heat, or if you're making in advance, remove from the heat, cool completely and place in the fridge. Reheat in a small saucepan over a low heat. When you're ready to serve, brush some of the honey butter over the chicken - I use a silicone pastry brush. Use the rest as a dipping sauce (or of course feel free to use your favourite sauce instead).
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 479Total Fat: 36gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 114mgSodium: 906mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 21g
Calories and nutritional information are provided by a third party application and should be viewed as indicative figures only.