One taste of my super crispy, perfectly seasoned Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings, and you will be in wing heaven.
Easy to prepare and simply delicious, these wings are dusted with baking powder to provide maximum crispness, air-fried, and then tossed in a decadent and flavorful lemon pepper sauce.
These lemon pepper wings are perfect for serving as an appetizer at a Super Bowl Party, a game day bash, or a casual get-together with friends. There may even be a law that mandates serving wings at game day parties. If not, there should be!
They also make a perfect light main dish for lunch or dinner when served with my Southern Potato Salad, Air Fryer Loaded Twice-Baked Potatoes, Southern Broccoli Salad, Cornbread Salad, or Air Fryer Hasselback Potatoes.
My son, a wing aficionado, was my official taste tester, and after one bite, he said these lemon pepper chicken wings rivaled those from his favorite wing joint. High praise indeed!
Jump to:
- Why you will love this recipe:
- Ingredient notes – this is what you will need:
- How to make lemon pepper wings in an air fryer:
- Recipe variations:
- What to serve with lemon pepper chicken wings:
- How many wings to serve per person as an appetizer:
- Recipe FAQs:
- Top tips and tricks:
- More appetizer recipes for a game day party:
- 📋 Recipe:
Why you will love this recipe:
- This quick and easy recipe, like my recipe for Loaded Potato Skins, uses an air fryer, which means no frying in hot oil and no oil splatter or mess.
- These wings have 547 calories vs. 709 calories if deep-fried, are gluten-free, and are low-carb with only four carbs vs. 51 carbs for deep-fried.
- With today’s rising food prices, because this recipe is made, for the most part, without oil, it’s less expensive.
Ingredient notes – this is what you will need:
- Chicken wings – I buy my mine already cut up. For this recipe, I only used drumettes. However, you can use both flats and drumettes. If you buy whole wings, cut off and discard the wing tips or save them for making chicken stock.
- Baking powder – although this seems like a strange ingredient, adding baking powder to the chicken causes a chemical reaction and helps make the skin super crispy. Because it’s such a small amount, you can’t taste it.
- Lemon pepper – one of my favorite seasonings is made with lemon zest, ground black pepper, and in some cases, salt and garlic powder. It adds a beautiful bright, citrusy flavor to the wing sauce and is also delicious on seafood dishes such as my Pan-Seared Red Snapper.
- Butter – combines with lemon pepper to make an awesome sauce. You can substitute ghee for butter.
- Kosher salt – enhances all of the flavors in this recipe.
- Oil – (not pictured) although these wings are not deep-fried, I use a tiny bit of oil to lightly grease the air fryer basket and spritz on the chicken during the last few minutes of cooking. I like to use peanut oil because of its high smoke point, which means it won’t smoke at high temperatures.
(Specific measurements can be found in the recipe below.)
How to make lemon pepper wings in an air fryer:
- Use a paper towel and pat the wings dry, removing as much moisture as possible.
- Add the baking powder, salt, and a half teaspoon of lemon pepper seasoning to a gallon-size plastic bag. Shake to combine the ingredients, and add the chicken wings. Shake the bag to ensure all pieces are evenly coated with the baking powder mixture.
- Add half a teaspoon of oil to a paper towel and lightly grease the bottom of the air fryer basket. Add the chicken wings in an even layer being careful not to crowd them. Depending on the size of your basket, you may have to do this in two or more batches.
- Cook the wings at 370° F for 15 minutes. It is not necessary to preheat your air fryer.
- Remove the basket, and use tongs to turn the chicken over. Cook for ten more minutes.
- Remove the basket, turn the chicken over again, and lightly spritz with oil. Increase the temperature to 400° F and cook for ten more minutes or until the skin is crispy and golden brown and the internal temperature is 165° F.
- While the chicken is cooking, add the butter to a medium size bowl, place it in the microwave, and melt it. Then, add one tablespoon of lemon pepper seasoning. Whisk to combine.
- When the wings are done, place them in the bowl with the lemon pepper sauce and toss them until they are all coated.
- Serve immediately with plenty of napkins.
Recipe variations:
This recipe is versatile and can be easily modified. For example:
- Instead of the lemon pepper sauce, make the recipe as directed, toss in buffalo sauce, teriyaki sauce, barbecue sauce, or sweet chili sauce, or sprinkle with a mixture of garlic powder and parmesan cheese.
- For dipping sauces, you cannot go wrong with more lemon pepper sauce, sour cream, ranch dressing, or blue cheese dressing.
What to serve with lemon pepper chicken wings:
When serving these wings as an appetizer, especially at a game day party, consider pairing them with these easy recipes: Skillet Macho Nachos, Easy Game Day Snack Mix, Southern Boiled Peanuts, Easy Crispy Buffalo Shrimp, Classic Pigs in a Blanket, Fried Oysters, Fried Crab Claws, or Buffalo Chicken Dip.
For more recipes or menu ideas, check out my 40+ Game Day Snacks and Appetizers collection. You can also find all of my game day recipes here or all of my appetizer recipes here.
How many wings to serve per person as an appetizer:
Generally, you can plan on three to five wings per person when serving them as an appetizer. But, of course, it depends on who will eat them and what else you will serve.
If you are feeding an all-male crowd of big eaters, the sky is the limit, and they could easily eat a dozen each. However, three to five wings per person should work well for a mixed group with other heavy appetizers. That said, you might consider making a double batch, just in case…
Recipe FAQs:
Air fryers work by circulating hot air around the food. They come in many different sizes and shapes, with capacities ranging from two quarts to ten quarts. The number of pieces you can cook depends on the size of the machine and the size of your wings.
My air fryer is small and has only a 3.7-quart capacity. Mine works best to cook six pieces at a time. I might be able to squeeze in two more, but if you want crispy wings and for them to cook evenly, it’s important not to crowd them or let them overlap so the air can circulate properly.
According to the USDA, the safe internal temperature of chicken, measured with an instant-read meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat, not touching the bone, is 165° F.
Leftovers can be stored covered in the refrigerator for up to four days.
To reheat leftovers in the air fryer, preheat to 400° F, spritz the wings lightly with cooking oil, and cook them for two to three minutes.
Air-fried lemon pepper chicken wings are best when served immediately after cooking. I do not recommend making them ahead.
Top tips and tricks:
- If you have to make several batches, keep the already-cooked wings warm by setting your oven temperature at 200° F and putting them on a wire cooling rack over a rimmed baking sheet. Wait until all of them are cooked before tossing them in the lemon pepper sauce.
- Moisture is the enemy of crisp wings. If you have time, before preparing them, place them uncovered in the refrigerator for two to four hours which will help to remove even more moisture.
- I usually double the recipe for the lemon pepper wing sauce, so I will have sauce to toss the wings in and more sauce to serve on the side for dipping. You can kick the flavor of the dipping sauce up a notch by adding a bit of lemon zest and a teaspoon of honey. For a more decadent sauce, you can substitute ghee for butter.
- If your wings are whole and you don’t know how to cut them up, here are step-by-step instructions from America’s Test Kitchen.
More appetizer recipes for a game day party:
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📋 Recipe:
Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings Recipe
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
Lemon Pepper Wings
- 1½ pounds raw chicken wings about 10, drumettes, flats, or both
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
- 1½ teaspoons peanut oil, divided
Lemon Pepper Sauce
- 4 tablespoons butter, or ghee
- 1 tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning
Instructions
- Use a paper towel and pat the wings dry, removing as much moisture as possible.
- Add the baking powder, salt, and a half teaspoon of lemon pepper seasoning to a gallon-size plastic bag. Shake to combine the ingredients, and add the chicken wings. Shake the wings around in the bag to ensure they are all evenly coated with the baking powder mixture.
- Add half a teaspoon of oil to a paper towel and lightly grease the bottom of the air fryer basket. Add the chicken wings in an even layer being careful not to crowd them. Depending on the size of your basket, you may have to do this in two or more batches.
- Cook the wings at 370° F for 15 minutes. It is not necessary to preheat your air fryer.
- Remove the basket, and use tongs to turn the wings over. Cook for ten more minutes.
- Remove the basket, turn the wings over again, and lightly spritz with oil. Increase the temperature to 400° F and cook for ten more minutes or until the skin is crispy and golden brown and the internal temperature is 165° F.
- While the wings are cooking, add the butter to a medium size bowl, place it in the microwave, and melt it. Then, add one tablespoon of lemon pepper seasoning. Whisk to combine.
- When the wings are done, place them in the bowl with the lemon pepper sauce and toss them until they are all coated.
- Serve immediately with plenty of napkins.
Notes
Nutrition
*This recipe was originally published on January 29, 2016.
Well you are right….once again! These were the best wings we’ve ever made. Hubs had no faith but then changed his mind when they turned out fabulous. Thank you as always Sharon.
Hey my sweet, talented friend! The first thing I noticed on this recipe was the plate the wings were on! I love yellow and I love dishes! Ashley did a great job. If I had room, I’d have many different sets. I’ll be making your buffalo wings for Super Bowl Sunday!! Thank you for all your wonderful recipes!!❤️❤️