Cooking frozen chicken wings in the air fryer is a quick and easy way to enjoy this popular appetizer for game day or just at home for dinner. Cooking time: 25 minutes
After cooking these crispy air fryer wings, coat them in your favorite sauce or seasonings and dip in your favorite sauce for an at-home treat! They may just become your new favorite air fryer recipe!
Jump to:
- Why You’ll Love This Air Fryer Chicken Wings Recipe
- Should I thaw chicken wings before air frying?
- How do you cook frozen chicken wings in an air fryer?
- How long do you cook frozen wings in the air fryer?
- Chicken Wings Sauce
- Chicken Wing Rubs & Spices
- What to serve with chicken wings
- Tips for Making Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings
- More air fryer recipes you’ll love
- Recipe
- Comments
Why You’ll Love This Air Fryer Chicken Wings Recipe
We often keep chicken wings in the freezer and don’t always think ahead enough to thaw them out before we want to eat them. So being able to cook frozen wings in the air fryer, and enjoy them in about 25 minutes is a game-changer!
The best part is when you choose to air fry wings, there’s no need for oil, baking powder or any other ingredients in order to cook them!
Unlike baking chicken wings, the air fryer allows the excess juices/water to drip down away from the wings, to help create a crispy chicken wing.
You may also love seeing how we love baking chicken drumsticks in the oven!
Should I thaw chicken wings before air frying?
There’s no need to thaw chicken wings before air frying them. This saves so much time and they still come out as crispy chicken wings!
How do you cook frozen chicken wings in an air fryer?
For air fryer chicken wings, it’s best to flip at least a couple of times for best results.
Simply place unseasoned wings directly in to air fryer basket, in a single layer, and then once cooked-through, feel free to use your favorite dry rub and/or favorite sauce. (See below for tips.)
How long do you cook frozen wings in the air fryer?
- Cook the frozen wings at 400° for 10 minutes
- Flip, and cook an additional 10 minutes
- Flip again, and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°.
- During the last 5-7 minutes, spray wings with cooking spray, if desired, for an extra crispy skin. If desired, spray chicken wings with cooking spray to achieve a crispier skin. This is also a great time to add a “dry rub” to help the seasonings stick.
Chicken Wings Sauce
What I love so much about these, is that you can make multiple different batches of delicious wings with different rubs and sauces. Just cook from frozen and then toss with your sauce.
If you need ideas of different sauces and rubs, here are the top favorites and you can usually find different flavors of wing sauce at the grocery store:
- Teriyaki Sauce (as seen here on this page) and on my easy teriyaki chicken recipe!
- Buffalo Hot Sauce
- Honey Mustard
- BBQ Sauce
- Sweet Chili Sauce
- Garlic Parmesan
Chicken Wing Rubs & Spices
Sometimes a dry chicken wing is preferred and here are some favorite spices and rubs to try:
- garlic salt
- garlic powder
- bbq seasoning
- salt & pepper
- lemon pepper
- garlic parmesan
- Melted Butter & Ranch Seasoning
- Or if you have time try soaking your wings in this brine for chicken to add even more flavor!
What to serve with chicken wings
- blue cheese dressing for dipping
- jalapeno ranch dressing for dipping
- teriyaki sauce without ginger for dipping
- hot sauce for dipping
- carrots
- celery sticks
- chips
- french fries
Tips for Making Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings
- Saucing the Wings – I’ve found it’s best to wait on adding sauce until wings have fully cooked through. This way, the sauces and or rubs won’t burn during the cooking process. You can always add the sauce/seasoning and place back in the air fryer basket if you prefer a sticky sauce or warm, cooked-on rub.
- How Many Wings Can you Cook at Once? The size of your air fryer will determine how many wings you can cook at a time. Just make sure to not overlap the wings so they cook evenly. So you may have to make multiple batches if making a large amount.
- Can you use wing sections or drummies? This recipe can be used for chicken wing sections or drummies. (Time may vary depending on size/thickness of wings and drummies.)
- How to store leftover chicken wings – Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Can you use the air fryer to reheat cooked chicken wings? Absolutely. Simply place the wings back in the air fryer and cook at 400 for 4-5 minutes or until heated through.
If you love making chicken in the air fryer, this tutorial for how to cook frozen chicken breasts in the air fryer is definitely something to check out!
More air fryer recipes you’ll love
Recipe
Frozen Chicken Wings in the Air Fryer
Equipment
- air fryer
Ingredients
- 16 frozen chicken wings or however many will fit in your air fryer basket in a single layer
- sauces and seasonings desired see post for ideas
Instructions
- Place frozen chicken wings in a single layer in the air fryer basket
- Cook wings at 400° for 10 minutes.
- Flip wings over and cook for another 10 minutes
- If desired, spray chicken wings with cooking spray to achieve a crispier skin. This is also a great time to add a "dry rub" to help the seasonings stick.
- Flip again, and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes or until internal temperature of chicken wings reaches 165°
- Toss wings with favorite dry rub or sauce
- Serve or place back in to air fryer and warm sauce if desired
Notes
- Saucing the Wings – I’ve found it’s best to wait on adding sauce until wings have fully cooked through. This way, the sauces and or rubs won’t burn during the cooking process. You can always add the sauce/seasoning and place back in the air fryer basket if you prefer a sticky sauce or warm, cooked-on rub.
- How Many Wings Can you Cook at Once? The size of your air fryer will determine how many wings you can cook at a time. Just make sure to not overlap the wings so they cook evenly. So you may have to make multiple batches if making a large amount.
- Can you use wing sections or drummies? This recipe can be used for chicken wing sections or drummies. (Time may vary depending on size/thickness of wings and drummies.)
- How to store leftover chicken wings – Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Can you use the air fryer to reheat cooked chicken wings? Absolutely. Simply place the wings back in the air fryer and cook at 400 for 4-5 minutes or until heated through.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Stephanie says
This is super helpful! Thank you!
Jessica says
You’re so welcome, thank you Stephanie!
Lisalia says
Thanks for the awesome detailed directions! These were SO good! We served them with the teriyaki sauce that you show because it LOOKED so appetizing. Thanks again for another awesome recipe!
Jessica says
Excellent!! I’m so glad that you liked them, thank you so much!
Beth says
My family loves this recipe! I love using my air fryer!