Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Wings

Glazed with your favorite barbecue sauce, these chicken wings are finger-licking good. They’re easy to make in your air fryer and you’ll love how they turn out.

Air Fryer Chicken Wings

Making wings is pretty simple. You don’t need any fancy ingredients and often chicken wings are on sale, making them an economical choice. Why buy expensive frozen BBQ wings when it’s so easy to make your own?

Use your favorite BBQ sauce to coat these wings. There are so many to choose from: spicy, sweet, smoky, salty. You can easily make your own barbecue sauce, too. We love this spicy homemade cherry chipotle barbecue sauce. If you prefer plain wings, try air fryer chicken wings that are seasoned but not coated with a sauce.

You can air fry any type of chicken! Don’t limit yourself to wings! Try air fryer chicken drumsticks, air fryer chicken thighs, or air fryer chicken breasts. You can even air fry a whole chicken!

Ingredient Notes

• Chicken wings: Buy about a pound of wings and split them into flats and drumettes (cut at the joint, tips removed). If you’re not sure how to split the wings, take a look at this short video.
• Seasoning blend: Use this versatile blend of garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper, mixed with a little oil, to coat the wings.
• Barbecue sauce: Buy your favorite brand, or make your own barbecue sauce.

How to make Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Wings

Dry the wings. Pat the wings dry with clean paper towels. The wings crisp up better when they aren’t wet because water produces steam. You want to “fry” the wings, not steam them. In addition, the oil/spice mixture won’t adhere well to wet wings.

Season the wings. Mix the oil and spices in a large bowl. Add the wings and toss them around until they are thoroughly coated with the oil and spice mixture. Get your air fryer preheating to 375ºF. (Temperature controls of air fryers vary quite a bit. I’ve found that 375ºF to 400ºF works best for wings in my air fryer. You may have to experiment just a bit to find the perfect temperature for your air fryer model.)

Air fry. Arrange the wings on the rack in your air fryer in a single layer. Don’t worry if they overlap slightly. The wings shrink slightly as they cook. You may need to do them in batches, depending on the size of your air fryer.

Cook for ten minutes, flip the wings over, and cook an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Open the air fryer and coat the wings with barbecue sauce, using a basting brush.

Finish cooking the wings, another 2 to 3 minutes, until the sauce is caramelized and starting to bubble a little. Watch closely towards the end of the cooking time so that the sauce doesn’t burn.

If you are adding another batch of wings to the air fryer, wipe it out the excess grease with paper towels so your kitchen doesn’t get smoky.

Serve. Serve the wings with more sauce on the side, if you like. So good! If you are serving wings for a main course, this vinegar coleslaw with no mayonnaise is a great side, or maybe you prefer a more creamy coleslaw. Roasted sweet potatoes or baby potatoes are delicious, too.

Easy Recipe Variations

• Vary the spice mixture. The spice mixture I use can easily be adjusted to reflect your tastes. Use smoked paprika instead of regular paprika. Try adding more garlic powder, or a touch of cayenne.
• Marinate wings. Instead of rubbing the wings with the oil/spice mixture, try a marinade to add flavor. Take a look at my easy chicken marinades.
• Experiment with different sauces. Try hoisin sauce, spicy gochujang, sweet and sour, teriyaki, or whatever you like best. There are so many sauces to choose from! Try keto friendly BBQ sauces.
• Make drumsticks. Instead of wings, substitute drummies. Add a few minutes to the cooking time.

Make-Ahead Ideas

You can get the wings all ready to air fry up to a day in advance. Coat the wings with the oil/spice mixture, cover the bowl, and place it in the fridge. Take the wings out of the fridge to warm up a little while the air fryer preheats.

Storage & Reheating

Refrigerate/Freeze: Cooked wings, properly wrapped, will keep up to four days in the fridge and 3 months in the freezer.

Reheat: To reheat, put leftover wings into your air fryer at 350ºF for five minutes. If desired, turn the air fryer up to 400ºF, and cook for an additional 3 minutes to crisp them up. Frozen wings will take longer but there’s no need to thaw them. Cook them for ten minutes at 350ºF, flip them, and cook an additional 10 minutes.