Perfect Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Wings Recipe
These air fryer BBQ chicken wings are sure to satisfy your cravings. They come out perfectly moist on the inside while they’re crispy and covered in the warm BBQ sauce of your choice on the outside. These wings are sure to fly off the table at your next party or dinner.
Total Servings: 2
Total Cost: $24.69
Cost Per Serving: $12.35
Table of Contents
Ingredients & Costs*
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*Food costs may vary and can change over time. The prices listed were the current prices of these ingredients when this recipe was made at the time of this post. Almost all our ingredients are purchased from Walmart as we live in a small town without any other options. If you notice a significant price difference, please let us know at hello@freshgains.com so we can update this post.
FAQs About This Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Wings Recipe
Why don’t you sauce the wings before you air fry them?
When I cook wings in the oven, I usually sauce them before broiling them. And when I first made air fryer BBQ chicken wings, I tried doing this. But I found the sauce doesn’t stay on the wings in the air fryer as well as it does in the oven. I had to sauce the wings after they were air fried. If you want less saucy wings – you could probably sauce them before air frying them. But there’s still a bit of downside as your air fryer will be a mess.
What air fryer do you use?
I use the Ninja Foodi 6-in-1 Indoor Grill. I’ve found this air fryer is perfect for cooking 10 to 12 wings at a time while leaving enough space to avoid overlapping the wings to allow them to cook evenly. If you use a different air fryer, make sure you keep an eye on the wings and remove them when they hit an internal temperature of 165°F. Air fryers cook times can vary significantly.
What BBQ sauce do you use?
As someone who loves BBQ and trying different sauces, this may sound crazy… But my favorite sauce is Stubbs Original. It can be found in almost any grocery store (I get it at Walmart). I’ve probably tried over 30 different types of BBQ sauces over the years, and I always seem to come back to Stubbs Original. My second choice would be Baltimore Barbeque Company’ Original sauce. Send me your BBQ sauce recommendations at mike@freshgains.com and I’ll be sure to give it a try!
How should I store leftovers?
Any leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator. In an airtight container, leftover BBQ wings will last up to 5 days. You can reheat them in the air fryer, oven or microwave.
Tips for Incredible Air Fried BBQ Wings
Enjoy these wings even if you don’t have an air fryer: If you don’t have an air fryer, or if you’re making a large batch of wings, you can cook them in the oven. Set the temperature to 400°F then season the wings and place them in a single layer. Bake them for about 40 to 45 minutes, flipping the wings halfway through. Lastly, switch the oven to broil remove and sauce the wings and place them back in the oven on the top rack for about 5 minutes.
Toss the wings in the air fryer: While it’s not absolutely necessary, I flip the wings about halfway through when cooking them in the air fryer. This helps ensure the wings cook evenly while also minimizing sticking or burning in the air fryer.
Use cooking spray on the air fryer basket: Another way to reduce the chances of sticking and burning while air frying BBQ chicken wings is to spray cooking spray on the air fryer basket before adding the wings. You can also line the air fryer basket with foil for an easier clean-up, if you prefer.
Sauce while the wings are hot: I’ve found that saucing the wings quickly after they are cooked in the air fryer is crucial to making amazing wings. As soon as the wings are finished cooking, use tongs to add about 4 or 5 wings to a small or medium bowl and toss them in sauce. Continue the process until all wings are coated in sauce, adding more sauce to the bowl as necessary. This allows the sauce to heat up similarly to how it does when it’s put on the wings in the oven or in the air fryer. But it allows the wings to be more coated in sauce.
Perfect Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Wings Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Air fryer
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs chicken wings, cut into drums and wings
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz BBQ sauce
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Cut to separate the drums and flats, if necessary.
- Dry wings with a paper towel if you prefer crispier wings.
- Preheat air fryer to 300ºF.
- In a small bowl (or an empty seasoning bottle), combine the paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir (or shake) to combine.
- Season all sides of the wings with the seasoning blend. I lay the wings on a cutting board for this.
- Once preheated, add wings to air fryer. Ensure the wings aren’t touching or overlapping. Cook in batches, if necessary.
- Cook for 10 minutes.
- Increase air fryer temperature to 400ºF. Cook for 5 additional minutes, or until the internal temperature of the wings reaches 165ºF.
- Remove 3-4 wings from the air fryer at a time and place them in a small bowl. Toss in BBQ sauce until all sides are covered. Repeat until all wings are tossed in BBQ sauce.
