Crispy chicken wings in the air fryer? Yep, it's possible! By using a little bit of baking powder, you can make your air fryer chicken wings the perfect combination of juicy, tender, and crispy. Enjoy them with our homemade buffalo sauce and serve with your favorite dipping sauces! Ready in under 30 minutes.

Jump to:
You might be a little bit skeptical if this is your first time making an air fryer chicken wing recipe. Can they really get as crispy as chicken wing recipes using other methods? The answer is yes—it just takes a simple trick using baking powder! Better yet, by making air fryer wings, you'll save on time and energy efficiency as compared to traditional oven baked wings.
It takes just under 25 minutes to make wings in the air fryer. Preheat your air fryer to 400°F, air fry for a cooking time of 16-18 minutes until they're heated through to 175°F, then season while they're still hot and toss them with sauce after seasoning. Presto—perfect wings!
That said, there are more tricks you can follow to making the best air fryer wings. Read on to learn more about air frying wings, with FAQ, exact ingredient measurements, and instructions based on our extensive testing.
Watch the Video
Ingredients for Air Fryer Chicken Wings
- Chicken Wings: Look for a package of fresh chicken wings with both wingettes and wing drumettes. You can also buy whole chicken wings and cut them into thirds yourself to separate the drumettes, winglets, and wing tips. This is a good choice if you're on a budget and don't mind spending a little extra time cutting the wings.
- Baking Powder: Make sure you're using baking powder, not baking soda. Baking powder helps crisp up the skin of the wings without adding any unwanted flavor. Simply pat the wings dry, toss them with baking powder, and you're ready to air fry.
- Kosher Salt: We recommend kosher salt or sea salt flakes as opposed to table salt. This will give the wings the best flavor.
- Garlic Powder: Garlic powder adds a garlicky taste to the wings without the need for fresh garlic. It's a great choice for wings served with any sauce, from buffalo to BBQ sauce.
- Black Pepper: Freshly cracked black pepper is the best choice for flavor.
- Unsalted Butter: Make sure to pick up unsalted butter, not salted. If you have salted butter, then simply use less salt in the wing seasoning. Or, if you're not making our homemade buffalo sauce, you won't need butter.
- Frank's Red Hot Sauce: This famous hot sauce pairs with butter in the microwave for a quick, easy, and simple buffalo sauce recipe. It might sound like it isn't anything special, but trust us, this is the way to go.
Note: Avoid seasoning the wings until after you take them out of the air fryer, while they're still hot. We found in our extensive testing while making this recipe that if you season before air frying, the seasoning will burn and give the wings a bitter taste. This is why we always season after air frying, and not before.

How to Air Fry Chicken Wings

Step 1
Preheat the air fryer to 400°F. While the air fryer preheats, pat chicken wings to remove excess moisture. Then, place the wings in a large bowl. Add ½ teaspoon of baking powder and toss the wings to coat them with the powder.

Step 2
When the air fryer is preheated, spray the air fryer basket with your favorite cooking oil in a sprayer bottle. Avoid using pressurized cooking sprays, which have additives that will damage the non-stick coating of your air fryer.

Step 3
Add the chicken wings to the air fryer basket and spray them lightly with oil.

Step 4
Air fry for 16-18 minutes, turning each wing over halfway through air frying.

Step 3
The wings should reach an internal temperature of 175-190°F. Check using an instant-read meat thermometer inserted inside the thickest part of the wing before removing them from the air fryer.

Step 4
While the chicken wings are air frying, add 3 Tablespoons of butter and 3 ounces of Frank's Red Hot Sauce to a small, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds, until the butter is fully melted. Whisk to combine, and set aside.

Step 3
Mix ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder, and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper together in a small dish to make the chicken wing seasoning, and set aside.

Step 4
When the wings are cooked through, remove them from the air fryer and immediately toss with seasoning in a large bowl. Keep tossing the wings until they absorb the seasoning.

Step 3
Pour buffalo sauce over chicken wings. Use tongs to toss the wings and coat with the buffalo sauce.

Step 4
Serve Buffalo wings immediately with carrot and celery sticks and a dipping sauce such as ranch or blue cheese dressing. Enjoy!

Recipe Tips
- Use an oil sprayer filled with your favorite vegetable oil, such as light olive oil or avocado oil, rather than a pressurized cooking spray. Cooking sprays contain additives that will break down the non-stick coating of your air fryer basket/tray over time.
- When microwaving the buffalo sauce, make sure to cover the bowl with a paper plate or paper towel to stop the sauce from spattering. Trust us on this one!
- Be sure not to overcrowd the air fryer basket. If the wings are too close together or are set in the air fryer in layers, they won't cook correctly. Work in a single layer of wings at a time, allowing room between each wing.
- Cook time may vary based on your model of air fryer. All air fryer brands vary. For this reason, we recommend you always use our recipe as a guideline, but test until you find the perfect timing for your air fryer.
- Make sure to use an instant read meat thermometer, especially when air frying chicken! It is very important that the wings reach a temperature of 175°F–190°F.
- If cooking multiple batches, check on subsequent batches early. They may cook more quickly.
Air Frying Wings from Frozen
Do you have frozen chicken wings you want to air fry? We're happy to tell you it's easy, and you can do it without thawing them! Frozen wings won't turn out as crispy as thawed wings will, but they're just as tasty and best of all, can go from freezer to air fryer without issue. See our recipe for frozen wings in the air fryer for full instructions and a video!
Toaster Oven Style Air Fryer Instructions
Toaster-oven style air fryers with a tray, such as the Breville Smart Oven Air, take longer to cook than air fryer models with a basket. For this reason, we recommend air frying wings for 23-25 minutes at 400°F following the above instructions. Make sure to leave room between each wing on the air fryer tray, and flip them over halfway through the cook time.
How to Store Leftover Chicken Wings
- Refrigerator: Store leftovers can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3-5 days.
- Freezer: Allow air fried chicken wings to cool. Then, transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet with space between each wing. Add the sheet to the freezer until the wings are completely frozen. Once frozen, transfer to a zip-top freezer-safe bag and label with the freezing date. Cooked wings will last up to 6 months in the freezer.
- Reheating (From Refrigeration): Reheat air fryer chicken wings in the air fryer for 3-5 minutes or until heated through.
- Reheating (From Frozen): Follow our directions for frozen chicken wings and adjust the time to reheat from frozen.
Chicken Wing Sauces
- Buffalo Sauce: This is our favorite wing sauce. Serve air fryer buffalo wings with blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing on the side for dipping. When using blue cheese dressing, mix in a few crumbles of extra blue cheese to make it extra special.
- Honey Hot Sauce: Add ¼ cup of honey (or to taste) to the buffalo sauce when tossing the wings for honey hot wings. That sweet heat is delicious!
- Garlic Butter: We developed this easy garlic butter dip to use with everything from pizza to wings. You can toss your wings in garlic butter sauce and Parmesan to create cheesy Parmesan garlic wings.
- BBQ Sauce: You can also toss the wings with your favorite barbecue sauce and BBQ spices.
- Lemon Pepper: Toss your chicken wings with lemon pepper seasoning and Parmesan for some truly tasty lemon pepper air fryer wings!
FAQ
For the best results, pat your wings dry with a paper towel, then toss with a little bit of baking powder. This will help the wings crisp up in the air fryer.
Yes, you should flip chicken wings halfway through the air frying time to ensure perfectly cooked and crispy wings.

Leave a comment and review for us below if you enjoyed this recipe, or if you have questions about any of our air fryer recipes!

Air Fryer Chicken Wings
Equipment
- Air Fryer We're using a 7 quart air fryer
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken wings winglets and wing drumettes
- ½ teaspoon baking powder helps get them extra crispy
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 3 ounces Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F. While the air fryer preheats, pat 1 lb chicken wings to remove excess moisture. Then, place the wings in a large bowl. Add ½ teaspoon baking powder and toss the wings to coat them with the powder.
- When the air fryer is preheated, spray the air fryer basket with your favorite cooking oil in a sprayer bottle. Avoid using pressurized cooking sprays, which have additives that will damage the non-stick coating of your air fryer.
- Add the chicken wings to the air fryer basket and spray them lightly with oil.
- Air fry for 16-18 minutes (23-25 minutes if using a toaster oven style air fryer with a tray), turning each wing over halfway through air frying.
- The wings should reach an internal temperature of 175-190°F. Check using an instant-read meat thermometer inserted inside the thickest part of the wing before removing them from the air fryer.
- While the chicken wings are air frying, add 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter and 3 ounces Frank’s Red Hot Sauce to a small, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds, until the butter is fully melted. Whisk to combine, and set aside.
- Mix ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder, and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper together in a small dish to make the chicken wing seasoning, and set aside.
- When the wings are cooked through, remove them from the air fryer and immediately toss with seasoning in a large bowl. Keep tossing the wings until they absorb the seasoning.
- Pour buffalo sauce over chicken wings. Use tongs to toss the wings and coat with the buffalo sauce.
- Serve Buffalo wings immediately with carrot and celery sticks and a dipping sauce such as ranch or blue cheese dressing. Enjoy!
Notes
- Use an oil sprayer filled with your favorite vegetable oil, such as light olive oil or avocado oil, rather than a pressurized cooking spray, which can break down the non-stick coating of your air fryer.
- When microwaving the buffalo sauce, make sure to cover the bowl with a paper plate or paper towel to stop the sauce from spattering.
- Avoid overcrowding the air fryer basket. If the wings are too close together or overlapping, they won't cook correctly. Work in a single layer of wings at a time, allowing room between each wing.
- Cook time may vary based on your model of air fryer. All air fryer brands vary. Test until you find the perfect timing for your air fryer.
- Make sure to use an instant read meat thermometer, especially when air frying chicken!
- If cooking multiple batches, check on subsequent batches early. They may cook more quickly.
Comments
No Comments