Air Fryer Nashville Hot Wings have nice crispy skin on the outside and tender, juicy chicken on the inside. These fantastic crispy chicken wings are coated in a layer of pickle juice, air fried and then covered in Nashville Hot Seasoning that packs a huge heat punch.
Air fryer Nashville Hot Wings are the perfect finger food appetizer, snack or side for those who love hot wings HOT!

Air Fryer Nashville Hot Wings
Why You’ve Gotta Make These HOT Wings
Air Fryer Nashville Hot wings are perfect for almost every occasion!
They are the best game-day appetizer to serve to family and friends, they go great with pizza and are always a quick, super easy appetizer to serve before dinner.
Air frying wings is a healthier alternative to making them in the deep fryer. Since we are not using any high fat oil, you won’t end up with any greasy chicken wings, but they still get a nice crispy skin and are full of flavor.
If you love spicy food, these easy wings are perfect for you!
Serve these delicious wings with ranch or bleu cheese dressing, carrot sticks and/or celery sticks, just like any of our other amazing chicken wing air fryer recipes- Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Wings, Garlic Parmesan Wings or a fan favorite, Lemon Pepper Wings.
You only need a handful of basic ingredients for this easy recipe. If this is your first time making Nashville wings, you’re in for a hot time!
What’s the Difference Between Buffalo Wings and Nashville Hot Wings?
Buffalo wings are milder, although still considered hot wings and they are usually a wet wings recipe after slathering them in Buffalo Sauce. In fact, here’s our recipe for scrumptious Air Fryer Buffalo Hot Wings!
Nashville style hot wings use a different spice blend as well as a light coating of pickle juice, which makes an amazing combo of flavors.
What makes Nashville Hot Chicken so Hot?
It’s the Cayenne pepper in the seasoning. Although Nashville Hot Chicken is hot, it isn’t so hot that you aren’t able to taste the other spices and flavorings.
Is this Recipe Keto Friendly?
Absolutely. The butter, pickles and Nashville Hot Seasoning are all carb free!
Ingredients
CHICKEN WINGS: This recipe makes a dozen wings. You can also swap wings out for other chicken pieces and still have delicious chicken.
SALT AND BLACK PEPPER: Add this to your other spice mixture and you’ll have some fantastic wings.
MELTED BUTTER: You can swap this out for non-stick cooking spray, or olive oil spray, if you want to, but butter really brings a rich flavor.
JAR OF DILL PICKLES: Pickles help bring down the spice level to this dish and go really well together with the seasoning. You may even want to make some Air Fried Pickles to go with these wings.
PICKLE JUICE: Use the pickle juice from your jar of dill pickles to coat the wings. This light coating of pickle juice adds a tangy flavor.
NASHVILLE HOT SEASONING: Sprinkle on as much or as little as you want of this spice blend, depending on the heat level you prefer. I’m using Cuisinart brand which can be found at Walmart. You can also pick up this highly rated Nashville Hot Seasoning on Amazon. The typical spice blend includes Cayenne Red Pepper, Black Pepper, Salt, Brown Sugar, and Garlic Powder.
How To Make Air Fryer Nashville Hot Wings
STEP 1: Prep your wings. Remove chicken wings from fridge and let them warm up to room temperature. Pat them dry with paper towels. Removing the excess moisture will help the wings achieve the crispy outside.
STEP 2: Using a pastry brush, coat both sides of the wings with melted butter.
STEP 3: Lightly coat wings with pickle juice from the jar of pickles.
STEP 4: Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
STEP 5: Preheat the Air Fryer to 390 F degrees.
STEP 6: Place chicken wings in the air fryer basket in a single layer. Make sure not to stack or overlap the wings. Depending on how big your fryer basket it, you may need to air fry a second batch.
Tip: For easier clean up, you can line your air fryer basket with aluminum foil.
STEP 7: Air fry for 20 minutes. Remove from fryer, coat with more melted butter and sprinkle with Nashville Hot Seasoning.
STEP 8: Return to Air Fryer and set the cook time for 5-10 minutes or until your wings reach your desired level of crispiness. Be sure to check the wings after 5 minutes to determine if you want them crispier.
STEP 9: Remove from fryer and serve with pickle slices and your favorite dipping sauce.
Pro Tip: Always use a meat thermometer in the thickest part to make sure that the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165F. Also, the cooking time for these wings may vary based on your Air Fryer make and model.
What is different about Nashville Hot Chicken?
Nashville hot chicken wings are air fried chicken wings seasoned with a major heat kick.
Your wings get coated in a nice dose of Nashville spices once they’ve been air fried in pickle juice. Traditional Nashville Hot Chicken is made with chicken breasts or chicken thighs, but we enjoy it on wings.
What goes with Nashville Hot Chicken Wings?
It’s usually served with pickles and white bread to help tone down the heat you get from the sauce. This is the perfect time to make up a batch of these Air Fryer Pickles and serve them up with your wings!
Can You Freeze Air Fryer Nashville Hot Chicken Wings?
You bet you can freeze this hot chicken recipe! If you love these wings as much as we do, you’ll be wanting them again and again. Make an extra batch of wings and store them in a freezer safe bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When ready to eat them, let them thaw in the fridge overnight then pull them out of the fridge to get to room temperature. See reheating instructions below.
How to Store Air Fryer Nashville Hot Wings
Place all of your wings in an airtight container, or wrapped in plastic wrap and store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
You can also choose to freeze your wings, see our suggestions above.
How to Reheat Nashville Wings
Once your Nashville Chicken Wings are room temperature after being removed from the fridge, preheat your Air Fryer to 390F and cook the wings for 5-6 minutes, flipping halfway through.
More Air Fryer Chicken Wings Recipes
Garlic Parmesan Wings in the Air Fryer
Air Fryer Mexican Chicken Wings Recipe
Air Fryer Nashville Hot Wings are so quick and easy to make, you won’t mind when everyone is asking for seconds! Get your taste buds ready to bite into a tasty piece of chicken with this easy recipe.
Air Fryer Nashville Hot Wings

Air Fryer Nashville Hot Wings have nice crispy skin on the outside and tender, juicy chicken on the inside. These fantastic crispy chicken wings are coated in a layer of pickle juice, air fried and then covered in Nashville Hot Seasoning that packs a huge heat punch.
Air fryer Nashville Hot Wings are the perfect finger food appetizer, snack or side for those who love hot wings HOT!
Ingredients
- 12 Chicken Wings
- 1/4 Cup Melted Butter
- Salt
- Pepper
- Nashville Hot Seasoning (dry seasoning)
- Jar of Dill Pickles
Instructions
- Prep your wings. Remove chicken wings from fridge and let them warm up to room temperature. Pat them dry with paper towels.
- Using a pastry brush, coat both sides of the wings with melted butter.
- Lightly coat wings with pickle juice from the jar of pickles.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Preheat the Air Fryer to 390 F degrees.
- Place chicken wings in the air fryer basket in a single layer.
- Air fry for 20 minutes. Remove from fryer, coat with more melted butter and sprinkle with Nashville Hot Seasoning.
- Return to Air Fryer and set the cook time for 5-10 minutes or until your wings reach your desired level of crispiness. Be sure to check the wings after 5 minutes to determine if you want them crispier.
- Remove from fryer and serve with pickle slices and your favorite dipping sauce.
Notes
See recipe posts for extra tips to make the perfect Air Fryer Nashville Hot Wings.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 123Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 239mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 5g
Nutritional values are estimates and not exact.