Instant Pot Air Fryer Chicken Wings
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INSTANT POT AIR FRYER CHICKEN WINGS
These delicious Instant Pot air fryer chicken wings can be made using your Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid or Instant Pot Duo Crisp. Making chicken wings in your Instant Pot Air Fryer produces the crispiest chicken wings and I find that they’re better than making them in the oven! If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can also use a traditional air fryer or bake it in the oven.
WHY I LOVE THIS RECIPE
Ever since I got my Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid, I keep finding more reasons to love it. It’s super easy to use and doesn’t require any oil! It really helps when you’re in a hurry and just want to have some food ready quickly. Using chicken wings as an example, they cook evenly and the skin is a lot more crispy than it would be in the oven, so it’s a great alternative to traditional baking or frying.
I have been making these wings all summer long. It’s just too hot to turn on the oven and TBH, sometimes I don’t even want to step outside to cook on the grill. That’s HOT! That’s when my air fryer comes to the rescue!
INTRODUCTION
I recently purchased an Instant Pot Duo Crisp, which is an Instant Pot that has a pressure cooker lid and an air fryer lid. I love this model of Instant Pot and I’ve been having fun experimenting with lots of recipes. If you haven’t already be sure to check out my manual on how to use the Instant Pot Duo Crisp.
This Instant Pot Air Fryer Chicken Wings recipe can be made using the Duo Crisp or the Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid, which is an accessory that can be used with most Instant Pot models. Currently, the air fryer lid is only available for the 6 quart Instant Pots.
However, the Mealthy CrispLid is a brand of air fryer lid that fits both 6 quart and 8 quart models of the Instant Pot. Another option is the Ninja Foodi pressure cooker and air fryer. Many people love this model of pressure cooker and air fryer. This recipe can be made using either of these models.
I have a recipe for Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken Wings that I love to make but it does involve pressure cooking the wings first and then broiling them in the oven. The nice thing about that recipe is you can make a larger quantity of chicken wings.
This Instant Pot Air Fryer Chicken Wings recipe is different because it doesn’t require you to pressure cook the chicken wings first. You just place the chicken wings in the air fryer basket and air fry them until they’re done, turning once.
I actually prefer air frying chicken wings rather than baking them. The wings cook faster and come our more crispy. There is one disadvantage: the capacity of the air fryer basket requires multiple batches. Read on for tips on how to air fry frozen chicken wings in the Instant Pot.
TIPS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
SEASONINGS
I like to keep things simple and use just salt, pepper, and paprika when I air fry the chicken wings. This allows me to add a variety of sauces to the wings at the end.
Occasionally I add 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon onion powder to the salt, pepper and paprika, depending on what type of sauce I’ll be using.
You can substitute the spice mix with Cajun or Creole seasoning, which usually includes salt so you don’t need anything else.
SAUCES
My family loves Instant Pot Buffalo wings. Buffalo wings or hot wings are wings dipped in a spicy, tangy buffalo sauce. I make my own sauce using Frank’s red hot sauce but you can also purchase buffalo sauce.
If you don’t care for spicy food, feel free to use your choice of sauce including teriyaki, barbecue, honey garlic, garlic parmesan, or any store-bought sauce.
AIR FRYER TIPS
I created a list of air fryer tips in my Instant Pot Duo Crisp manual. Here are a few tips from that list:
- Pat the wings dry before air frying.
- Make sure there’s enough space around the food to allow the air to circulate. Avoid overcrowding.
- Place food in a single layer.
- Coat the air fryer basket with vegetable oil before adding food.
- Spray the wings with a spritz of vegetable oil. Be liberal – this keeps them from sticking! But there is such a thing as too much oil – you don’t want the oil to drip into the inner pot.
- Spray the food partway through cooking, if needed. This ensures crispness.
- Don’t use the canned nonstick cooking spray because it has ingredients that can damage the coating of the air fryer basket. Instead, use a refillable oil spray bottle.
- Turning the food partway through air frying cooks it evenly.
Ingredients
- 1-1.5 lb chicken wing sections
- 1 Tbsp oil (canola, vegetable or olive oil)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4-1/2 tsp ground pepper
- Hot Wing Sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Dry the wings in between two layers of paper towels. Removing the extra water from the outside of the wings will make these extra crispy during cooking.
- In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the chicken wings, oil, salt, and pepper.
- Spray the air fryer basket with non-stick cooking spray, this isn’t essential but it does make for easier clean-up after your wings are cooked.
- Lay the wings in a single layer on the air fryer basket, making sure to leave a little space in between each wing to help with circulation. The Instant Pot Omni Plus air fryer model that we have held about 14 chicken wing sections for one batch.
- Cook the chicken wings on 400F for 9 minutes and then flip.
- Continue cooking for 11 more minutes until the skin is crispy. Check your wings after a total cook time of 18 minutes, all air fryer models are just a little bit different.
- We’ve also made the air fryer chicken wings recipe without flipping the wings and they are just as delicious! If you’re in a hurry or don’t want to deal with flipping the wings, it’s perfectly fine to skip this step. The total cook time of 18-20 minutes would still be the same.
- If you want to add a store-bought wing sauce like Frank’s Red Hot, you’ll want to air fry the wings first and then brush the sauce on after the wings are done cooking. To get a slightly charred appearance, just broil the wings for 30 seconds in either with your air fryer broiler (be sure to move the rack to the top setting) or pop in your regular oven to broil.
Notes
An Instant Pot Omni Plus air fryer oven was used in this recipe, if you use a different air fryer or air fryer oven, the cooking time could change slightly.
The Omni Plus has a built in pre-heat so we did not pre-heat the air fryer oven before starting the recipe like we have with many other recipes on our site that use a different type of air fryer.
Pull the chicken wings out of the fridge 15-20 minutes before cooking to help get the chicken to cook as evenly as possible.
If you’re air frying whole chicken wings, they might take a couple minutes longer to cook compared to wingettes and drumettes.
Variations- use a chicken wing dry rub, BBQ sauce, garlic parmesan chicken wings, Korean chicken wings. All of these will work in an Instant Pot, add the dry rub before cooking the wings in the air fryer oven. Add the other sauces at the end of cooking so that the sauce won’t burn.
FAQS
What is an air fryer?
An air fryer is a kitchen appliance that uses circulating hot air to cook food. This method of cooking is similar to how people use the oven or a grill, but unlike those methods it doesn’t require oil or butter because the food is cooked by the hot air.
How long does it take to make chicken wings in an air fryer?
It can take anywhere from 15-20 minutes to cook chicken wings depending on the size and the thickness of the cut, as well as the specific air fryer used. I use the Instant Pot air fryer lid, and the timing I use works perfectly with that air fryer. Watch time carefully as it will vary between brands and models.
Do these wings have a good crunch?
These wings are crispy enough to satisfy those who love fried food, but not too hard that you can’t bite through them. If you like crispy skin, I recommend cooking as described, then cooking for an additional 3 to 4 minutes, half the wings at a time. By reducing the number of wings in the basket, you will be increasing the air circulation around them, helping to crisp up that skin.
