Air fryer honey garlic chicken wings are outrageously yummy. We are so excited to share this easy recipe with you! If you enjoyed the crispy dry rub wings we recently made, then you’re absolutely going to fall head over heels for this recipe.

a bowl of air fryer honey garlic chicken wings

This delectable sauce marries the sweetness of honey with the nutty flavor of the garlic — it’s a winning combination, and we can’t get enough of it! We really think you, your family, or anyone else you’re cooking for is going to be equally obsessed. And of course, we’re bringing back the air fryer for a faster, healthier cook on the wings themselves

What are the components of the chicken seasoning for our air fryer honey garlic chicken wings?

This is a super simple seasoning mix, featuring common spices that likely live in your spice rack already. We use salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and of course, garlic powder — these wouldn’t be honey garlic wings without a good helping of garlic!

The smoked paprika has a sweet, peppery taste of regular paprika with the added benefit of that nice chargrilled essence of smoke. Paprika traditionally comes from Hungary, and the next time you hit the spice aisle, you may notice there are tons of different types! Essentially, paprika is just a method for roasting peppers and grinding them up into a spice. Because of the nature of the process, you can make all sorts of flavors based on the flavor of the pepper.

Combine that rich, smokey spice of paprika with powdered garlic and it’s a winning combo! We personally love using garlic powder to make air fryer honey garlic chicken wings. While we could use fresh garlic, we find that usually at least a couple pieces of fresh garlic burn in the frying process. With garlic powder, you get all the flavor, without any risk of burning!

Can I substitute the rice vinegar?

Rice vinegar, which this sauce recipe calls for, is a vinegar made from fermented rice. It has a slightly sweet, fairly mild flavor compared to other vinegars. It primarily comes from East and Southeast Asia. We really love the way it functions in this recipe! The sweetness of the rice vinegar really draws out the flavor of the honey.

But if you don’t have any rice vinegar at home, that’s okay! While this recipe is best with that ingredient, you can substitute with white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar — but keep in mind, both of these vinegars are slightly less sweet, so you’ll want to add ¼ teaspoon of sugar for each tablespoon of vinegar. The math on that adds up to one teaspoon of sugar for this recipe if you substitute the rice vinegar!

How to make air fryer honey garlic wings

Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees (Fahrenheit).
Wash and pat dry the chicken wings.
Add cornstarch to the chicken wings.
Sprinkle the spice blend onto the wings, and mix it all up so every wing is nicely coated.
Place chicken wings in air fryer and cook at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-23 minutes, until nice and crispy.
While chicken cooks, add all your sauce ingredients to a saucepan on medium heat.
Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 6-8 minutes, or until it’s reduced and thick.
Add chicken wings to sauce and stir until nicely coated.
Garnish wings with sesame and green onions.

Other Air Fryer recipes you are going to love

If you enjoyed the ease of making our air fryer honey garlic chicken wings, then we have great news for you! We love our air fryer, so we naturally create lots of air fryer recipes. Here are some knockouts you have to try:

air fryer honey garlic chicken wings topped with sesame seeds

Our Air Fryer Crispy Potato Nuggets are a delicious crowd pleaser. They are hand held, and create minimal mess when eating. Just get your favorite dipping sauce and you’re good to go!
Once we found out about the bread roll up trick we were sold. These Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks take just a couple ingredients and are so beyond easy to make. All you need is a rolling pin, some slices of bread, cheese sticks and an air fryer!
We have a big sweet tooth, so of course we are including an air fryer dessert on this list! If you haven’t had atayef before, you need to try this Middle Eastern Dessert. We personally love our Atayef with Whipped Cream and Pistachios.