X

Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings

This post may contain affiliate links meaning if you buy from them, I will make a few pennies, at no cost to you. See disclosure here.

Buffalo Chicken Wings are SO easy to make in your air fryer and they turn out perfectly crispy. They make the best appetizer or even dinner on game days.

plate of air fryer chicken wings with bleu cheese & buffalo sauce cups

Air Fryer Wings

You know I’m a big fan of buffalo flavored things. It started with my buffalo cauliflower, then I moved to buffalo ranch chicken wraps and buffalo chicken dip, and now air fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings.

However, the older I get, the more often I experience heartburn. When I was in my early 20s, I remember talking to an older coworker about her avoiding foods due to heartburn and I couldn’t relate to her at all because I didn’t know what frequent heartburn was.

Well. Now I do.

But I persevere because buffalo everything is delicious lol

hand dipping a chicken wing into ranch dressing.

How to cook chicken wings in the air fryer

  1. STEP ONE: Start by soaking your wings in salt water for at least an hour.
  2. STEP TWO: Pat the wings dry and season. I like to use onion powder, garlic powder, seasoned salt, and lemon pepper. Use your favorite seasonings.
  3. STEP THREE: Line your air fryer basket with a parchment paper liner and give it a light spray of olive oil. Then, place the seasoned wings in a single layer into the basket.
  4. STEP FOUR: Set the air fryer to 360 & fry for 12 minutes, use tongs to flip, and then fry for another 12 minutes at 360 degrees.
  5. STEP FIVE: Melt butter in a microwave safe bowl, pour in the buffalo wing sauce, and stir. Use a pastry brush to brush each wing with the sauce, and then turn the air fryer heat up to 390 degrees and fry for another 5 minutes (or until your favorite level of crisp). When poked with a fork, juices should run clear to let you know they’re done.
collage of making chicken wings in the air fryer

How long to cook chicken wings in the air fryer

Start to finish, it takes about 30 minutes to make crispy buffalo wings in the air fryer. So much faster than baking them!

Equipment you’ll need

  • Air Fryer – I have and recommend the 5.8 qt. (or larger)
  • Tongs – Super helpful for flipping hot wings.
  • Pastry Brush – I like a silicone pastry brush for brushing on buffalo sauce because it’s easier to clean.
  • Air Fryer Liners – Make for an easier clean up.
hand holding a chicken wing dipped in bleu cheese

Baking instructions

If you don’t have an air fryer, you can follow the same recipe and bake these wings, they will just take longer to get crisp. Bake for 40-50 minutes, brushing on the sauce in the last five minutes, or until your favorite level of crisp is achieved.

Can I use frozen wings?

Yes, you can grab a bag of frozen “party wings” to make this recipe if you don’t have fresh ones. I prefer to safely thaw them before use, but you can air fry from frozen.

If you’re starting with frozen wings, cook them at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, flip with tongs, cook another 15 minutes, then brush on sauce & do another 5 minutes or until crisp.

Frozen wings give off excess water, so they take slightly longer to crisp, but it works.

More delicious buffalo recipes:

Buffalo Chicken Dip
Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Buffalo Chicken Bread
Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls

plate of chicken wings with dipping sauces & title text overlay

Connect with Persnickety Plates!

Follow along on my social media so you never miss a post!

I made a fun group on Facebook for sharing recipes, asking questions, and talking about food. I’d love to have you! Request to join HERE.


Also, sign up to receive an email in your inbox for each new recipe:

FREE EMAIL SUBSCRIPTION & EBOOK

If you MAKE & LOVE this recipe, share it on Instagram and tag me @melissa_pplates and/or #persnicketyplates so I can see it. I LOVE seeing what you make & I’ll share it in my stories!

It is VERY HELPFUL to me and other readers if you leave a review after you make my recipe. Please come back & let me know how it turned out!

plate of air fryer chicken wings with bleu cheese & buffalo sauce cups

Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings

Melissa Williams | Persnickety Plates
Buffalo Chicken Wings are SO easy to make in your air fryer and they turn out perfectly crispy. They make the best appetizer or even dinner on game days.
4 from 1 vote
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings
Calories 381 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 2 lbs chicken wings or wing dings
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp your favorite chicken seasoning
  • 1 tsp lemon pepper
  • ½ cup your favorite wing sauce
  • 4 Tb butter
  • olive oil spray

Instructions
 

  • Place the wings in a large bowl of salted water, cover, and refrigerate for an hour.
  • Drain the water from the bowl and pat the wings dry with paper towel.
  • Sprinkle seasonings on both sides of the wings.
  • Line the air fryer basket with a parchment paper liner (optional) and lightly spray with olive oil. Place the wings in a single layer in the basket. Cook at 360 degrees for 12 minutes, use tongs to flip the wings, then cook another 12 minutes.
  • While the wings are cooking, to a small microwave safe bowl, melt the butter then pour in the wing sauce and stir.
  • Once the wings are done, use a pastry brush to brush the wings with the sauce then turn the air fryer up to 390 degrees and cook another 5 minutes or until your favorite level of crispy.
  • Repeat as necessary for additional batches of wings.
  • Serve with ranch, bleu cheese, or additional wing sauce for dipping.

Notes

Use your favorite seasonings – switch it up to change the flavors. 
If you start with frozen wings, increase temperature to 400 degrees for 15 minutes, flip, then do another 15 minutes before adding seasonings & sauce. 
If baking the wings, you can follow the same recipe but bake at 375 degrees in a single layer for 40-50 minutes or until crisp. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 381kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 23gFat: 31gSaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 125mgSodium: 1693mgPotassium: 200mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 548IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 23mgIron: 1mg

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

Tried this recipe? Tag me!Mention @melissa_pplates or tag #persnicketyplates!

Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying/pasting and/or screenshots of full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Content and photographs are copyright protected.

box of omeprazole tablets next to chicken wing platter

If you’re like me and love spicy foods, even though they set you off, you should give TopCare Omeprazole ODT a try.

It is not intended for immediate relief – you take one dose every 24 hours, as directed, for long-lasting protection.

You might have heard of Prilosec but TopCare Omeprazole Orally Disintegrating Tablets are another heartburn medication that works just as well, comes in a dissolving tablet, and costs less.

You can pick it up at your local TopCare store, which is super convenient. Mine is a D&W Fresh Market right at the corner. Plus, right now there is a $2 off YES loyalty offer going on through 12/2 (off of the 14 count product)!

box of topcare omeprazole tablets next to chicken wings

This post was originally sponsored by Mirum, but all opinions expressed are my own.



Reader Interactions

Share Your Thoughts

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Melissa Williams/Persnickety Plates is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. For more details, please see my Privacy Policy & Disclosures page.