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.

Air Fryer Chicken Wings are incredibly tender yet crispy! Made with only a few basic ingredients, this easy recipe makes a delicious appetizer

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?

Itโ€™s the most amazing experience! 

Weโ€™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, Iโ€™ll eat a plate of them for dinner!

Air Fryer Chicken Wings made with just a few basic ingredients. Tender, crispy and amazing!

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 couldnโ€™t be more pleased with my Ninja Air Fryer so far.

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

While I donโ€™t have a basis for comparison since this is my first air fryer, I can say itโ€™s well worth the pantry space ๐Ÿ™‚

Easy Air Fryer Chicken Wings with a delicious dry rub. Quick, simple, perfectly crispy yet tender!

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, itโ€™s these wings!

While Iโ€™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 youโ€™ll be amazed at how much flavor they pack!

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

Letโ€™s chat about the ingredients for air fryer dry rub wings.

Easy Air Fryer Chicken Wings with dry rub - Crispy, tender healthy chicken wings that are paleo, keto and whole30

Ingredients for Air Fryer Chicken Wings:

Chicken Party Wings and Drummettes: Pick up 2 to 3 pounds of chicken wings and drummettes. If you canโ€™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 weโ€™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.

Donโ€™t skip it! I use avocado oil because it is a high-temperature cooking oil, so it wonโ€™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 isnโ€™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 isnโ€™t technically deep-fried and therefore wonโ€™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 sautรฉing, 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.

chicken wings and seasonings in a zip lock bag

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. 

Shake all the ingredients for the wings in a zip lock bag

Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F (I use the โ€˜Bakeโ€™ 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 arenโ€™t touching. Select โ€œAir Fry,โ€ and adjust the time to 10 minutes. Be sure the temperature is still 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Place chicken wings in the air fryer and make sure they don't touch.

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.

Flip the wings once and continue air frying

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.

Finished chicken wings in an 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.

Air Fryer Chicken Wings with easy dry rub. A quick and amazing appetizer recipe! These wings are seriously life-changing!

And thatโ€™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:

Air fry โ€˜em up!

Big white plate with a pile of dry rub air fried chicken wings sprinkled with green onions with a dark blue napkin to the side.

Air Fryer Chicken Wings

5 from 2 votes
The quickest, easiest life-changing chicken wings that are perfectly crispy yet tender! A crowd-pleasing appetizer for any occasion!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 28 minutes
Servings: 16 Servings

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 2 ยฝ lbs chicken wings and drummettes
  • 3 Tbsp avocado oil
  • 1 Tbsp paprika
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • ยฝ tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp sea salt

Instructions

  • Add all of the ingredients for the wings to a zip lock bag and seal it up. Shake it well until all of the chicken pieces are covered with oil and seasonings.
  • Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F for 2 minutes.
  • Place the wings in the air fryer in a single layer such that they arenโ€™t touching. Air fry for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.
  • After the 10 minutes are up, flip the wings and air fry for another 8 minutes or until the wings reach an internal temperature of at least 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Repeat the process for all of the wings.
  • Serve with choice of ranch dressing, hot buffalo sauce, blue cheese, etc.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1of 16 ยท Calories: 179kcal ยท Protein: 13g ยท Fat: 14g
Author: Julia
Course: Appetizers
Cuisine: American
Keyword: air fryer chicken wings, air fryer recipes, appetizer, chicken wings, easy air fryer recipes, easy chicken wings, healthy air fryer recipes
Did You Make This Recipe?I want to see it! Tag @the.roasted.root on social media!
Easy Air Fryer Chicken Wings - perfectly crispy and tender chicken wings made fast in the air fryer. Paleo, keto, whole30

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Julia Mueller
Meet the Author

Julia Mueller

Julia Mueller is a recipe developer, cookbook author, and founder of The Roasted Root. She has authored three bestselling cookbooks, – Paleo Power Powers, Delicious Probiotic Drinks, and The Quintessential Kale Cookbook. Her recipes have been featured in several national publications such as BuzzFeed, Self, Tasty, Country Living, Brit.co, etc.

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Questions and Reviews

    1. Thanks so much for following up to share your experience, Kathryn! I’m happy to hear your family enjoys them and some other recipes as well! ๐Ÿ™‚

  1. So you are air frying 6 wings at a time and it takes ~18 minutes per batch? Air frying 2-3 pounds is going take what 45 minutes to an hour?? Wow…

    1. Hey Bob. My air fryer (which is fairly small relative to some of the giants out there) holds 6-8 wings at a time (which you can see in the photos). For me, this recipe took 2 batches to complete. You can a.) Use a bigger air fryer, or b.) Don’t make the recipe.

    1. I definitely have been getting a lot of use out of mine so far ๐Ÿ˜€ I haven’t re-tested the sweet potato fries, but I’m willing to bet they’ll be just perfect with a couple little adjustments ๐Ÿ˜€ xoxoxo