Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Wings are a delicious and savory appetizer that you’ll love! Brush these crispy wings with your favorite BBQ sauce for a combination that’ll leave your taste buds begging for more!
“Love this recipe! These are super tasty and so easy! Will definitely make again!”
What You’ll Need
- Chicken wings (split into drums and flats)
- Cooking oil
- Garlic salt
- Your go-to BBQ sauce
Note: The chicken wings get tossed in the BBQ sauce after cooking.
How to Split Chicken Wings
If you buy your wings from a specialty foods store or local butcher shop, they’ll most likely come as flats.
Here’s how to break them down into flats and drums:
- First, locate the two joints in the wings.
- Snip through the joints to separate the pieces using a pair of kitchen shears.
- Discard the wing tips and use the flat pieces and drums in your recipe.
How to Make Them
- First, rinse your chicken pieces and pat them dry with paper towels. Try to remove as much moisture as possible so the wings will crisp well in the air fryer.
- Place the wings into a mixing bowl and pour the oil over them.
- Sprinkle the garlic salt over the chicken, then toss to coat.
- Place a piece of foil or parchment in the bottom of your air fryer and cook for 16-20 minutes at 400 degrees F.
- Remove them from the air fryer basket and place them into a clean mixing bowl with the BBQ sauce of your choice.
- Using a pair of tongs or a spoon, toss the chicken pieces to evenly coat them in the sauce. Then, serve and enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
In the last 2-3 minutes of cooking, carefully pull out the air fryer basket.
Give the wings a generous spray with some cooking oil and return them to the air fryer to finish frying.
The result? Ultra-crispy wings that are nearly impossible to resist!
How to Serve
- Pair with fried rice for a quick Asian-inspired weeknight meal
- Serve with air fryer asparagus – the perfect low-carb combination!
- Add to a plate of roasted potatoes and air fried green beans to make a hearty dinner
- Serve with sweet potato hash and broccoli for an incredibly tasty meal
Reheat Instruction
Reheat your wings at 350F for 5 minutes, then turn the heat up to 400F and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes or until warm and crispy.
FAQs
While technically edible, chicken wing tips are really just bone, cartilage, and a little skin.
There’s very little, if any, meat within the tip, so I typically discard them when separating the wings into pieces.
As mentioned in the cooking instructions, the best way to get crispy wings is to pat them dry after rinsing before you fry them.
Since oil and water don’t mix, you’ll want to make sure to remove as much moisture from the wing skin as possible.
Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken wings split into flats and drums
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Gently rinse your chicken pieces and pat dry with a paper towels.
- Place the chicken pieces into a mixing bowl.
- Pour the oil over the chicken.
- Sprinkle the garlic salt over the chicken, then toss the chicken to coat evenly.
- Place parchment paper or foil in the bottom of your air fryer basket. (This will allow for easier cleanup.)
- Place the chicken into the air fryer basket.
- Air fry the chicken at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
- Flip the chicken wings and cook for another 8-10 minutes.
- In the last 2-3 minutes, open the air fryer basket and generously spray the chicken with cooking oil to help crisp them. (optional)
- Remove the chicken pieces from the air fryer basket and place them into a bowl.
- Pour the BBQ sauce over the chicken and toss to coat.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- I have found the sweet spot of cooking to be around 16 minutes.
- Thicker wings will take longer.
- Air Fryers vary, so cooking times and temperatures might vary slightly.
Made these tonight, literally after you posted the recipe. So easy and so good for a late night snack! Found you through your air fryer eats (recipe group) on Facebook. So glad to have found .this new site.
Hi Todd! That makes my heart so happy that you tried and loved our Air Fryer BBQ Chicken wings! Aren’t wings so easy to make in the air fryer? It is hard to believe how crispy the chicken wings turn out!
Thank you for all the tips to get chicken wings with crispy skin but juicy meat! We were all loving this and will make this again and again. 🙂
Fantastic Anita! You are so welcome. I am so glad you loved our super easy air fryer BBQ Chicken Wings!
So delicious and flavorful and easy and quick to make too. Love the healthy version of the Air Fryer option.
We love making chicken wings in the air fryer. They get nice and crispy.
Yes! Chicken wings in the air fryer is so good! We love how they crisp up!
Made this to try my new air fryer. Safe to say that we’re huge fans! Can’t believe how easy and tasty this was!
So excited you tried and loved our BBQ Air Fryer Wings!
Love this recipe! These are super tasty and so easy! Will definitely make again!
Thank you Kim! So happy that you enjoyed our Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Wings! Enjoy them all year long!
Any adjustments for air fryer with shelf trays?
Hi Carol, you should still be able to make these work with your style air fryer. We normally recommend people use the middle tray and use the air fryer specific setting – if you’re unit has one.
Also, just keep an eye on it in the last few minutes. We test all our recipes in a traditional basket type air fryer, so the cook time might need to be slightly longer or shorter for you.