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.
I love crispy chicken wings, but have had a difficult time getting the wings to crispy texture. Followed the recipe exactly and the wings came out the way they were supposed to. Only caution is to watch them carefully while cooking as they can get too crispy – almost dry. I cooked at 425 temp for 45 mins. I probably should have cooked for 30 mins at that temp. I also did not cook the amount pounds called for in the recipe – probably about only about 20 wings. I think you can modify the with different seasonings to make spicy or something like pepper or lemon wings. Mine did not have the mentioned metallic taste, but I will take the tip about ensuring the baking soda is aluminum free. I will make again and ensure I don’t cook too long.
I have made these a few times but instead of baking powder I used flour as a substitute. The first time I made it according to the recipe and the second I used a Cajun seasoning blend in the mix as well. My wife is a huge fan of crispy wings so this was a win!
The only way to make wings! Followed recipe completely (did use HOT paprika), and it’s perfect Will use this all the time. I did modify the sauce. Doubled Franks hot sauce and halved the sugar. Nice kick to it. May add more Franks next time. Overall…the BEST!
Was considering buying an air fryer, tried this recipe instead and it is perfect! My husband said they were the best wings he’s ever eaten! Thanks!
I totally agree with you Kelly about being the best wings (and we’ve attempted MANY times. Made these and an AWESOME Buffalo chicken pizza to watch with the Super Bowl!! Definitely keeping this recipe. I personally feel they were better than some I’ve gotten at restaurants. thank you so much for sharing.
My family loves wings prepared this way. Won’t use any other method now. Perfect just as it is.
Got a new oven with an Air Fryer setting. This is the second time I’ve made them using the air fryer.
Outstanding!!👍
Honestly, I’ve always grilled or deep fried our wings and have tried numerous rubs, sauces, recipes,etc. Many have been outstanding. I found this recipe 2 weeks ago and have already used it 3 times. The last time I varied just a little. I skipped the rack and used parchment paper, turned every 15 minutes, and after drying thoroughly as suggested I applied the seasoning and actually squeezed it to the wing in my hand. I found this really helps binding to either skin on or skin off wings. Many recipes are excellent but this one wins for simplicity, juicy and extra crispy. Thanks Laura Allen!! Tom and Kathy ,OIB, NC:)
These were great and simple to make! I added a extra baking powder and they ended up extra crispy. Did not use any sauce.
What an amazing recipe, it is very easy to make and follow 5 starts, yummy. I did chicken wings and drumsticks, and I was surprised the skin of the wings soaked the ingredients very nice
Great wings are a gift from the heavens for sure, but these were inedible. I wanted to love these! Made EXACTLY as written and yes, I used BAKING POWDER, not baking soda. They were truly nice and crunchy, but the metallic, bitter taste of the baking powder was reminiscent of chewing an aspirin tablet. We had to drown them in hot sauce and even then the sour taste was still there. I even went so far as to get a new container of baking powder for this meal, so I know everything was fresh. I have the spouse who will eat anything and he pushed his plate away after eating just a few. So bummed. 🙁
The recipe is missing the fact that you need to use Aluminum free baking powder. There are two different kinds. The metallic taste is from the aluminum in the wrong kind.
Thanks for sharing I learned about the difference in the baking powder on the food network
I did use the aluminum free and they had an off, metallic taste.
I’ll just deep fry from now in.
Yup! Aluminum free fixes this problem. Some people are just more sensitive to that bitter taste too.
I have made baked wings for two yrs now, the trick is the baking powder must be a brand WITHOUT aluminum, that’s the game changer.