Crispy oven Baked Chicken Wings are so easy to prepare and you don't have to bother with all the grease from frying! A healthier yet delicious way to enjoy wings!
Baked chicken wings fit in the party category in my mind and I love to bake them alongside some vegetable dip, BBQ Meatballs, and a Classic Cheeseball!
It's football season and what appetizer is better with game-day then crispy baked chicken wings?! Seriously, these little guys are the bomb.com! They're baked to crispy perfection, and then tossed in the most delicious sweet and spicy buffalo sauce. They're totally addicting and perfect for game day! Make them ASAP, and then thank me later! 🙂
What I LOVE about these Baked Wings:
- Healthier- without the deep frying, you get wings that are lower in fat and total calories!
- Crispy- I've got tips to help you ensure you still get that nice crispy chicken wing texture.
- 5 minute prep!
How to make Baked Chicken Wings:
- Dry the wings well with paper towels. This is essential to getting a crispy coating.
- Toss with dry spice rub. Combine the salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and baking powder in a small bowl. Then sprinkle the seasoning over the wings, tossing to evenly coat.
- Bake. Arrange wings, skin side up and bake, turning every 20 minutes until wings are crispy and browned. The total cook time will depend on the size of the wings but may take up to 1 hour.
- Toss in sauce. Remove from oven allow to rest for 5 minutes before tossing in desired sauce. I made a quick buffalo sauce with Franks hot sauce, sugar and water.
For Crispy Wings, DO THIS:
- Dry them well! After removing your wings from the packaging, be sure to dry them REALLY well. Use paper towels to blot away any moisture, pressing firmly on the wings. The less moisture left in the skin, the more crispy your wings will be!
- Use Baking Powder. Baking powder will help ensure that your wings brown nicely and it also helps create that desired crispy coating.
Baking Temperature Matters!
We all want our oven baked chicken wings to taste like they were fried, right? Or at least have that delicious crispy texture. Aside from the tricks listed above, it's also important to get the correct oven temperature! The ideal oven temperature for crispy baked wings is 425°F.
Sauce for Chicken Wings:
This is the fun part…We love to have several different sauces available to try, including:
- Buffalo sauce (recipe below)
- Honey BBQ sauce
- Ranch
- BBQ sauce
- or any other favorite sauce!
Serve wings with:
- Fresh veggies and dip
- Any game-day appetizer!
Consider trying these popular finger foods:
- Southwest Egg Rolls
- Slow Cooker Cranberry BBQ Meatballs
- BBQ Pulled Pork Nachos
- Baked Popcorn Chicken
- Cheesy Bean Dip
You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST for more great recipes!
Recipe
Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 pounds chicken wings , halved at joints, wingtips discarded
- 2 Tablespoons baking powder* , aluminum free
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cracker black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Buffalo sauce:
- 1/3 cup Frank's Wings Hot Sauce
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon water
Other Sauce ideas: honey BBQ sauce, ranch, honey garlic sauce, BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Adjust your oven rack to the upper-middle position. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire rack (I use a cooling rack) on top. Spray the rack with non-stick spray.
- Use paper towels to pat the wings dry and place them in a large bowl. It's important to dry them REALLY well!
- Combine the salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and baking powder in a small bowl. Then sprinkle the seasoning over the wings, tossing to evenly coat.
- Arrange wings, skin side up, in single layer on prepared wire rack.
- Bake on the upper middle oven rack, turning every 20 minutes until wings are crispy and browned. The total cook time will depend on the size of the wings but may take up to 1 hour.
- Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Transfer wings to bowl and toss with sauce.
For Buffalo sauce:
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat stir together all sauce ingredients. Mix well until sugar has dissolved.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature before adding to wings (or prepare the sauce ahead of time and refrigerate).
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
I originally shared this recipe September 2014. Updated January 2020 with process photos and instructions.
This post contains affiliate links.
We hardly ever bothered with wings for many years. Then I found this recipe online and gave it a try. Awesome! Now my wife asks me to make them weekly. Great recipe.
Made the best chicken wings I’ve ever had!
This is the third time I have made these in a week. Never wasting money on wings out again.
These were the best chicken wings my family and I have ever eaten!!! I’ll never make them any other way again!! Thanks for the recipe!!!
WOW!! These were the best homemade wings I have ever had. The seasoning tasted good and the wings were crispy. I will definitely make these again
I made these for dinner and both my husband and I LOVED THEM! This is the best chicken wings have ever turned out for us, and I’ve tried so many methods — Instantpot + air fryer, air fryer, oven, etc. And the fact there is no oil for baking is wonderful. Highly recommend this recipe.
Excellent!!!! Bets chicken wing recipe EVER! Crispy, moist and wonderful on their own or with any of the sauces. I added extra pepper and some cayenne, YUM! Thank you.
Loved them! So crispy! I made a lemon pepper seasoning and buffalo sauce. Great! Thanx
Your recipe says to adjust the oven racks to upper middle and lower middle settings but you forgot to mention why the racks needed to be adjusted. I assume you forgot to include instructions on rendering the wings at 250 for 30 minutes on the lower rack and THEN turn the oven up to 425 and move the wings to the upper rack and cook for 20 minutes then rotate the baking sheet 180 degrees and cook for 20 more minutes….and it looked and tasted like good fried chicken!
Great !
I usually do it with Frank’s Hot Wings Ssuce, Ketchup, and Honey. 👍
Thanks for sharing this recipe. My family loved it! We had just a handful of wings left over from a previous recipe and I tried yours just to use up what was left. Everyone was sorry we didn’t have more and now we are risking an unnecessary trip to the grocery store just to get more wings. (I’m wearing a mask!) 🙂 We were so surprised how nice and crispy the skin got without a ton of batter or a deep fry. We did find them a bit salty and when paired with sauces it got too salty. So the next time we’re planning to cut down the salt a touch and go to TOWN through a big bag of wings.
So delish!! My go to wing recipe. I had to double the chicken because my family at it all up with no leftovers!
My husband is a chicken fanatic And wings are at the top of the list. I have been trying to find a crispy wing method for years. This is super easy and super special. The only change I made was to put the wings in buttermilk for about 6 hours before baking. The wings were juicy inside, tender and crispy outside. I didn’t have time for any sauce…they were attacked once they came out of the oven. This is a winner!
Best wings ever. Cut the sugar to one cup so it would be spicier. Literally licked my plate.
Lauren thank you for this a-l-l star lip smacking finger licking healthy recipe! Who knew baking powder was so versatile?
I tried the wings plain without sauce – Wow just like fried chicken!
I tried the wings with a (gluten free) bbq sauce – Fantastic! Next time I will use a bib.
Then…I tried something different. I took the wings out the oven 10 minutes before they were finished baking, let them sit for 5 minutes. Then lightly coated with bbq sauce and returned to the oven for the last 10 minutes. Finally, I let the chicken sit for 5 minutes again and lightly coated with bbq sauce again let sit for 5 minutes. Perfect bbq to crispy to meat ratio!! The wings never made it to my plate. I ate them over the kitchen sink!
My mom has several food allergies. When I discovered Hak’s bbq sauce, Chipotle Bourbon flavor 100% natural, no preservatives, Gluten Free, Non-GMO, made in the USA, Small Batch, I knew I had to try it with wings. I discovered your recipe and used it with the bbq sauce for the first time ever. I am not associated with the product nor receive any compensation – just sharing. I will have to pick up a bottle of Franks Wings Hot Sauce next time I shop for us to try. Is it hot spicy? or hot flavorful? It is just so great to find something my mom can eat that she likes. This will be a staple dish on our weekly menu.
Thank you very very very much!