Air Fryer Wings Recipe

Easy air fryer wings with dry rub is a great healthy alternative to deep frying but just as crispy. These naked chicken wings served with Dipping Sauce for Chicken Wings in Ninja Foodi or Cosori are simple and flavorful without cooking them in oil.

Air Fryer Chicken Wing Recipe with Dry Rub

Air frying vs frying is a much healthier way to get food crispy but without any oil needed! Just rub your spices on your wings. Throw them in the basket and in no time at all you have delicious crispy chicken wings without any oil splatters.

in Ninja Foodi

Yes, you can use any brand you have. We love Ninja Foodi recipes because it is a pressure cooker and air fryer but a Cosori is our second favorite. You can make them in both using the drawer or air crisp button on the other with the lid that is attached on top.

With a bit more heat with red pepper flakes or sweeter with more brown sugar you can adjust the seasonings to your liking. If you loved our baked frozen chicken wings you can now get the same results without heating up your whole house!

No heavy feeling you get when you eat fried foods anymore. Are you obsessed with air fryer appetizers too??  You’ll be obsessed with all the Ninja Foodi air fryer recipes we have on our site. Below is what you’ll need to make our famous rub, beyond that you just need defrosted wingettes and drumettes.

Ingredients

1. Wings that are fresh or use timing in Whole Chicken Wings in Air Fryer
2. Cayenne pepper – Will give these a bit of a kick. I will say that I describe my heat desire as mild so if you want med. or spicy add more.
3. Pepper – Is kinda’ a given along with salt in just about any dry rub.
4. Paprika – This may be something you only put on top of deviled eggs but it’s great for so much more!
5. Chili powder – Adds a little heat as well along with great flavor as well though. As with the cayenne adjust as desired according to whether you want it spicy or not.
6. Salt – I mean you need this when it comes to seasonings….
7. Garlic powder – Is something I add to just about everything. In minced, garlic salt and powder form I just can’t get enough garlic!
8. Brown sugar makes it sweet
9. Cinnamon is optional but we add it many times to enhance the taste of the other ingredients believe it or not.

The best of both worlds I tell you. Before we got this nifty kitchen appliance we used baking powder and shared crispy baked chicken wings in the oven. Now we can skip heating the whole house up and make these air fry chicken wings in about 30 minutes flat!

How to cook wings in the air fryer

1. Preheat air fryer for 5 minutes so that it is the same temperature the entire cook time, do not skip.
2. Rinse and pat wings dry with paper towels. This is an important step in ensuring the skin will get crispy. Any moisture remaining will prevent that from occuring.
3. Mix dry rub together and either pour into gallon baggie or dump on a plate to coat the outsides. Alternatively you can just sprinkle with salt and pepper or use a marinade for a few hours before cooking.
4. Spray air fryer basket with non stick spray and place wings inside in a single layer, do not overlap them for best results.
5. Air fry your pieces flipping wings halfway through. Each time you rotate, spray top again and add 1 more minute to crisp skin up even more.
6. For a thicker layer of seasonings, add more rub to a baggie with your cooked pieces and shake to coat again. Remove and enjoy immediately.

If you are making these for a large crowd I suggest that you make them in batches as they are best enjoyed right away. As soon as one is done, throw in another set to crisp up. Serve on a platter that is not covered as that will create condensation and make the outside soggy.

Frozen wings in air fryer

My preferred method is to pressure cook them first to get them nice and tender using my pressure cooker, then throw them into my air fryer or Ninja Foodi. Alternatively you can just use hot air with our Frozen Chicken Wings in Air Fryer directions where you cook from right out of the freezer.

Tips

Many of you might have a traditional air fryer that looks like this. The basket is more like a bucket. No matter which style you use the main rule of thumb for cooking chicken wings is you want to put them in a single layer or the seasonings will stick and come off. More importantly they won’t get that really crispy chicken skin you want.

To make things easier, I just blend the seasonings all together and throw the meat into a gallon ziploc bag with it and shake! Adding about half at a time is best so that the outsides get a nice thick and even coat.

Another tip is you want to flip the wings halfway through the cooking time and spray with olive oil to enhance the crisp on each side.  If you enjoy sauce on your wings feel free to add some after they are cooked but this dry rub is plenty and extremely flavorful so it’s really not needed.

When you’re making Ninja Foodi chicken wings for a fun football party food you always want a lot! Yet if there are just 2 of you at home you can get away with a tiny machine, I get it. Get what works best for you.

What can I put on wings?

You can decide when they’re done if you think they need sauce or dip, we think they’re amazing as is. If you’re having a party though it might be fun to create a dip bar!

1. Homemade fry sauce is the bomb! It is a mix of mayonnaise, seasoned salt and a bit of vinegar zing that goes great on everything
2. Ranch dressing is a given, especially with kids
3. Blue cheese dressing is typically an alternative to this
4. Teriyaki or soy sauce gives you an Asian flare to your dish
5. Buffalo wing sauce from Franks or you can make your own buffalo sauce recipe here

Grab some cute dip bowls and platters you can put all your food on. Have a spoon inside each one and paper plates at the end. Allow guests to load up and try them all. A great party idea for sure that will be a conversation starter. For us they are perfection as is and a great healthy way to get super crispy wings.