These air fryer honey garlic chicken wings are crispy, sweet and savory, and so addictive! They're incredibly easy to make in the air fryer and the sauce takes literally only 3 steps. You can get these wings ready in just 25 minutes for a quick snack or multiply the recipe for parties and get togethers, because these air honey garlic honey chicken wings are definitely crowd pleasers!
We are huge fans of sweet and savory flavor combos (like our Korean cream cheese garlic bread!), so of course honey garlic chicken wings weren't far down the list of recipes we are super excited to share!
These air fried chicken wings are air fried till golden brown, crispy perfection and then tossed in a sweet and savory sauce made with honey, soy sauce, and fresh garlic. So tasty. So addictive!
If you love this air fryer recipe, you may also like our other air fryer recipes like crispy pork belly, gochujang BBQ chicken thighs, and foil baked salmon with gochujang.
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Sides to go with honey garlic chicken wings
Although these air fried honey garlic chicken wings are great on their own, you can also complete them with some sides! These are some of our favorites:
- french fries or sweet potato fries
- bubble pillow potato
- egg fried rice or shrimp fried rice
- grapefruit matcha tonic (so refreshing!)
Ingredients
Please scroll down to the recipe card for the ingredient quantities!
- Chicken wings - We used whole chicken wings and split them at the joint between the flat and drumette. If you can find already split wings, you can use those too. Do make sure the wings are thawed!
- Oil - Any neutral oil will do. The oil is for binding the cornstarch so that the cornstarch sticks to the wings and so the cornstarch will "fry" and become crispy while air frying.
- Garlic powder, salt, black pepper - These are for seasoning the chicken wings before air frying.
- Cornstarch - The magic ingredients for crispy air fryer wings. If you don't have cornstarch, you can use potato starch instead.
- Unsalted butter - Butter will give the honey garlic sauce more flavor. But make sure you use the unsalted butter so that the sauce doesn't become overly salty. You could also use ghee as well.
- Garlic - Fresh garlic is a must for this honey garlic sauce!
- Honey - One of the main ingredients for making honey garlic sauce! Honey also makes the sauce super glossy and acts as a natural thickener that makes the sauce sticky.
- Soy sauce - We recommend low sodium soy sauce. If you use regular soy sauce, you may need to reduce it by a tablespoon or dilute with a little water.
- Toasted sesame seeds (optional garnish)
How to make honey garlic chicken wings in the air fryer
Air fry the wings:
1. In a medium or large mixing bowl, combine the wings, oil, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Mix until the wings are evenly coated with the seasonings. If you have time, you can also marinate the wings for 10 to 15 minutes or even overnight.
🌟 Pro tip: If you rinse your wings, make sure to drain and dry them thoroughly so that the batter doesn't become too loose and so the wings get maximum crispiness.
2. Once the wings are seasoned, add the cornstarch and mix until everything is evenly coated. If there are leftover clumps of cornstarch, firmly press the cornstarch clumps onto the wings to help them stick.
3. Coat the bottom of the air fryer basket with some cooking spray, and arrange the wings in a single layer in the basket. Try your best to not overlap the wings so that they get evenly cooked.
4. Then, generously spray the top side of the chicken wings and air fry them for 18 to 20 minutes at 400°F, until the chicken wings are golden brown, crispy, and cooked through (registering 165°F internally). In the middle of cooking, flip the wings and spray the flipped side with more cooking spray.
📝 Note: Because all air fryers are different, the settings and temperature may vary. So please adjust the cook time and/or air frying temperature as you see fit for your air fryer.
Make the honey garlic sauce:
While the wings are cooking, make the honey garlic sauce.
5. In a large pan (preferably nonstick) over medium heat, add the butter. Once the butter has melted, add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 20 to 30 seconds.
6. Then, add the honey and soy sauce and bring everything to a simmer. Let the honey garlic sauce simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, depending on how thick you like it. Set it aside until the wings are ready.
🌟 Pro tip: If you prefer, you can make the sauce in a saucepan and toss the wings with the sauce in a large mixing bowl.
Toss the wings with sauce:
7. Once the wings are golden brown, crispy, and cooked through, add it to the sauce and toss and mix until the wings are evenly coated.
🌟 Pro tip: The honey garlic sauce will thicken as it cools. So, if your sauce looks too thick to properly coat your wings or if the sauce got cold, simply heat it back up and it'll become thin again.
8. Serve the wings while hot and garnish with some toasted sesame seeds if you wish. Enjoy!
Recipe tips
- Every air fryer is different, so the temperature settings may vary. So if needed, adjust the air frying temperature and/or cook time.
- Dry the wings well. If you rinse your wings, make sure they are well drained and pat dry with paper towel so that no extra moisture is added to the marinade/batter.
- If you have time, let the wings marinate for 10 to 15 minutes or even overnight for extra flavor.
- Simmer the honey garlic sauce to your preferred thickness. We suggest 2 to 3 minutes of simmering, but if you prefer the sauce thinner or thicker, adjust the time accordingly.
Storage
If you have leftover wings, let them cool completely before covering or storing in an airtight container. The wings can be refrigerate up to 3 to 4 days.
If you're marinating the wings, you can have keep it refrigerated for up to 2 days.
Reheating
With leftover honey garlic chicken wings, you can reheat it in the microwave, air fryer or the oven.
To reheat in the microwave, cover the wings and heat until hot.
If you're reheating in the air fryer or oven, arrange the chicken wings on a sheet of foil and bake/air fry them at 350°F for about 8 to 10 minutes or until heated through.
FAQ
For our recipe, the honey garlic sauce doesn't need any cornstarch slurry to thicken it. Just let the sauce simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, to your desired thickness.
At 400°F, wings usually take about 18 to 20 minutes to cook, starting from a cold air fryer. Do note that this time is based on chicken wings that are split into flats and drumettes and completely thawed. Also, because every air fryer is different, the cook time could vary depending on your air fryer.
If you’ve made this recipe or any recipes from our blog, please tag us on Instagram using #twoplaidaprons! You can also tag us in your Instagram stories using @two_plaid_aprons. We would love to see your creations! It absolutely makes our day! 🥰
📖 Recipe
Honey Garlic Chicken Wings (Air Fryer)
Ingredients
For the chicken wings:
- 1 pound chicken wings flats and drumettes split
- 1 tablespoon oil any neutral oil
- 1½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (use a little less if using fine salt)
- few cracks of black pepper or to your preference
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- Toasted sesame seed (optional for garnish)
For the honey garlic sauce:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons garlic minced (you can use more if you like it more garlicky; about 4 cloves)
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce low sodium
Instructions
For the air fried chicken wings:
- In a medium or large mixing bowl, add everything for the chicken wings EXCEPT the cornstarch (chicken wings, oil, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper). Mix everything well, until the chicken wings are evenly coated.*If you rinsed your chicken wings, please make sure to have drained and dried the wings well.*
- Once the chicken wings have been evenly seasoned, add the cornstarch and mix until the wings are evenly coated. If there are clumps of cornstarch, firmly pack the clumps onto the wings to help it stick.*If you have time, you can even marinate the wings for 10 to 15 minutes or overnight for a extra flavor.*
- Spray the bottom of the air fryer basket with a nonstick spray or cooking oil and arrange the chicken wings in the basket. Try your best to keep the chicken wings in a single layer and avoid overlapping so the wings can get evenly cooked. Generously spray the top of the wings with more cooking spray.
- Air fry the chicken wings for 18 to 20 minutes at 400°F. In the middle of cooking, flip the chicken wings and generously spray the flipped side with cooking spray. Continue air frying the wings until the time is up and the chicken wings are golden brown and cooked through, registering 165°F internally.*Every air fryer is different, so please make proper time and temperature adjustments as necessary!*
Make the honey garlic sauce:
- While the chicken wings are air frying, make the honey garlic sauce. In a large pan (preferably nonstick) over medium heat, add the butter. Once the butter has melted, add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 20 to 30 seconds.
- Add the honey and soy sauce and bring everything up to a simmer while stirring. Let the sauce simmer for about 2 to 3 minutes, depending on your preferred thickness. Then, take the sauce off the heat until the wings are ready.
Coat the wings in honey garlic sauce:
- Once the wings are ready, add it to the sauce and toss until evenly coated. If needed, reheat the sauce to warm it back up. As the sauce cools, it will also thicken, so if your sauce looks a little thick, just heat it up.*If it's easier, you can also toss the wings in a large bowl.*
- Serve the chicken wings while they're hot and garnish with some toasted sesame seeds if you wish.
Notes
- Cook time & temperature - Because all air fryers are different, the settings and temperature may vary. So please adjust the cook time and/or air frying temperature as you see fit for your air fryer.
- The cook time for the chicken wings are based on cold starting the air fryer, if you've preheated your air fryer, you may need to reduce the cook time by a couple of minutes.
- Multiplied recipe - If you are increasing the recipe size, make sure to air fry the wings a single layer so that they get even cooking. Air fry the wings in separate batches if necessary.
Lori Ben says
Absolutely DELICIOUS as written! Crispy, tasty and addicting!
Mei says
Thank you, Lori!
So glad you enjoyed the chicken wings!
Mei ❤️
Alexandra says
Made this today for dinner so good 😊 thank you for this recipe
Mei says
Hi Alexandra!
Thank you for trying out our recipe! So glad you enjoyed it!
Mei ❤️