Crispy and sauced to perfection, Air Fryer Chicken Wings are the perfect snack for any social event! Munch on your favorite appetizer without all the guilt!
I am not a huge sports fan, but I can totally get behind a big tailgate party or having friends over to watch a basketball game. No, I’m not in it for the sports, I’m in it for the SNACKS!
Pizza, Buffalo Chicken Dip in a Crock Pot, and air fryer wings, these are a few of my favorite things. There’s nothing better than gathering with friends, munching on delicious snacks, and cheering on your favorite team – or in my case, my favorite dipping sauce. 🙂
My kids and my husband beg for crispy chicken wings whenever a big game is on and I happily oblige because I can easily make them in my air fryer!
AIR FRYER CHICKEN WINGS
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It wasn’t until I was in college that I discovered my love of chicken wings. It honestly feels like my friends and I ate wings on a weekly basis.
Late-night study session? We ordered wings.
Tailgating on football game day? Someone was in charge of bringing wings!
The season finale of The Bachelor was on (yes, it’s my guilty pleasure show)? You guessed it, we ordered wings.
I’m pretty sure the employees at the local wings place had my phone number and address memorized…
Ahhh to be young and have a fast metabolism. These days my stomach can’t handle all those greasy, deep-fried foods (as much as I would love to eat them on a weekly basis like the good old days). But, my love for wings is totally still there, so thank GOODNESS my favorite kitchen appliance was invented – the air fryer!
By crisping up some wings in my air fryer, I can avoid all the greasy guilt that I feel when I order wings to-go. They’re just as crispy and delicious as I remember them being from college, but I made them without having to soak them in cups of oil!
Air Fryer Chicken Wings are my go-to snacks to make whenever we have company coming over to watch any kind of sporting event. With March Madness right around the corner, I know my husband and I will be making a few batches of these air fryer chicken wings to enjoy while watching the games!
Whether you’re a fan of spicy buffalo sauce or a tangy Cilantro Jalapeno Lime, we’ve got a delicious sauce for your wings for you. Try them both out and let us know which you prefer!
Ingredients
For the wings:
- Chicken wings
- Salt
- Pepper
- Olive oil
- Paper towels
For Cilantro Jalapeno Lime Sauce:
- Olive oil
- Chopped cilantro
- Limes
- Garlic powder
- Chopped jalapeno
For Buffalo Sauce:
- Frank’s Buffalo Hot Sauce
- Melted butter
I am not a huge fan of intense spiciness. I like a little kick, but not so much that I need to go running for a glass of water.
So, if you’re like me, don’t worry. Neither of these sauces are too overbearing. Sometimes I even like to dip my air fryer wings into ranch or blue cheese to cut down on some of the spicinesses!
How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Wings
Before you cook up your wings, you’ll want to decide which type of sauce you’re going to coat them with. My husband loves the Cilantro Lime wings while my sons both love buffalo wings. When we’re air frying chicken wings in our house, we make both! The sauces are easy enough to make that you can mix them up while your wings are cooking in the air fryer.
- Start by washing your chicken wings and placing them on a paper towel. Cover the wings with paper towels and press down to dry. It is SO important that the wings are dry before you fry them. The dryer they are, the crispier they get (and we all know a crispy wing is a perfect wing).
- Next, sprinkle the wings with salt and pepper. Spray them with olive oil before placing them in the air fryer (in a single layer) to get the crispness of a deep-fried wing.
- After spraying the wings, cook them in the air fryer at 370 degrees F for 10 minutes. Then, flip with tongs and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
- While the wings are cooking, add all the sauce ingredients into a large bowl. Whisk the sauce together and set aside. (You can use one of the two sauce recipes in this post, or even some bbq sauce!)
- Next, take the wings out of the air fryer and place them in a bowl of sauce and toss the wings until they’re completely coated.
- Place the wings back in the air fryer and increase the temperature to 400 degrees F for an additional 4 minutes so the sauce cooks into your wings. This also helps get them extra crispy! There you have it – perfectly crisp wings without all the guilt!
- Serve them on their own or with some of your favorite dippings sauces. Make sure you’ve got plenty of wings, your guests will gobble them right up!
How does an Air Fryer work?
Like I said earlier, I am so thankful that air fryers were invented. They allow me to eat so many of my favorite fried foods from the comfort of my own home and without having to feel guilty about having to cook them in tons of oil!
Air fryers work like a mini convection oven. The food being cooked sits inside a basket. Hot air is then circulated around the basket allowing the food to cook and crisp up perfectly.
How to use an Air Fryer
Using an air fryer really is very simple! As mentioned before, it is very important that whatever you’re cooking inside the air fryer is DRY.
If you’re making potato chips or french fries, make sure you’ve laid them out to dry on paper towels. If you’re making chicken wings in the air fryer, wash them and then pat them dry with a paper towel. The food needs to be dry so that it will crisp effectively!
Then all you need to do is set your air fryer to the desired temperature, put your food in the basket, and let the fryer work it’s magic!
Most recipes will call for you to shake the basket around or flip your food inside about halfway through. This ensures that all sides of the food get equally crispy and it doesn’t stick to the basket.
It really is as simple as that, which just goes to show why the air fryer is one of my favorite kitchen appliances!
Need some more yummy appetizers for your March Madness viewing parties? Check out these other Real Housemoms favorites!
- Low Carb “Fried” Pickles
- Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels
- Coconut Shrimp
- Sausage Cheese Balls
- Crispy Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings
- more APPETIZER recipes…
Tools used to make this Air Fryer Chicken Wings recipe
Air Fryer: it’s no surprise that you’ll need an air fryer to make these wings! This is the air fryer that I use (and LOVE).
Tongs: so simple, yet so useful. Especially when you’re flipping hot wings in your air fryer!
Ingredients
Cilantro Jalapeno Lime Sauce
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 3 limes
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 jalapeno chopped (see note)
Buffalo Wing Sauce
- ¼ cup Frank's Buffalo sauce
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
Instructions
- Wash chicken wings and place them on paper towels. Cover with more paper towels and press down to remove any water. This is a key step to making wings crispy! Make sure each wing is completely dry.
- Sprinkle wings with salt and pepper, then spray with olive oil. Place wings in air fryer.
- Cook wings at 370 degrees F for 10 minutes. Flip wings with tongs and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
- While wings are cooking, add the ingredients for your sauce of choice to a large mixing bowl and whisk together.
- Take wings out of the air fryer and place in the bowl of sauce. Toss until wings are completely coated in sauce.
- Return wings to the air fryer. Cook again at 400 degrees F for 4 more minutes so the sauce cooks into your wings. Remove wings from air fryer and serve immediately.
Notes
- I like to buy a 2 pound bag of frozen wings and thaw them to make prep easier.
- If you want your cilantro lime sauce spicier, leave the jalapeno seeds in. Otherwise is discard the seeds before chopping.
- Nutrition is for cilantro jalapeno lime sauce.
Nutrition
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