Air Fryer Chicken Wings

Easy, crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings with a dry rub. Made with just 6 basic ingredients! These quick, mouth-wateringly tender yet crispy wings come together lightning fast and are so fun to share with friends and family.

We all know crispy, tender chicken wings are arguably the most mouth-watering of all the appetizers. But have you made them in the air fryer?

It’s the most amazing experience! 

We’re talking restaurant-quality wings with home cooked wholesomeness wrapped up in a perfect little package of flavor.

These delicious air fryer chicken wings with a dry rub taste lighter than buffalo chicken wings and are a healthier option to boot.

We’re trading out the sauce for a flavorful dry rub and using a fraction of the oil because we’re swapping the deep frying for air frying.

Dip them in a cool creamy ranch or bleu cheese dressing? Forget about it, I’ll eat a plate of them for dinner!

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I was very late to the air fryer scene. I tend to be late to all trends, as my modus operandi is to sit back and observe before formulating any hard decisions. 

Counter and pantry space is valuable, you know?!

Well as soon as I began preparing air fryer recipes I immediately understood the hype. I couldn’t be more pleased with my Ninja Air Fryer so far.

I purchased it based on a friend’s recommendation (she has tried three different brands), and the thousands of reviews. 

While I don’t have a basis for comparison since this is my first air fryer, I can say it’s well worth the pantry space 🙂

This air fryer chicken wings recipe couldn’t be any easier. In a couple of simple steps, you end up with the crispiest wings that everyone loves to love.

If I were to recommend one thing all air fryer owners must make immediately, it’s these wings!

While I’m all about classic buffalo wings, I wanted my first time making chicken wings to be simple and sauce-less with just some delicious seasonings.

The seasoning gives the wings an amazing crust to ramp up their crispiness and you’ll be amazed at how much flavor they pack!

For the traditional saucy version, make my Air Fryer Buffalo Wings.

Let’s chat about the ingredients for air fryer dry rub wings.

Ingredients for Air Fryer Chicken Wings:

Chicken Party Wings and Drummettes: Pick up 2 to 3 pounds of chicken wings and drummettes. If you can’t find any fresh in the meat section of the grocery store, you can find them in the freezer section.

My preference is using fresh chicken wings and drummettes because it eliminates the extra step of thawing the wings.

Avocado Oil: Although we’re air frying, a little bit of avocado oil helps the seasonings stick to the chicken for optimal flavor and also helps generate that amazing crispy skin.

Don’t skip it! I use avocado oil because it is a high-temperature cooking oil, so it won’t burn in the air fryer at a high temperature.

Olive oil isn’t my preference for this application do to its low smoke point.

Paprika, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Dried Oregano, Sea Salt: This combination of seasonings makes the best dry rub for chicken wings.

For the best result, you can marinate the wings in the oil and dry rub for an hour or two ahead of time, but this step isn’t mandatory.

If you have a favorite seasoning, you can easily add it in!

Lemon pepper, ground cumin, cayenne pepper, black pepper, chili powder, and Cajun or any flavorful dry rub seasoning are all great options for crispy air fryer wings.

How Does An Air Fryer Work?:

A fan circulates air around the drawer (or cooking chamber) in a circular fashion, allowing the air to reach the full surface of the food. This not only ensures even cooking, it is what allows the food to crisp up for that mouth-watering mock fried texture.

Does an air fryer actually fry the food? No. The mechanism for cooking is hot air instead of oil

While the food does have a crispy fried-like texture, it isn’t technically deep-fried and therefore won’t taste identical to its deep-fried counterpart.

Does this mean you need zero oil for air frying? In my opinion, no.

You can certainly use less oil that you otherwise would if you were searing, baking, or sautéing, but for the most flavorful result, there is no way around the deliciousness of fat.

In the case of chicken wing recipes, the air fryer cooks the chicken to perfection while leaving you with the crispiest, most delicious skin. Trust me, they most definitely turn out with superior texture over oven-baked chicken wings.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s make these easy air fryer chicken wings with a dry rub!

How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Wings:

Remove the chicken pieces from their packaging and pat off any excess moisture with paper towels.

Transfer the raw chicken wings or drumettes to a large zip lock bag, along with the avocado oil and the air fryer chicken wings dry rub.

Shake all the ingredients up until the chicken is coated with seasonings.

You can allow the chicken to marinate in the refrigerator (known as ‘dry brining’ in the case of a dry rub), or cook the crispy chicken wings immediately.

Note: Rather than using a zip lock bag for this step, you can also toss the ingredients together in a large bowl. 

Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F (I use the ‘Bake’ setting for this). Spray the air fryer basket liberally with cooking spray.

Place the wings in the air fryer basket in a single layer such that they aren’t touching. Select “Air Fry,” and adjust the time to 10 minutes. Be sure the temperature is still 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

After the 10 minutes are up, flip the wings using tongs and air fry for another 8 minutes, or until the wings are golden brown, cooked through and reach an internal temperature of 180 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.

You may need to adjust the cooking time depending on the size of your wings. Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature.

Repeat the process for all of the wings.

You can transfer the cooked wings to a baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven until guests arrive if need be. You may need to do this in several batches depending on the size of your air fryer.

For the juiciest wings, avoid overcooking. 

Serve these healthy chicken wings with your choice of ranch dressing, hot buffalo sauce, barbecue sauce, blue cheese dressing, hot sauce, or any of your favorite sauces. You can take the classic wings approach and enjoy them with carrot sticks and celery sticks.

Store leftover wings in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

You can reheat leftover wings in the air fryer at 350 degrees for 5 minutes, or until hot.

Are Air Fryer Wings Healthy?

Because these chicken wings are made with a dry rub instead of buffalo sauce and they are air fried instead of deep fried , they are a healthier option than traditional chicken wings. Buffalo sauce contains a lot of butter, which simply adds more calories. 

With just the dry rub, you’re left with some protein and fat since skin-on chicken pieces contain a fair amount of fat. All things considered, I find this air fryer chicken wing recipe to be entirely acceptable in a balanced diet, provided you don’t overdo it.

Deep-fried wings contain a great deal of vegetable oil. For this reason, these juicy chicken wings are a better-for-you option. 

All of that said, you can definitely use your favorite wing sauce if you aren’t as concerned about the nutrition.

Have a look at the recipe card below for air fryer chicken wings nutrition facts for the macro breakdown.

And that’s it!

An easy air fryer recipe you’ll want to put on repeat every time you’re entertaining guests. Make them the next time you host game day!

Just season up some wings, air fry them to a perfect crisp, and enjoy!

If you’re looking for more appetizer recipes, try out these crowd-pleasing options.

More Delicious Appetizer Recipes:

• Animal Style Fries
• Lemon Garlic Foil Packet Shrimp
• Guacamole and Black Bean Loaded Sweet Potatoes
• Hummus Flatbread with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Spinach, and Pesto
• Crispy Baked Avocado Fries (With Air Fryer Option)

Air fry ‘em up!

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