Want perfectly crispy Chicken Wings with your air fryer? You’ve got to make this recipe! These lip-smacking honey sriracha chicken wings and drumettes are so full of flavor you will go back for more! Made with honey, molasses, Sriracha sauce, and a killer rub!
We’ve covered how to Baked Chicken Wings, but air frying them is just as easy and QUICKER if you already have the equipment! These are perfect for the BIG GAME, holiday parties, and lazy Sundays at home!
Oh, and did I mention these Air Fryer Chicken Wings only take 5 minutes to prep and just 30 minutes to cook?! Yeah, you’re going to love this recipe!
Making Chicken Wings and Drummettes in your air fryer has never been more delicious! They have an intense flavor thanks to a combination of a homemade dry rub and a sweet and spicy sauce!
🍗 What’s In Air Fryer Chicken Wings?
These wings have three different components: the wings, the rub, and the sauce.
Wings: The wings are pretty straightforward. I recommend getting them fresh, not frozen, and already broken down to save on time. But feel free to break them down yourself.
Rub: Made with a delicious blend of spices like paprika, chili powder, cumin, onion, garlic, celery seed, salt, and pepper, this rub will season the skin prior to cooking and your tastebuds are going to LOVE it! The rub also has baking powder in it which will help pull moisture from the skin and make it extra crispy!
Sauce: What are wings without a sauce, amirite? Sure, these wings would still be delicious with just the dry rub, but layering on the flavor with a sticky sweet and spicy sauce made with honey, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, sriracha, and butter will take these wings from good to mouthwateringly incredible! It’s better than buffalo sauce, trust me!
👩🍳 How To Make Chicken Wings In An Air Fryer – Step By Step!
You guys, this recipe is so easy! Don’t look at the list of ingredients and get scared off, there are basically just 4 simple steps to this recipe.
- Prep the Chicken: Pat the wings with a paper towel to remove as much excess water as possible. This will help them get crispy in the air fryer.
- Make the Rub: Combine all of the rub ingredients in a large Ziploc bag and add in the chicken and shake to coat. I highly recommend using this handy dandy bag holder if you don’t have an extra set of hands to help you.
- Fry ’em Up: Put those wings in the air fryer and get cooking! You’ll need to shake them every 6 minutes and flip them about halfway through (12 minutes). Don’t forget to bump up the temperature a little bit towards the end so they turn out nice and crispy!
- Sauce ’em: While the wings are cooking, mix up your sauce. Once the chicken wings have cooked, pop them in a large bowl and toss the wings in the hot sauce to coat! Then these wings are ready for your enjoyment!
See how easy they are to make? Now, serve these wings with a side of ranch or blue cheese dressing and celery and carrot sticks! And don’t forget a pitcher of Wine Slushies!
💡 Why This Air Fryer Chicken Wings Recipe Works:
An air fryer is basically a condensed convection oven and it yields the perfect blend of baking and frying! Oftentimes, the food is much healthier than if it had been deep-fried because you can omit most of the oil.
Because the air is circulating around the wings, you’re going to get crispier wings than you would in a traditional oven AND you’re going to cut the baking time down by about half!
We use this air fryer for making and testing this recipe, but you should be able to use any brand and get similar results.
❔ FAQ and Cooking Tips For Air Frying Chicken Wings
If you still have questions about this air fryer chicken wings recipe, hopefully, these additional tips will help!
❄️ Can I Use Frozen Chicken Wings?
Yes, you can! However, I don’t recommend it, personally because I don’t think they turn out as good. Because they are frozen they will expel water and may take a little more time to bake and may not turn out quite as crispy.
🌡️ Why Is It Important To Cook At A Lower Temperature?
When you cook the wings at a lower temperature to start, it allows the fat under the skin to slowly break apart and be nice and juicy. The last 5 to 8 minutes at a higher temperature will crisp up the skin.
♨️ How Do I Reheat Them In The Air Fryer?
We don’t normally have leftovers, but in the case that you do, you can reheat the chicken wings at 380°F for 5 minutes, shake in the basket then increase the temperature to 400°F and cook for 3-5 more minutes until reheated and crispy.
👩🍳 How Many Can I Cook At A Time?
Place enough wings on the bottom of the air fryer basket to be one single layer. A little overlapping is fine. We were about to fit about 18 per batch in our air fryer. But depending on the size of your air fryer, you might be able to do more or less.
More Delicious Appetizer Recipes
- Healthy Chicken Nuggets – Crispy and delicious!
- Ham and Cheese Sliders – A family favorite for game days and dinner!
- Fish Stick Wonton Tacos – Kids will love these!
- Spicy Deviled Eggs – A fun twist on a potluck classic!
- Cheeseburger Dip – Highly addictive!
👋 Let’s Connect!
If you’ve tried this recipe, please let me know how you liked it in the comments below and leave a review. I love hearing from you!
Don’t forget to tag me – @sugarandsoulco – on Instagram and Pinterest with your photos or join our Sugar & Soul Show-offs Community and share them there, where you can join our recipe challenges!
Air Fryer Chicken Wings with Sweet and Spicy Sauce
Equipment
- PowerXL Vortex Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 4 lbs chicken wings1,2
Rub:
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon celery seed
- 1 tablespoon baking powder3
Sauce:
- ¼ cup molasses
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce
- 4 tablespoons salted butter melted
Instructions
- Spray bottom of air fryer pan with olive oil or non-stick spray.
- Pat the chicken wings with a paper towel to dry off excess water.4
- Combine the rub ingredients together in a gallon-size Ziploc bag and add the chicken wings. Shake until wings are coated.
- Place the chicken wings into the air fryer pan in a single layer. A few can go on top but don’t overcrowd the basket or they won’t get crisp. Spray chicken lightly with olive oil spray for crispness.
- Bake at 380°F for 12 minutes, shaking the pan halfway through at 6 minutes.
- Then flip the wings over, spray lightly with olive oil and bake for 12 more minutes. Shaking them halfway through, As before.
- Then turn the Air fryer up to 400°F and bake for an additional 6 minutes or until wings have reached desired crispness.5
- While the wings are cooking, whisk together the sauce ingredients in a large bowl, adding the melted butter in last and mix until fully combined. When the wings are done baking, add them to the bowl with the sauce and toss to coat.6
- Serve with Ranch dressing or Blue cheese dressing.
Video
Notes
- On average, 1lb of wings contains 4 full wings. This is before they are broken down into flats and drums. So each pound really has what we think of as 8 individual wings.
- You can use frozen wings, however, I don’t recommend it, personally because I don’t think they turn out as good. Because they are frozen they will expel water and may take a little more time to bake and may not turn out quite as crispy.
- Make sure you use aluminum-free baking powder or it could alter the taste.
- You want to get as much moisture out of the chicken as possible prior to cooking. The excess water will create steam which will cause the wings to get soggy instead of crispy.
- When you cook the wings at a lower temperature to start, it allows the fat under the skin to slowly break apart and be nice and juicy. The last 5 to 8 minutes at a higher temperature will crisp up the skin.
- You can add more or less sriracha sauce depending on how hot you like them.
- How To Reheat: We don’t normally have leftovers, but in the case that you do, you can reheat the chicken wings at 380°F for 5 minutes, shake in the basket then increase the temperature to 400°F and cook for 3-5 more minutes until reheated and crispy.
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Comments & Reviews
Locals Only says
Very good flavor not salty and a nice crunch. The sauce compliments it well.
I used drumettes so I needed a little bit more cooking time.
Carol Anne says
Delish! Finger licking, plate licking clean good.
Rebecca Hubbell says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Jackie says
I don’t have an air fryer, is there another way to make this recipe.
Lynne says
My husband LOVES these wings!! I used a variety of other sauces with the rub. Looking forward to making the sauce next time.
Stephanie says
Perfect! I accidentally added 1 T. salt and they still turned out wonderful (but we had closer to 5-6 lbs of wings). We only had frozen wings, so we just added time at the 400° temp bake. We had enough sauce for the extra wings (I did warm everything on the stove before tossing). They were still crispy!
Pam says
Tossed in the sauce! I have been eating a dry rub wing for awhile. Needed to switch it up. So happy I did with this recipe! Just enough kick and very crispy! I can’t wait to make these again. The honey is the missing puzzle piece!
Note: I didn’t have molasses and they were BOMB!
Rebecca Hubbell says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Pam!
Charlie says
Great crispy wings and so easy to bake
Thanks
Jona says
Oh my! This is the BEST chicken wings I’ve ever made. Thank you so much for the recipe 😊😊.
Jess C says
Found on pintrest and so glad i did! Easy and delicious!
Dawn says
The seasonings were quite nice, even balance. I followed the recipe to a T accept the fact that I ended up having to add time because they were larger than expected.
Rebecca Hubbell says
I’m so glad you loved them!