Crispy Garlic Parmesan Air-Fryer Wings
Pin itOkay, wing night, the lazy way. No pot of oil, no oven roasting your whole kitchen in July. You toss the wings with a little baking powder, let the air fryer do the crisping, then coat them in warm garlic parmesan butter right at the end so it stays garlicky instead of burnt. They come out shatter-crisp and I never miss the deep fryer. This is my no-fuss version of the wings you order out.
Why this one is so easy
Crisp wings without the deep fryer or a giant pot of oil to deal with after. The air fryer does it with a spoon of baking powder.
The garlic parmesan butter goes on at the end, so it stays garlicky and bright instead of scorched.
Wing night, but it is a real dinner. Serve them over fries or with a big salad and you are done.
Della's tips
Pat the wings bone-dry before anything else. Surface moisture is the enemy of crispy skin, every single time.
Baking powder, not baking soda. Powder crisps the skin, soda leaves a soapy taste. Aluminum-free is best.
Do not crowd the basket. Wings that touch steam instead of crisp, so cook in two batches and re-crisp them all together at the end.
Toss in the butter off the heat. Parmesan and garlic burn fast in the air fryer, so they never go in before cooking.
Make it your own
+ Spicy garlic parm: stir a spoon of hot sauce or extra red pepper flakes into the butter.
+ Lemon pepper parm: add lemon zest and a lot of cracked pepper to the toss.
+ Dry style: skip the butter and just shower the hot wings with parmesan, garlic powder, and parsley.
If you are out of something
No fresh garlic? A teaspoon of garlic powder stirred into the melted butter works and never burns.
Parmesan swap: pecorino or asiago, both a little sharper.
Butter to olive oil or ghee if you want it a touch lighter.
For the crispiest wings, pat them dry and toss with the baking powder and salt, then leave them uncovered on a rack in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. Drier skin means crispier wings. The garlic butter is best made fresh. Leftovers keep three to four days and reheat at 375F for about 7 minutes to bring the crunch back.
Ingredients
Steps
Pat the wings really dry with paper towels. Dry skin is the whole secret to crisp, so do not skip this. Toss them with the baking powder, oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder until every wing is coated.
Air fry at 400F in a single layer, in batches so they are not touching, for about 20 minutes. Flip them halfway. They should be deep golden and crisp all over.
If you cooked in batches, pile them all back in and give them one more 2 to 3 minutes at 400F together to re-crisp before saucing.
Melt the butter with the minced garlic in a big bowl, gently, just until fragrant. Do not let the garlic brown. Add the parmesan and parsley and the red pepper flakes if using.
Toss the hot wings in the garlic parmesan butter until they are coated. Serve right away while the coating is still clingy and the wings are crisp.
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Questions, answered
It pulls moisture out of the skin and helps it brown, so the wings crisp up like they were fried. Use aluminum-free baking powder, never baking soda.