These crispy air-fryer chicken wings finished with a buttery, garlicky Parmesan sauce come together in minutes—no deep fryer required.

By

Leah Colins

Senior Culinary Editor

Leah is the Senior Culinary Editor at Serious Eats, and was previously a recipe developer and editor with America’s Test Kitchen for almost 9 years. She has developed recipes for and edited over 20 cookbooks ranging in topic from bread baking to plant-based eating to outdoor grilling and so much more. While there, she also developed recipes and articles for Cooks Illustrated Magazine, Cooks Country Magazine, and ATK’s digital platform.Before her life as a recipe developer, she cooked in 5-star and Michelin-starred fine dining establishments from coast to coast such as The Herbfarm and Aubergine Restaurant at L’Auberge Carmel; she also treasures her time flipping burgers on flattops in her teenage years, and baking and boxing cookies and pies at a wonderful family-owned German bakery in her early professional life.

Published January 29, 2026

Serious Eats / Greg DuPree

In This Recipe

Why It Works

• Tossing the wings with baking powder promotes browning and bubbling of the chicken skin during cooking, resulting in a crackly, just-like-fried exterior.
• Leaving space between the wings during cooking encourages proper airflow and even cooking.

Garlic-Parmesan wings occupy a strange place in the chicken wing canon. They’re everywhere—sports bars, pizza joints, chain restaurants that also serve mozzarella sticks—yet they’re rarely memorable. Too often they’re greasy but bland, aggressively garlicky but oddly flat-tasting, or coated in a pasty sauce that dulls any hope of crispness. We set about to change that with this recipe, developed by Craig Ruff in our Birmingham, Alabama, test kitchen. The goal is a wing that’s rich, savory, and unapologetically garlicky, without sacrificing the crackly, shatteringly crisp chicken skin.

Craig’s recipe takes a straightforward approach, using an air fryer to cook the wings and a quick microwave sauce to finish them. Together, they deliver consistently crisp skin, juicy meat, and a glossy garlic-Parmesan coating—with no vat of hot oil to deal with.

Serious Eats / Greg DuPree

Why the Air Fryer Works So Well For Wings

The air fryer is uniquely suited to chicken wings, thanks to its intense, evenly circulating heat. It’s a supercharged convection oven that does in about 25 minutes what a conventional oven takes about one hour to accomplish—often with better results. Wings have delicate skin and just enough fat underneath the skin to render quickly, which means the air fryer can dry and blister the skin while keeping the meat inside tender and juicy.

To push the wings firmly into "convincingly fried" territory, they’re tossed with salt and a small amount of baking powder before cooking. This technique, borrowed from Serious Eats culinary director emeritus Kenji’s oven-fried wings recipe, raises the skin’s pH, promoting better browning and the formation of tiny micro-blisters that create a welcome crunch. You can cook the wings immediately after tossing them in the mixture, but if you have time, let them rest in the fridge for up to 24 hours to let the brine season them deeply.

Serious Eats / Greg DuPree

The 2 Main Rules for Making Great Wings in the Air Fryer

There are only two things you really need to get right when making wings in the air fryer. First, don’t overcrowd the basket. Wings need a little breathing room so hot air can circulate fully around them; pack them too tightly and you’ll end up with pale spots and flabby skin. So if needed, cook them in batches, depending on the size of your air-fryer basket. With a 6-quart or larger air fryer, two pounds of wings fit comfortably in a single batch. Smaller models may requirecooking the wings in batches, but the total time investment is still minimal.

Second, preheat the air fryer. Starting hot ensures the wings begin sizzling immediately, jump-starting fat rendering and crisping, rather than allowing them to gradually steam as they come up to temperature**.**

Serious Eats / Greg DuPree

The Easy Garlic-Parmesan Sauce

Once the wings are deeply golden and crisp, they are tossed in a sauce that’s as low-effort as the cooking method itself. Butter and minced garlic are gently microwaved just until bubbling, which softens the garlic and blooms its flavor without browning or bitterness. Grated Parmesan, parsley, and salt are stirred in while the mixture is still hot, creating a loose, glossy sauce that clings easily to the wings.

The microwave is the safest, easiest tool for the job. There’s no risk of scorching the garlic, no broken emulsions to worry about, and no need to dirty a saucepan for something that takes less than two minutes start to finish.

Tossed while hot, the wings absorb just enough of the buttery garlic-Parmesan mixture to coat every ridge and blister while staying crisp. Serve them immediately, with ranch for dipping and lemon wedges for squeezing, and don’t expect leftovers.

This recipe was developed by Craig Ruff; The headnote was written by Leah Colins.

Keep Screen Awake

2 pounds (907 g) whole chicken wings, cut at joints into drumettes and flats

3 1/2 teaspoons (10.5 g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt, divided; for table salt, use half as much by volume or the same weight

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup (50 g) unsalted butter

5 medium garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (2/3 ounce; 20 g), plus more for garnish

1/4 cup (10 g) fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Ranch dressing and lemon wedges, for serving

Pat chicken wings dry with paper towels. In a large bowl, toss wings with baking powder and 2 teaspoons of kosher salt until evenly coated. At this point, the wings can be cooked immediately or transferred to a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet and refrigerated, uncovered, for up to 24 hours. (The final seasoning level will improve the longer the wings are dry-brined.)

Serious Eats / Greg DuPree 1.

Preheat air fryer to 400°F (205°C) for 5 minutes. Place wings into the air fryer basket in a single layer, fatty side down, leaving a slight space between each wing, and cooking in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding. Place basket in air fryer and cook until wings are cooked through, crisp, and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes, flipping wings halfway through cooking.3. Meanwhile, in a large microwave-safe bowl, microwave butter and garlic on HIGH in 30-second intervals, until butter is melted and bubbling, about 1 minute and 30 seconds, stirring after each interval.

Serious Eats / Greg DuPree 1.

Stir in Parmesan cheese, parsley, and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt until well combined.

Serious Eats / Greg DuPree 1.

Transfer wings to bowl with prepared sauce and toss until thoroughly coated.

Serious Eats / Greg DuPree 1.

Transfer wings to a platter, and garnish with additional cheese. Serve wings immediately with ranch dressing and lemon wedges, if desired.

Serious Eats / Greg DuPree

Special Equipment

Air fryer (We recommend using a 6-quart or larger air fryer. If using a smaller air fryer, you may need to cook the wings in batches to ensure even cooking.)

Notes

We prefer to buy whole chicken wings and butcher them ourselves, but you can also use presplit wings.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Wings are best served immediately, but can be safely stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
1464	Calories
107g	Fat
7g	Carbs
112g	Protein

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Nutrition Facts Servings: 2 Amount per serving Calories 1464 % Daily Value* 107g 137% Saturated Fat 38g 191% 708mg 236% 3502mg 152% 7g 2% Dietary Fiber 0g 1% Total Sugars 1g 112g Vitamin C 9mg 45% Calcium 491mg 38% Iron 5mg 27% Potassium 1059mg 23% *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)