Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings (Cornstarch, Gluten-Free) (2024)

The best crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings with cornstarch are gluten-free, packed with flavor, & easy to make! They’re one of our favorite foods on game day!

Keep reading to find out the best way to make the best chicken wings and grab the free printable recipe card!

These homemade wings are better than most restaurants, and they’re cheaper to make, too! This easy recipe is the perfect appetizer or light dinner during football season, or they’re a great Super Bowl snack!

Since they are so simple to make, you’ll also be able to enjoy them more often! The clean-up is also super easy, and the air fryer cuts the cooking time in half!

Plus, these easy air fryer chicken wings come out golden and crispy on the outside and juicy and tender on the inside.

Do you use cornstarch or baking powder for air fryer wings?

If you’re debating on baking powder vs cornstarch for wings, cornstarch offers a much better flavor than baking powder.

What makes these best air fryer wings crispy?

The cornstarch is the secret ingredient to make the best crispy chicken wings with a ton of flavor!

Ingredients for the Best Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings

You’ll need these simple ingredients for the air fryer buffalo chicken wings:

• Whole chicken wings – Typically one pound of wings is about 10 pieces. You can cook more, but you’ll probably want to do them in different batches.
• Cornstarch – This acts as your light breading for the wings.
• Salt and pepper – This just adds a little seasoning and spice to your wings.
• Garlic powder– We love garlic powder to bring out a savory flavor in the wings.
• Buffalo sauce – You can choose your favorite buffalo wing sauce or hot sauce as well.

Don’t like buffalo sauce? You can always use your favorite wing sauce instead or skip the sauce all together.

How to Make Crispy Chicken Wings in Air Fryer

1. First, you’ll want to clean and prepare the chicken wings. You do this by cutting the wings at the joint, discard the wing tips, and remove any remaining feathers.

2. Then place the wings in a medium bowl with spices and cornstarch. Toss the wings until thoroughly coated.

3. Prep the air fryer basket by spraying with oil. Place the wings inside.

4. Cook for 15 minutes at 400°.

5. Once the wings are cooked through, toss in a bowl with 1/4 cup of Buffalo sauce to fully coat the wings. (If you don’t use a sauce, we recommend spraying the wings with a little extra virgin olive oil to get them crispy).

6. Place back in the air fryer basket and cook for 5 more minutes.

7. Remove and toss in the remaining sauce.

8. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce. We like ranch or blue cheese dressing.

Notes:

• You can also use any favorite sauce – BBQ sauce would be great as well.
• You could also save the wing tips to make chicken stock as well.

How long to air fryer chicken wings at 400?

Crispy chicken wings take around 15 to 20 minutes in the air fryer at 400 degrees. It’s recommended to flip wings at the 7-8 minute mark. The size of your air fryer may also effect the cooking time.

Tips for Making This Best Air Fryer Chicken Wings Recipe

Cooking Time

Depending on the type of air fryer, you may have to adjust the cooking time. We’ve found 16 minutes to be the best for 1 pound of wings in ours.

With that said, Ninja Foodie Air Fryers seem to cook faster, so you may need to lower the temperature to 375 or check around the 12 minute mark.

If you’re new to air frying or trying a new recipe like this, we recommend checking the food often to help from under or over cooking.

The Chicken Itself

The thickness of your wings will also effect the cooking time by a couple of minutes.

The Machine

If you’re not using an air fryer basket like we did, you can place the wings on the middle rack of an air fryer oven and select the air fry option.

What is the best air fryer for chicken wings?

The COSORI Air Fryers are the best with over 100,000 5-Star reviews. The 6.8 Quart COSORI Air Fryer is a great size for air frying chicken wings.

Other popular air fryer brands with great reviews are Ninja, Instant Pot, and PowerXL.

Can I Double this Recipe?

Yes, you could definitely double this crispy air fryer chicken wings recipe. If you have a 5.8-quart air fryer you can get in 1.5 to 2 pounds without the wings getting too crowded in the basket.

If you try cooking up to 2 pounds at once, up the cooking time by 2 -5 minutes. We also recommend shaking the basket every 10 minutes or so to keep the wings from crowding each other. The skin should be crisp.

You could also double this recipe and cook each 1 pound separately.

Can I bake this chicken wing recipe instead?

Yes, you could bake these chicken wings in a conventional oven instead of air frying. You’d want to bake them at 400 degrees and cook them on a baking sheet on parchment paper for 30 minutes. You’ll want to flip them at the 15 minute mark.

2 Types of Chicken Wings

Did you know each chicken wings have a name? They are drums, or drumettes, and flats, also known as wingettes.

The drums look like little chicken legs, and the flat’s have 2 bones inside and appear flatter.

Why Use an Air Fryer?

We love an air fryer because it makes many foods crispy without using a lot of oil! Air fryers also cut down on clean-up and cooking time by a little bit!

We recommend the COSORI brand of Air Fryers.

Frequently Asked Questions About Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings

Do I need to pre-heat my air fryer?

Each brand of air fryer is different. Each brand should include instructions on whether or not you should preheat and how to preheat if needed.

With that said, if you don’t pre-heat your air fryer for this chicken wings recipe, your wings will still turn out!

All you need to do is prepare the air fryer by spraying with a little non-stick cooking oil before putting in your wings.

Do I need to spray my chicken wings with oil?

No, the wings will produce grease as they cook. This grease is what will make the wings get crispy. That’s the cool thing about the air fryer, you can cook many foods without adding additional oil.

Is this recipe messy to make?

No, it’s actually a pretty low maintenance clean up! Make sure to spray the air fryer with nonstick cooking spray before placing the wings inside. Then clean as normal afterwards.

How do I store leftover wings?

Save your leftover air fryer chicken wings in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. You can reheat them and enjoy!

How to Reheat Chicken Wings in Air Fryer

To reheat leftover chicken wings in the air fryer, we recommend using the pre-heat option. Preheat your air fryer at 350, and then place the wings inside the fryer for 2-3 minutes. If you have several wings in the basket, you may need to shake the basket after 2 minutes, and let cook 2 more minutes or until warmed through.

You can also spritz the wings with a little oil to make them extra crispy.

Can you put raw frozen chicken wings in an air fryer?

Yes, you can air fry frozen chicken wings! Your cooking time may go up though, and you may also want to drain the excess liquid created from the cooking process about half way through cooking the wings.

How long are chicken wings good for?

Cooked chicken wings are good for three to four days in the fridge. If the cooked wings are sitting out at room temperature, they need to be eaten or stored within 2 hours.

How do I make my air fryer wings crispy?

Here are 4 tips to get the best results:

• Space the wings out. You want the chicken wings to be in a flat, single layer inside the basket to help them cook evenly.
• Pat dry with a paper towel. After cleaning your wings, pat them down with a paper towel before adding your seasoning.
• Room temperature wings cook better. While you can cook frozen or cold wings, we find taking them out of the fridge 30 minutes before we fry them helps make them become extra crispy!
• Take time when reheating. If you’re reheating chicken wrings, we recommend using the preheat option on your air fryer and spraying a little oil on the wings to help hydrate them. This will help keep them crispy!

Best Side Dishes for Air Fryer Buffalo Wings

We love to have air fryer wings with other game day snacks! Some of our favorite foods to pair with these wings are: sliders, mini burgers, BBQ totchos (loaded tater tots), loaded waffle fries, fresh celery sticks and carrot sticks.

How many chicken wings are in a serving?

Typically a serving is 2 to 4 chicken wings or 4.4 ounces.

Air Fryer Chicken Wings Nutrition

Traditionally, the nutritional information for two deep-fried chicken wings is around 300 calories and 19 grams of fat. A serving of this air fryer buffalo wings recipe is only about 150 calories and 6 grams of fat!

This is because the air fryer doesn’t use heavy, fattening oils, and air fryers also are quicker and safer than deep frying.

Your entire family is going to love these crispy air fryer buffalo chicken wings! Enjoy!

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Looking for brunch ideas? Check out these fun air fryer breakfast recipes!