Easy Air Fryer Chicken Wings
Healthier chicken wings with no oil and no deep frying required. Only 2 ingredients and 30 minutes for juicy chicken wings that are so easy to make at home!
It’s time to ditch the deep fried version and make this delicious air fryer version at home!
These Easy Air Fryer Chicken Wings only require two steps and two ingredients. You can now enjoy buffalo chicken wings again without stress or guilt.
I’ve been hooked on creating air fryer recipes since I made these bacon wrapped Brussels sprouts, and these chicken wings were next on my list. Basically, anything I can do to make the recipes I love, but make them at home, and make them easy, and I’m game to try it!
Ingredient Notes:
- chicken wings – you can get either whole chicken wings or already split chicken wings. If purchasing whole wings you will need a sharp knife to cut them apart.
- buffalo wing sauce – there are so many options! Sweet Baby Ray’s is one of my favorites but for a no sugar added version I like The Butcher Shop Wing Sauce from Sprouts.
How to Cut Chicken Wings:
- spread out the wing and find the joints
- twist to separate the joints
- use a sharp knife to cut them apart (as indicated in the photo above)
- Discard tips (or save for making stock)
See this in-depth tutorial that I used to teach myself how to cut the wings apart. Or purchase already split wings if you can find them.
Steps to making air fryer chicken wings:
- Place chicken wings in air fryer basket (no oil or anything else needed)
- Cook at 380 degrees for about 25 minutes
- Turn up the heat to 400 and cook until crispy, about 5 more minutes
- Remove and toss with favorite sauce
It’s really that easy to make chicken wings at home! Now, I love buffalo chicken wings, but obviously, feel free to choose your favorite sauce to toss them as well as to dip them.
Common questions/tips about making your own chicken wings:
- Can I make baked chicken wings instead? YES! You will need to toss them with oil, though. Bake on a wire rack over a cookie sheet at 400 degrees for about 45-60 minutes.
- Are you sure I don’t need oil if making in the air fryer? Yep! No oil and no flour needed at all and they will get perfectly crispy. I did flip them once halfway through cooking to make sure they got evenly crispy
- How do I prepare the wings for cooking? Wings come in three parts, the tip, the wing and the drumette. If you are able to purchase the already trimmed version that has these parts separate and the tip discarded, I’d recommend this!
What do I need for making chicken wings?
- An air fryer. I haven’t tried any others, so I can’t say for sure what’s best, but I bought this one at Walmart on a whim one day and I’ve been happy with it, but it is kind of small.
- Buffalo wing sauce – test them out and find your favorite! I love Sweet Baby Ray’s, or, when I can find it, Ott’s.
- Tongs – makes easy work of not having to touch raw chicken or get sauce all over when tossing. I have 3 pairs of tongs because I use them all day long in the kitchen.
For even more flavor options be sure to try my Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings.
Easy Air Fryer Chicken Wings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken wings (split, drumettes and wings only)
- 1/2 cup Buffalo wing sauce
Instructions
- Place chicken wings in one layer in air fryer (you may need to do in batches depending on size of air fryer)
- Cook at 380 degrees for 25 minutes, flipping once
- Turn heat to 400 degrees and cook for 5 minutes until chicken is fully done and skin is crispy
- Add sauce and wings to bowl and toss to coat
Notes
- if possible, use already cut chicken wings. If not, you will need to cut them by spreading out the wing to find the joints and twisting to separate. Then use a sharp knife to cut them apart and discard tips.
- You can use regular or no sugar added buffalo sauce
- If you like the wings to be less "saucy" you can toss them with sauce, place back in air fryer for 2 additional minutes to "bake" the sauce in.
- No oil is needed for this recipe
- Dip in prepared blue cheese or ranch dressing for the full experience treat!
I never cook and was given an air fryer. Wings are the first thing I cooked. Nice and easy and they were good, too.