These garlic parmesan wings are everything a wing lover dreams about: shatter-crisp skin, juicy chicken underneath, and a rich, buttery garlic sauce with a bright hit of lemon, finished with a generous shower of fresh parmesan. No deep fryer, no mess, no trip to the wing spot required!
Why You’ll Love This Garlic Parmesan Wings Recipe
If my love my buffalo or lemon pepper wings, then, you are definitely going to love these garlic parmesan wings! They’re savory, buttery, and packed with fresh garlic flavor, with a squeeze of lemon to cut through the richness and a snowfall of real parmesan clinging to every piece. A quick toss in baking powder and a hot air fryer gets you deep-fried-style crunch without a drop of frying oil, and the sauce comes together in the same amount of time it takes the wings to cook.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Chicken wings: 2 pounds of split wings (drums and flats) so every piece cooks evenly and crisps up nicely. Frozen wings work too — just thaw and pat them completely dry first.
Avocado oil: A light coating helps the seasoning stick and encourages that golden, crispy skin. Any neutral oil will do.
Baking powder: The secret to crispy wings without frying. It raises the pH of the chicken skin, which helps it brown and crisp beautifully in the air fryer. Make sure it’s baking powder, not baking soda.
Seasonings: Salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder build a savory base before the sauce even hits the wings.
Butter: The foundation of the sauce — rich and glossy, and the perfect carrier for the garlic flavor.
Fresh garlic: Minced fresh garlic, gently cooked in the butter, is what gives this sauce its signature punch. Don’t substitute garlic powder here if you can help it.
Fresh lemon juice: Just a splash, stirred into the garlic butter to brighten everything up and keep the sauce from tasting flat.
Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated, not the shelf-stable shaker kind. It’s tossed in at the end so it clings to the warm, buttery wings in little melty pockets instead of disappearing into the sauce.
Fresh parsley: Adds a touch of color and freshness to balance the richness of the sauce.
How to Make Garlic Parmesan Wings
Step 1: Prep the wings. Pat the chicken wings very dry with paper towels — this step matters more than you’d think for crispy skin. Toss them in a large bowl with the oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and baking powder until evenly coated.
Step 2: Air fry until golden. Arrange the wings in a single layer in the preheated air fryer basket, making sure they aren’t overlapping (work in batches if needed). Cook at 400°F for 20–25 minutes, flipping or shaking the basket halfway through, until the skin is deeply golden and crisp.
Step 3: Make the garlic sauce. When the wings have about 5–10 minutes left to cook, melt the butter in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add the minced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant (don’t let it brown or it will turn bitter). Stir in the lemon juice and salt, then turn off the heat and stir in the chopped parsley. There’s no need to remove the sauce from the pan — keeping it there makes it easy to rewarm if it starts to solidify.
Step 4: Toss and coat. Transfer the hot wings to a large mixing bowl. Add the garlic sauce and grated parmesan, then toss until every wing is well coated. Add a little extra parmesan on top to taste.
Step 5: Serve immediately. Plate them up while they’re hot and the sauce is still glossy. Serve with celery, ranch, or blue cheese on the side.
Can I Bake These Instead of Using an Air Fryer?
Absolutely. Preheat your oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Arrange the seasoned wings in a single layer, leaving space between each one, and bake for 40–45 minutes, flipping halfway through, until the skin is crisp and golden and the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Make the sauce during the last few minutes of baking and toss the wings while they’re still warm.
Can I Deep Fry These Instead?
Yes! Heat oil to 350–375°F and fry the wings in batches for 8–10 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Drain on a wire rack, then toss in the garlic parmesan sauce just like the air fryer version.
Tips for the Crispiest Garlic Parmesan Wings
- Dry the wings thoroughly before seasoning — moisture is the enemy of crispy skin.
- Don’t skip the baking powder; it’s doing more work than any other ingredient here.
- Give the wings room to breathe in the air fryer basket. Crowding them steams the skin instead of crisping it.
- Toss the wings in the sauce right after cooking, while they’re still hot, so the sauce clings instead of pooling.
Storage and Reheating
Store leftover wings in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, pop them back in the air fryer at 375°F for 5–8 minutes until warmed through and crisp again — the microwave will leave the skin soft, so it’s worth the extra few minutes.
To freeze, cook the wings without sauce, cool completely, then freeze in a single layer before transferring to a freezer bag for up to 2 months. Reheat from frozen in the air fryer, then toss with a freshly made batch of sauce.
More Appetizers You’ll Love
- Baked Crispy Jalapeño Poppers with Bacon
- Rotel Dip with Cream Cheese
- Collard Green Dip
- Classic Fried Chicken Wings
- Creamy Baked Marry Me Chicken Dip
I hope you love my Garlic Parmesan Wings Recipe! The wings are crispy, juicy, savory, garlicky, and made completely without frying. If you do give this recipe a try, I want to know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo & tag @butterloveandsalt on INSTAGRAM. Your reviews help support Butter, Love & Salt and make it possible for me to continue to create delicious recipes.
Crispy Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Wings
Ingredients
Chicken Wings
- 2 pounds chicken wings split
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Garlic Parmesan Sauce
- 1 tbsp lemon juice fresh
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1/2 tsp more to salt to taste
- 1 tbsp parsley finely chopped
- 1/3 cup Parmesan freshly grated
Instructions
- Prep the chicken and pat the chicken wings dry with paper towels and then add them to a large mixing bowl. Toss the chicken wings with oil, salt, garlic powder, baking powder, and onion powder.
- Once the air fryer has preheated, place the wings in the air fryer basket in a single layer. Cook the wings at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the wings are crispy and golden, shaking the basket or flipping halfway through. Depending on the size of your air fryer you may have to break this up into two batches.
- When the wing has about 5-10 minutes left to cook, make the garlic sauce. First, add the butter to a sauce pan or skillet and heat to medium-low heat to melt the butter. Once melted, add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Next, add lemon juice and salt. Turn the heat off and stir in the chopped parsley. Set the sauce aside (no need to remove it from the pan/skillet).
- Once the wings are done, transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Add the garlic sauce and grated Parmesan to the chicken wings and toss until they are well coated. If your sauce has solidified, simply warm it up a bit. This is why I like to keep it in the pan. Next, add additional Parmesan to the wings.
- Serve and enjoy!
Recipe by: Chavez Adams / Butter, Love & Salt | Photography by: Meg McKeehan.
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