How to cook Chicken Wings in air fryer
You won't be disappointed when air frying chicken wings, as little can go wrong with these easy to cook wings, which can be roasted, marinated or be loaded with toppings.
While Chicken Wings can be air fried at a multitude of times and temperatures, it'll be safer to copy the temperature as set for oven cooking on your wing packaging - whilst reducing the time by 5 minutes to avoid drying out. Reliable temp/time for most wings however, is 300°F/160°C for 40 minutes.
Despite the lack of capacity when air frying wings in an air fryer, this still remains the most efficient way of cooking chicken wings.
Chicken wings can be cooked for an extended time or cooked quickly, with the air fryer providing a vast mix of times/temps which will cook your wings to perfection, every time.
Replicate the oven cooking time on your wing packaging, whilst using the same time but reducing it by to 5-8 minutes. Regardless, wings must be checked by cutting one open, to be extra sure there's NO visible signs of raw red/pink spots.
Air fry chicken wings on parchment paper if you can, because foil has a tendency of adhering to the wing chicken.
Similarly, the air fryer basket is likely to stick to the wings, thus lining must be used.
Chicken wings can be allowed to air fry for what should be on the skin/meatiest side facing up, but can be allowed to air fry for the whole time on one side, with no turning over needed.
Plain roast chicken to marinated and loaded chicken wings can be air fried very well, with chicken juices and sauces caught on parchment paper.
Go one step better by trying out wing recipes, like garlic Parmesan wings and BBQ wings which depend on a marinade.
Best way to air fry chicken wings is really to position the wings evenly, and allow them to air fry for the time it takes, with no need to turn or touch them.
If you air fry too many wings and wish to reheat them up later, you can do so by wrapping the wings in a parchment paper to make a parcel, and reheat at 160°C/320°F for 14 minutes.
Demonstration was carried out on TESCO Fire Pit Buffalo Style Chicken Wings, of which I adjusted the time/temp to my needs. Wings were previously frozen, but were defrosted for 24 hours in the fridge, to air fry from fresh.
While these instructions were for a Buffulo marinated wings, the following instructions apply to all types of wings.
How long to air fry chicken wings table
Demonstration was followed using instructions listed in BOLD, with original oven time set for 25-30 minutes; temperature to 300°F/160°C. All I did was reduce the lowest suggested time by 3 minutes - whilst setting temperature for oven cooking exactly.
| Type: | Stored: | Joint: | Qt: | Weigh: | Temp: | Time: | Flip: | Result: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loaded | Thawed | Mix | 16 | 43g | 175°C | 35 Min. | Poke | Gelatinous, Juicy |
| Loaded | Thawed | Mix | 16 | 43g | 170°C | 30 Min. | Poke | Juicy; Crispy Skin |
| Buffalo Marinated | Thawed | Whole | 5 | 90g | 300°F/160°C | 40 Min. | 1 | Juicy |
| Seasoned / Marinated final 5 Mins. | Thawed | Single | 5 | 73g | 180°C | 30 Min. | 2 | Juicy |
| Loaded | Thawed | Mix | 16 | 43g | 180°C | 24 Min. | 2 | Gelatinous, Juicy |
| Plain | Thawed | Single | 6 | 75g | 180°C | 22 Min. | 1 | Succulent, Crispy Skin |
| Marinated | Thawed | Whole | 5 | 46g | 185°C | 12 Min. | 1 | Charred coating; tender centre |
| Plain / Seasoned | Thawed | Single | 6 | 75g | 190°C | 18 Min. | 1 | Juicy |
| Plain / Seasoned | Thawed | Mix | 12 | 98g | 200°C | 19 Min. | 1 | Gelatinous, Juicy |
| Plain / Seasoned | Thawed | Mix | 10 | 98g | 205°C | 16 Min. | 1 | Gelatinous, Juicy |
All examples of air fried chicken wings were cooked with a minimum 5 minute PRE-HEAT; cold-start air frying would effect results.
Air fry your particular chicken wings on the day by referencing the listed temp and time in particular - with the closest weight-match to the Chicken Wings you want to air fry.
Prepare Chicken Wings for air fryer
Little preparation goes in to marinated wings, whereas thawed plain wings will need to be either seasoned and/or marinated before air frying. If you air fry them unseasoned, it would be a good idea to smother the skin in a little oil.
- STEP 1: Sit at room temperature - I sat five chicken wings on a plate for 20 minutes or so, in an effort to avoid air frying from chilled
- STEP 2: Preheat air fryer for 5 mins. - Simply preheat your air fryer which can help to crisp the skin
- STEP 3: Line basket in parchment paper - Only after preheating the air fryer should you line the basket to help contain any marinade/sauce whilst keeping your air fryer basket clean
- STEP 4: Position wings Upside Down in basket with no overlapping - Touching areas would stick together and could leave raw spots
NOTE: If your particular chicken wings are plain with no marinade or seasoning, be sure to pat skin dry in an effort to produce a crispier skin.
How to air fry Chicken Wings
Rather than using my exact cooking instructions which can be taken directly off the chicken wing packaging; simply copy the temperature on your packaging and reduce the oven cooking time by 5 to 8 minutes.
- STEP 1: Set temp to 300°F/160°C; set time to 40 mins. - Not according to the instructions on my packaging, yet it's a safe setting for all size wings
- STEP 2: Cook wings until halfway; flip over wings - Best to use a pair of tongs to flip wings skin-side facing up for second half of air frying
- STEP 3: Continue to air fry; checking periodically towards end - Cook until time while checking for crispiness of skin, making sure to not over-do the wings
- STEP 4: Cut open wing to check doneness - Be sure to cut open or bite into a wing to see if they're done, before serving
NOTE: If dealing with heavily marinated chicken wings, there really is no need to air fry both sides; designate the top side - which is skin-side up - and air fry until done with no flipping over required.
Flipping & prodding Wings optional
Did you know, you can position your chicken wings in the air fryer by making sure they are evenly spaced out, and then let them cook for the whole time without the needing to turn them over.
Wings are quite versatile to air fry, and will allow plenty of trial and error.
Worst that can happen is the wings will dry out, but that can be avoided by air frying wings be a time/temp as set out above.
Wings will benefit by turning them over halfway if you want to introduce a little more crispiness on the skin on the underside; in truth, you risk making the surface area with the most skin, into a soggy texture by turning them over.
Handle chicken wings with silicone-tipped tongs, and avoid piercing the wings with a fork if that is what you're using.
To Summarise
Chicken wings can be a lot of fun to cook in an air fryer, with little going wrong in terms of burning or drying out.
If you adjust your air fryer to the temperature as suggested for oven cooking on the wing packaging, you'll be in safe hands. In addition, air fry the wings for the time listed, but you must reduce the total cooking time by at least 5-8 minutes.
You can air fry any size chicken wings - be it whole or portioned wings - with a temperature of 300°F/160°C, and the time set to 40 minutes, every time.
Wings are prone to sticking which they will if you don't line your air fryer with parchment paper.
Unfortunately, aluminium foil does have a tendency to stick to wings, and you can't guarantee your air fryer basket hasn't lost its protective non-stick coating.
Chicken wings are quite flat and don't provide a lot of meat, which means wings don't need turning halfway, but it doesn't hurt to flip them if you can.
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