Frozen chicken wings in air fryer! Yes you can make the best wings right in that counter top device popularly known as the air fryer. It comes out delicious and perfectly cooked, with juicy interior and crispy skin all that’s left is to decide the best dipping sauce to use for this easy side dish or appetizer.
What if I told you I could show how to make the very best air fryer frozen chicken wings no need to defrost or thaw. You cook it right out of the freezer, pre-seasoned or not, would you share this post? Get ready to be wowed!
Table of Contents
- 1 Frozen chicken wings in air fryer machines.
- 2 Air fryer frozen wings! Here’s why this recipe works.
- 3 What you’ll need
- 4 How to cook Frozen chicken wings in air fryer
- 5 Dipping sauce
- 6 Tips for success
- 7 Your Frequently asked questions answered
- 8 More air fryer frozen foods
- 9 Looking for air fried chicken recipes? We’ve got you!
- 10 Air fryer frozen chicken wings
Frozen chicken wings in air fryer machines.
Making frozen chicken wings in the air fryer is way easier than you think. Air fried frozen wings serve as a blank canvas for any dipping sauce you’d love to toss them in.
Having a bag of frozen wings from Costco, Walmart or target will help you have these on hand to serve at small family gatherings and for game night with friends. The air fryer makes it so easy.
I used my Cosori air fryer for this recipe. However I have also made delicious wings in my Gourmia air fryer and Instant Pot Vortex Oven style air fryer. I bet it would cook perfectly in your Ninja foodi or Power XL air fryers if that’s what you’ve got.
Related: Gourmia air fryer chicken wings
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Air fryer frozen wings! Here’s why this recipe works.
Yes I see you. You are wondering, frozen wings! Air fryer? How does that even work? Well you’ve got to slow down with those questions peeps! I will answer below and more will be answered in the FAQs section of this blog post.
- I buy Tyson frozen chicken wings from my nearby grocery or I buy the Kirkland brand from Costco because buying in bulk saves me money and time and also helps me plan our meals better. However most times I forget to get these out to thaw in the refrigerator overnight in time to use for the next day and guess what now I don’t need to thaw and I would still get the same crispy delicious wings every time with my air fryer.
- The air fryer will give a deep fryer a run for it’s worth because it makes crispy chicken with less calories. I mean who wouldn’t love to enjoy ‘deep fried’ with less of the oil. Plus if you were to wanted to deep fry you’d need to defrost the wings first in a different kitchen gadget like the microwave before deep frying.
- Can you bake chicken wings in the conventional oven. Oh yes but not from frozen sorry.
What you’ll need
Ingredients
- Frozen chicken wings ( I usually use Tyson or Kirkland brand. Any brand will work.)
- Oil
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Garlic powder
- Honey or a Keto friendly honey substitute.
- Sriracha
Tools
- Air fryer (I used my Cosori air fryer for this recipe. You can shop our Cosori air fryers and accessories at our Amazon store front)
- Kitchen tongs
How to cook Frozen chicken wings in air fryer
Now to the part you’ve been waiting for! Air frying frozen chicken wings!
Raw and frozen
Place frozen wings in the air fryer basket. Set temperature to 400°F / 205°C, air fry for 10 mins. With a pair of kitchen tongs, transfer wings to a bowl and drain the liquid from the air fryer basket.
Add oil to wings, then season with salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Toss to coat then place wings back in the air fryer.
Bake at 400°F / 200°C for another 10 to 15 mins or until internal temperature is 165°F / 74°C. Check with the thickest wing for doneness
Toss in your chosen sauce like barbecue sauce, honey sriracha sauce or lemon pepper sauce.
Fully cooked frozen wings in air fryer (Pre-cooked)
Some wings are frozen and fully cooked. Air frying these from frozen is more like reheating the wings.
Place wings in the air fryer and set time to 400°F / 205°C for 15 to 20 minutes or until warmed through.
Fully cooked (breaded or sauced)
Some fully cooked chicken wings come breaded or sauced. Follow the same instructions above and cook till warmed through. Internal temp should be 165°F / 74°C.
Dipping sauce
What’s your favorite dipping sauce. Slather it on the frozen wings when it’s fully cooked. More like tossing the crispy air fried wings in that yummy sauce. Below are a few of our favorite.
- Buffalo sauce
- Barbecue sauce
- Honey sriracha sauce
- Garlic butter sauce
- You can use any sugar free sauce if you are living a Keto / low carb lifestyle. It’s that easy.
Tips for success
- Do not overcrowd the basket. Cook in batches if needed.
- To get a chance to season the chicken nicely when cooking from frozen raw, I like to remove the chicken after the first ten minutes and season lightly
- There will be collection of liquid at the bottom of the air fryer. It’s best to drain it out before you continue cooking. If it’s not drained it may create steam while cooking and this might prevent the chicken from crisping up nicely.
- Do not shake the basket when there is still liquid in the base. You can get a scalded if the hot liquid touches your skin.
- Some brands of wings tend to be larger than others. Bear that in mind and adjust cooking time so accordingly.
Your Frequently asked questions answered
Should I defrost wings before air frying
You don’t need to defrost chicken wings before air frying especially if you intend to toss in sauce after frying. However, if you like to enjoy wings plain, you might want to defrost first so you can season it more.
Can you air fryer frozen chicken wings?
Absolutely! Yes You can air fry frozen wings.
Can you cook Costco wings from frozen
Yes you can. We just did in this recipe!
How long to cook frozen chicken wings from Costco
The frozen chicken wings from Costco tends to be smaller in size than the Tyson brand. It usually cooks for 20 mins. Be sure that the internal temp is at least 165°F / 74°C.
More air fryer frozen foods
- Dino nuggets in the air fryer
- Air fryer frozen corn dogs
- Frozen potstickers
- Air fryer Frozen French fries
- Veggie sausage links
- How to cook frozen bacon in air fryer.
- All our air fryer frozen foods
Looking for air fried chicken recipes? We’ve got you!
- Air fryer Honey sriracha chicken wings
- Crispy air fryer frozen chicken nuggets
- Air fryer teriyaki chicken drumsticks
- Tyson frozen breaded chicken breasts
- Crispy chicken legs
- Air fryer Greek chicken souvlaki
Check out all our >>>Air fryer chicken recipes!
Other air fryer recipes to try
Check out all our >>>Air fryer Recipes!
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Air fryer frozen chicken wings
Equipment
- Cosori air fryer 5.8 qt
- Kitchen tongs
- Meat thermometer
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Frozen chicken wings
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup Sauce of choice like bbq sauce or Buffalo sauce (see blog post for more suggestions)
- 1 Tablespoon oil
Instructions
- Place frozen wings in the basket of the air fryer. Set temperature to 400°F / 205°C and cook for 10 mins to defrost.
- Transfer thawed wings to a bowl, drain the liquid that accumulated in the bottom of the air fryer basket.
- Add the oil, garlic powder, black pepper and salt to the wings. Toss to coat.
- Return seasoned wings into air fryer basket and air fryer at 400°F / 205°C for 10 -15 mins or until internal temperature reaches 165°F / 74°C. Remember to flip wings half way through cooking time.
- Toss in sauce of choice and enjoy.
Notes
- Cooking time is based on my Cosori air fryer. Air fryer brands cook differently so keep an eye on the chicken wings as it cooks and adjust time accordingly.
- Size of wings may also affect cooking time.
- No need to thaw before cooking.
- Do not overcrowd the basket. Cook in batches if needed.
- You need to drain the liquid that accumulates in the bottom of the air fryer as indicated in the recipe to ensure the chicken crisps up nicely.
I tried this recipe in my Ninja Foodi Digital Air Fry Oven and the wings were WAY overcooked. I made sure to space them evenly on the mesh basket, use a drip pan, and follow the recipe carefully. There was almost no liquid to speak of to drain, the wings didn't get very crispy, even with a coating of avocado oil and seasoning after the initial "cook," and the end result was lackluster. I did 10 mins/9 mins and the final temp was close to 185. Needs some re-evaluation.
Hi Josh,
Thank you for your feedback. This recipe was tested several times in my Cosori air fryer 5.8 qt and Gourmia 6qt and the results were always perfect. I’ll try to help you troubleshoot since I don’t have a ninja air fryer yet.
First of all, different brands of air fryers cook differently hence a time range is usually given by most websites.
Preheating will change a recipe time. Did you perhaps preheat your air fryer before putting the chicken in it.
Notice how frozen the wings are in the images above, if yours weren’t that frozen, you may not get liquid in the bottom of the air fryer to discard and you may not need to cook long before it gets defrosted enough to be seasoned.
When seasoning adding a bit of baking powder or cornstarch can help crisp the wings up some more.
I’ve heard the Ninja air fryers cook really hot maybe cook at 380°F next time and keep an eye on it.
Hope this helps you.
how do you drain the air fry basket when it's a mesh mettle basket?
Hi Jeffry,
What Brand of air fryer do you have? It would help me put things in perspective. I would recommend you transfer the wings onto a plate with a pair of tongs they take the basket carefully to the sink and pour the liquid in there. Hope this helps.
This is a great recipe. I used Sugar Free rub and came out tasty.
Hi Marcus!
I love sugar free rubs! Happy you liked the recipe! Thank you for letting me know.
O.M.G. These turned out SO crispy on the outside without being overdone on the inside. Beautiful browning, and so juicy. We did a homemade chili lime sauce on ours, and it was like candy. Couldn't stop eating it. Thank you so much for posting a recipe from frozen. We use the Costco wings too!
Hey Jeanne!
So good to hear that it turned out well for you. Thank you for awesome feedback. I always forget to pull out wings from the freezer so I’m almost always stuck with frozen wings. This recipe is our go to! That chili lime sauce sounds divine.
Happy new year and hope you get to try more air fryer recipes from our website.
Very easy and delicious. I did not use any sauce. They are great with just the little bit of oil and seasoning.
Hi Kat85788,
Thank you for your feedback! Happy you enjoyed it. Hope you get to try more recipes from the blog. Enjoy!
We Have a whirlpool stove that has an air fryer in it. We are new at air fried. Going to try your recipe tonight
Hi Angela,
I don’t have a stove with an Air fryer function but one thing to note is that it may need more time to cook being that it’s an air fryer function of a bigger stove. If that is the case do not worry if it takes longer it will still turn out great. If you have an instant read thermometer, use that to determine when it’s fully cooked. It should read 165°F / 74°C to be considered fully cooked and safe to eat. Let me know how it goes.
This was amazing thank you for the ideas I used Greek seasoning on mine.
Hi Ann!
Yayy! Happy you found it helpful and that it worked for you. Thank you for taking time to leave a feedback!
We loved it. Hit the spot.
Hi Sherry!
Yay!! Happy you loved it. Thank you for letting me know.
It looks like you do NOT preheat the air fryer for this recipe. Is that right? Also, what do you use for a honey/sriracha blend?'
Hi Mmclassics,
You are right, you don’t need to preheat the air fryer. The honey sriracha sauce is linked below
https://www.airfryeryum.com/crispy-honey-sriracha-chicken-wings-air-fryer-oven/
Thank you for the recipe. It was perfect without a sauce. I love naked wings.
Hi Kathy!
Thank you for letting me know!
How much oil??
Hi Roxy,
1 Tablespoon oil. I see it was omitted. Will fix it ASAP. Thank you 😊
Oil is not added to the recipe.....
Hi Ramona,
It’s been updated to include it in the ingredients list. Thank you for letting me know.
What kind of oil?
Hi Tiffany,
Any oil would work here. You can use canola oil or olive oil.
Very helpful tips. Thank you.