Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings
Buy our air fryer e-cookbooks today Is it possible to make air fryer frozen chicken wings straight from the freezer? Yes! We were surprised at how well the wings cooked from frozen! If the wings are frozen hard, these frozen wings can be cooked in the air fryer to be crispy. We couldn’t believe how easy they were and even the raw ones cooked all the way through.
Tips on Air Frying Frozen Chicken Wings
With tons of different brands and types of frozen chicken wings to air fry, there’s some simple tips we have for you to consider. Here’s some things to think about when air frying a batch of chicken wings from frozen:
- First and foremost, are the wings raw or cooked? First is identifying if the frozen chicken wings are raw or pre-cooked. The raw wings will take longer to air fry.
- Second thing to think about is if the frozen wings are plain (un-sauced), breaded or sauced. Breaded wings take a little longer to cook.
- Don’t stack or overlap the frozen wings. Make sure you’re laying them in a single layer so the hot circulating air can cook them evenly and all around. If they’re stacked and overlapping each other, they won’t be able to cook evenly.
- Chicken wing sizes vary so much! Cooking times will vary as chicken wings vary so much in size.
Different Brands of Frozen Wings
We tested different brands and they all turned out great. So far, all the frozen brands worked within our range of cooking times.
- These Great Value brands of RAW un-cooked wings cooked well. All you need to add is your favorite sauce and you’re ready to eat! This brand of wings were definitely huge, so just make sure they are cooked through by adding more time if needed.
- Pecan smoked wings have so much flavor! These are RAW un-cooked. They’re fantastic and you don’t even need to add any sauce. But if you did, a light toss of bbq sauce would be a great addition.
- Spicy, pre-sauced wings are great. These are COOKED and simple to pop in the air fryer for a quick batch of finger licking good wings.
Video: How To Cook Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings
Air Frying RAW FROZEN Chicken Wings : Is this possible?
- To our pleasant surprise, the frozen RAW chicken wings cooked all the way through in the air fryer. We were initially doubtful during our first tests because the raw chicken wings were rock hard frozen. It was hard to believe that they would cook all the way through, but they sure did. They were crispy on the outside and cooked all the way through on the inside.
- Is it cooked all the way through? It’s always better to check one wing first to make sure it’s cooked through before you pull the whole batch out of the air fryer and start eating. Pick the thickest drumette or wing and tear into it. If it’s still slightly raw, cook it for a few more minutes.
- Customize your flavors and make them super flavorful. Sprinkle some garlic powder, garlic salt or onion powder on top. Black pepper and paprika add nice smokyness. Even some dry rub is great to add for more flavor.
- Toss evenly with sauce: After they are cooked, toss them in a bowl with your favorite sauce.
- Are the wings raw and thawed? Meaning they’re raw but NOT frozen? Then Here’s our technique if they’re raw and thawed. It’s the technique, time and temp for raw, thawed chicken wings in the air fryer.
- Pro-Tip: here’s our favorite tools to help make air frying easier:
Must Haves to Make Air Frying Better
The Evo Oil Sprayers are the best. Perfect for air frying, grilling, and everyday cooking. Don’t clog like most others we’ve bought and have a good spray. There’s a bunch of bottle types, but most all have the same great spray head.
Perforated Non-Stick Silicone Mats are so nice for air frying. They come in Square or Round. The mats will minimize sticking and still have the holes to allow the hot air to flow around the food like it should in an air fryer.
Perforated Parchment Sheets are perfect for air frying or steaming in a bamboo steamer. Minimize sticking, easy clean up, and great air flow with the holes in the sheets. A must have if you have a wire basket/tray.
Air Frying PRE-COOKED FROZEN Chicken Wings
If the wings are pre-cooked, there’s less to worry about. Whew! Some frozen wings are already cooked so you have less to worry about them being raw in the middle. But it still takes time because they’re frozen solid and you want the outside to be crispy. Like we mentioned before, check the thickest drumette or wing and see if it’s cooked through. Also, make sure it’s cooked crispy enough to your preferred liking.
Air Frying FROZEN BREADED or PRE-SAUCED Wings
Here’s another thing to think about: are the frozen wings breaded or have sauce on them? Yes to make it more complicated, frozen wings are sold either breaded or pre-sauced. So it’s easy to get confused, but use our base timing below and your best judgement on when they are cooked.
Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 1 pound frozen chicken wings (Raw, Raw & Breaded, Pre-Cooked – breaded &/or sauced)
- optional dipping sauce (BBQ sauce, honey mustard sauce, hot sauce, teriyaki sauce, buffalo sauce, ranch, ketchup, etc.)
Equipment
Instructions
- Spread the frozen chicken wings in a single even layer in the air fryer basket/tray (make sure they aren’t overlapping – cook in batches if needed). No oil spray is needed.
For Raw Frozen Chicken Wings
- Air Fry at 400°F/205°C for 15 minutes then turn the wings over.
- Continue to Air Fry at 400°F/205°C for 3-10 minutes or until cooked through. Check for doneness & if needed, continue to air fry until cooked to your liking. Meatier wings may need more time.
- If desired, toss with sauce or serve with any desired sauce on the side to dip.
- For a caramelized sauce on the wings, toss the wings with your desired sauce and then Air Fry at 400°F/205°C for another 1-2 minutes, or until caramelized to your liking.
For Pre-Cooked Frozen Chicken Wings
- Air Fry at 380°F/193°C for 15 minutes then turn the wings over.
- Continue to Air Fry at 380°F/193°C for 3-10 minutes or until cooked through. Check for doneness & if needed, continue to air fry until cooked to your liking. Meatier wings may need more time.
- If your wings weren't pre-sauced and you want a caramelized sauce on the wings, toss the wings with the sauce and then Air Fry at 400°F/205°C for another 1-2 minutes, or until caramelized to your liking.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce if desired.
Video
Nutrition Information per Serving
We have more Chicken Wing Recipes for you:
Dipping options and ideas:
We love serving different dips for tater tots! The possibilities are endless and eating these potato puffs or tater tots is never boring. When serving these as an appetizer, add several different small bowls of dips. It’s great to have different options and this makes the tater tot platter even better.
- You can never go wrong with classic ketchup or mustard or even your favorite wing sauce.
- If you love mustard, try dijon or Colemans mustard. They have a zingy and tangy flavor.
- Fan of hot sauce? We love wings in spicy hot sauce. Even drizzling some chili crisp or chili garlic crunch makes them super flavorful. And of course, buffalo wings are an all time classic
- Creamy buttermilk ranch dressing is always a favorite.
- Thousand island dressing is fantastic as a dip.
- We love blue cheese dressing
- BBQ sauce is amazing and so flavorful for these delicious wings.
- Honey mustard sauce: This easy 5 minute honey mustard sauce is killer easy and delicious for chicken wings
- Easy Queso: 15 minute cheesy stovetop queso recipe is probably going to be a favorite for your kids
- Creamy garlic Alfredo sauce is homemade, flavorful and a decadent treat!
- Spicy Homemade sriracha mayo
- Make homemade sriracha hot sauce if you have some extra chilies!
- Serve with some celery sticks, carrots and other vegetables
- Store any leftovers in an air tight container.
More Air Fryer Recipes:
- we have so many air fryer recipes for you here.
- here’s good reading: the history of chicken wings
