How to Reheat Chicken Wings (3 Ways)
As a mom of three, I am all about pressing the easy button and batch cooking large amounts of food- chicken wings are no exception. Use this guide to find out the best way to reheat your chicken wings so that they stay finger lickin’ good. Leftover chicken wings are great whether late night snacking or hosting a large party!
Reheating wings is a budget friendly way to have a delicious snack the next day in minutes! Be game day ready with this Ultimate Traeger Wing recipe or this Parmesan Garlic Wing recipe.
Don’t forget to tell me your favourite method to reheat chicken wings in the comments section at the bottom of this post!
Tips + Tricks
- For best results, bring wings to room temperature for 15 minutes or so before reheating them to avoid over cooking.
- Un-sauced or seasoned wings are the best to reheat because they will stay crisp and can be freshly spiced.
- Add a little bit of extra sauce or rub to wings that already have been seasoned to freshen up the flavours.. being careful not to over-do it.
- Spritz a bit of oil on your chicken wings for the last five minutes when cooking them in the oven to crisp up the skin.
- Sprits the wings with water at the beginning of your reheat cycle to keep them from drying out.
- Leave space in between your wings where possible to allow proper airflow and to restore their original crispiness.
- Adjust cooking time depending on your individual wing size as well as batch size.
- Don’t be afraid to sample a “tester” wing- as the cook, you have every right!!
Method
There are so many different ways to reheat chicken wings. Here are a few of the best methods to reheat delicious wings using simple steps:
How to reheat chicken wings in a regular oven, convection oven, or toaster oven:
Reheating wings in the oven is simple and practical- no fancy gear needed here which makes heating them up at a friend’s house a lot easier.
Pros to reheating chicken wings in the oven: Oven’s are relatively fast and require little cleanup when reheating chicken wings. If you have a convection oven, air will be able to move around the wings which will help to crisp them up! If you don’t have a convection oven, place the chicken wings on a wire rack on top of your baking sheet to make sure that they get crispy all around and don’t have any cold spots.
Cons to reheating chicken wings in the oven: If you have a small amount of wings, reheating them in the oven will use a lot of power. Opt for a small toaster oven instead if possible!
Steps for reheating chicken wings in a regular oven, convection oven, or toaster oven
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread your wings over an aluminum foil wrapped or parchment paper covered cookie sheet in a single layer. Use a wire rack if you have one to help with airflow.
- The wings will take from 10-20 minutes depending on the amount of wings you are preheating. A smaller amount (10 or so) will take closer to ten minutes whereas 4lb will take up to 20 minutes. When in doubt, try a tester wing!
- Transfer the wings to a glass or metal bowl and toss them with your favourite seasoning or sauce. If they already had sauce or seasoning, you may want to add a little extra to freshen them up. I always add extra sauce when reheating buffalo wings- it is a great way to have them taste freshly baked.
- Garnish with some carrots, celery, and other fresh veggies that you and your guests will love. Serve with cold dipping sauce of choice.
How to reheat chicken wings in an air fryer or Ninja Foodie
Use your air fryer or Ninja Foodie to achieve crispy chicken wings that taste as fresh as the day they were made.
Pros to reheating chicken wings in an air fryer or Ninja Foodie: The air fryer is FAST at reheating wings- only taking around 10 minutes. Because of the circulating air, day old wings can be restored to their former glory with crispy skin and good texture.
Cons to reheating chicken wings in an air fryer or Ninja Foodie: Not everyone has an air fryer at their house! If you want to reheat wings on the go, you might have to stick with an oven or microwave.
Steps for reheating chicken wings in an air fryer or Ninja Foodie
- Preheat your air fryer to 350°F/190°C.
- Add your leftover chicken wings to the air fryer basket- making sure to leave room in between the wings to get ultimate crispiness. If you have too many, try to do them in multiple batches.
- Cook wings for 5 minutes on one side, flip, and cook for another 5 minutes or until desired temp is reached.
- Sauce or season as needed.
- Serve with your favourite veggies and dip.
How to reheat chicken wings in a microwave oven
Sometimes when you are in a pickle, reheating chicken wings in the microwave is the best option- it is my last option but there is still hope for your wings! Ensure that you are using a microwave-safe dish and opt to reheat the wings at a lower power level to make sure that they don’t over-cook.
Pros to reheating chicken wings in the microwave: Microwaves are FAST! Heating wings up in a couple of minutes. Less time reheating = more time enjoying! They are also a common kitchen appliance so they can be used here, there, and everywhere.
Cons to reheating chicken wings in the microwave: Microwaves can easily turn chicken into jerky if you are not careful!! You can easily end up with tough or soggy skin. High power levels will overcook and dry out your wings rather than reheat them.
Steps for reheating chicken wings in the microwave
- Line a microwave-safe plate with a piece of damp paper towel. Place about 10 wings on the paper towel and cover with another piece of wet paper towel. This will help to keep your wings moist.
- Use a medium high setting on your microwave (~70%) to reheat your wings. Some microwaves have a “reheat” setting that will lower the power to an appropriate level for reheating leftover food.
- Reheat in intervals of two minutes, checking and rotating wings as needed.
- Transfer the reheated chicken wings to a heat safe bowl and sauce or season as needed.
- Serve with your favourite vegetables and dip!
Key Ingredients
Previously cooked wings: You can leave them mixed up or separate the leftover wings into wingettes or drummettes before reheating them. Boneless chicken wings can also be heated in the same way.
If you are making wings in advance, it would be a good idea to leave them bare and pour on the buffalo sauce or other sauce when you reheat them. This will allow your wings to feel more fresh- the next best thing to wings cooked the same day.
It is also a good idea to leave chicken wings come to room temperature for about 15 minutes before reheating them to avoid over-cooking.
Equipment
Use what is most handy for you whether it is a regular oven, convection oven, toaster oven, air fryer, or microwave! My favourite method to reheat chicken wings is to use the oven with a wire rack underneath.
Printable Recipe Card
How to Reheat Chicken Wings 3 Ways
Equipment
- oven Toaster, convection, traditional
- Air Fryer Ninja Foodie or other
- Microwave
Ingredients
- 8 cooked chicken wings
Instructions
How to reheat chicken wings in an oven (toaster oven, convection oven, traditional oven)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Spread your wings over a cookie sheet in a single layer. Use a wire rack if you have one to help with airflow.
- The wings will take from 10-20 minutes depending on the amount of wings you are preheating. A smaller amount (10 or so) will take closer to ten minutes whereas 4lb will take up to 20 minutes. When in doubt, try a tester wing!
- Transfer the wings to a glass or metal bowl and toss them with your favourite seasoning or sauce. If they already had sauce or seasoning, you may want to add a little extra to freshen them up.
- Garnish with some carrots, celery, and other fresh veggies that you and your guests will love. Serve with cold dipping sauce of choice.
How to reheat chicken wings in an air fryer or Ninja Foodie
- Preheat your air fryer to 350°F/190°C.
- Add your leftover chicken wings to the air fryer basket- making sure to leave room in between the wings to get ultimate crispiness. If you have a large amount, try to do them in multiple batches.
- Cook wings for 5 minutes on one side, flip, and cook for another 5 minutes or until desired temp is reached.
- Sauce or season as needed.
- Serve with your favourite veggies and dip.
How to reheat chicken wings in the microwave
- Line a plate with a piece of damp paper towel. Place about 10 wings on the paper towel and cover with another piece of wet paper towel. This will help to keep your wings moist.
- Use a medium high setting on your microwave (~70%) to reheat your wings. Some microwaves have a “reheat” setting that will lower the power to an appropriate level for reheating leftover food.
- Reheat in intervals of two minutes, checking and rotating wings as needed.
- Transfer the wings to a heat safe bowl and sauce or season as needed.
- Serve with your favourite vegetables and dip!
Notes
Batch and Storage:
The recipe card is for 8 wings- adjust cooking time if your wings are bigger or if you have a bigger batch.
Chicken wings should never be reheated more than once or you risk food poisoning. After being freshly cooked, wings are good for about 4 days in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer in an airtight container.
You CAN freeze leftover wings before reheating them. I like to spread the chicken wings out on a baking pan or sheet tray and freeze them- this way the wings aren’t stuck together if I want a smaller portion of the leftovers. For proper storage, wings can be stored in an airtight bag or container to avoid freezer burn.
FAQ
For ultimate crispiness, make sure that the wings that you are preheating have airflow in between them including underneath. Opt for a wire rack when setting them in the oven. You can also spritz the wings with oil to re-crisp the skin.
The key to making sure that your wings don’t become over-cooked and dry is to turn down the power setting on your microwave to 70% and to reheat the wings at short 2-minute intervals until they are sufficiently warm. Use the damp paper towel trick to lock in some of your wings’ moisture.
Yes! Reheat them as per the instructions and don’t be afraid to add a little bit of sauce as needed.
You can easily spritz the wings with a bit of water to help prevent them from drying out in the oven.
