Crispy Cornstarch Chicken Wings

I have cracked the code for the juiciest and crispiest chicken wings - these crispy cornstarch chicken wings are lightly breaded and made in the convention oven, then finished in the air fryer for that fried taste, without all the oil. Do you ever make chicken wings in the oven? They come out extremely juicy, but not crispy at all. But then, do you ever make them in the air fryer? While they are super crispy, they are terribly dry on the inside. I have been working on the secret formula for the best of both worlds, and the secret ingredient... cornstarch.

Secrets to Crispy Cornstarch Chicken Wings

Corn Starch

The secret to crispy chicken wings, is, well obviously, cornstarch if you have been reading. A very light coating of cornstarch to the skin of the chicken wings is the first step. Season the cornstarch with just some salt and pepper, if you will be saucing the wings. Otherwise, season the cornstarch some more. For example, if making lemon pepper wings, lemon pepper seasonings would be great in the cornstarch. If you are saucing the chicken wings, the seasonings here do not make a big difference as the sauce just overpowers them. This recipe is not too much for the sauce though, more for making the actual chicken wing. However, I will definitely go over all my favorite sauces later on.

Double-Teaming (Oven and Air Fryer)

The key to cooking the chicken wings is double-teaming. First, baking the chicken wings almost fully in the convention oven. Then, placing the chicken wings in the air fryer where the cornstarch will get nice and crispy. The conventional oven will cook the chicken, while keeping in all the juices, while the air fryer will crisp them up. These will mimic fried breaded wings, but in the air fryer, without all the oil. I have tried just the oven and just the air fryer, but I truly believe you need both for the perfect crispy chicken wing.

Using a Rack

The final secret is using a rack in the oven. Place a rack over a cookie sheet, helps with messes, then place the chicken wings on the rack. Also, line the cookie sheet with aluminum, foil for east clean up. This will allow air flow to circulate around the entire chicken wing, as opposed to just the one side that is facing up. In addition, the wings will not be sitting in their own fat which will prevent them from getting crispy. I do not flip my chicken over. Honestly, the bottom side of the chicken wing, without all the skin, doesn't really get crispy anyways. Therefore, I just like to let the skin side get as crispy as possible. The bottom side will still be nice and a bit crispy, since we are using the rack; however, I just like to focus on the top side.

Quick Tips from Allie Carte

• Lightly coat in cornstarch
• Add seasonings if not saucing
• Place on a rack in the oven
• Do not flip the chicken
• Transfer to an air fryer to finish cooking/crisping

What You Need for Crispy Cornstarch Chicken Wings

We are going to be double-teaming the chicken here. Meaning, we are going to pretty much almost cook them in the oven, then transfer to an air fryer to finish cooking. With that being said, you will need an oven and an air fryer. Use a basket type air fryer; but, I really like a rack type air fryer as well, especially for this recipe. If you do not have an air fryer, you can bake them in the oven; however, it does not come out as crispy. Make sure you have a rack, like a cooling rack that can go in the oven, we will be cooking the wings on this.

For the ingredients, basically you just need to grab some cornstarch and wings; however, I like to use some salt too.

• Wings
• Cornstarch

If you have whole chicken wings, cut at the joints to remove the wing tip and divide into the flats and drums. I prefer buying them separate, for obvious reasons, but that is not always possible. Fun fact, I despise chicken drums. I mean, I will totally eat them no problem. But, if I am going anywhere, I will request all flats. I do not care, charge me the $3, it is a luxury I will not give up.

Cornstarch is really important here. You might see a lot of people say to use baking powder. No, forget that, it has an aluminum taste. No one wants that. Cornstarch just provides such a crispier skin as well. I have done many taste tests and comparisons but cornstarch always wins.

Seasonings

I am more of a saucy type wing person. But, I do like a good dry rub, especially lemon pepper. If going for a sauce route, you really do not need to season the cornstarch. I will throw in a little salt but that is it. If you do not plan on saucing your wings at the end, you will need to heavily season the cornstarch.

How to Make Crispy Cornstarch Chicken Wings

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. For an easy clean up, line a baking tray with some aluminum foil. Place a baking rack on top of the baking tray and grease that with some cooking spray.

If you have whole chicken wings, cut at the joints to remove the wing tip and divide into the flats and drumettes. I prefer buying them separate, for obvious reasons, but that is not always possible.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then sprinkle on a light coating of cornstarch, just enough for a very light dusting. You will only need 2-3 teaspoons for a whole pound of chicken. I do not worry too much about the cornstarch clumping, once you spray the chicken with the cooking spray, you will not even notice.

Oven Baking

The first step in baking the chicken wings is the convention oven. Place the chicken on the baking rack, skin side up, and spray with a little bit of cooking spray. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. I do not flip my chicken over. Honestly, the bottom side of the chicken wing, without all the skin, doesn't really get crispy anyways. Therefore, I just like to let the skin side get as crispy as possible. The bottom side will still be nice and a bit crispy, since we are using the rack; however, I just like to focus on the top side. You may need to adjust the time, depending on how big the chicken wings are. I get normal/smaller sized ones. If you do not have an air fryer, leave the wings in the oven for an additional, about 10 minutes here, until fully cooked.

Air Fryer Cooking

When time is starting to run out on the oven, make sure to start preheating your air fryer to 400 degrees. Having a preheated air fryer is very important to continue cooking the chicken wings. I will also grease the air fryer with cooking spray, to make sure nothing sticks.

When the 30 minutes are up and the air fryer is preheated, transfer the chicken to the air fryer, skin side up again. Spray with a little more cooking spray and air fry for another 5 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked. I like using a meat thermometer to know exactly when the chicken is done. I typically stick it into a drum.

When the air fryer is done, you will have the juiciest chicken wings coated in a crispy cornstarch. These air fried chicken wings will mimic breaded chicken wings, without any oil.

Saucing the Wings

When the wings are done, place them in a bowl with some sauce, tossing to coat. If you are on weight watchers (WW), be mindful of the sauces that you use, as chicken wings are already 6 points each. But hey, these convention oven / air fried chicken wings are a lot less points than typical breaded wings. I usually like to do a sugar free BBQ, sugar free sweet Thai chili or Buffalo Wild Wings has a great parmesan garlic sauce that you can buy in stores, if I am feeling extra adventurous. It is thick so I like to do half that sauce and half water, you can check out how I do that in my Boneless Wing recipe. I also made an amazing sauce that I put on my boneless wings, I call it my sweet fried sauce.

Here, I made a BBQ, Worchestire, honey mustard and garlic sauce that I randomly whipped up waiting for the wings.

Always serve your chicken wings with ranch. Sorry, but if you like bleu cheese, just leave right now. I am only slightly kidding. I have an amazing greek yogurt ranch that I always make with these wings.

Video Tutorial

If you are more of a visual learner, watch me make these crispy cornstarch wings then come back here for more detailed ingredients and the full recipe.

---

Crispy Cornstarch Chicken Wings

I have cracked the code for the juiciest and crispiest chicken wings - these crispy cornstarch chicken wings are lightly breaded and made in the convention oven, then finished in the air fryer for that fried taste, without all the oil.

Wings are 6 WW points each!