How to make crispy, delicious chicken wings in an air fryer

• Chicken wings take about 25 to 30 minutes to cook in the air fryer. 
• Preheat the air fryer, place wings in a single layer, and flip them halfway to ensure even cooking.
• You can add baking powder before cooking to make your chicken wings extra crispy. 

Often served at Super Bowl parties and tailgates, chicken wings are less meaty than other chicken parts, but the skin-on pieces easily turn crispy and are perfect for eating with your hands.

Ciara Turner, a former professional chef turned foodie influencer, said the air fryer is an excellent choice for cooking wings because it’s less messy — no splattering oil involved — and you can use convection cooking, which she calls “hot air magic.”

Convention cooking is what leads to extra-crispy results. As hot air moves around the food in an air fryer, it leaves a crunchy exterior without drying out the meat.

How to make chicken wings in your air fryer 

1. Gather your ingredients. Grab everything you need to season the chicken wings. Turner recommends using fresh chicken wings instead of frozen ones for better results. Pat chicken wings dry before seasoning.
2. Toss chicken wings with oil and seasoning. Place chicken wings in a large bowl and toss with olive oil and your favorite seasonings. Turner adds yellow mustard for extra flavor — just make sure it isn’t dripping off the wings before adding them to the air fryer.
3. Air-dry chicken wings (optional). Place seasoned wings on a baking sheet, uncovered, in the fridge overnight. This helps reduce moisture levels and creates extra crispy results.
4. Set your air fryer to 380 or 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Turner recommends preheating the air fryer for five to 10 minutes before adding the wings to make sure the meat cooks evenly. If you’re using full wings, which include the drumette, flat, and tip, opt for a higher temperature.
5. Cook wings for 25 to 30 minutes. Cook for 25 minutes at 380 degrees for smaller pieces. For whole wings, cook at a higher temperature (400 degrees Fahrenheit) for about 30 minutes. Make sure to arrange the wings in a single layer and flip them halfway through cooking to ensure they cook evenly and get crisp on all sides.
6. Check for doneness. Wings are ready when they reach an interior temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit and have a golden-brown exterior.
7. Sauce your wings (optional). Eat the crispy wings as-is or toss them in Buffalo sauce, sweet and sticky Korean-style sauce, or barbecue sauce for an extra burst of flavor.

Tips for making the best air fryer chicken wings

Here's how to take your air-fryer chicken wings to the next level:

Add baking powder. Turner suggests tossing wings with baking powder after coating them in mustard for next-level crunch. Baking powder helps a crust form quickly when cooking and keeps the inside juicy and moist.

Serve them with tasty sides or dipping sauces. Turner likes serving wings with sweet-potato fries, raw carrots, celery sticks, and ranch. Some dipping sauces perfect for wings include Sriracha, barbecue sauce, and blue cheese.

Store them safely. Wings will keep for up to three days in an airtight container in the fridge, Turner said. To reheat them, set the air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and cook them for about five minutes. When reheating wings, it's not necessary to preheat the air fryer.

Learn more about your air fryer. Air-fryer temperatures and cook times can vary slightly, yielding different results between models. The more you cook with your air fryer, the better acquainted with its cooking abilities you'll be.