Air Fryer Dry Rub Chicken Wings

Make the best homemade air fryer dry rub chicken wings with savory garlic, onion, and paprika, combined with a touch of sweetness and other pantry basics. Crispy, juicy, and easy in less than 30 minutes. It's a Whole Lotta Yum!

This air fryer chicken wings dry rub is so good!

We show you how to make your own rub mix in 5 minutes that are so delicious with chicken wings, but you can also use the leftover spice mix for other types of chicken, turkey, or pork chops.

Our dry rub for chicken mix has SO much flavor, they're quite seasoned in every bite of meat. They have a little bit of a kick but not overly so! If you prefer things mild, you can skip the cayenne pepper or use less of it.

Sometimes we brush on a bit of BBQ sauce in the last minute of cooking, but this is totally optional. Let me tell you, either way these wings will be a hit with your friends and family!

Ingredients you'll need

Paprika, garlic, and onion powder, combined with cumin, cayenne, and chili powder, are all going to be balanced out with a touch of sweetness to create perfectly flavored wings. We think this is literally the best dry rub for chicken wings!

When you're in a hurry and don't have time to make your own, you can also use your favorite brand of store-bought rub or chicken seasoning. We love the McCormick's seasoning blends.

• garlic powder
• ground onion powder
• smoked paprika - or regular paprika (sometimes called sweet paprika)
• cumin
• chili powder
• sea salt - coarse kosher salt
• ground black pepper - we use coarse black pepper and stock up on it at Costco
• brown sugar - brown sugar gives the wings a touch of sweetness, you can leave this out if preferred. We sometimes use golden monk fruit when we want a little bit of sweet without the sugar.
• cayenne pepper (optional) if you want mild wings, or cut it in half
• chicken wings
• extra virgin olive oil - or another type of high heat neutral oil like avocado oil, canola, or grapeseed

Tools

An Air Fryer– We used the Cosori 5.8 qt air fryer but any brand of air fryer basket or air fryer oven will work here.

How to air fry them

A quick overview: you mix the rub ingredients, combine them with olive oil, and then brush the seasoning on the wings before air frying. So simple!

1. Make the rub: combine the garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, sea salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl.
2. Prep the wings by cutting them into drumettes and wingettes, if needed. Blot them dry with paper towels.
3. Season them: Add the wings, olive oil, and 1-2 Tablespoons of the rub seasoning to a medium-sized bowl. Toss to combine.
4. Cook: Preheat your air fryer at 400 F for 5 minutes. Lay the wings in a single layer and cook them for a total of 17-19 minutes (or until they're done to your liking), flipping them after 9-10 minutes.
5. Serve with your favorite dipping sauces like Ranch dressing, blue cheese, or BBQ sauce. Enjoy!

Recipe notes

• Don't forget to pat the wings with paper towels, this removes moisture and is key to getting crispy skin.
• A store bought rub will work in place of our homemade version.
• Preheating your air fryer unit and allowing space between the meat are two essentials to perfect cooking every time. If you don't preheat your unit, the recipe will take longer to cook.

Storing and leftovers

• Store: Our chicken rub recipe makes more than you’ll need for one batch of dry rub wings. Put leftover rub in an airtight container and store it in a cool dark place for up to 6 months.
• Freeze: For longer storage, you can freeze them for up to 1 to 2 years.
• Using leftovers: Our rub mix makes more than you need for this one batch, you can save it for future wing recipes or you can also use it to season other types of chicken cuts, turkey, or even pork.

Can you make these with frozen wings?

You sure can! Simply use frozen wings in place of thawed ones and proceed with the recipe, including patting them dry and adding oil.

Add 3-4 mins to the cooking time like we did with our popular air fried frozen chicken wings. Sometimes frozen wings don't turn quite as crispy because of the moisture content, but of course, they'll still be delicious!

Serving ideas

Wings are fantastic as a main dish for dinner or as an appetizer for game days. What sides we recommend depends on how you're serving them:

Appetizer: We highly recommend you serve these with our air fryer jalapeno poppers! This combo is always my son's request when he's home from college and our family favorite.

Main dish: We love serving wings with sweet potato fries or steak fries. Fries count as a starch and your veggie too, right?

You'll ❤️ these wing recipes too

• Air fried chicken wings - the classic buffalo wings
• Air fryer whole wings
• Air fry frozen chicken wings
• Pan fried chicken wings
• Baked dry rub chicken wings
• Air fryer lemon pepper wings
• Boneless air fried wings

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Recipe

Dry Rub Chicken Wings (Air Fryer)

Jen @ WholeLottaYum

An easy and savory homemade dry rub for air fryer chicken wings! Not only is our 5 minute homemade rub great with oven-baked or grilled wings too, but it's also perfect for any other chicken pieces or with pork ribs and chops.

4.64 from 52 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Additional Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 10 minutes mins

Course Chicken

Cuisine American

Servings 9 tablespoon

Calories 145 kcal

Equipment

• 1 Air fryer
• 1 Kitchen Tongs

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon ground onion powder
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoon brown sugar
• ¼-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper use ¼ teaspoon or none if you prefer mild wings
• 1.25 lb chicken wings separated into wingettes and drumettes
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

 

• Add the garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, sea salt, black pepper, brown sugar, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Mix the dry rub until the ingredients are well combined. Our chicken rub recipe makes 9 Tbsp, you'll only need 1-2 Tablespoons for this recipe.
• Preheat the air fryer to 400F for 5 minutes. Blog the wings dry with paper towels, this helps to get them crispy in the air fryer.
• In a medium sized bowl add the chicken wings, olive oil, and 2 tablespoon chicken wing dry rub. Mix everything together until the wings are evenly coated.
• Lay the wings in a single layer and cook them for a total of 17-19 minutes, flipping them after 9-10 minutes. Air fryer models can cook differently, check the wings for doneness after 17 minutes total of cooking time and then finish cooking them until they're crisped to your preference.
• Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce like Ranch dressing, blue cheese, or BBQ sauce. Enjoy!

Notes

• To save (a lot!) of money buying spices, get tiny quantities from the bulk section at the grocery store instead of purchasing entire bottles of each spice.
• To get extra crispy wings you can also add 2 teaspoons of baking powder (not soda) to the 2 tablespoon of dry rub that coats the chicken.
• The dry rub will work with any type of chicken parts and with pork ribs too. Use it in the air fryer, oven, or grilled recipes.
• Feel free to cut the seasoning recipe in half or you can double it, depending on how often you'll use dry rub for chicken or pork recipes.
• Do not replace table salt with sea salt or kosher salt, table salt is much stronger and the recipe will taste too salty.
• To make a sugar-free version, swap the brown sugar for golden erythritol, golden monk fruit, or coconut sugar.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 145kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 7gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 640mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1g

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