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These air fryer lemon pepper chicken wings are SERIOUSLY crispy! You’ll be amazed at how easy they are to make. With a thin shatteringly crisp golden skin and a perfectly tart-and-little sweet sticky lemon pepper sauce, this is a quick and easy 30-minute recipe with few ingredients from the pantry. Try this once and you’ll be converted for life!
No air fryer yet? Prefer keto? I’ve got you covered. You’ll find everything you need to make these wings perfectly crispy and fast! And if you prefer a larger serving portion, my chicken lollipop recipe is another fantastic choice!
Table of Contents
Why these wings are the best
That’s a big statement to say but let me tell you why these air fry lemon pepper wings are the BEST! Imagine…
- Shatteringly crisp air fried wings that aren’t deep fried
- Pantry ingredients you probably already have at home!
- Sticky lemon pepper sauce with fresh lemon zest and a touch of honey!
- Unbelievably easy to make – 30 minutes top!
Regardless of which brand of air fryer you have at home – ninja foodi, cosori, or gourmia…etc., lemon pepper wing recipe made in an air fryer are the best happy food for game days, parties, and family movie nights. Let me show you how!
Ingredients
- Dry rub seasoning: coarse sea salt, garlic powder, lemon pepper seasoning (unsalted), cut-up chicken wings.
- Lemon pepper sauce: garlic, ginger, coconut aminos, honey, chicken stock, lemon zest and juice, and tapioca starch.
Tip: For low carb users, you can use keto honey and xanthan gum to sweeten and thicken the sauce. See my recipe card for the products I use.
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How to make chicken wings crispy in the air fryer
- Pat dry the wings and season with the lemon pepper dry spice rub.
- Preheat the air fryer according to your default setting. Air fry the wings at 380°F (193°C) for 24 minutes total. Flip the wings halfway through cooking.
- Make the sauce by sauteing garlic and ginger then add all the liquid items – stock, honey, coconut aminos, lemon juice, and zest, then stir in the slurry to thicken the sauce.
- Drizzle a few tablespoons of the sauce over the wings and serve the extra sauce on the side.
The best lemon pepper sauce for air fried wings
Although the wings are so good plain without the sauce, why not kick it up another notch with a few ingredients you already have in the pantry?
My lemon pepper sauce is the perfect dipping sauce for airfryer wings. The sauce gets its flavor from fresh lemon zest and juice and with a touch of honey. To give the sauce extra depth, we also added a few teaspoons of minced garlic and ginger.
The sauce is brushed all over the wings after they are air fried to crispy and it’s also served on the side for maximum flavor!
Dry spice seasoning variations
Because lemon pepper seasoning already has lemon zest and pepper, I prefer to keep it simple and season the chicken with garlic powder and a touch of salt. If you want to spice it up, I also recommend dried thyme, dried parsley, a small touch of sweet paprika, or a sprinkle of chili powder.
Tip: Season your wings with dry spices only and keep the selections simple so your wings will be extra crispy.
How to bake them in the oven?
After you pat dry the wings and add the seasonings, place them on a wire rack lined with a baking sheet in a single layer and bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (204°C) for about 40-45 minutes or until they are golden crispy. Brush the wings with lemon pepper sauce and serve the extra sauce on the side.
FAQs
No oil is needed. The chicken skin contains a lot of good fat and it will crisp up under high heat.
Yes but please defrost the wings a night before air frying.
You can make the sauce in advance. The wings come together very quickly and they taste the best fresh out of the airfryer or oven. You can reheat the sauce in a microwave or over a stovetop.
The wings can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, preheat your air fryer to 380°F (193°C). Add the wings and air fry for 3 to 4 minutes or until your desired crispiness. Make sure to turn the wings or shake the basket halfway through cooking.
Pair the wings with –
Pair the lemony crispy wings with my chicken pho soup or baked sesame chicken for a full meal or serve it with a few more appetizers to make a fun gathering. For example Vietnamese pizza (made with rice paper), Air fryer corn ribs, air-fried oyster mushrooms, Asian cucumber salad, Japanese cucumber salad, and rice paper dumplings!
More crispy wings choices
Air fryer Thai chicken wings, Vietnamese air fryer wings, Crispy Chinese chicken wings, or Malaysian Chicken wings.
Umami Tips:
- Pat dry the wings and use dry spices only to season your wings.
- Air fryer time and temperature vary so pay attention to your cook time the first time around.
- Do kick the flavor up a notch with my sticky lemon pepper wing sauce!
- Keto and oven instructions included!
Air fryer lemon pepper chicken wings recipe
Ingredients
Lemon pepper wings seasoning:
- 1 lb. cut-up chicken wings
- 1 tsp coarse sea salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1/2+1/4 tsp lemon pepper seasoning unsalted
- 1 bulb spring onion scallion, chopped
Lemon pepper wings sauce:
- ½ tbsp avocado oil
- 0.2 oz garlic clove grated, about 1 medium clove
- 0.1 oz fresh ginger root grated
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- 2 tsp honey or keto honey
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 1 whole lemon zest
- ¼ cup lemon juice about 1 and ¼ whole lemons juiced, plus extra wedges for garnish
- 3 tsp tapioca starch or ¼-½ tsp xanthan gum
Instructions
- Pat dry the wings. Combine the dry spices from salt to lemon pepper in a small bowl. Season the wings on all sides and use your hands to pat the spices in so they adhere to the chicken skin.
- Preheat an air fryer at 400°F (204°C) for 5 minutes. Place the wings in the basket in a single layer with a little gap between the pieces. Air fryer at 380°F (193°C) for 12 minutes, rotate the wings to cook the flip side for another 10-12 minutes. The wings should be cooked through, crispy, and in golden brown color.
- In the meantime, in a small saucepan, saute the garlic and ginger with oil over low heat until it starts sizzling, about 1-2 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients from coconut aminos to lemon juice. Reduce the heat to low. Stir and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer, about 3 minutes.
- To thicken the sauce, combine the starch with water in a small bowl and add it to the sauce. Keep stirring and the sauce should turn thicker in 1 minute.
- To serve, take a few spoonfuls of the sauce and drizzle it over the wings. Garnish with spring onions. Serve the extra lemon pepper sauce on the side for dipping use.
Notes
- To bake in the oven – after you pat dry the wings and add the seasonings, place them on a wire rack lined with a baking sheet in a single layer and bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (204°C) for about 40-45 minutes or until they are golden crispy. Brush the wings with lemon pepper sauce and serve the extra sauce on the side.
- Make ahead – you can make the sauce in advance and reheat it in a microwave or a stovetop.
- Store & reheat – the wings can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, preheat your air fryer to 380°F (193°C). Add the wings and air fry for 3 to 4 minutes or until your desired crispiness. Make sure to turn the wings or shake the basket halfway through cooking.
- Keto honey contains xylitol and that’s an ingredient fatal to dogs. Please be mindful if you use this ingredient and do not share the food with them.
- 1 serving is about a quarter pound of the wings.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Delicious and easy! Will make these again. I substituted date paste for the honey as we are moving soon and I didn’t want to open a new jar of honey.
I love this recipe! Thank you for sharing. I can’t wait to make more of your recipes!
Thank you, Suzie! Yes that lemon sauce is inspired by Chinese takeout restaurants. Perfect tart and a little sweet. YUM!
OMG these wings are addictive, especially that lemon pepper sauce! We also tried it with chicken thighs (skin-on and bone-in) since we had extra sauce left. Fantastic easy meal. Thank you!