Ninja Foodi Air fryer bbq chicken wings with Sweet Baby Rays sauce are to die for! Crispy air fryer wings cooked as an appetizer or dinner that is cheap and protein packed. You can adjust the heat to make these as spicy or mild as you might like, then enjoy together!
You can make air fryer barbecue chicken wings in under 30 minutes. Crispy chicken skin lathered with your favorite barbecue sauce. Make it sweet or spicy, these will be a hit served at your next party. Just one of many easy air fryer recipes on our site, let us know what you think! (affiliate links present)
Frozen Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Wings
You can use fresh or follow our frozen chicken wings in air fryer timing if you forgot to defrost your meat. Then brush on your favorite sauce and done! The timing below is for fresh. Both turn out amazingly well though. You can make them as crunchy and crispy as you want, or leave on the softer side of things.
No matter what chicken wing sauces you love, these are made the same way. The wingettes and drummettes air fry first with just some olive oil and seasonings. Then you’ll add your favorite sauce on the top to coat.
Jump to
If you love extra crispy food and quick recipes, here are some resources to start with:
- My Favorite models are this Cosori or for a dual machine, the Foodi.
- You can find more Ninja Foodi recipes here as well; bookmark them both!
- It is best practice to put food into a hot basket. this is how to preheat air fryer first.
- Here’s a printable free air fryer cooking time chart here for your fridge.
How to Cook Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Wings Crispy
Let’s talk about the meat first. I usually have a bag of frozen in the freezer to defrost, but will buy a fresh tray if I am meal planning ahead of time. The biggest thing to remember for crispy chicken skin is to dry the outsides first. If there is any moisture it won’t crunch. At the end you can spray olive oil on them too for a more extreme crisp to them.
Is it better to use fresh or frozen chicken wings in air fryer?
The biggest difference the two is that when they start out rock hard the skin doesn’t get quite as crispy. I would recommend fresh or thawed for best results. Sometimes we have such a busy day, rather than buying takeout, I can pull out the bag in the freezer in the morning and make these later on.
Use seasonings you love to coat the outside before cooking. Those will stick on really nicely with a bit of olive oil. Garlic powder, salt, pepper, cayenne, and Old Bay are great choices.
How to Cook Ninja Foodi BBQ Chicken Wings
- After removing from the package lay them all in a single layer on a few paper towels.
- Fold it over the top and gently press down to absorb all the moisture on the outside of the skin.
- Drizzle with olive oil in a bowl.
- Sprinkle with seasonings of choice
- you could just use our dry rub wings recipe with smoked paprika, brown sugar and salts if you don’t want to add sauce at all
- When you air fry wings make sure they are NOT overlapping so the hot air can circulate around each one properly.
- You always want to preheat your air fryer to 390 degrees F for 5 minutes.
- Cook air fryer chicken wings for 20 to 25 minutes flipping over half way thru cook time. Time will depend on how crispy you want them + how large your pieces are.
- Put into bowl and toss with favorite bbq sauce. Enjoy immediately for best results.
You can make these in a number of different small kitchen appliances. What you see here is the Ninja Foodi grill, you can use a regular Foodi, Cosori, Airwave or other brand. They all basically work the same.
with whole chicken wings
You can follow the same directions except will need to use How Long to Cook Whole Chicken Wings in Air Fryer timing since those are larger. If you have never bought these there is a lot more meat on the bone. The drumette and wingette is attached so everyone gets both.
How to Sauce Wings
There are TONS of choices as far as sauces go. Love spicy? Toss with our Asian chicken wing sauce for some HEAT! Barbecue sauce is a given but for something sweet, make our homemade teriyaki sauce. If you want the skin crispy you will want to toss them in a sauce after they been cooked to a golden brown in a large bowl. Can just brush some on for a lighter coat.
Lay on a pretty tray or just line a baking sheet with foil and ramekins with different sauces for game day. They’re a quick and easy finger food that everyone of all ages love.
You can but it will quickly caramelize and may burn if left in too long. I recommend that instead of coating raw meat you wait until it is almost cooked to the correct internal temperature before adding. Just brush on the top for the last few minutes for best results to bake on and brown lightly.
You want to make sure your meat is thawed and the skin is dry, dry, dry. Use paper towels to press the outsides to remove the moisture, that is the most important step. It is best to wait until halfway thru the cook time so the sauce doesn’t stick. Using a brush is the best method of all.
How to save leftover chicken wings
If you do have leftovers you’ll want to let them cool to room temperature first. Then store them in a freezer bag (un-sauced). Suck all of the air out so they don’t get soggy. Set them in your fridge for up to 2 days.
How to Reheat Chicken Wings in Air Fryer is by far the best way to enjoy them the next day. It is important when keeping leftovers to store them without the sauce on the outside if you can. This will allow the texture on the outside to remain somewhat crunchy and not get a weird mushy feel.
Then after reheating, toss or brush on your sauce of choice. Enjoy in between meals or as a quick lunch with carrots and celery sticks of course. If you added Sriracha to the mix you might want to have some ranch dressing on hand to tame it a bit…unless you like HEAT.
Ninja Foodi Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Wings
Equipment
- 1 air fryer Ninja Foodi with lid attached
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken wings, fresh or thawed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
- 1-2 c barbecue sauce
- 1 tbsp Sriracha, optional for heat
Instructions
- Preheat your Ninja Foodi air fryer to 390 degrees F for 5 minutes. Lay wings on paper towels and press down to absorb water on outside of skin as much as possible.
- Put into a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, toss to coat. Sprinkle on salt and pepper and any other seasonings you want, toss to coat. Spray air fryer basket with non stick spray and lay in a single layer (may have to work in batches as to not overlap).
- Close lid that is attached on the Foodi and/or air fry for 20 to 25 minutes flipping over half way thru cook time. Total time will depend on how crispy you want them and how large your pieces are.
- Put into bowl and toss with favorite bbq sauce, enjoy immediately for best results.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
