These frozen chicken wings cooked in an air fryer are a lifesaver for those busy weeknight meals when you do not have much time to prep food. Crispy outside, and juicy inside, they go from your freezer to plate in 30 minutes! Toss them in your favorite sauce, and they are ready to eat.
These Air Fryer Chicken Wings are crispy on the outside, and juicy on the inside. Follow this recipe to see how to make them crispy and delicious.
For more Air Fryer recipes, follow our air fryer recipes here: AIR FRYER RECIPES
Air Frying frozen chicken wings are my favorite easy weeknight meals to make. I do not need to prep ahead. I just cook them from frozen, add a bag of salad, and a high protein low carb Keto dinner is ready. For the carb-loving family, I just add some easy Potato Bites, and everyone is happy.
WHY YOU SHOULD TRY THESE AIR FRYER FROZEN WINGS
- The easiest recipe you will ever find
- No prepping required
- Budget-friendly
- Ready in 30 minutes
- Makes a perfect low-carb/keto meal with salad
- Just add carbs on the side for your carb-eating family
- A big hit with kids and grown-ups
INGREDIENTS LIST TO MAKE AIR FRYER CHICKEN WINGS
- Frozen chicken wings and any sauce of your choice to coat the wings.
- Seasoning – Salt, Pepper, and Olive Oil
Step-by-step photos – HOW TO COOK FROZEN CHICKEN WINGS IN AIR FRYER
HOW TO COOK FROZEN CHICKEN WINGS IN AN AIR FRYER.
- Remove all packaging from the wings. Do not forget to check for the absorbent meat pads or soakers which may be stuck to the wings.
- Place the wings in the air fryer basket. If they are stuck together tight, that is okay.
- Cook frozen chicken wings for about 10 minutes at 350 F or 180 C
- After cooking for 10 minutes, the wings will be warm on the outside and partially thawed on the inside.
- If they were stuck together before, separate them now with a tong or a fork.
- Brush all the wings with olive oil on all sides, and season them with salt and pepper.
- If the bowl under your air fryer basket has collected any liquid from the thawing, drain it out now.
- Once seasoned, continue air frying at 350 F or 180 C for another 20 minutes.
- Check the internal temperature – it should reach 165 F / 75 C.
- Toss wings in your favorite sauce and serve hot.
Some Useful Tips
Slicing Whole Wings: If you buy wings whole (drumette, wing, and wingtip attached), it may be difficult to handle and separate them frozen. Just wait till they thaw in the air fryer after cooking for 10 minutes, and then separate them carefully at the joints. Discard the wingtips, season the rest with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and put them back in the air fryer. If you are short on time (and patience- like me) just proceed without separating them. They taste good anyway!
Spacing Chicken Wings in an Air Fryer Basket – Air fryers work by circulating hot air around the basket, making for efficient frying. For best results, keep some gap between the wings. If they do not all fit in one basket, fry in two or three batches. The extra time will be worth it.
Moisture in Air Fryer Bowl – After the initial 10 minutes, if there is moisture gathered at the bottom of your air fryer bowl (look under the basket), it may steam, rather than fry your chicken wings. Just drain it all, and continue frying. This will ensure crispier wings.
Adjusting Cooking Time: The size and capacity of fryers vary, as do the size of chicken wings. Adjust time accordingly. Just remember to cook till you reach a safe internal temperature as mentioned below.
Food Safe Internal Temperature – For chicken to be safe enough to be consumed, it needs to reach an internal temperature of 170 F or 75 C. Meat thermometers make a good investment and are a must-have for checking the doneness of meat and overall food safety measures. Keep cooking in increments of 5-10 minutes till the wings read that temperature.
Frequently Asked Questions About Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings
HOW LONG TO COOK FROZEN CHICKEN WINGS IN AN AIR FRYER?
From frozen, chicken wings can take about 30 minutes at 350 F / 180 C for a batch. Adjust time if your wings are larger. See notes for safe internal temperature.
WHAT SAUCE CAN BE USED WITH AIR FRYER CHICKEN WINGS?
You can use any sauce of your choice. Some recommendation are as follow
- Franks Hot Sauce (I have used the Buffalo Wings Sauce)
- Smokey Hickory BBQ Sauce
- Sriracha and Honey Mix
- Peri-Peri Sauce by Moon And Spoon And Yum
- Honey Mustard
- Korean Gochujang
- Honey Soy Sauce
- Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Satay Sauce
- Date and Tamarind Sauce
- Lao Gan Ma Chilli Oil
WHAT TO SERVE WITH AIR FRYER WINGS?
For a keto / low-carb meal, serve it with a simple salad.
To add carbs, serve with salad and some air fryer potato bites. Also, try this Roast Beef Gravy by Glenda Embree to dip the wings in. Or boost your proteins with this delicious Chickpea Egg Salad by Veggie Fun Kitchen.
More Content You Might Enjoy:
Air Fryer Chicken Recipes
Add a vegetable dish to make a keto/low carb meal
Add some carbs for your non-keto tribe
HUNGRY FOR MORE?
Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
How to cook frozen chicken wings in an air fryer
Equipment
- 1 Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 2 lb Chicken Wings Frozen
- 1 tsp Olive Oil
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 1 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
Instructions
- Remove all packaging from the frozen wings, including the absorbent pad.
- Place frozen chicken wings in the air fryer basket.
- Cook for 10 minutes at 350 F / 180 C.
- At this point, the wings will be warm on the outside and almost thawed inside. Separate the wings if they are stuck to each other while frozen. See Note #3. Also if there is water under the basket, drain that out. See Note 4
- At this point, you can also divide the wings into different parts like the drumette, the wingette, and the wingtip. Discard the wing tips. See Note #2
- Brush olive oil on the wings on both sides and rub some salt and pepper.
- Continue cooking for another 20 minutes at 350 F / 180 C
- Check for internal temperature. It should have reached 165 F or 75 C. – See Note #1
- If the temperature has not reached 165 F / 75 C, continue cooking for another 10 minutes and check again. See Note # 5
- Remove all cooked wings in a bowl and pour Franks Red Sauce.
- Toss till wings are well coated.
- Serve hot.
I cook chicken wings quite often and this recipe is very helpful!
This is so helpful for when I forget to defrost my chicken! Love this recipe!
These turned out crispy and delicious! I love how easy this recipe is!
LIFE SAVER!!!
I didn’t know you could cook wings from frozen and I was panicking over dinner as I forgot to defrost the wings. Enter your recipe and dinner was saved! THANK YOU
What a great idea! I’m always struggling with frozen meat but now I can make my wings just like you suggest!
These turned out really well – thanks for saving the day!
Who would have known if that you could make frozen chicken wings in the air fryer. Your was so easy to make as well as delicious.
I Love chicken wings, what a great way to make them. I was happy that I didn’t have to thaw them out before cooking!
Thank you for all the instructions, super delicious.