Buffalo Chicken Wings (Air Fryer)

Name: Buffalo Chicken Wings (Air Fryer)
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 24 min
Total time: 26 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 lbs Chicken Wings, or Drumettes; 1/2 Cup Hot Wing Sauce, buffalo sauce. See Note 4.; 1/2 tbsp Unsalted Butter, at room temperature; 1/2 tsp Black Pepper; 1 tbsp Cooking Oil, such as canola oil; 3/4 tsp Salt

This game day, make these Crispy Buffalo Chicken Wings in Air Fryer! Air fried wings are low in carb and low in fat but taste equally delicious and addictive. A must recipe in every cook's repertoire.

Posted On: Dec, 8 | Author: Savita

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Easy recipe to make bar-style Buffalo Chicken Wings in Air Fryer. Crispy, loaded with hot sauce flavor yet low carb, low oil and ready in 25 minutes.

Today's recipe for Air Fryer Wings make crispy chicken wings seasoned all the way with delicious buffalo hot wing sauce. No breading or deep frying. Just only 1 tablespoon of oil and air fryer crisps the chicken wings just like fried in oil. Resulting wings are crispy from the outside and moist juicy inside. Also sharing two tips to make perfectly seasoned crispy wings. (read on to know more)

This recipe needs no breading. So prep time is just 2 minutes and wings are healthier, gluten free and keto diet friendly. If you don't have air fryer, don't worry! For many years, I have used the same recipe to bake crispy chicken wings in the oven. (check oven method in the notes)

Let's make Crispy Air Fryer Buffalo Wings today!

Buffalo Chicken Wings

Buffalo Chicken Wings is a classic appetizer / finger food. I don't remember a pub or bar in US that does not sell Buffalo Chicken wings. In traditional version, crispy fried chicken wings and drumettes are coated in medium-hot cayenne and vinegar hot sauce, famous by name Buffalo's Hot Sauce.

This recipe is low carb and low oil play on the traditional version. Chicken wings and drumettes are air fried in negligible amount of oil. The hot air circulation in air fryer quickly crisps the chicken skin in it's own fat. This helps chicken wings two ways:

Wings get crispy
Lot of fat from skin renders off making wings less fatty even with skin.

Air Fryer Buffalo Wings

What Do You Need to Make Chicken Wings in Air Fryer?

Ingredients to make chicken wings in air fryer are easy to find pantry staples. Here is what you need:

Chicken Wings or Drumettes
Olive Oil
Buffalo Hot Sauce
Butter
Salt and Pepper

Cooking Chicken Wings in Air Fryer

My experience with air fryer has taught me three important things while making chicken wings in air fryer. i.e.

Preheat Air Fryer ensures even cooking from the start. Chicken wings cook golden brown from outside and juicy inside.
Adjust the timings as per quantity of chicken wings and size of air fryer. (more on this ahead)
Toss Chicken Wings while cooking a couple of times.

Cooking Crispy Buffalo Chicken Wings in Air Fryer

As shown in picture above, overall cooking buffalo wings in air fryer is very simply 4 steps. 1) Season wings in sauce, oil and pepper; 2) and then Air fry in preheated fryer. 3) Toss 1-2 times for even cooking. 4) Coat hot wings in buffalo sauce and butter. Serve!

To make evenly Crispy Chicken Wings in Air Fryer:

Pat dry the wings with clean paper towel. This helps to get rid of any moisture. It also helps in seasoning sticking to the sauce better.
Toss wings a couple of times to ensure all wings get crispy.

To make well Seasoned Buffalo Chicken Wings:

Before air-frying, season chicken wings in buffalo sauce, oil and salt. There is no need to pre-marinate chicken wings. However, wings will be more flavorful if marinated in sauce and seasoning overnight.
Once fried, coat fried wings in more buffalo hot sauce for delicious, finger-licking saucy coated wings! (yum)

Crispy Buffalo Wings cooked in Air Fryer

Air Fryer Timings for Cooking Chicken Wings

Time to cook chicken wings in air fryer vary based on two things:

Quantity of Wings - For example, when air fried at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, 2-3 pound chicken wings will be ready in about 24 minutes. If air fryer can hold 4 pounds wings, start with 24 minutes at 400 degrees. Increase time 1-2 minutes at a time towards the end of cooking. Check if wings are not fully crispy yet then increase time 1-2 minutes at a time. Toss couple of times while cooking for even crispiness.
Air Fryer Make and Model - Air Fryer such as Ninja Foodi Max XL also have a Max Crisp settings i.e. Air Fry at 450 degrees Fahrenheit which crisps faster than at 400 degrees.
Check pictures and video for showing crispy looking chicken wings (I used drumettes).
Wings vs Drumettes - Wings will crispy faster than drumettes.

Buffalo Chicken Wings Air Fryer Cooked

Crispy Buffalo Chicken Wings in Oven

To make same recipe in the oven. Preheat oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Spread seasoned wings on a baking sheet in single layer. Bake for 20 minutes. Turn once half way through the cooking. After 20 minutes, switch on broiler, and broil wings for 2 minutes to make'em crispy. Season as suggested in the Recipe Card.

Air fryer makes cooking chicken wings fun and easy. In just 30 minutes, you can serve two pound chicken wings which are also low in carb, use 75% less oil and healthier. How good does that sound?

Crispy Buffalo Chicken Wings in Air Fryer

Learn how to make Crispy Buffalo Chicken Wings (drumettes) in Air Fryer in just 25 minutes. Air fried wings are low in carb and low in fat but taste equally delicious and addictive. A must recipe in every cook's repertoire.

Pairing Ideas:

Beer Cheese Dip for Pretzels Blue Cheese (Bleu Cheese) Dressing Ranch Sauce