Air fryer BBQ chicken wings are SO good and totally easy to make, even for air fryer beginners. When wings are cooked in the air fryer, the skin comes out crispy (without breading) and the inside is still juicy! Is your mouth watering yet?
This Air Fryer BBQ wings recipe is just 2 ingredients – frozen wings and BBQ sauce. That’s it!
For convenience, I like to use frozen chicken wings because I can have them on hand anytime, without worrying about the expiration date. Besides, there’s no thawing needed when you’re cooking with an air fryer.
Air Fryer BBQ Wings Recipe Video
What BBQ Sauce to Use?
My favorite sauce is Trader Joe’s Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce (pictured above) because it’s sweet and savory and not too smoky or spicy. It has a balanced BBQ flavor. But feel free to use your favorite BBQ sauce.
Do You Put Sauce on Wings Before or After Air Frying?
After air frying and fully cooking the chicken wings, brush the BBQ sauce onto the wings. Then you’ll air fry them for 2 more minutes to seal in the sauce.
How Do You Cook BBQ Chicken Wings in an Air Fryer?
- Pre-Cook wings in air fryer for 10 minutes.
- Then drain the excess water from the drip pan.
- Flip wings and continue cooking for 13 more minutes.
- Remove and brush BBQ sauce onto the wings.
- Seal in the sauce by cooking for 2 more minutes.
What temperature do you cook frozen wings in an air fryer?
400 degrees.
Can You Stack Wings in an Air Fryer?
Yes, you can but the wings will take much longer to cook and may not come out as crispy. I highly encourage you to spread out the wings onto an even layer so that they will cook more evenly and come out crispier. You might have to do 2 batches.
Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Wings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 13 frozen chicken wings drummettes and joints separated
- 1/4 cup BBQ Sauce
Instructions
Pre-Cook
- Place frozen chicken wings into air fryer basket, making sure to spread them out. Close the basket. Set air fryer temperature to 400° F (205° C) for 10 minutes and press the cook button.13 frozen chicken wings
Drain Liquid
- After the air fryer is finished cooking, remove the entire basket from the air fryer. Release the air fryer basket from the drip pan. Set hot air fryer basket onto a plate or wood cutting board. Drain the liquid in the drip pan and dry clean with a paper towel.
Flip Wings
- Flip wings over in the air fryer basket.
Cook
- Attach the air fryer basket back onto the drip pan. Place back into the air fryer and close. Set the air fryer temperature to 400° F (205° C) for 13 minutes and press the cook button.
- While the wings are cooking, pour BBQ sauce into a small bowl and set aside a plate, tongs, and a pastry brush or rubber spatula.1/4 cup BBQ Sauce
Add the BBQ Sauce
- Pull out the air fryer basket. Using tongs, remove the wings and place onto a plate. Using a meat thermometer, check the wings (especially the drummettes) to make sure the internal temperature reaches at least 165° F (75° C).
- With a pastry brush or a rubber spatula, brush BBQ sauce onto the wings. Flip the wings and apply sauce to the other side.
Seal the Sauce
- Place wings back into air fryer basket and close the basket. Set air fryer temperature to 380° F (193° C) for 2 minutes and press the cook button.
- When the air fryer is finished cooking, pull out the air fryer basket. Serve hot.
Where to Buy Equipment
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