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Home Blog Cooking Method Air Fryer

Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings with an Easy Buffalo Sauce

Cheryl Malik
Cheryl Malik Posted: 09/20/21 Updated: 06/23/22
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GF Gluten Free K Keto LC Low Carb

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Pin graphic for air fryer frozen chicken wings
Pin graphic for air fryer frozen chicken wings
Pin graphic for air fryer frozen chicken wings
Pin graphic for air fryer frozen chicken wings
Pin graphic for air fryer frozen chicken wings
Pin graphic for air fryer frozen chicken wings
Pin graphic for air fryer frozen chicken wings
Pin graphic for air fryer frozen chicken wings
Pin graphic for air fryer frozen chicken wings
Pin graphic for air fryer frozen chicken wings
Pin graphic for air fryer frozen chicken wings
Pin graphic for air fryer frozen chicken wings
Pin graphic for air fryer frozen chicken wings

These air fryer frozen chicken wings are crisp, juicy, and coated in the most delicious buffalo sauce. This method makes it oh so easy and quick to get homemade buffalo wings on the table without even thawing frozen wings! Serve with plenty of ranch or blue cheese dressing.

Air fryer frozen chicken wings on a baking sheet with parchment paper and celery sticks

For more tasty chicken wing recipes, be sure to check out our posts on Instant Pot Chicken Wings, Crockpot Chicken Wings, Lemon Pepper Wings, and How to Brine Chicken Wings.

What Makes This Recipe So Good

  • What makes air fryer frozen chicken wings better than air fryer chicken wings? Well, there’s one key difference – they’re frozen! With this method, you can fry up your chicken wings straight from the freezer, no thawing required. Perfect if you’re someone who likes to stock up on sale days, you forgot to thaw your wings last night (been there), or you just don’t like messing with raw chicken.
  • These frozen chicken wings come out of the air fryer with a PERFECT texture and taste. They’re crispy outside and tender & juicy inside. Plus the easy homemade buffalo sauce is INCREDIBLE.
  • All of the cooking happens right in the air fryer. No need to transfer the wings to the oven to crisp them up under the broiler – just crank up the heat on the air fryer for a few minutes toward the end!
  • This method works whether you have a basket-style air fryer (like me) or an air fryer oven with racks. If your air fryer has racks, you’ll want to rotate the racks every 6 to 7 minutes during cooking, making sure with each rotation that the wings aren’t stuck to the racks or each other.

Need More Buffalo Chicken Ideas?

Buffalo Chicken Tacos

Healthy Creamy Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Ranch (Whole30, Paleo)

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Dip

Key Ingredients

Frozen Chicken Wings – YUP! Bone-in, skin-on, rock-hard frozen chicken wings. No need to thaw them first! You can take them straight out of the freezer, season them with a little salt, and pop them right into the preheated air fryer.

Butter – The base of my easy buffalo sauce! If you’re dairy free, you can use a dairy-free butter, no problem.

Hot Sauce – Any brand and any flavor of hot sauce will work. If buffalo sauce isn’t your thing, you can totally use whatever you like best! Lemon pepper sauce, BBQ sauce, teriyaki sauce, whatever! Just keep in mind that you can’t really brine or marinate the wings while they’re frozen, so any sauce has to be added after cooking.

Chef’s Tips

  • The cook time may vary slightly depending on the size and number of wings you’re cooking, how frozen the wings are, your specific size and type of air fryer, etc. Check your wings whenever you shake the basket and add a few extra minutes at 360°F if needed. Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165°F for food safety.
  • For really, really crispy air fryer frozen chicken wings, follow all the directions below as written. Then, after you’ve tossed the wings in the buffalo sauce, pop them back into the air fryer for just a couple of minutes. This step is totally optional and I personally don’t even think you really need it, which is why it’s not part of the instructions from the beginning.
  • Be sure to use a spray oil that’s safe for air fryers! Basic aerosol cooking sprays can damage the non-stick coating on the air fryer basket. It’s best to fill an oil sprayer with your favorite neutral cooking oil and give the basket a few spritzes whenever you need it.
Extreme close up of air fryer frozen chicken wings

You’ll Love These Air Fryer Recipes, Too!

  • Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Nuggets
  • Air Fryer Salmon with Brown Sugar Crust
  • Pizza Rolls in the Air Fryer
  • Air Fryer Pork Tenderloin
  • Brats in the Air Fryer
  • Air Fryer Frozen French Fries
  • Air Fryer Pecan Crusted Chicken with Honey Mustard Sauce

Hey – you’ve made it this far, so now we’re basically best friends! If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a quick review & star rating ★ below. Make sure you follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and Facebook, too!

Air fryer frozen chicken wings on a baking sheet with parchment paper and celery sticks

Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings

Prep:10 minutes
Cook:30 minutes
Total:40 minutes
These air fryer frozen chicken wings are crisp, juicy, and coated in the most delicious buffalo sauce. This method makes it oh so easy and quick to get homemade buffalo wings on the table without even thawing frozen wings! Serve with plenty of ranch or blue cheese dressing.
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Ingredients

  • 2 pounds frozen chicken wings trimmed; use drumettes, wingettes, or "party wings"; see Notes for whole wings
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ⅔ cup hot sauce
  • ¼ cup butter
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder

To Serve (Optional)

  • celery sticks
  • carrot sticks
  • blue cheese dressing store-bought or make your own
  • ranch dressing store-bought or make your own

Equipment

  • Air fryer
  • Spray oil (use a type safe for air fryers)
  • Microwave safe bowl
  • Large bowl

Instructions 

  • Preheat air fryer to 360° Fahrenheit. While air fryer preheats, season frozen chicken wings all over with salt.
  • When air fryer is preheated, spray air fryer basket with spray oil and place wings in basket, being careful not to overcrowd. Work in batches as needed.
    Air fryer chicken wings in air fryer basket
  • Place basket back in air fryer and cook 20 minutes, removing basket and shaking it vigorously every 6 to 7 minutes.
  • While chicken wings cook, microwave butter in bursts until melted, then stir in hot sauce and garlic powder, mixing until completely smooth.
    Hot sauce and butter mixture for air fryer chicken wings
  • After 20-minute cook time is up, remove basket once more and shake it vigorously. Return basket to air fryer and turn temperature up to 400° Fahrenheit. Cook 3 to 5 minutes at 400°, until wings are browned, crispy, and cooked-through.
  • Transfer wings to large bowl. Pour butter mixture over wings and toss to coat well. Serve immediately with celery, carrots, and dipping sauces.
    Air fryer chicken wings in large bowl with tongs

Notes

  • Chicken Wings: If using whole chicken wings, separate the tips, wingettes, and drumettes before seasoning with salt. Save tips for homemade chicken stock or discard. Large wings will take longer to cook.
  • Make it Dairy Free: Use a dairy-free butter.
 
Recipe yields approximately 4 servings. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving, not including any optional sides for serving. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by 4. Result will be the weight of one serving.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 447kcal, Carbohydrates: 1g, Protein: 30g, Fat: 34g, Saturated Fat: 14g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 221mg, Sodium: 1829mg, Potassium: 66mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 419IU, Vitamin C: 30mg, Calcium: 7mg, Iron: 1mg

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

 

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

 

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

© Author: Cheryl Malik

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Cheryl Malik

Meet Cheryl Malik

Cheryl Malik is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind the healthy, flavorful, family friendly recipes at 40 Aprons. She's been a blogger for 10+ years and is known for her delicious recipes and detailed recipe instructions. Cheryl is a mom of three who lives in Memphis, TN.

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