These easy air fryer frozen chicken wings have it all! Crispy browned skin on the outside with juicy and tender meat on the inside. Add a dash of your favorite chicken wing seasoning and you’ve got a crowd-pleasing appetizer or dinner that the whole family will love. Naked air fryer chicken wings will make restaurant wings a thing of the past!
For those of you that love fried chicken wings, but don’t have the time or patience to deep fry them in a vat of oil, don’t worry I got you! Toss out that pot of molten grease and bring out the air fryer!
With the air fryer, you can even use frozen wings straight from the freezer to the fry basket (without worrying about giving yourself third-degree burns in the process!)
This recipe is super easy and is for those of you that prefer your chicken wings “naked” or plain. It takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish, even using frozen wings, and makes for the perfect quick weeknight meal or game-day snack.
Because these wings start out frozen, there is no prep work. Not even oil is needed. If you aren’t a fan of naked wings, you will be able to add your seasoning of choice after the first initial cooking period.
I recommend keeping them plain if you’re making them for kids, and separating out the naked ones, and then tossing the rest in a sauce of your choosing!
Why You Should Make These Air Fryer Frozen Naked Chicken Wings
- Multipurpose– Use as an appetizer or main dish served alongside french fries and traditional celery and carrot sticks!
- Flavor options are endless! Even though they start out cooking plain, they don’t have to remain that way!
- Fast and simple. It seriously can’t get any easier from frozen wings to crispy bite in under 30 minutes!
What You Need To Make Easy Air Fryer Naked Chicken Wings
Frozen chicken wings
Seasonings of choice
Equipment Needed For Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings
- Air fryer
- Spatula or spoon
- Serving dish
- Tongs for serving
How to Make Easy Air Fryer Frozen Naked Chicken Wings
- Place frozen naked chicken wings in a single layer into the air fryer basket.
- Cook wings at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
- Use a spatula or spoon to break them apart if needed, but they should already be apart.
- Add any seasonings you like to the wings.
- Cook for an additional 16 minutes, flipping wings every 4 minutes until fully cooked.
Storage
If you can manage to salvage any leftovers, you’ll want to refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to 4 days. For best results when reheating, put them back in the air fryer at 375 degrees for 2 or 3 minutes until warmed through and the skin is crisp.
Tips
- Remember not to ever overfill your air fryer basket. Overfilling the air fryer basket will not allow air to circulate properly and will result in unevenly cooked chicken. This is especially true when using frozen chicken wings as they tend to stick together. Don’t skip the step that requires you to break them up!
- Keep your chicken wings frozen, do not let them sit on the counter and semi-thaw.
What To Serve/Pair With Naked Chicken Wings
There are so many options available when it comes to what to serve with these air fryer chicken wings. If you are serving air fryer chicken wings as an appetizer, check out this loaded jalapeno popper hot dog recipe here, but if chips and dip appetizers are more your thing, check out my delicious buffalo ranch chicken dip or baked seafood dip.
If you are serving naked chicken wings as a main course for your family, try these air fryer baked potatoes or my loaded potato salad here. They are both yummy and filling too. I always like to throw a little house side salad on my plate, but french fries or tater tots are a favorite at my house.
Easy Air Fryer Naked Chicken Wings FAQs
Yes! It is always a good idea to preheat your air fryer for a few minutes before using it. Preheating ensures that the air fryer basket is heated evenly. For this recipe, preheat to 400 degrees for 2 or 3 minutes before adding chicken wings.
Yes, you can microwave your leftover chicken wings. However, they will lose their crispiness and be a bit soggy. I suggest popping them back in the air fryer for a couple of minutes to make them just as good as the day before.
Yes! The internal temperature should be at least 165 degrees. A meat thermometer would be a great investment to double-check all your meats while cooking.
Absolutely! You can refreeze any leftover wing in the freezer for up to 4 months. Just remember to store them in an airtight container.
Yes, you can. It does take much longer than the air fryer, but it is an option if you don’t have an air fryer—Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put wings on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, flip chicken wings and cook for another 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the crispiness you desire.
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do. It’s an easy air fryer recipe the whole family loves.
If you’re looking for more easy air fryer recipes, you might also enjoy these listed below.
More Air Fryer Recipes:
- Air Fryer Grilled Chicken Tenders
- Frozen Hash Brown Patties in Air Fryer
- Air Fryer Donut Holes
- Frozen Egg Rolls
- Air Fryer Biscuits
- Air Fryer Chicken Fried Steak
I Would Love to Hear From YOU!
Let Me Know What You Think!
Be sure to leave a review of this recipe and give it a star rating. It lets me know how I am doing and lets others know they should try it!
Tag Me In Your Photos! Are you on Facebook? If so, join the Easy Air Fryer Recipes Group (with hundreds of thousands of Air Fryer Fans!) and share your photos! I love to see your creations. If you’re on Instagram, tag me @pinkwhenjen.
Have a Question or General Feedback?
Jump down to the COMMENT section and let me know! I would love to help and also love feedback on all of my posts.
Easy Naked Frozen Air Fryer Chicken Wings
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken wings frozen
Instructions
- Place the frozen wings in a single layer into the basket of the air fryer.
- Cook the frozen wings at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.
- Use a spatula or spoon to break the remaining wings apart if needed.
- Add seasonings to the wings and cook for an additional 16 minutes of cook time, flipping the wings every 4 minutes.
- Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the wings has reached 165 degrees Fahrenheit before removing from the air fryr and serving. Add an additional minute or two if needed.
- Carefully remove from the air fryer basket and serve with your favorite sides and dipping sauce.
Notes
- Remember not to ever overfill your air fryer basket. Overfilling the air fryer basket will not allow air to circulate properly and will result in unevenly cooked chicken. This is especially true when using frozen chicken wings as they tend to stick together. Don’t skip the step that requires you to break them up!
- It is always a good idea to preheat your air fryer for a few minutes before using it. Preheating ensures that the air fryer basket is heated evenly. For this recipe, preheat to 400 degrees for 2 or 3 minutes before adding chicken wings.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is a calculated guesstimate. Please note that this can change with different brands and modifications you may make to the recipe. For the most accurate information, use a nutritional calculator with the exact brands and measurements you’re using with each recipe.
©PinkWhen 2023
It seems to me that unless the wing pieces are quite large that 26 minutes at 400 degrees will really dry them out? (I am one of the few people who don’t like overly crisp wings .) Also I generally defrost wings before cooking.
Hey there! So this recipe is on how to make frozen chicken wings – and you would use these times. If you defrost your wings first, they wouldn’t be frozen and you would indeed use less time. 🙂 However, if you are cooking them from frozen and you follow these instructions, they will come out perfect. Defrosting them first would change the way this cooks and would indeed dry them out.