Air Fryer Chili Wings with Chipotle Ranch Dressing

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Air Fryer Chili Wings Recipe

Make these Air Fryer Chili Wings part of your next Cinco de Mayo Fiesta.

Bold and spicy wings along with zesty chipotle ranch is the perfect combo of Tex Mex Deliciousness.

Looking for More Wing Recipes? Checkout Chesapeake Garlic Parmesan Wings, Vietnamese Sticky Wings or Peri Peri Boneless Wings

Chili Wings are Perfect Appetizers for Cinco De Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is almost here and we won’t be hanging out at our favorite Mexican bar/restaurant.

I thought that bringing some of those flavors home would be the next best thing. These chili rubbed wings have all of the flavors you love and associate with Tex Mex favorites.

The chipotle ranch dressing is a fantastic spicy dipping sauce for the wings to balance the heat.

Wings might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think Cinco de Mayo but it’s a perfect appetizer to go along with your other Tex Mex favorites.

Preparing your Chili Wings before Cooking

Making sure to marinate the wings before cooking is one of the most important steps.

After marinating I pat them dry with paper towels then let them sit uncovered in the fridge for a minutes before seasoning.

Another trick to get crispier wings is adding some baking soda to my spice rub.

Baking soda helps pull moisture out and crisp the wings but using too much can cause the wings to become rubbery so a little goes a long way.

Ingredient List for Chili Wings 

Chili Dry Rub seasoning

• Chili Powder
• Smoked Paprika
• Real Salt
• Golden Keto Sweetener Optional
• Baking Soda
• Ground Cumin
• Black Pepper
• Granulated Onion
• Granulated Garlic
•  Cayenne 

Wing Marinade

• 2 Limes Juice and zest
• Avocado Oil
• Bunch Cilantro Chopped
• Salt
• Coconut Aminos

How to cook your Chili Wings 

Using my pellet grill is my preferred method for cooking wings most of the time.You get the perfect balance of wood fire flavor as well as high heat for crispy skin.

If you don’t have an Air Fryer or Oven will work as well. If using an oven place the wings on a sheet pan with a cooling rack so the wings get air on all sides.

The times and temperature should be about the same but every oven and air fryer are just a bit different.

I start the wings at a lower temperature to dry out the wings and render some of the fat from the skin. Then I jack up the heat and get the wings crispy.

I like to use cooking spray to help keep the wings moist as well as making the wings crispy. You could also brush avocado oil or ghee with a little chili rub stirred in to add even more flavor.

Chipotle Ranch Dressing

Staying with the Tex Mex Theme I wanted to add a kick to my ranch dressing.

If you already have a ranch dressing you like you can just add some chipotle in adobe along with some lime juice and call it a day. I take my keto hidden valley ranch dressing copycat and dress it up a little.

I find most store bought ranches are kinda watery. Using sour cream and mayo together gives the ranch dressing a thicker viscosity perfect for dipping. 

Set by Step Instructions to make Air Fryer Chili Wings

1. Combine all ingredients of the chili dry rub seasoning, set aside
2. Prepare the wing marinade by whisking all ingrdents together. Pour into a large freezer bag along with the wings and marinate for at least 4 hours preferably overnight. 
3. Once marinated remove the wings from the bag and pat them completly dry. Toss with about 2 tablespoons of the dry rub and place in the air fryer in a single layer.
4. Heat your Air Fryer to 350 degrees F. Cook wings for about 45 minutes filipping the wings half way through until they reach an internal temperature of 150 degrees F. Spray the wings with cooking spray or brush with avocado oil. 
5. Cook at 400 degrees F. for an additional 15-20 minutes util the skin is crispy and the internal temp is around 180 degrees F. Drizzle over some lime juice and zest serve with chipotle ranch dressing

Ingredient List for Chipotle Ranch Dressing

• Mayonnaise
• Sour Cream
• Heavy Cream
• Chipotle in Adobe
• Lime Juice
• Smoked Paprika
• Granulated Garlic
• Granulated Onion
• Real Salt
•  Chili Powder

Things I would have done differently if I had the ingredients 

I wanted to share this recipe so you could make these Chili Wings for Cinco de Mayo but if I had gone grocery shopping I would have added a few touches to make this recipe even better.

I would have loved to brush melted butter with chopped garlic, cilantro and lime juice over the wings before serving to give them an extra pop of flavor.

Simply take a stick of butter, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro and the juice of one fresh lime.

Instead of just celery and carrot sticks I think adding some sliced bell peppers would be tasty and add some color to the presentation.

More Keto Tex Mex Recipes

• Mexican Chicken Crust Keto Pizza
• Keto Margarita Ice Box Pie
• Chicken Fajita Keto Burrito
• Baja Taco Bake

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