Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings
These Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings are simply amazing. They take 5 minutes to prepare and will be ready to enjoy in 30 minutes. Plus they have the crispiest gluten-free coating, most delicious seasoning and they taste so good! You will never make chicken wings any other way again!
Air Fryer wings are much healthier than the oven-baked version, as you only need a tiny amount of oil to cook them. I only use a couple of sprays of oil.
The air fryer, as the name suggests, uses hot air to cook food. A fan circulates the air around at a high speed and cooks food very quickly. I also love it as it is not as difficult to clean as cleaning your oven. So there are multiple wins to using an air fryer.
These gluten-free chicken wings work well with a nice salad like this Roasted Pumpkin and Beetroot Salad or this Summer Quinoa Salad. Or you could serve them with some steamed veggies or even just enjoy them on their own as an appetizer with a yummy dipping sauce (like the garlic aioli dipping sauce that my Quinoa Fritters use).
If you are after other methods of cooking chicken then check out my One Tray Oven Baked Chicken and Vegetables or even Slow Cooked Pulled Chicken.
Ingredients
- Chicken wings or you can use chicken nibbles to save you some extra time in preparing.
- Tapioca flour or you can use gluten free flour.
- Spices – I have been using a garlic and herb seasoning from Mingle Seasoning which is amazing. But all you need to get a fantastic flavour is salt, pepper, garlic powder and some dried herbs like thyme or basil.
- Olive Oil Spray – I only use this to spray the air fryer basket so the wings do not stick. It is very minimal oil that you need and it is so much better than cooking the wings in your oven.
Please see the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
First of all, make sure you are using defrosted chicken wings or chicken nibbles. If you have frozen wings, then you will need to defrost them first. Defrosting them in your refrigerator the night before you want to cook them will usually do the trick.
If you are using chicken wings, then you need to separate them into drums and flats. My top tip is to use chicken nibbles as this will save you a few minutes in preparation time.
Then you need to pay them dry with paper towel. This will ensure that the flour and seasoning stick to the chicken wings.
Add the chicken wings, tapioca flour and seasoning to a medium-sized bowl.
Use two spoons or tongs to move the wings around until they are well coated in the flour and spices.
Spray the basket with olive oil cooking spray and then place the chicken wings in the basket. Try not to overcrowd the wings. You may need to do a couple of batches if your basket is too small.
Cook for 30 minutes on 400 F (200 C), turning over the chicken wings at 15 minutes. The end result is that you will end up with super crispy, golden brown delicious chicken wings.
Substitutions & Variations
- Tapioca Flour – you can use gluten-free flour if you don’t have tapioca flour. I have also made them with baking powder but you do not need as much baking powder. I recommend only 1 tablespoon instead of 2 tablespoons if you are using baking powder.
- Spices – I have made these wings with various spice mix combinations. The basic mix I recommend is salt, pepper, garlic powder and herbs like basil or thyme or even an Italian herb mix. My current favorite is the Mingle Herb and Garlic Seasoning but you can definitely change it up. As long as you use 2 teaspoons all up the choice is really up to you. You could also add some chili flakes, onion salt and paprika.
Equipment
Obviously, an air fryer is essential to making this recipe and in addition to that you need a mixing bowl, some measuring spoons, tongs and a few other utensils.
There are various air fryers on the market and I use a 5.3L Anko Air Fryer which cooks the chicken wings perfectly in one batch.
Storage
These chicken wings are best enjoyed when you make them, but if you do have leftovers, then you can store them for up to 3 days in your refrigerator.
Then you can either enjoy them cold (I love them this way!) or you can reheat them for a few minutes in your air fryer on 400 F/ 200C until they are heated through.
Top tip
Make sure you do not overcrowd the wings in the air fryer basket! They will not cook as well this way and may not turn out as crispy. You are better off doing a couple of batches to ensure that they turn out perfectly.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, absolutely you can!
However, it will take longer to cook and you will need to add more oil (approximately 2 tablespoons). You can cook them in a pre-heated oven at 400 F (200 C) for 50-60 minutes, turning them at 30 minutes.
The list is endless, you can use sweet chili or Greek yogurt mixed with sweet chili which is one of my favourite dipping sauces. Or my healthy garlic aioli also goes really well with these chicken wings. I even love to drizzle some lemon juice over the top of these wings once they are ready to eat.
To make it a meal, I recommend serving them with a salad or even steamed veggies. I have also served them with potato mash.
To serve them as an appetizer, you could serve them with sweet potato fries and vegetables sticks (celery sticks or carrot sticks).
More appetizer recipes to enjoy
- Prosciutto and Mozzarella Skewers
- Zucchini & Sweet Potato Fritters
- Beetroot Hummus
- Gluten Free Cauliflower Fritters
Did you make this recipe?
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Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken wings cut into drums and flats (or you can use chicken nibbles to save on time)
- 2 tablespoons tapioca flour or gluten free flour
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil or thyme see the notes below for more seasoning suggestions
- olive oil cooking spray
Instructions
- Dry the chicken wings with paper towel before adding to a medium sized bowl with the tapioca flour and spices.
- Use two spoons or tongs to move the wings around until they are well coated in the flour and spices.
- Spray the basket with the cooking spray and then place the chicken wings in the basket. Try not to overcrowd the wings. You may need to do a couple of batches if your basket is too small.
- Cook the wings on 400 F | 200 C for 30 minutes, turning the wings over at 15 minutes.
- Serve with dipping sauce or as a meal with salad or vegetables
