How to cook whole chicken wings in air fryer

Jump to Recipe

If you have 25-minutes, then you have time to make our air fryer whole chicken wings! Perfectly seasoned with salt and pepper, cooked to perfection in the air fryer, then topped with Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, our air fryer chicken wings recipe is the BEST way to make buffalo chicken wings. It’s a WHOLE LOTTA YUM!

• Whole Chicken Wings in Air Fryer
• Ingredient Notes
• Step by Step Instructions
• Recipe Tips
• Common Questions
• More Chicken Wings Recipes
• Air Fryer Whole Chicken Wings

Cliche as it may sounds, chicken wings were the first dish we ever made in our air fryer! There is just something about the classic chicken wing that is comforting. Over the years we have dabbled in a few varieties of air fryer chicken wings, both whole wings and wing pieces, but this time we decided to go back to the basics and create a buffalo whole chicken wing.

And, as was expected, our whole chicken wings in air fryer was a hit!

Served up with celery sticks and blue cheese, these air fryer whole wings were gone just as soon as they came out of the air fryer unit. Thankfully, whole chicken wings in air fryer is a dish that requires very little prep work and just 20-minutes in the fryer, so keeping up with demand was a snap.

Looking for even more air fryer chicken wing recipes? Try our lemon pepper air fryer wings, air fryer boneless wings, air fryer chicken wings dry rub, and air fryer frozen chicken wings.

Why You’ll Love This!

• Air fryer whole wings are a super easy appetizer or dinner option that take less than 30-minutes per batch to complete.
• Seasoned with salt and pepper, your whole chicken wings in air fryer are the perfect canvas for your favorite buffalo seasoning (we use Frank’s Red Hots.)
• Whether you are serving up your air fryer whole chicken wings as an appetizer or as a dinner, they are always compliant with low-carb, keto, gluten-free, Whole30, and dairy-free lifestyles.
• This whole recipe needs just 6 ingredients!

We love using the air fryer in our home kitchen! It always cooks up fast and helps our crispy food to be crispy – including our air fryer whole chicken wings. We pair our whole chicken wings with other air fryer items, including air fryer potato skins, air fryer BBQ ribs, corn dogs, and air fryer frozen corn on the cob to make a complete dinner that is quick, easy, and full of flavor.

On Keto? Grab our FREE keto foods list here OR  Snag our Keto  Binder HERE

Ingredient Notes

Chicken wings, a few kitchen basics, and your favorite buffalo sauce are all that you need to create delicious buffalo whole chicken wings in air fryer.

• whole chicken wings
• extra virgin olive oil – avocado oil works well too and has a high smoking point, which makes it a great alternative for the air fryer
• sea salt – fine sea salt was used in the recipe. If you only have common table salt like Morton’s it’s about 25% stronger than sea salt and you might want to cut back a bit.
• ground black pepper
• Frank’s Red Hot Sauce – or your favorite brand of hot sauce, either the regular kind or the buffalo wings sauce.
• unsalted butter – melted

Variations

• Frank’s Red Hot Sauce – You can use Frank’s Red Hot Sauce or Buffalo sauce, as well as your favorite brand of hot or buffalo sauce. If hot sauce is not your thing, feel free to opt for another variety of chicken wing seasoning.
• You can skip the buffalo hot sauce and season your wings with a dry rub, lemon pepper, or your favorite chicken wings seasoning or sauce.

Equipment

An Air Fryer– We have an Omni Plus oven style air fryer and a small 3.2L Farberware basket style air fryer. 

Step by Step Instructions

One of the best things about air fryer recipes is the ease with which they come together and our air fryer whole chicken wings with buffalo sauce is no exception!

Prep Ingredients

Pat the chicken wings dry with paper towels.

In a medium-sized bowl, add the whole chicken wings, olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Mix to combine.

Air Fryer Wings Temperature

Your air fryer whole chicken wings are going to cook at 400F. Be sure to preheat the unit for at least 5-minutes prior to cooking your buffalo chicken wings.

Air Fryer Wings Cooking Time

Spread the wings in an even, single layer in the air fryer basket, leaving room on all sides.

Air fry the wings topside down for 9 minutes and then flip them over.

Continue air frying the chicken wings for 8-10 additional minutes until they’re cooked completely and crispy.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in either a microwave or on low in a small saucepan on the stove.

Combine the melted butter and the Frank’s Red Hot Sauce and then add the wings until coated with the sauce.

Add the wings back to the air fryer for 1-2 more minutes.

Serve immediately with blue cheese and celery sticks.

Recipe Tips

• No need to separate your wings into two different pieces as this recipe is meant to air fry whole chicken wings!
• Don’t skip patting the chicken wings with paper towels! While it may seem like a silly step, it actually helps make sure your chicken wings get extra crispy.
• Preheating your air fryer ensures that your while chicken wings begin cooking as soon as you put them in the unit and makes sure your buffalo wings cook in the described time.
• Do not overlap your chicken wings and be sure to give them some space in the air fryer unit so your wings will cook up properly.
• Air fryer models cook differently, the first time you go to make a recipe, check the temperature a couple of minutes early by chance your model cooks hot.

Common Questions

How do I cook whole chicken wings?

You can cook whole chicken wings either in the oven or in an air fryer. In the oven you are going to cook them for at least 40 minutes at 425F (flip after 20-minutes). In the air fryer, you are going to cook them for half that time, just 18-20 minutes (flip after 10-minutes), in a 400F air fryer. For both methods, you will add the sauce after cooking then allow the whole chicken wings to cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.

Why do they call chicken wings buffalo wings?

Chicken wings are commonly covered in buffalo sauce or hot sauce. There is also quite the tale of the original buffalo wingbeing created at a bar in Buffalo, New York in the 1960’s.

More Chicken Wings Recipes

Looking for more chicken wing recipes?

• Frozen Chicken Wings in Air Fryer
• Air Fryer Chicken Wings Dry Rub
• Air Fryer Chicken Wings
• Chicken Wing Brine
• Dry Rub Baked Chicken Wings Recipe
• Air Fryer Bonelsss Wings

Please leave a review if you make our recipe! We love feedback from readers, plus it helps others too.

Come connect with us on Instagram! Be sure to tag us (wholelotta.yum) when you make a recipe. You can also find us on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Ingredients

• 1.25 lb whole chicken wings
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

1. Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes.
2. Pat the chicken wings dry with paper towels. In a medium sized bowl add the whole chicken wings, olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Mix to combine.
3. Spread the wings in an even layer in the air fryer basket, leaving room on all sides. Air fry the wings topside down for 9 minutes and then flip them over.
4. Continue air frying the chicken wings for 8-10 more minutes until they're cooked and crispy. Meanwhile, melt the butter in either a microwave or on low in a small saucepan on the stove.
5. Combine the melted butter and the Frank's Red Hot Sauce and then add the wings until coated with the sauce.
6. Add the wings back to the air fryer for 1-2 more minutes.
7. Serve immediately with blue cheese and celery sticks.
   

Notes

If you only have regular salted butter, omit the sea salt in the recipe, otherwise the wings can turn out a little too salty.

Don't skip patting the chicken wings with paper towels, it helps to get them extra crispy.

To add wing hot sauce you can use something like Franks red hot sauce or Frank's red hot buffalo wings sauce.

You can skip the buffalo red hot sauce and just add a chicken dry rub, lemon pepper, or your favorite chicken wings seasoning or sauce.

Add honey to the butter and buffalo sauce mix to add a sweet touch.

Air fryer models cook differently, the first time you go to make a recipe, check the temperature a couple of minutes early by chance your model cooks hot.

Sea salt is not as strong as Morton's table salt, if you're using common table salt, reduce the salt about 25% in the recipe.

(Jen will insert hidden Pinterest pin)

How long does it take to air fry chicken wings at 400?

How do I get wings crispy in air fryer?