These air fryer whole chicken wings are extremely quick, easy, and effortless to make! You only need wings, oil and chicken seasoning. Crispy on the outside, soft and juicy on the inside. Perfect appetizers to serve at parties or quick dinner during weekdays.
Making whole wings in air fryer saves you a ton of time. And you have a perfect result every time. Crispy skin and juicy meat. YUM!
You can serve these air fryer whole wings as they are or toss them in a hot sauce if you love buffalo wings. They are always a winner no matter how you serve them.
We love any air fryer chicken wings recipe. Sometimes we find full chicken wings at the market and we don't bother separating them into sections before cooking. They are easily separated when perfectly cooked. Just like when making these air fried whole chicken wings.
What Is A Whole Chicken Wing (Full Chicken Wing)?
A full chicken wing is a chicken cut that includes three sections that are naturally there. These sections are drumette, wingette (or flat) and tip.
Drumette is the thickest part that attaches to the chicken. It looks like mini chicken legs or drumsticks. Wingette is the middle section. And tip is the pointy part, which is often discarded.
So a whole chicken wing has all these sections. They are sold unseparated at markets.
You can of course prefer cutting chicken wings into parts and then follow the same steps in this recipe.
About The Ingredients
For these air fryer whole chicken wings, you will only need three ingredients.
Whole Chicken Wings: Sometimes, it is hard to find separated chicken wings (as drumettes and wingettes) at markets. They just sell whole chicken wings. And this recipe is for those times. We want to show how to air fry whole chicken wings, but you can use the same recipe for separated chicken wings too.
Olive Oil: We use 1 tablespoon for 2 lbs (907 g) chicken wings. It helps the dry rub or seasoning stick on the wings. Also, the wings cook more evenly and brown uniformly when lightly coated with olive oil. And if you want, use an olive oil cooking spray instead.
Seasoning Or Dry Rub: You can buy a bottle of chicken seasoning (or Cajun seasoning). Or just as often do, make your homemade dry rub for chicken and use it in all your chicken recipes. It is really easy to make with a few simple spices, onion powder and garlic powder.
How To Make Crispy Whole Wings In An Air Fryer
Today we will show you how to make the best air fryer whole chicken wings. This recipe will leave the wings super crispy while still retaining the juicy, tender chicken meat.
- Preheat the air-fryer to 400ºF (200ºC).
- Pat the wings dry using paper towels. Try to remove the moisture on the wings as much as possible. Put them in a large bowl.
- Pour (or spray) olive oil on them and toss with a spatula. Make sure all the chicken wings are coated with it.
- Then sprinkle the chicken dry rub (or just salt and pepper if you want a plain taste) over the wings. Toss again.
- Place the whole wings (skin side up) inside the air fryer basket in a single layer. Make sure to leave some space between them so that they can cook more evenly. So you need to cook them in batches.
- Set the cooking time to 20 minutes. Air fry the full chicken wings for 15 minutes. Then, flip them over (still leaving spaces between them) and leave them to cook for another 5 minutes. They will take roughly 20 minutes in total to cook. (Check them after first 12 minutes and if you think they are golden browned enough, flip them over earlier.)
- Once cooked, remove them from the oven and let them rest for 5 minutes. This helps trap the juices and keeps the meat tender before serving.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve these air fried whole wings with a bbq sauce or a simple buffalo sauce, which is made with melted butter, Frank's hot sauce (or any hot sauce) and little honey.
Also, you can serve your favorite dips on the side. A ranch dip or blue cheese dip would pair perfectly with these air fryer whole wings.
If you want some more sides, serve the wings with some fries, fresh celery sticks, carrots, roasted sweet corn kernels, low carb coleslaw or black-eyed pea salad for some fiber.
Storing
Unfortunately, fried wings will never stay crispy when you store the leftovers. You need to reheat them to get that crispness back. Please check out the reheating instructions below which will help you re-crisp the air-fried whole chicken wings.
When storing them, place them in an airtight container. Then, store them inside the fridge. They keep well for 2-3 days.
To freeze, after they completely cool down, put the cooked wings on a parchment lined sheet in a single layer. Freeze them for 1 hour and then transfer them into a freezer bag and store for up to 3 months.
How To Reheat Pre-Cooked Wings In The Air Fryer
Now that we know how to make air fryer whole chicken wings, let’s take a look at how to reheat wings in the air fryer.
As you may already know (and likely have experienced firsthand), crispy foods don't stay crispy for long. So, the only proper way to reheat them to keep their crispy skins is by using the air fryer again.
To do this, you need to preheat the air fryer to 400 F (200 C). Add the chicken wings to the basket (again leaving some space between the wings).
Then, leave them to reheat for a couple of minutes. It usually takes about 4-6 minutes, depending on the size of the wings.
Test if you are happy with their temperature and texture before removing them from the fryer.
To reheat frozen air fried wings, put them in the air fryer basket in a single layer. Set the air fryer temperature to 365 F (185 F). Air fry the wings for 5 to 6 minutes.
Tips
Pat the wings dry before seasoning or cooking it. This removes any excess moisture on the surface of the chicken. That ultimately makes the seasoning ingredients (oil and spices) stick better, the chicken cooks more evenly, and the skin crispier.
You can remove the tip parts of the whole wing. Not many people like this section because it isn’t super meaty.
Wash your hands well after touching raw chicken wings.
It’s important to preheat the air fryer before adding the chicken. If you don’t, the meat will cook unevenly, won’t get a crispier texture, and take much longer to cook.
Don't overcrowd the air fryer basket.
You can test the internal temperature of the wings with a meat thermometer. They should be 165 F (73 C) at the thickest part of the wing.
FAQs
The total time for chicken wings in air fryer is 20 minutes when they are cooked at 400 F (200 C) in an air fryer.
Yes, you can. Defrost them at 400 F for 10 minutes. Remove them from the air fryer, season with spices and then air fry for 12 minutes. Check the inside temperature with a meat thermometer to be sure they are cooked. It must show 165 F.
There are two reasons for this. The first one is about preparing the wings. if you don't pat dry the wings before cooking, they won't get crispy. And the second one is about how you place the wings in the air fryer basket. If you don't put them in a single layer, there won't be enough air circulating around the chicken wings, so you won't see the desired crispy texture.
No, they absolutely won't. On the contrary, air frying is one of the best ways of cooking chicken wings. They come out wonderfully crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.
We use Instant Pot Vortex Plus and are so happy with it. But we heard that Ninja Foodi, Cosori, Philips and Tefal are all good air fryer brands.
More Chicken Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Whole Chicken Wings
A perfect way to cook whole chicken wings in air fryer. You only need chicken dry rub (or seasoning) oil and wings. You don't need to cut the whole wings into sections. So it is easy and quick to make.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Appetizers
- Method: Air Frying
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 lbs (907 g) whole chicken wings (12 whole chicken wings)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (or olive oil spray)
- 2 tablespoons chicken seasoning or homemade dry rub for chicken
Instructions
- Pat dry the chicken wings with some paper towel. Put them in a large bowl.
- Pour olive oil and toss with a spatula or spray olive oil on all sides of the wings.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 F (200 C) for 5 minutes.
- Rub all sides of the wings with chicken seasoning (or dry rub).
- Place the wings in the basket in a single layer. Make sure to leave some space so that they cook properly.
- Set your air fryer for 20 minutes in total. After 15 minutes, flip them over and put them back in the air fryer to cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- Take them out, let them sit for 5 minutes and serve.
Notes
- Make sure to pat dry the wings well before frying them.
- If you want, you can discard the tip parts of the whole wings.
- Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes before placing the wings in the basket.
- Place the whole wings in a single layer in the basket and make sure to leave some space in the basket. You shouldn’t overcrowd the basket.
- If you want to check if the wings are cooked well, do so with a meat thermometer. Their inside should be 165 F.
- Each air fryer model has its own setting. Make sure to learn yours first with a few experiments.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 48
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 7.5 mg
- Fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 1.4 g
- Fiber: 0.2 g
- Protein: 2.1 g
- Cholesterol: 4.8 mg
Keywords: air fryer whole chicken wings
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