Easy Crispy Air Fryer Parmesan Chicken Wings (GF, LC, Keto)

Chicken wings have been more or less off limits in my book. Something that OH and friends would indulge in on when watching a really important match, or the family would eat on a special occasion, but otherwise far too unhealthy to be served up on a regular basis.

But then the air fryer came into our lives and changed all that. Now I can whip up all sorts of formerly blacklisted foods and enjoy them guilt free.

And this recipe for crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings with Parmesan, as well as Air Fryer Chicken Tenders, is great snack or game day fare that is perfectly healthy too.

And did I mention that they taste amaaaaazing? Peeps, you need to try chicken wings in the air fryer like yesterday. And if you prefer your Air Fried Chicken Wings plainer, then I show you how to make those too.

Related Link : Air Fried Chicken Breast.

Cooking chicken wings in the air fryer saves so many calories because you only need a little bit of oil or cooking spray to get your wings to crispy perfection. All of the excess oil from the chicken wings drips into the pan so they’re not overly greasy to eat either.

The mini chefs have been enjoying allllllllll the air fried food they’ve been eating lately. And my little taste testers ate every last bite of their Air Fryer Wings with Parmesan.

This recipe couldn’t be easier and can be made with whatever spice rub or seasoning blend  you have in your pantry (see suggestions below). Or serve them up with nothing more than a little bit of salt and pepper. Air Fryer Chicken Wings are juicy and tender on the inside and the skin is nice and “fried” without adding any flour.

These will be the best crispy chicken wings recipe you’ve ever had. I’ll bet the farm you’ve never had wings as crispy as this before.

Air Fryer Chicken Wings Tools

Ready to make Air Fryer Chicken Wings? Grab your ingredients and I’ll show you how…….

How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Wings Step by Step

1. Pat each chicken wing dry and set aside in a bowl.
2. In a small bowl mix together Parmesan, Paprika, herded de Provence and salt.
3. Coat the wings in your Parmesan mix.
4. Preheat air fryer to 350F (180C) and then spray the basket with cooking spray.
5. Cook the chicken wings in batches for 15 mins, turning half way through.
6. Using a meat thermometer test temperature of the chicken wing to make sure it has reached 75 C (165 F).
7. Garnish with extra parmesan and fresh herbs.

Oven Baked Crispy Chicken Wings

If you don’t have an air fryer you can make oven baked crispy chicken wings. However, you will need to toss them with oil to get that crispy wing you’re looking for. Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C). Bake on a wire rack over a cookie sheet at 400 degrees for about 45-60 minutes.

Recipe Tips

• Make sure the chicken wings are not touching. This is really important when cooking with the air fryer. This allows maximum air circulation inside the fryer, so your chicken wings will cook evenly and turn out crispy.
• Cook time will depend on the size of your chicken wings. Check out the “Cooking Time for Air Fryer Chicken Wings” section for time estimates.
• You do not need to coat your wings before putting them in the air fryer. I mean it. Your chicken wings will come out soooooooo crispy without the extra step of adding any coating like flour.
• Spray the basket with oil or cooking spray before adding the wings.
• Save time and buy pre cut up  chicken wings. However I show you how to cut them below if you want to save some money by buying whole chicken wings.

And more tips……

• Too much oil can cause soggy chicken wings. Just another reason why the air fryer is healthier. Less is more when it comes to the use of oil and cooking spray. For crispier chicken wings in the air fryer try to use 1 to 2 tbsp of oil. That’s it. That’s all you’ll need for the crispiest wings you’ve ever had.
• Serve air fryer fried chicken wings immediately or use a cooling rack so the underside of the chicken does not end up soggy.
• Season how you wish and sauce how you like. These chicken wings turn out sooooooo crispy in the air fryer even your sauce won’t make it soft. Check out the “Different Ways to Season Air Fryer Chicken Wings” for a lot of inspiration.
• Chicken must reach an internal temperature of 75 C (165 F) before serving.

Different Ways to Season These

Chicken wings are one of my favourite things to make because they’re sooooooo versatile. You can really season your wings however you choose. I can make the same chicken wing over and over but make it different using a variety of flavours.

I love a good dry rub on a really crispy chicken wing but also enjoy the classic Buffalo chicken wing. Here are some amazing ways you can season your Air Fryer Crispy Chicken Wings.

Dry Seasonings for Air Fried Chicken Wings

Dry rubs is one of my favourite ways to enjoy crispy chicken wings. My kids will eat a Ranch flavoured chicken wing faster than they can say “Chicken Wing.” Heck, I will too. The chicken wing stays at peak crunch with tender chicken on the inside and the dry rub gets into every little nook on the chicken wing. No sauce needed with a dry rub wing.

Try some of my favourite spices:

• Homemade Poultry Seasoning. 
• Ranch
• The BEST Dang Creole Seasoning.
• Ranch
• The Best Greek Seasoning everyone should own.
• Parmesan and Paprika
• Lemon Pepper
• Fresh Herbs
• Easy Homemade Steakhouse Rub <= goes great on these.
• Ground Cumin

Sauces 

We all love the classic Buffalo sauce in our house but there are so many options to choose from when it comes to wings. I love how versatile this chicken wing recipe is. You can sauce your Air Fryer Chicken Wings so many different ways and each of these recipes can be made spicy hot if you like the heat or on the sweet side if you’re serving for a crowd or kids.

• Sweet Chili Sauce
• BBQ Sauce
• Chipotle Sauce
• Chili Lime Sauce
• Garlic Parmesan Sauce
• Miso Glaze

Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings

You can air fry chicken wings with your favourite taste. Simple season the chicken with salt and lemon pepper and fry the chicken wings as normal.

Air Fryer Chicken Wings With Buffalo Sauce

You can make crispy chicken wings with classic buffalo sauce. Simple season the chicken with salt and pepper and fry the chicken wings as normal. Then mix the chicken wings with some buffalo sauce before serving.

Check out my recipe for Buffalo Sauce on my “Instant Pot Chicken Wings” recipe.

Dipping Sauces

Buffalo chicken wings almost always come with a sauce. It’s either Ranch or Blue Cheese and usually there’s a fight between Freddy and his friends as to which one is the right sauce. I usually let them argue over it while I grab a handful of the crispy chicken wings.

How To Make Sure Your Chicken Wings Stay Healthy?

• you want to use a very small amount of cooking spray on the wing. I really do mean light as if it is swimming in oil you will end up with oily wings (and loose the benefit of the air fryer aka cooking with minimal oil).

Can You Cook Frozen Chicken Wings in the Air Fryer?

Yeap, you can cook frozen wings in air fryer. Increase the temperature to 390 F (198 C) and cook for an additional 5 mins. Use a meat thermometer and check to make sure the chicken wing has reached an internal temperature of 75 C (165 F) before serving. Air fryer froxen chicken wings are thst easy.

How Long To Cook Them

Cooking with the air fryer is a learning curve. There are a lot of variables that can go into making a recipe perfect when you’re using the air fryer. My wings were on the smaller side so they took 15 mins with flipping them over halfway through the cooking time.

If your wings are larger it can take up to 24 mins to get the chicken wings cooked. Leave your wings in longer if they’re not fully cooked.

Air fryer temperatures can vary depending on the make and model, so it is important to always check your food for doneness halfway through. And when cooking meats, always check the internal temperature using a meat thermometer to ensure it has reached a safe temperature.

How To Check If The Wings Are Cooked

Chicken must reach an internal temperature of 75 C (165 F) before serving. So use a meat thermometer to check the temperature if you are unsure.

How to Reheat Chicken Wings in the Air Fryer

It is simple really. Just lightly spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray, add the wings and cook at 400F (200C) for 5-8 minutes, until they are heated through.

How to Cut Chicken Wings

If you’re lucky and you’ve found chicken wings that are cut and ready to fry up, great. But if your store only has the whole wing don’t be intimidated. Follow these steps for cutting your chicken wings before dropping them in the air fryer.

• Place on cutting board and using your fingers, locate where the two joints connect.
• Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife cut through the center of both joints to separate the drumette, flat, and tip.
• Use the drumettes and flats in your recipe, discard the tip.

Instant Pot Chicken Wings

If you’re looking for a really quick way to make delicious wings check out my Instant Pot Chicken Wings recipe. I’ve also included 3 amaaaaaaaazing sauce recipes – Buffalo, Teriyaki and Honey Chili.

 Serve Suggestions

• Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries.
• Air Fryer Tater Tots.
• Pineapple Salsa.
• Bacon Cream Cheese Dip

More Air Fryer Recipes

Check these airfryer recipes for more inspiration.

• Air Fryer Chicken Breast.
• Air Fryer Whole Chicken.
• Air Fryer Chicken Thighs.
• Air Fryer Salmon.
• Air Fryer Meatballs.
• Air Fryer Chicken Tenders.
• Air Fryer Bacon.
• Air Fryer Fried Rice.

Weight Watchers Points 

• There are 9 Blue Plan SmartPoints in a serving with Parmesan.
• There are 7 Blue Plan SmartPoints in a serving without Parmesan.

**Air Fryer Chicken Wings Recipe Video**

Thank you for reading my Air Fried Chicken Wings recipe post. And please come visit again as I continue dreaming up recipes, traditional African recipes, African fusion recipes, Sierra Leone recipes, travel plans and much more for you.

Previously published Oct 2018.

Get the Air Fried Chicken Wings Recipe:

Don't forget to tag #recipesfromapantry on Instagram or Twitter if you try Air Fryer Chicken Wings! It is really, really awesome for me when you make one of my recipes and I'd love to see it. You can also share it on my Facebook page. Please pin this recipe to Pinterest too! Thank you for reading Recipes from a Pantry.

Print Recipe

5 from 10 votes

Air Fryer Chicken Wings

This Air Fryer Chicken Wings recipe will be the crispiest you’ve ever had!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time25 mins

Course: Appetizer, Dinner, Lunch, Snack

Cuisine: American, Western

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 328kcal

Author: Bintu Hardy

Ingredients

Parmesan version

• ▢ 2 lbs chicken wings cut into drumettes and flats
• ▢ ½ cup (6 tbsp) grated Parmesan Cheese plus extra for garnish
• ▢ 1 tsp paprika
• ▢ 1 tsp Herbes de Provence
• ▢ salt
• ▢ cooking spray

Plain version

• ▢ 2 lbs chicken wings cut into drumettes and flats
• ▢ salt
• ▢ black pepper ground
• ▢ cooking spray

Instructions

Parmesan Version

• Pat chicken wings dry and set aside in a bowl.
• In a small bowl mix together Parmesan, Paprika, Herbes de Provence and salt.
• Coat the wings in your Parmesan mix.
• Preheat air fryer to 350F (180C) and then spray the basket with cooking spray.
• Cook the chicken wings in batches for 15 mins, turning half way through.
• Using a meat thermometer test temperature of the chicken wing to make sure it has reached 75 C (165 F).
• Garnish with extra Parmesan and fresh herbs.

Plain version

• Pat chicken wings dry and set aside in a bowl.
• Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
• Preheat air fryer to 350F (180C) and then spray the basket with cooking spray
• Cook the chicken wings in batches for 15 mins, turning half way through
• Using a meat thermometer test temperature of the chicken wing to make sure it has reached 75 C (165 F).

**INSTANT POT RECIPE BINDER**Get your Instant Pot Recipe Binder to keep all your recipes and tips organized in one place.

Video

Notes

Tips

• Chicken must reach an internal temperature of 75 C (165 F) before serving.
• Cook time will depend on the size of your chicken wings.
• Make sure the chicken wings are not touching to allow maximum air circulation inside the fryer.
• You do not need to coat your wings before putting them in the air fryer.
• Spray the basket with oil or cooking spray before adding the wings.
• Use 1 to 2 tbsp of oil or cooking spray MAX.
• Serve your chicken wings immediately or use a cooling rack so the underside of the chicken does not end up soggy.
• Season how you wish and sauce how you like.
• Chicken must reach an internal temperature of 75 C (165 F) before serving.

Weight Watchers Points 

• There are 9 Blue Plan SmartPoint in a serving with Parmesan.
• There are 7 Blue Plan SmartPoints in a serving of plain  Wings.

Nutrition

Calories: 328kcal | Protein: 27g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 105mg | Sodium: 281mg | Potassium: 219mg | Vitamin A: 570IU | Vitamin C: 0.8mg | Calcium: 158mg | Iron: 1.7mg