Ninja Foodi Chicken Wings From Frozen (Low Carb!)

So you decided you want to cook some low-carb air fryer chicken wings from frozen in the Foodi Grill.

For whatever reason, you just don't have the time to wait for frozen chicken wings to defrost. Fortunately, frozen chicken wings can cook in the air fryer in about half an hour so you will be snacking in no time.

My air fryer of choice is the Ninja Foodi Grill. This method will work with other air fryers too. With most cooking, I prefer to pre-heat the cooking device.

If you have a powerful air fryer, it's not entirely necessary to pre-heat when cooking frozen wings but you need to add the preheating time to the length of your overall cook.

The chicken wings I'm cooking here are large drumettes. Actually, they are huge!

They will work perfectly as low-carb air fryer chicken wings.

I put the frozen chicken wings into the air fryer basket and set the Ninja Foodi Grill to 390F.

The wings are not seasoned and go directly from the freezer to the air fryer.

Set the timer for 30 minutes and let the air fryer do its thing.

I like to check the wings about every 8-10 minutes to see how things progress during the cook.

We will need the chicken to thaw from frozen. If I see the skin early in the cook getting browned and crispy I know temperature adjustments must be made.

These wings now look less frozen and more like raw wings from the store. You can see the color of the skin is more raw and yellow than frozen and white.

I estimate them to be about 20% cooked at this point.

Returning them to the air fryer for another 10 minutes allows the chicken to really begin cooking.

You can see the chicken meat is slowly beginning to take on some color. The skin is beginning to slightly render, and the meat has begun to shrink a bit.

Looking at the wings I anticipate they will need an additional 20 minutes to be done to my liking. They should be safely cooked in half that time but I prefer chicken wings and dark meat to be overly well done. I appreciate how the chicken flavors concentrate and the meat fibers really break down when cooked to a higher internal temperature.

The wings cook for an additional 10 minutes.

At this point, I take their temperature in various places with a good quality instant-read thermometer. They are a minimum of 165F and ready for seasoning.

I put the wings in a bowl and spritz them lightly with vegetable oil. The oil is mostly used to help the spices to adhere to the chicken. Using the EVO sprayer allows me to use the smallest amount of oil and spread it evenly.

I use a greek style seasoning on the chicken wings. I like greek seasonings because they are typically very salty and have a nice mixture of herbs like oregano and thyme.

The wings go back into the air fryer for about another 8-10 minutes. At this point, we already know the chicken is safely cooked. But we are finishing cooking to make the skin even more browned and crispy.

Should I defrost the wings?

You can defrost the wings but don't really need to. Cooking them in the Ninja foodi grill from frozen will actually be quicker than defrosting them. 

Can this be done in any air fryer?

Absolutely!

I use the Ninja Foodi grill because it's what I have but you can make this chicken wing dish with any air fryer. Cooking times and temperatures may need to be slightly adjusted but the results should be identical.

How long does it take air fryer chicken wings from frozen?

It typically takes me close to an hour to make air fryer chicken wings from frozen. You may be able to make them in 30-45 minutes if you use smaller wings, but the wings I typically buy are quite large in size. 

How should I season my chicken wings?

Seasoning air fryer chicken wings is a matter of preference. I like to use a little salt and pepper when the wings are fresh from the air fryer and then slather them in Franks Red Hot Sauce. 

When the wings are done to your liking, allow them to cool before taking a bite. The roof of your mouth will thank you for doing so~!

📖 Recipe