These Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings are the only way I want to make bone-in wings going forward! In less than 30 minutes you can have perfectly crispy chicken wings from frozen ready for any seasoning or sauce you would like.
With just a bit of oil and a couple flips throughout the cooking process, these wings are a delicious lunch, dinner, or appetizer. They are also gluten free and dairy free!
Crave crispy chicken wings but forgot to take them out of the freezer? Don't want to heat up a huge pot of oil to deep fry? Wings cooked in the oven or on the grill not crispy enough? Making frozen chicken wings in the air fryer is so easy you won't believe it, and it solves all of the above.
While you certainly can air fryer wings from fresh (just take a few minutes off of the cooking time) cooking chicken wings from frozen in the air fryer gives you very similar results without having to thaw in the fridge first.
We buy the big bag of Kirkland frozen wings from Costco, it's very cost effective and has a nice variety of wingettes and drumettes. Tyson brand also has nice frozen wings that are available at most grocery stores. Any variety or brand will work here.
If you are looking for other air fryer chicken recipes, try these air fryer chicken thighs! you can even make a whole chicken in the ninja foodi, using the pressure cooker and air fryer functions. For a crispy air fryer take on a japanese classic, try air fryer chicken Katsu.
Here's what you will need:
- Frozen chicken wings (like Costco frozen wings or Tyson frozen wings)
- Some type of oil or spray oil (I love the Chosen Brand Avocado Spray)
2 ingredients, that's it. There is no breading, so these air fryer wings are gluten free and the amount of oil you use is negligible compared to if these wings were deep-fried. But the crisp on them is out of this world.
If you want, you can actually make these wings without any oil at all. They will still be pretty crispy from the fat on the chicken skin.
Step by Step Instructions for Air Fryer Chicken Wings from Frozen
Place frozen wings in the air fryer basket. At this point they can touch or be in a double layer.
Air fry for 10 minutes at 390 degrees.
Open air fryer and flip wings. At this point you want the wings to be in a single layer. The wings should have shrunk up some as they cooked and the water evaporated. Remove enough wings to a side plate to ensure all the wings left in the basket have enough remove to crisp.
Spray with a bit of avocado oil.
Close air fryer and cook for an additional 8 minutes.
Open air fryer and flip again. Spray the wings on this side and close basket.
Air fryer for 8 more minutes. Check crispiness level and add 2-3 minutes if necessary.
Remove wings from basket and finish any extra wings if you were working in stages.
Enjoy wings coated in your favorite wing sauce or sprinkled with a dry rub. My favorite dipping sauce is this Copycat Wingstop Ranch!
Air Fryer Frozen Wings Temperature
The best temperature to cook frozen wings between is 390- 400 degrees Fahrenheit. I find 390 degrees to be the best temperature to ensure the wings are cooked through on the inside with a perfectly brown and crispy skin on the outside.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- The wings will shrink up during the cooking process. Because they are frozen and often ice coated, the wings will be bigger at first and the basket will be a little crowded. As long as they are in a single layer after the initial 10 minutes of cook time, they will crisp up just fine.
- Work in stages. One of the keys when you air fry frozen wings is to make sure there is enough room for air to circulate which will help them be crispy all around. Depending on the size of your air fryer and how many wings are you trying to cook, you may have to work in stages. My Ninja Foodi doesn't have a huge basket, so I had to work in stages.
- Thaw first if you want to marinate or season wings. Marinades won't penetrate and rubs won't stick to frozen wings. If you want to season your wings ahead of time, you will want to thaw them before air frying. One thing you can also do is toss wings in a dry rub after the first 10 minutes of cook time. At this point they will be thawed enough for the rub to stick.
Sauce and Seasoning Ideas
This air fryer frozen chicken wings recipe is super versatile (try any sauce or rub you like!)
- Buffalo Sauce (Frank's Red Hot is classic and Cholula's Wing Sauce is also delicious)
- Plain
- Dry rubs (I love this buffalo wing dry seasoning!)
- Dipped in ranch or blue cheese
- Your favorite hot sauce
- Barbecue Sauce
- Teriyaki Sauce
Storage
Store any leftover wings in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave for 45-60 seconds or in the air fryer for 4-5 minutes.
More air fryer frozen foods
- frozen mozzarella sticks in the air fryer
- frozen potstickers in the air fryer
- frozen hash brown patties in the air fryer
- frozen hamburgers in the air fryer
Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 10 frozen bone in chicken wings
- 1 tsp. avocado oil spray or any mild oil
Instructions
- Place frozen wings in the air fryer basket. At this point they can touch or be in a double layer.
- Air fry for 10 minutes at 390 degrees F.
- Open air fryer and flip wings. At this point you want the wings to be in a single layer. The wings should have shrunk up some as they cooked and the water evaporated. Remove enough wings to a side plate to ensure all the wings left in the basket have enough remove to crisp.
- Spray with a bit of avocado oil.
- Close air fryer and cook for an additional 8 minutes.
- Open air fryer and flip again. Spray the wings on this side and close basket.
- Air fryer for 8 more minutes. Check crispiness level and add 2-3 minutes if necessary.
- Remove wings from basket and finish any extra wings if you were working in stages.
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