Crispy Baked Chicken Wings are a game day party hit! Chicken wings are dipped in flour and spices, then baked until their skin is nice and crispy. Coat them with some homemade buffalo sauce and your family will devour these wings as quickly as mine did.
When it comes to these baked chicken wings, they are truly a family favorite. They rival other favorites like my easy Baked Chicken Breasts and Easy Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks and Cheesy Baked Buffalo Chicken.
CRISPY BAKED CHICKEN WINGS RECIPE
We love finger foods for game day or just a fun family Netflix night! Crispy Baked Chicken Wings are almost always on the menu, and we love to serve them with some of our other favorite appetizers, like French Bread Pizza, chips and homemade Guacamole, and Fried Ravioli with Marinara.
We also happen to love all things Buffalo flavored, and will put that delicious, spicy sauce on anything, from Buffalo Chicken Nachos to Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Dip to Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad. But our all time favorite way to use that spicy sauce is on these classic Baked Chicken Wings!
Why we love them!
- Chicken Wings are a total guilty pleasure and a favorite snack or even meal when you want to really indulge and get a little messy.
- Wings are a must-have staple for game day parties especially – everybody loves them!
- I’m a bit of a wimp with the buffalo sauce, so I love that I can control the amount of heat in these by adding more or less hot sauce. Or customize with any favorite sauce, like barbecue or honey glazed.
HOW DO YOU MAKE CHICKEN WINGS CRISPY IN THE OVEN?
We love heading out to Buffalo Wild Wings on hockey night to watch the game and enjoy a big basket of wings. While the kind of crispy chicken wings you get in restaurants are quite tasty, they are also typically deep fried – that’s how they get that crispy skin. Well now you can get that perfect crispy skin at home with my Crispy Baked Chicken Wings recipe!
I’ve made chicken wings before, but I’ve never been able to perfect the crispiness until now. The key? Coat them with a little flour and baking powder! I also added some simple spices, but this little mixture coated over the wings made all the difference. They were delicious!!
The baking powder (not to be confused with baking soda) is really what makes all the difference. It is a mixture of sodium bicarbonate, cream of tartar and cornstarch that, when mixed with salt and tossed to coat the chicken, dries out the skin leaving it crispy and crunchy when baked. There’s a bunch of sciencey explanation behind this reaction, but basically it’s because the baking powder raises the pH level in the chicken.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO BAKE CHICKEN WINGS?
Using my foolproof method, chicken wings take about 30-40 minutes to bake at 450 degree F, flipping them halfway through cooking time to allow even crispness. Cooking them on a rack will allow the fat to render out from the chicken wings so that the skin crisps to a delicious golden brown.
HOW TO MAKE CRISPY BAKED CHICKEN WINGS
It will take about 20 minutes to bake your chicken wings in the oven. A hot, 450 degree oven helps the chicken to cook faster and aids in the crispy skin result that you want. You will bake the chicken wings for about 30 minutes, or until they are nice and crispy and golden. Cooking them on a wire rack is optional, but can also help with the crispiness factor.
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Mix the flour and spices together in a large bowl, then coat the wings. Once the wings are coated in the flour mixture, place them on a foil covered cookie sheet that’s been sprayed with cooking spray (don’t forget this step – trust me!).
- Bake them in a 450 degree oven for about half an hour, turning them about halfway through. You can also place the wings on a baking rack that you set on top of the baking sheet. You’ll still want to spray it and flip them for even cooking, but it might make the skin a little crispier (but honestly, I haven’t seen much of a difference).
- In the meantime you can make your own hot wing sauce, which is basically just melted butter and hot sauce. If your family likes it spicy, add more hot sauce. Alternatively, you could leave the wings unsauced, but what’s the fun in that? If you’ve got some that like it hot and some that don’t, use two separate bowls to coat the wings. Make the sauce more on the mild side and pour some over the wings in one of the bowls. Then stir more hot sauce into the remaining sauce and pour that over the other bowl of wings to coat.
TIPS & TRICKS FOR CRISPY CHICKEN WINGS
- Be sure to tap off any excess flour mixture before placing these on the rack. This will keep your wings from tasting bitter from the baking powder.
- Use the rack. If you don’t have one, get one. They are really inexpensive and super useful in the kitchen.
- Don’t crowd the pan. Space your wings far enough apart so they aren’t touching and the air can circulate around them for even cooking.
- Feel free to mix it up with the flavors. Add different seasonings to the flour, or use different sauces.
- Keep lots and lots of napkins handy. These chicken wings are messy – but it’s a good messy!
Serving Suggestions
Of course you’ll want to make sure you have carrot and celery sticks to help cleanse the palette, as well as some creamy Ranch or Blue Cheese Dressing for dipping. I actually like to mix the two together for a great flavor.
If you’re looking to make these wings a meal, add some yummy sides like these:
- Garlic Bread – crunchy, buttery and full of garlicky goodness!
- Homemade Baked French Fries – Much easier than you might think and so much better than the drive thru.
- Easy Baked Potato Wedges – Thick strips of potato coated in a homemade seasoning blend and baked until crispy.
- Best Ever Classic Macaroni Salad – A classic that has been in our family for more than 50 years!
- Simple Carrot Salad – Skip the carrot sticks and make this delicious shredded carrot salad!
Will this work with chicken drumsticks?
A lot of readers have asked if this recipe works with chicken drumsticks. It does! Come find out with my Easy, Crispy, Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks!
Love these Crispy Baked Chicken Wings? Try these other chicken recipes:
- Shredded Chicken Parmesan Sandwich
- Easy Baked Barbecue Chicken
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
- Skinny Southwest Chicken Salad
- Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs
Get more of that tasty buffalo wings flavor with these recipes:
- Buffalo Chicken Taquitos
- Buffalo Ranch Meatballs
- Buffalo Ranch Chicken French Bread Pizza
- Cheesy Baked Buffalo Chicken
Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken wings or drumettes thawed or fresh (about 3 dozen pieces)
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoon baking powder
- Bottled Cayenne Hot Sauce like Frank's Red Hot
- Butter not margarine
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Rinse chicken wings and trim any excess skin. Do not remove the skin or you will lose the crispiness. Pat chicken dry.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and seasonings. Add chicken and coat with the flour mixture.
- Prepare a large cookie sheet by covering with foil and spraying with cooking spray.
- Arrange chicken on the cookie sheet, at least an inch apart.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, turning once after about 20 minutes.
- While the chicken is cooking, make the sauce. Add about a 1/2 cup of the bottled Cayenne hot sauce and a stick of butter to a small saucepan. Heat on low and stir until butter is melted and sauce begins to bubble. Taste. If the sauce needs more heat go ahead and add some in batches, or add a few dashes of Tabasco.
- Transfer baked chicken wings into a large bowl. Pour the sauce over the crispy baked chicken wings and toss to coat.
- Serve with celery and carrot sticks and a side of ranch or blue cheese dressing for dipping.
Michelle says
November 15, 2019 at 6:36 pmThese wings are just what I was looking for. I hate frying wings at home, but wanted that crispy texture, and this is the way to do it!! I’ll forever bake my wings this way! Thanks for the recipe!
Kristin says
November 18, 2019 at 7:26 amYou are so welcome Michelle, thank you so much for taking the time to leave some positive feedback.
Mel says
November 12, 2019 at 4:20 pmHi there! I read through the recipe and don’t see how much, or when to add the baking powder. Thanks
Kristin Maxwell says
November 16, 2019 at 6:27 pmIt’s in the printable directions. 2 tablespoons of baking powder and you will add that to the flour and seasonings.
Jo-Anne Kudzia says
November 8, 2019 at 4:29 pmI made these following the recipe to the end. It is a simple yet very good way to add that crispiness we like. I believe the trick is to simply tap off any excess powder mixture before cooking in order to lose that powdery texture. I will make this recipe again and again. Pls tell me if its possible to add the baking powder with less flour? Anyway, very nice recipe. Wings were completely cooked within that time period.
Kristin Maxwell says
November 8, 2019 at 7:20 pmYes tapping off the excess flour is a good tip. I have seen recipes that don’t use any flour, but I like the coating that it adds.
Judy says
November 5, 2019 at 5:15 pmThese were awful I could taste the baking powder on the chicken skin .. it left a bitter after taste I will never make this recipe again
Kristin says
November 7, 2019 at 10:27 pmSorry the recipe didn’t work out for you Judy, but thanks for sharing your feedback.
Barb says
October 26, 2019 at 11:26 amThese are the best crispy wings! Thanks for sharing your recipe hey are a hit every time I make them.
I also add a good tablespoon or 2 of honey into the hot sauce/bitter mixture before coating the wings, delish!
Kristin says
October 26, 2019 at 12:24 pmYou are so welcome Barb, thank you so much for taking the time to leave some positive feedback.
Laura Carnes says
October 21, 2019 at 3:53 amPerfect! First time making wings and I won’t look for any other recipe!
Kristin says
October 22, 2019 at 9:14 amNice! Thanks for sharing your positive experience Laura.