Extra Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings

Who knew you could make restaurant-quality chicken wings at home and in under 30 minutes? These Extra Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings are the real deal, packing in tons of flavor and a crunchy bite. They’re an easy dish to serve at your next party, for game day, or for a fun dinner!

Crispy Chicken Wings Without Tons of Oil

No longer do you need to venture out to a sports bar for the best crispy chicken wings! These Extra Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings are the real deal. In less than half an hour, you’ll have a restaurant-quality meal that is perfect for watching the big game or for a fun family dinner.

I quickly fell in love with my Gourmia Digital Multi-Mode Air Fryer because it transformed our traditional family wing nights. Week after week, we would order the same chicken wings from the same restaurant. That all changed when I tasted the first homemade crispy chicken wing out of the air fryer. Using very little ingredients and practically no oil had me wishing I took the plunge and bought one years ago!

Deep Frying vs. Air Frying

An air fryer and deep fryer are both going to give you delicious, crispy food every time. But let’s face it: deep-frying food leaves you feeling heavy and not so great after. That’s why air fryers are such game-changers!

Deep fryers require lots and lots of oil. Guess how much we’re going to use in this recipe? Just one teaspoon. Just one! The inside of the air fryer needs a little bit of oil to prevent the meat from sticking, otherwise, there’s no need for additional grease. 

You can use an air fryer to make tons of delicious, healthy recipes (especially chicken), but I love to use it for my Asian Pork Meatballs, veggies, and fish.

How To Make This Recipe

This Extra Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings recipe is perfect for weeknight dinners or meal prepping because it takes such a small amount of time. In only a few steps and 30 minutes, you’ll have super crispy, restaurant-quality chicken wings ready for any meal. Here’s how we do it:

1. The Right Temperature: Let the chicken wings sit on the kitchen counter for at least an hour while they come down to room temperature. This will help them cook faster in the air fryer. 
2. Oil The Air Fryer: While you’re waiting, add some oil to a paper towel and coat the inside of the air fryer to prevent the meat from sticking. Next, mix all the dry rub ingredients in a medium bowl.
3. Dry The Meat: Once the wings are at room temperature, pat them dry using a paper towel. Add them to the bowl with the dry rub and toss to coat.
4. Time To Fry: Place the chicken wings in the air fryer basket and set the temperature to 400ºF.
5. The Right Cooking Time: The cooking time will depend on the size of your wings. For smaller wings, cook for 20-22 minutes, and for larger, cook for 22-25 minutes.
6. Flip The Wings: Halfway through, flip the wings so they can cook evenly.
7. Serve And Enjoy: When time is up, remove the crispy chicken wings from the air fryer, squeeze a little lime juice on top, and enjoy!

Chicken Wing Dry Rub

I love this dry rub for chicken wings because it has classic flavors and simple, common ingredients. Here’s what we’re using:

• Kosher salt
• Chili powder
• Garlic powder
• Smoked paprika
• Baking powder

The magic of this dry rub comes in two parts: baking powder and seasonings. We use baking powder because it absorbs into the chicken skin, making it super crispy, while the seasonings soak into the skin and meat. This way, every bite will be full of flavor.

I prefer to squeeze fresh lime juice on top once they come out of the air fryer, but the base of the dry rub is so flexible that it will go well with many hot or buffalo sauces as well. Toss the cooked wings in a bowl with hot sauce, barbeque sauce, blue cheese dressing, or any other flavor you prefer.

Serving The Extra Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings

I love to serve air fryer chicken wings with cold, fresh-cut vegetables like celery and carrots on the side. Plus, you’ve gotta have a great dipping sauce! Whip up a batch of my Easy Homemade Ranch Dressing while the wings are in the air fryer. It’s a tangy, creamy dipping sauce that goes perfectly with both chicken wings and fresh veggies.

You can serve the Extra Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings as a main dish or as an appetizer. Here’s what I like to enjoy them with:

• Low Carb Mediterranean Burger Salad
• Mexican Street Corn Salad
• Creamy Grilled Smashed Potato Salad
• Chicken & Broccoli + Mushroom Grilled Pizza

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
If you give my EXTRA CRISPY AIR FRYER CHICKEN WINGS a try, let me know what you think in the comments below! Rate and review this recipe or take a picture and tag it with #lenaskitchenblog on Instagram so I can see what you come up with. Happy cooking!

Extra Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings

3.8 from 79 votes

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Cook Time: 22 minutes mins

Total Time: 27 minutes mins

Servings: 2 SERVINGS

Author: Lena Gladstone

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Who knew you could make restaurant-quality chicken wings at home and in under 30 minutes? These Extra Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings are the real deal, packing in tons of flavor and a crunchy bite. They’re an easy dish to serve at your next party, for game day, or for a fun dinner!

Ingredients

• 12-14 chicken wings, drumettes and wingettes separated
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt, additional salt to taste if needed
• 1/2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp olive oil
• lime wedges, optional

Instructions

• Bring chicken wings to room temperature before cooking for at least an hour. This will help them cook faster.
• Using a paper towel, oil the inside of the air fryer basket. This will help the meat from sticking.
• Once at room temperature, pat the chicken wings dry using paper towels. In a medium bowl, mix the dry seasoning ingredients together, add in the wings, and toss to coat. Place the seasoned chicken wings inside the air fryer basket.
• Set the air fryer temperature to 400ºF and the time for 20-22 minutes. Remove the basket halfway through cooking and flip the wings so they cook evenly.
• After the 20 minutes, check the wings to see if they need more time. Smaller wings should cook between 20-22 minutes, and larger ones may need 22-25 minutes.
• Once cooked, remove the wings from the air fryer and serve with celery sticks and my EASY HOMEMADE RANCH DRESSING. Leave them as is or coat in your favorite sauce or squeeze a little lime juice over top.

Notes

How to cook these in the oven:

• Preheat oven to 250°F. And place on the rack at the lowest setting and one near the top.
• Use a paper towel to pat the totally defrosted wings dry. This will not work with frozen wings.
• In a medium bowl, mix the dry seasoning ingredients together, add in the wings, and toss to coat.
• Line a tray with foil, and set a wire rack inside the rimmed baking sheets.
• Brush rack with vegetable oil, or spray with cooking oil. Place the wings on the baking tray in a single layer with the skin side up. It will be a tight fit, use two sheets if needed. Make sure wings don’t touch, You need space for air to get around them.
• Brush wings with some olive oil. Or spray with cooking spray.
• Bake wings at 250 F. for 30 minutes at the lowest oven rack setting, this will help to help render the fat.
• After 30 minutes, increase the temperature to 400 F, and move the wings up to the top of the oven. Bake an additional 45-50 minutes until cooked through and skin is crispy, and wings are golden brown. Optional: Flip once during baking.
• Once baked, remove wings from the pan, and toss in a bowl with 1/4 cup – 1/2 cup sauce of choice to coat wings.
• Return to baking sheet rack, bake for 5-6 minutes until glaze is lightly caramelized.

Course: Appetizer, Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: air fryer, air fryer wings, beer, celery, chicken, chicken wings, hot sauce, wings

Nutrition

Serving: 0g | Calories: 675kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 54g | Fat: 49g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 222mg | Sodium: 1144mg | Potassium: 530mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1509IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 217mg | Iron: 4mg