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.
This was my first attempt that turned out fabulous and not drippy messy like some others. Find this and more easy air fryer recipes here. I’m serious when I say these will knock your socks off using our sweet and savory 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.
Ninja Air Fryer Chicken Wings
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.
And you are going to want some chicken wings that are fresh or use timing in Whole Chicken Wings in Air Fryer if your drumettes and wingettes are still attached and larger in size.
Chicken Wing Dry Rub
Your dry rub is made up of several different seasonings. Pepper is kinda’ a given along with salt in just about any dry rub. Paprika may be something you only put on top of deviled eggs but it’s great for so much more!
Salt is obvious, I mean you need this when it comes to seasonings this is a given right? You could use a Mrs. Dash salt substitute if necessary.
Garlic powder is something I add to just about everything. In minced, garlic salt and powder form I just can’t get enough garlic!
Brown sugar makes it sweet with a bit of a molasses flavor to it which we love. You could use a sugar free substitute from Splenda if need be. Cinnamon is optional but we add it many times to enhance the taste of the other ingredients believe it or not.
How to Make it Spicy
The heat can be adjusted and starts with 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. 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.
This rub is 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 Long to Cook Chicken Wings in Air Fryer
This is going to take a total of about 16 minutes (give or take depending on their size) to get cooked thru and crispy outside. You need to first preheat air fryer for 5 minutes so that it is the same temperature the entire cook time, do not skip. 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.
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
This is possible right out of the freezer friends. It is harder to add the dry rub but you can use directions in our Frozen Chicken Wings in Air Fryer directions which only takes a few additional minutes! To add the seasonings, do so halfway thru so the skin is moist and it will stick better.
How to Make Chicken Wings Crispy in Air Fryer
First off when prepping your pieces you need to make sure you get as much of the moisture off of the skin. This is vital for the crispiest outcome. Once prepped with the seasonings on the outside you want to put them in a single layer so they aren’t overlapping. The hot air needs to be able to rotate properly and hit every inch for the ideal texture.
Ideally you want to flip the wings halfway through the cooking time too, and spray with olive oil on the top to enhance the crispiness on each side.
Air Fryer Chicken Wings with Sauce
If you enjoy sauce on your wings feel free to add some about 3 minutes before they are done if you want it to caramelize a little bit with the remaining heat. Alternatively you can brush some bbq sauce on once they are cooked and ready to eat 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! BUT for the best results you need to cook in batches as you see here below. When done serve immediately for the best crunch.
Dips
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!
- 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
- Ranch dressing is a given, especially with kids
- Blue cheese dressing is typically an alternative to this
- Teriyaki or soy sauce gives you an Asian flare to your dish
- 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.
FAQ
Well, that depends on what machine you have. If I am using my Foodi I can add 6-7 at a time without overlapping them. That is important if you really want the chicken skin to be quite crispy. Another tip is to spray the inside of your air fryer basket with non stick spray before adding your chicken pieces. That will help with cleanup.
It just means that it isn’t a sauce. Using dry spices without any liquid is a great way to really pack on a lot of flavor without being goopy and messy. We use this flavoring method a lot when making most of our smoker recipes. Believe me, dry rubbed chicken wings are the bomb!!
Total cook time for one batch is about 20 minutes including the preheating time. Of course time will vary slightly depending on how large your pieces are. Range for us has been 16-18 minutes total per batch.
Air Fryer Wings Recipe
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
- 1 Bowl
Ingredients
- 16 chicken wings, give or take a few
Dry Rub for Chicken Wings
- 1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tbsp pepper, or more if you like really peppery
- 2 tbsp salt
- 3/4 c brown sugar
- 1 tbsp garlic salt
- olive oil spray
- 1 tsp cinnamon, optional
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients except chicken wings in a bowl, combine well. (cinnamon is optional) Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees for 5 minutes.
- Wash and dry your chicken wings using a paper towel to pat dry. Then spray lightly with olive oil.
- Use a large freezer bag and pour about 1/2 a cup of your rub into the bag with about 6 wings or so. Shake shake until they are coated.
- Spray inside of air fryer basket once it's done preheating with non stick spray and put coated wings inside. Try to not overlap them.
- Set to 400 degrees F. for 16 minutes.
- To make them as crispy as possible flip your wings half way thru the cooking cycle.
- Remove when done, zest with lime juice if desired and enjoy…can dip in ranch dressing or other sauces.
- If making another batch, coat them with dry rub and repeat process for another 16 minute round.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe has turned my hubby into a Ninja Foodi wing maker. I started making this recipe about 6 months ago and he became interested and has made your recipe the last 4 or 5 times and we both love it. Only thing I change is I do not add salt. Thanks for the recipe.
OH yay!!
Omg! These came out so darn good!! I didn’t even need ranch or sauce with it! Will definitely keep this as my favorite go to! Thank you!
They’re our favorite too, glad you loved them
Quick and easy recipe! Tastes very yummy!
I made your rub and it was the best I have ever had, bar none! I switched the brown sugar with Swerve brown sugar which is sugar free and only put in 1 tbsp of salt. I also used a smaller wing so I used 1/4 cup of rub. Just fantastic, can’t wait to share your recipe. Thank you so much.
Oh good!!
Is the cooking time of 16 minutes enough if the wings are frozen?
Ok, so I’m confused. You said you cooked your wings in your instant pot first, I went to that post and you add bbq sauce to them. To make the dry rub recipe, do you first cook the wings in your instant pot without the bbq sauce, then add the dry rub, then put them in your air fryer?? I am wanting to do this with chicken tenders, but not sure how. Thank you.
Two separate recipes. I have made them in my IP before. If you are using this air fryer technique then follow instructions in recipe card below only. If you want to use my dry rub then you’d have to add that once they’re cooked or at least halfway cooked so it would stick.
Will this work for frozen wings?
There is a recipe for frozen air fryer wings in the post or search in search bar for frozen air fryer wings
So first time trying the air fryer and I tried this recipe. I did not read properly and dumped the whole recipe in the ziploc bag and coated 6 wing sections at a time. First I didnt expect all the sugar to drip off and burn but I handled it. I made 30 individual wings. The dry rub is so insanely hot. I ruined our meal. I wont be using this recipe again.
Sounds like user error to me. Not the fault of the recipe.
Can I bake in oven. Will they come out crispy
Great dry rub for wings! These are one the menu every week! The family just loves them and they are so easy to make!
Yay for great dinners together
Great flavor but wayyyy…too much salt!! I will omit the salt next time! The crunchy edges were yummy. Thanks for sharing
Best wings ever. I used 3 tbsp of Splenda brown sugar instead and 3/4 tbsp of adobo instead of garlic salt. Soooooooo amazing!!!!
I meant 3 full tablespoons of Splenda brown sugar instead of 3/4 cups of brown sugar
You should probably change that on the recipe card. Because I just used 3/4 cup of brown sugar.
This is not my comment, this is someone referring to what they used instead of brown sugar. They substituted for Splenda. 3/4 c brown sugar in the recipe card is absolutely correct
These wings were FABULOUS!!! My family was positively raving about them. My son the wings were better than any he had eaten at any restaurant. My husband raved about them again this morning. He never does that. The wings were perfectly spicy and sweet. Juicy with a caramelized skin. The only problem? I didn’t make enough. I’ll make six lbs. worth next time. No dipping sauce needed.
Yeah, thanks for letting us know!!
I used about 3 TBSP of Splenda brown sugar