Frozen Chicken Wings in Air Fryer

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Frozen chicken wings in air fryer are the easiest way to get crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside wings with barely any effort at all. So simple, just a quick spice mix and 20 minutes in an air fryer and you’ll have the perfect appetizer that’s a total crowd pleaser.

Why make chicken wings in an air fryer?

It’s the most mess free, simplest way of getting really good chicken wings without deep frying, turning on an oven, or other more involved forms of cooking.

You can cook frozen wings in an an air fryer directly without needed to thaw them in advance. Just keep them out for the time it’ll take you to put together the spice mix, and preheat the air fryer for a few minutes.

If you thaw the frozen chicken wings, you can pat them dry if you want to, but I didn’t do this and they still came out so crispy. It may have helped that I used smaller chicken wings.

What ingredients do you need for air fryer chicken wings?

Chicken wings: fresh or frozen, frozen will just take a few minutes extra.

Salt and pepper: sprinkle the chicken wings all over to season

Garlic powder, onion powder and paprika powder: This is what gives the chicken its flavor.

Buffalo or bbq sauce to dip the wings in. You can also add the cooked wings to these sauces to coat completely!

I like to use a little olive oil spray to coat the air fryer basket to avoid the frozen chicken wings from sticking.

How to air fry chicken wings:

1. Start off by preheating your air fryer for just a few minutes while you prepare the chicken wings. This will make sure it’s hot as soon as they go in to give them that nice crisp exterior.
2. Place chicken wings in a bowl, and season generously with a big pinch of salt and pepper.
3. Sprinkle the rest of the spices all over the wings, and toss to coat well.
4. Place the wings in a single layer in the air fryer basket. You may have to air fry in batches depending on the capacity of your Air fryer- I needed two batches.
5. Air fry for 10 minutes, then open the air fryer, flip the wings around, and continue to air fry. You’ll air fry for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Keep checking.
6. Serve plain or with bbq sauce or buffalo sauce on the side. You can also toss the chicken wings in the sauce to coat. Serve immediately!

NOTE: You can do this with frozen chicken wings or fresh frozen wings. If using frozen chicken wings, you can leave them out during prep so they thaw just enough to not be stuck together. You can also just use them directly from the freezer, but you’ll probably have to break them up a little when turning the wings around halfway through.

Tips and tricks for air fryer frozen chicken wings success:

You can use this recipe with frozen or fresh wings. The only difference is frozen wings will take longer to cook through and get crispy, just keep checking on them.

Don’t be afraid to season the wings liberally with salt, pepper and the spices. you can add any other spices you like.

Flip the chicken wings over at the halfway mark so they crisp up evenly on both sides.

Serve with dipping sauces, like bbq, buffalo, blue cheese or ranch for an extra punch of flavor.

If you liked this recipe, you might like:

Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Tenders

Air Fryer Frozen Burgers

and

Air Fryer Kofta Kababs

Air Fryer Halloumi