Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings

Skip the calories and mess of deep-fried chicken with these crispy air fryer buffalo chicken wings tossed in restaurant-quality sauce. Enjoy some finger-licking wings from the comfort of your home with some celery sticks, carrots and ranch or blue cheese dressing.

If there’s one food that the air fryer was made for, it’s chicken wings. It gives you the same crispy wings you get from deep-frying without the hot oily mess that comes with it AND the healthy benefits of baking them in the oven but in half the time. It’s a game-changer for making wings at home. No more splattering oil messes or waiting 40 minutes for oven-fried wings. All you need is 20 minutes to make 2 lbs. of wings and it’s easy and foolproof.

We’ll be tossing them in a homemade classic buffalo wing sauce which you can tweak from mild to hot, depending on your spice tolerance. It’s great for game day or when you just feel like digging into a plate of wings. This recipe is a great base for all kinds of other wings too. You can add a dry rub like lemon pepper, garlic parmesan, salt and vinegar and use the recipe for times and temperature. Alternatively, keep the seasoning basic but use a different sauce to toss the wings in like honey bbq, spicy sriracha, honey garlic, or a sticky Asian sauce. Let’s start air frying!

AIR FRYER BUFFALO CHICKEN WINGS RECIPE TIPS

Air fryer – I made this recipe with a 5.8 Qt. Cosori air fryer which was big enough to fit 12 chicken wingettes and drumsticks.

Chicken wings – I used chicken wingettes but you can use regular wings or drumsticks or a combination of both. 2 lbs. of wings ended up being about 12 wings for me. Thaw them before cooking and pat them dry with paper towels.

Make it crispier – A hack I use to make super crispy chicken skins is to toss the wings in some baking powder along with the salt and pepper. 1 teaspoon of baking powder for 2 lbs. of chicken wings should be enough. I used this trick for these air fryer maple chicken thighs and oven-baked Old Bay buffalo wings. It’s a weird thing you don’t normally see in recipes, but it works.

Hot sauce – I used Frank’s RedHot original sauce.

Butter – The butter makes the sauce creamy and adds restaurant-like quality to your buffalo sauce. The butter is the fat that makes the sauce cling to the wings and gives the sauce a smooth richness.

Cayenne – Cayenne adds a little heat to the sauce but the amount in the recipe is about what you would expect with mild wings. If you want hotter wings, add more cayenne and tweak it to fit your spice level and tolerance.

Serve with – These wings go great with carrots and celery sticks and ranch or blue cheese dressing.

Reheating – Heat up any leftovers in the air fryer at 350°F for 3-4 minutes. Add more sauce if needed to make the wings saucy again.

Thicker Buffalo Wing Sauce

For a thicker, stickier wing sauce:

• Heat up the sauce in a small saucepan over low heat so the butter doesn’t separate.
• Make a cornstarch slurry by mixing 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of cold water and add it to the sauce.
• Stir over low heat for 2-3 minutes until the sauce thickens. Remove immediately from the heat and toss with wings.

And that’s about it. Enjoy your wings and tell me how you liked them! If you’re looking for more Super Bowl party food, try out a few from this roundup.

MORE SUPER BOWL RECIPES TO TRY

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