Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Wings – Wings are fried until perfectly crispy and then tossed in a zesty lemon pepper sauce
Crispy chicken wings have been hard for me to recreate at home without frying them. I’ve tried the oven and the grill, but neither give the wings the perfect crunch on the outside. But I had yet to try them in the air fryer – until now.
I learned a neat trick for making crispy food in the air fryer – toss them in potato starch! It makes for a crispy coating on the outside, even for food without any fat, like chicken breast. So I knew it would work wonders on the fatty skin of a chicken wing.
And it really did! The chicken wings were unbelievably crispy – even more so than any fried wing I’ve had. After air frying them, I tossed them in my lemon pepper sauce and served with some ranch dressing for dipping. The result was these Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Wings!
Making the wings
These are made entirely in the air fryer. but before we even get to that, we must first prep the wings. To do this, separate the flat from the drumette and remove the tips. Discard the tips. Place the wings on paper towels to soak up their excess moisture. Keep refrigerated for a couple hours while this happens.
Once dried, the wings are tossed in potato starch to create a light coating. Then, they are placed in a preheated air fryer and then sprayed with an olive oil or canola oil spray. Cook them in a 360-degree air fryer for 12 minutes, flip and cook for 12 minutes more.
Finally, the temp is increased to 390 degrees to crisp up the wings even more. This will only take about 6 minutes.
Lemon pepper sauce
The lemon pepper sauce is super easy to make. Melted butter, honey, lemon juice, lemon pepper seasoning, and paprika are whisked together until combined. The hot wings are added to the bowl with the sauce and tossed together until coated.
Tips & Tricks
- Potato starch is a must! The potato starch will help the skin get crispy so don’t skip it. If you must use something else, corn starch also works, but not as well.
- Dry out the skin. To get a crispy skin, you must remove as much moisture as possible. So don’t skip the drying stage in the recipe!
- Reheat the sauce. If the sauce sits for too long, it will firm up. But don’t worry! you can just reheat it in the microwave and it will loosen up again.
Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Wings
Ingredients
- 8 whole wings
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- olive oil or canola oil spray
- ½ cup potato or corn starch
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1½ tablespoons honey
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- 2½ tablespoons lemon pepper seasoning
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Separate drumette and flat into separate pieces. Discard the tips of the wing. Pat them dry. Line a baking sheet with a paper towel. Place wings skin side down on the paper towel. Sprinkle with salt. Cover with a top layer of paper towel. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours to help the wings dry out.
- Remove wings from the refrigerator and then place in a zip locked bag with the potato starch. Shake to coat them in the starch. Preheat air fryer at 360 degrees for 3 minutes.
- Place wings in air fryer in one even layer. You may need to air fry wings in multiple batches if they can't all fit in the air fryer. Spray with olive oil or canola oil spray. Air fry for 12 minutes, flip and then cook for another 12 minutes. Flip wings one last time, increase temp to 390 degrees and cook until crispy for about 6 minutes.
- Melt butter in a large microwave-safe bowl. Add lemon juice, honey, and lemon pepper seasoning. Stir together until combined. Toss cooked wings in the toss and then serve immediately.
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You are singing to my heart! I LOVE Lemon Pepper Wings! These are my husband’s favorite. I am definitely going to try this recipe next time we have wing night
The lemon flavour was so good in your mix! Sometimes it’s just in the background but this was really delicious!
This is a great chicken wings recipe. I love the sound of your lemon pepper sauce, sounds like a nice change from my usual store bought spicy Thai sauce. On my to make list!
These wings are SO GOOD! I love the lemon pepper coating flavor and they are perfect for an easy snack or appetizer! Thanks so much for the delicious recipe!
We love some wings in this family, Quite the easy recipe really, as a majority of the prep time is hands off. Great flavor. I think we will make these again as a barbeque appetizer.
We are wing lovers in this house! So simple, quick, and a crowd pleaser! This recipe sounds delicious! Excited to give it a try!
Wow! These wings were perfectly crispy and so flavorful. Thank you!
Oh my goodness, that lemon pepper flavor is just to die for! So flavorful and these have the perfect texture. Irresistible!
Give me all the recipes that are lemon flavored! Delish! Great tip on the potato starch – what a game changer for crispy chicken!
I have a similar recipe and it’s SO DANG GOOOOOD!
The lemon pepper flavor in this was perfect! I loved how they came together in the air fryer too. So delish!
This is why I love the air fryer! These are so good .. delicious flavors!
I bet the taste goes through the rood. These wings look absolutely delicious!
My BF made your recipe and he said they were amazing!
These wings were a hit for us! The air fryer gave them a crisp texture, and the lemon-pepper seasoning added the perfect kick.
These lemon pepper wings were delicious for dinner last night. They were so crispy and addicting. Will make again for sure!
These are perfect! Nice and crispy with a lovely lemon kick. Will make again soon!
Okay…I am going to cave and buy an air fryer. I’ve seen many recipes lately that were made with an air fryer and I really want to give your recipe a go. Looks so yummy. Thanks for sharing.
My family would eat so many of these wings! We love them. And this is a great flavor.