Chicken wings, air fried naked, then tossed in a lemon pepper sauce and finished in the air fryer.
Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings
Wings. I love, love, love them as football food. Or, anytime food really. The Cajun and I eat them all the time and you can find my collection of recipes by tapping or clicking right here.
Whether you grill, smoke or bake them, they are an excellent addition for any gathering, whether it's a party of many or a party of two. I was really astonished how easy and good they are in the air fryer too!
A lot of folks buy those bags of individually frozen wings, but I find those to be rather wimpy in comparison to the 4 pound trays of meaty whole wings I can buy. True, it takes a little work to prep them, but with a good, sharp chef's knife or a pair of kitchen shears, you can knock out four pounds in no time.
As far as air fryers go, I have to tell you, I was a little late to the game on them. Years back, before air fryers were even a thing, I had purchased what I later thought was a similar type of product, that, because it was so big, essentially just took up space, rarely got used and got relegated to the garage.
Once I dove in and tried my first of the new fangled air fryers, well, I fell instantly in love, and now I own three! Two of them are basket style, one small, one large, and the other, a 10 quart oven style, that ended up being my favorite, stays on the counter, and I use all the time!
My advice on air fryers is to get the one that fits your needs. If you are only going to cook things like frozen nuggets and French fries, a smaller basket style will probably be good for you. If you plan to cook whole chickens and, well, actual meals, go for an oven style.
One thing that is important to note about air fryers is that just like ovens, they all cook differently, mostly based on the wattage, which like a microwave can vary widely. Always monitor any air fryer recipe the first time you make it to adjust time as needed and not undercook or burn things! Total time will also depend on type and size of ingredients used, in this case, how large the individual wings are.
I've done air fryer wings quite a few times and for these I went with a butter and olive oil based lemon pepper seasoned sauce, and they are delicious! The lemon pepper I'm using has salt in it, so if your brand does not, be sure to salt the wings.
Here's how to make my Air-Fryer Lemon Pepper Wings, and, as always, you'll find the full recipe text with measurements and instructions, as well as a printable document, a little bit further down the page. Just swipe or scroll past the step-by-step pictures below.
Separate wings into sections; reserve tips for another use or discard. I freeze them and save them for homemade stock, but sometimes, honestly, when it's just the two of us, I often don't even bother to disjoint them at all.
For these I used my 5.8 quart basket air fryer, so I like to put about 1/3 cup of water into bottom of air fryer to prevent smoking, which tends to happen in basket style air fryers but not as much as in oven style. Preheat air fryer at 400 degrees for 2 minutes.
Separate wings into sections; reserve tips for another use or discard. I freeze them and save them for homemade stock, but sometimes, honestly, when it's just the two of us, I often don't even bother to disjoint them at all.
For these I used my 5.8 quart basket air fryer, so I like to put about 1/3 cup of water into bottom of air fryer to prevent smoking, which tends to happen in basket style air fryers but not as much as in oven style. Preheat air fryer at 400 degrees for 2 minutes.
Lightly spray basket, add wings and spray top side of wings lightly with olive oil. Air fry wings, in one pound batches, for 20 minutes shaking every 5 minutes. Transfer cooked wings to a plate until all wings have been cooked. Check the basket tray for accumulated fat and drain off if necessary, adding fresh water in bottom of basket for each new batch.
While last batch is cooking, whisk butter and olive oil with lemon zest and juice; add lemon pepper, garlic powder and cayenne and whisk. Toss cooked wings in sauce, return all wings to air fryer basket and fry at 400 degrees F an additional 2 minutes. Transfer to platter and serve.
For more of my favorite wing recipes, check out my collection on Pinterest!
Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings
Yield: About 4 to 6 servings
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 15 M
Chicken wings, air fried naked, then tossed in a lemon pepper sauce and finished in the air fryer.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds chicken wings
- 1/2 stick butter, melted
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Zest and juice of one lemon
- 2 tablespoons lemon pepper with salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder
Instructions
- Separate wings into sections; reserve wing tips for another use or discard.
- Preheat air fryer at 400 degrees for 2 minutes. If using a basket style air fryer, place 1/3 cup of water into bottom of air fryer basket.
- Lightly spray basket, add wings and spray top side of wings lightly with olive oil. Air fry wings, in batches, 20 minutes per batch, shaking every 10 minutes; drain off any accumulation of fat and add additional water in bottom of basket tray, as necessary for new batches.
- While last batch is cooking, whisk butter and olive oil with lemon zest and juice in a large bowl until well blended; add lemon pepper, garlic powder and cayenne and whisk.
- Transfer each batch of cooked wings to the bowl until all wings have been cooked,
- Toss cooked wings in the lemon pepper sauce, return all wings to air fryer basket, all at once, and fry at 400 degrees F an additional 2 minutes. Transfer to platter and serve.
Notes:
If the lemon pepper blend you are using does not contain salt, salt the wings on both sides after spraying with oil and before air frying. I am using a 1700 watt, 5.8 quart basket air fryer. Just like ovens, individual air fryer brands differ in wattage and how they cook; monitor any air fryer recipe the first time you make it to adjust time as needed. Total time will also depend on the size of the individual chicken wings.
For the Oven: Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes, naked, remove, increase temperature to 425 degrees F and return to oven to bake for about 40 minutes, depending on size, or until cooked through, brushing with lemon pepper sauce the last 15 minutes of baking.
Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.
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