Air fryer honey hot wings are the perfect balance of sweet, rich, and spicy. With their satisfying blend of flavors, they can be seriously addictive!
In our opinion, you should always make more wings than you think you need. There’s no harm in leftovers (if there are any 😉).
They’re totally different from our other chicken wing recipes, with a sweet and sticky sauce and a kick of spice that you’re absolutely going to love.
While they may be messy, they’re absolutely worth it!
The best part is you can whip them up with just a few ingredients and in less than a half hour.
Table of Contents
Honey Hot Wings Air Fryer Recipe Ingredients
✦ You can find the exact measurements of the recipe ingredients and customize the serving size in the recipe card after the detailed step-by-step instructions section.
For these sweet and spicy honey hot wings, you’ll need:
- Chicken wings
- Salt and pepper
- Butter
- Honey
- Hot sauce
- Chili flakes
You could omit the chili flakes if you prefer the wings to be less spicy. You could also buy a hot honey wing sauce, but it’s so easy and fast to make yourself, that it’s worth it to make the homemade version.
Recipe Video
How to Cook Honey Hot Wings in the Air Fryer?
These hot honey air fryer wings are addicting, and they take less than 30 minutes to make! The process is simple and is very similar to most of our other air fryer chicken wing recipes.
💡 Pro Tip: You can make the sauce ahead of time and keep it on hand for when you want fresh wings! If you do make the sauce ahead of time, warm it gently while the wings are cooking so that it’s hot when the wings are ready.
Step 1: Thaw frozen chicken wings overnight or use fresh ones.
If using frozen wings, thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using. If you need to thaw them more quickly, add the wings to a sealed bag and place the bag in a large bowl of cold water. Change the water every 30 minutes until the wings are fully defrosted. Do not cook wings from frozen.
Step 2: Preheat the air fryer to 400°F (204°C).
If your air fryer doesn’t have a preheating option, you can set the temperature to 400ºF (204ºC) and then let it cook for 5 minutes.
Please don’t skip this step.
Prolonged cooking time is one reason why air fryer chicken wings can become dry. To prevent this, it’s important to cook the wings for the shortest amount of time possible.
Step 3: Season the chicken wings.
Add the wings to a large bowl and thoroughly pat dry with a paper towel. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and toss to evenly coat all the wings in seasoning.
Step 4: Air fry the chicken wings for 20-25 minutes.
When the air fryer is fully preheated, add the wings in a single layer and cook, flipping them at least once, until the wings are fully cooked and crispy, about 20 to 25 minutes.
You can always check if your wings are done by inserting a meat thermometer into the largest wing: the internal temperature should be 165°F (74°C) or higher.
✦ I used a 6-quart air fryer to test this recipe. Cooking time and temperature may vary depending on your air fryer and the number of servings you are making. For optimal results, begin with the lower end of the suggested cooking time.
Step 5: Prepare hot honey sauce.
While the wings are air frying, prepare the hot honey sauce.
In a small saucepan, combine the butter, honey, hot sauce and crushed red pepper flakes. Heat over low heat and stir occasionally, until the mixture is smooth. Set aside and keep warm until the wings are ready.
Step 6: Coat air fried chicken wings with hot honey sauce.
When the wings are crisped and fully cooked, remove them from the air fryer and transfer them directly into a large, clean bowl. Toss with the hot honey sauce and allow them to cool slightly in the bowl to help the sauce adhere.
💡 Pro Tip: If you don’t think you’ll eat all the wings immediately, save some on the side rather than tossing them all in the sauce. The wings are much easier to reheat without the sauce on them!
Step 7: Serve and enjoy your air fryer honey hot wings!
Transfer to a serving plate and enjoy immediately!
For a fresh bite and pop of green color, sprinkle the wings with a handful of sliced scallions, chopped cilantro, or chopped parsley! The herb is way more than just a pretty garnish, and can add a lot of really great flavor.
Because the wings are spicy, we suggest serving them with some sort of dairy-based sauce. Dairy counteracts the spicy compounds, so serving these wings with some buttermilk ranch dressing or blue cheese dip would be best!
If you’re a real addict to the heat, double the hot honey sauce and serve the wings with the extra sauce on the side!
Freezing & Storage
The best way to store air fryer hot honey chicken wings (in the fridge or freezer) is without the sauce, so if you’re not planning on eating all the wings, set some wings aside before tossing in hot honey sauce.
Freezing: Once the wings have cooled completely, add to a freezer-style zip-top bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months. To reheat, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then follow the reheat instructions below.
Fridge: Once the wings have cooled completely, add to a zip-top bag or airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Reheating: To reheat wings without sauce, add to an air fryer preheated to 350°F and air fry for 4-5 minutes or until heated through. Do not overcook to avoid drying out the wings.
While the wings are cooking, heat the sauce in the microwave to avoid tossing the hot wings with ice cold wing sauce.
To reheat wings that already have sauce, microwave at 50% power for 2-3 minutes or until fully heated through.
Alternatively, microwave for 1 minute on high power and then transfer to an air fryer at 350°F for 2-3 minutes or until heated through again. Watch the wings carefully as the honey in the sauce could burn.
Frequently Asked Questions
To make honey hot wings in the air fryer, start by lightly seasoning your fresh wings with salt. Then, preheat your air fryer to 400°F (204°C) and cook the wings for 20-25 minutes until they are crispy and golden. While the wings are cooking, prepare your hot honey sauce. Once the wings are done, coat them with the hot honey sauce and serve.
This ingredients checklist is interactive; you can use it as your grocery list.
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken wings 10-12 pieces
- ¼ cup butter
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1½ teaspoon hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon chili flakes
Instructions
- Thaw frozen chicken wings overnight or use fresh ones.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F (204°C).
- While preheating, pat the chicken wings dry with paper towels. Then, lightly season them with salt and if you want you can also crush some black pepper.
- Then, carefully place the chicken wings in the air fryer and cook them for 20-25 minutes, flipping them halfway. Space them out for even cooking. Air fry until the wings become crispy and golden. If air frying from frozen, add 3-5 more minutes.
- Now, while the chicken wings are getting roasted in the air fryer, prepare hot honey sauce by combining butter, honey, any hot sauce, and chili flakes in a small pot. Cook at low heat for 4-6 minutes until the butter fully melts and the mixture becomes homogeneous.
- Transfer the air fried chicken wings in a large bowl, then coat them with the hot honey mixture. Toss until fully coated.
- Serve your air fryer honey hot wings with your favorite sides. Enjoy!
Recipe Video
Notes
- Fresh chicken wings will yield the best results.
- The best way to thaw your chicken wings is to leave them in the refrigerator overnight.
- Another effective method for thawing wings is to place them in cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes. It typically takes 2-4 hours for the wings to fully defrost.
- We do not recommend defrosting them in the microwave as it may dry out the meat and potentially make it unsafe to eat.
- Air frying from frozen will result in a dry texture and longer cooking time.
- If your air fryer doesn’t have a preheating option, you can set the temperature to 400°F (204°C) and then let it cook for 4-5 minutes without food.
- Preheating and thawing your chicken wings properly will yield juicier results. Based on our tests, the longer you cook your chicken wings, the drier they will become.
- It’s not ideal to wash your chicken wings as it may contaminate your kitchen.
- Chicken wings are classified as white meat and should be cooked to a temperature of 165°F (74°C) or higher.
- If there’s any leftover hot honey sauce, you can serve it as a dip. You can add more chili flakes to your hot honey sauce if you want it to be more spicy.
- Cooking the hot honey sauce at low heat will prevent the butter from separating.
- It’s ideal to add the hot honey sauce after air frying. It can get burnt at high heat, and may even produce smoke.
- I used a 6-quart Instant Pot Vortex Plus to test the air fryer honey hot wings. Cooking time and temperature may vary depending on your air fryer and the number of servings being prepared. For best results, start with the lower end of the suggested cooking time.
Nutrition
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