Oven or Air Fryer. Both easy. Both so good.
That’s right. Garlic Butter Chicken Wings. I mean… these are just… let me just say that the first time I made these my daughter and I took one bite and then moved the tray over to the table, sat down and devoured the entire batch. They’re so good.
The details…
These wings are amazingly crispy and absolutely decadent. You can cook them in the oven or in your air fryer and the results are similar. I promise nobody will ever know that they’re not deep fried.
The secret is all in the prep. You want your wings dry. To achieve this we’re going to spread them out and dry them off with paper towels. Then, just to really make sure they stay good and dry we’re going to coat them in a thin layer of cornstarch and then we’ll spray them with some oil. I know you’ve heard that baking powder is they key to crispy baked wings and I’ve done it and yes, it does work, but I’m happy with my tried and true cornstarch method and I think you will be too.
So, once we have the wings all browned and crispy we’re going to toss them in hot garlic butter spiked with a little black pepper and red pepper flakes. And then, if you want to, I’m going to very highly recommend a little drizzle of sticky, runny honey. This is only if you want to take your wings right over the top… and I think we both know that that’s what we want.
While we’re already pushing maximum decadence here I just don’t feel like wings are perfect without some kind of creamy dip. Blue cheese dip for buffalo wings, ranch for bbq wings, you get where I’m going with this.
For these Garlic Butter Chicken Wings we’re going to whip up a little 5 minute Parmesan & Black Pepper Dip. It’s quick, easy, made with ingredients you most likely have on hand and it is the perfect thing to make these wings sing. Go ahead and double dip. I know I’m going to.
A few variations on these Garlic Butter Chicken Wings
- Soy Garlic Chicken Wings – Once the garlic has cooked in the butter for a couple of minutes, remove from the heat and stir in 1 Tbsp each soy sauce and honey.
- Garlic Parmesan Wings – Immediately after tossing the wings with the garlic butter sauce, toss them again with 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese. The drizzle of honey would still be good on these!
- Buffalo Garlic Butter Wings – Once the garlic has cooked in the butter for a couple of minutes, remove from the heat and stir in 2 Tbsp hot sauce (like Frank’s)
- Lemon Pepper Garlic Butter Wings – Immediately after tossing the wings with the garlic butter sauce, toss them again with 1-2 tsp lemon pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.
FAQs
No. Just no.
Honestly? Time. Both methods result in truly crispy, can’t-believe-they’re-not-fried wings. The air fryer wings are a little less fussy and require less clean up (no baking sheet or wire rack to wash), but the crispiness level is pretty much equal.
I think so. And this article backs me up. 😉
Recipe-ish…
Let me know what you think!
Garlic Butter Chicken Wings
Ingredients
For the wings:
- 1 1/2 lb wings patted dry
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 tsp Red pepper flakes
- Black Pepper
- Honey optional
For the Parm & Pepper Dip:
- 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp sour cream
- 1 Tbsp Greek Yogurt
- 1 tsp White wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp black pepper freshly cracked
- 2 Tbsp parmesan finely grated
- Pinch salt
- Pinch sugar
Instructions
- Toss the wings with the cornstarch in a large mixing bowl. They should be evenly and lightly coated. Spray with oil.
To cook in the Air Fryer:
- Preheat the air fryer at 400 degrees.
- Cook the wings for for 18-20 minutes, flipping halfway through, until browned and crisp.
To cook in the oven:
- Lay the wings on sprayed wire racks over a baking sheet.
- Place in a 425 degree preheated oven.
- Cook for 45 minutes, flipping over halfway through, for 45 minutes.
While the wings cook, make the dip:
- Combine all dip ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
While the wings cook, make the garlic butter.
- Melt the butter over medium heat in a small saucepan.
- Add in the garlic, red pepper flakes and a couple grinds of freshly cracked black pepper and cook 2-3 minutes.
- Set aside.
- When the wings are cooked, remove from oven or fryer and immediately toss with the garlic butter mixture.
- Drizzle with honey, if desired, and serve with the dip.
If you like this Garlic Butter Chicken Wings Recipe please go try my Recipe for Salt and Pepper Chicken. It’s another delicious and easy crispy chicken recipe.
