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These Hot Honey Wings are seasoned and air fried to crispy perfection in just 20 minutes and then coated with a sweet and spicy honey and hot sauce glaze! Sticky, saucy, crispy chicken wing perfection made at home in the air fryer.
Is there any appetizer better than chicken wings coated in a sticky sweet and spicy sauce? They’re perfect for serving up while watching the big game, but let’s be real – they make a fabulous dinner too!
These honey hot chicken wings are sweet, spicy, and perfectly crispy with no deep frying involved. Because as much as I love deep fried food, I hate actually frying the food myself!
We love making homemade sauces here, as evidenced by our honey mustard dressing recipe, chipotle sauce, and our homemade tartar sauce recipe.
With our honey hot sauce, you get to control just how sweet and spicy the glaze is so these air fryer wings are exactly how you like!
If you love honey but not heat, check out our honey garlic chicken tenders!
♥ What We Love About This Recipe:
No deep frying needed! These crisp up perfectly in the air fryer.
You control the level of spice depending on how much hot sauce (and what type of hot sauce) you add!
These can double as an appetizer on game day or a family dinner on a night when you don’t mind getting a little messy.
Chicken wings made at home are fairly budget-friendly and a great source of protein!
Ingredient Notes:
Chicken Wings – We’re using frozen chicken wing sections. They’ll come in a bag with both the drumettes and flats.
Honey – You’ll prepare a sweet and spicy glaze for the chicken wings and it starts with your favorite honey! We love local honey if we can get it, otherwise try this one.
Hot Sauce – You can use whatever type of hot sauce you like here so you control how spicy it is! We like Frank’s for a more mild flavor or sriracha for a bit more kick.
Seasoning – We’re seasoning the chicken wings with some salt, black pepper, and onion powder before air frying them plus you’ll need smoked paprika and chili powder to mix with the hot honey glaze.
Garlic – We’re adding minced garlic as part of the glaze. The sticky honey will help the minced garlic adhere to the chicken and improve the flavor!
Apple Cider Vinegar – Another ingredient for the hot honey glaze, the vinegar will add a bit of tangy flavor that’ll offset the sweet and spicy.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Step by Step Directions:
Pat the chicken wings dry with a paper towel. Add the olive oil, onion powder, salt and pepper to a small bowl and combine. Add the chicken wings and coat them in the seasoning.
Place the chicken wings in an even layer in the air fryer basket, being careful not to overcrowd. Air fry for about 16 minutes or until they are crispy and cooked to a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees.
My Favorite Thermometer!
I love using this meat thermometer for making sure the meat is fully cooked! Easy for beginners & absolutely worth the low cost.
Combine the glaze ingredients in a sauce pan and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. It’ll thicken a bit once off the heat.
Transfer the air fried chicken wings to a large bowl and then pour the hot honey glaze over them. Toss the wings gently to coat them evenly in the glaze. Serve them hot!
Helpful Tip!
You can make these hot honey chicken wings as hot or mild as you like! You can add more or less hot sauce, or use a hotter or milder sauce. Start with half the amount of hot sauce and slowly add more in until it tastes just right if you’re worried about the heat.
Baked Chicken Wings:
While we are absolutely obsessed with our air fryer, we know that not everyone has one. Highly recommend this model if you’re in the market, though! 😉
If you’d like to make these in the oven, follow this recipe for baked chicken wings and sauce them after baking.
Serving Suggestions:
You can enjoy these hot honey chicken wings all on their own but they’re even better with some crunchy celery or sweet carrot sticks on the side. The raw veggies make a nice contrast to the spicy wings. Serve the wings and veggies with our homemade ranch dressing. So good!
We love to serve wings with twice baked potatoes, mac and cheese casserole, or Instant Pot potato salad.
If you’ve got an air fryer with two baskets you could also cook up some air fryer frozen sweet potato fries while the chicken wings are cooking!
More Sauce Recipes!
Storage & Reheating:
For the best results, we recommend storing your wings and sauce separately. Keep your wings and sauce in the fridge in covered containers. Reheat the wings in the air fryer until hot and crispy and reheat the sauce in the microwave or on the stove.
Recipe FAQs:
For the best results, you’ll want to sauce your wings just before serving them. This will prevent the skin from becoming soggy as it sits in the sauce.
Add your hot,cooked chicken wings to a bowl and pour the sauce over the top. Use tongs to toss the wings in the sauce to coat, or gently shake the bowl to distribute the sauce over the wings.
We find air frying wings to be our preferred method, because the wings turn out juicy and crispy without the hassle of deep frying.
MORE CHICKEN WING RECIPES!
Air Fryer Hot Honey Wings
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken wing sections thawed, see notes
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce adjust according to your preferred spice level
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- Chopped green onions for garnish optional
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees.
- Pat the chicken wings dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, onion powder, salt and pepper. Coat the chicken wings in the olive oil mixture evenly.
- Carefully place the chicken wings in the air fryer, working in batches to avoid overcrowding. Air fry for about 16 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking, or until golden brown and cooked through.
- While the wings are cooking make the sauce. In a small saucepan, combine the honey, hot sauce, minced garlic, apple cider vinegar, smoked paprika, and chili powder. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is heated through, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat to allow the sauce to thicken. Adjust the amount of hot sauce to suit your preferred level of spiciness.
- Transfer the chicken wings to a large bowl. Pour the hot honey glaze over the wings, tossing gently to coat them evenly.
- Arrange the glazed wings on a platter and sprinkle with chopped green onions for garnish, if desired. Serve immediately.
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