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Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Wings are simple to make as a deliciously satisfying appetizer or meal. Chicken wings are seasoned and then baked for an addictively crispy skin with no greasy frying!
This chicken wings recipe is truly a family favorite. We serve them at parties, on game day or for family movie nights. With lots of different flavors to choose from, like Lemon Pepper, Garlic Parmesan, Salt and Pepper Wings or BBQ Chicken Wings, baked chicken wings are as easy choice that’s budget friendly and easy to prepare.
Crispy Chicken Wings are delicious, but the messy frying doesn’t thrill me. That’s why I love this baked chicken wings recipe. It’s healthier and easier than frying, because they bake up crispy in the oven with hardly any effort!
Don’t want to mess with the bone? Try my Boneless Chicken Wings!
Pin this recipe for later!Table of Contents
The Best Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
We love finger foods for game day or just a fun family movie night! 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, Jalapeno Popper Dip, chips and homemade Guacamole, and Fried Ravioli.
Chicken wings are somewhat of a guilty pleasure, but I can enjoy these guilt free because they are baked instead of fried. Plus I can make buffalo wings and control the heat or customize for everyone with one of my favorite sauces. Honey glazed is one of my favorites!
Ingredients
- Chicken Wings – Use a combo of flats and drumettes, or separate out and only use drumettes if you prefer. If frozen, you need to thaw first.
- Flour – Helps form a crispy coating around the chicken.
- Baking Powder – Forms a reaction with the skin and helps dry it out, which is crucial to a crispy skin.
- Cayenne Sauce – Frank’s Red Hot or something similar. This is not a wing sauce, although that can be used.
- Butter – Use real butter, not margarine, for the best flavor.
- Seasoning – Chili powder, garlic powder, kosher salt, black pepper
How to Bake Chicken Wings in the Oven
Preheat the oven to 450℉. Preheating and roasting at a high heat will help attain the crispy skin you’re looking for.
Dry and Coat: Pat wings dry with paper towels and toss them with the flour, baking powder and seasoning. It’s very important to shake off excess flour or there may be some residual flour after baking.
Roast: You have 2 options for baking – flat on a baking sheet or on a baking rack. If you have a rack, you’ll get better air flow and a crispier result. If you don’t, just cover a baking sheet with foil and you’re wings will still get crispy. Either way, make sure to spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Bake for about 30 minutes, flipping them about halfway through.
Saucing Your Wings
If you’re making the buffalo sauce, you can do that while the chicken is in the oven. It’s basically just hot sauce and butter, melted together. You can make it as spicy or mild as you like. You can also leave your wings unsauced – they have a great flavor already.
Toss baked wings in the buffalo sauce or any sauce of your choosing.
FAQs
Using my foolproof method, wings take about 30-40 minutes to bake at 450℉, or until they are golden brown and crispy. Flipping them halfway through helps them to brown evenly.
The baking powder (not to be confused with baking soda) is really what makes all the difference for crispy chicken wings. When you coat the chicken it dries out the skin leaving it crispy and crunchy when baked. The more sciency explanation is that there is a reaction when the salt and baking soda combine that changes the PH of the chicken skin.
A lot of readers have asked if this recipe works with chicken drumsticks. Spoiler alert – it does! Check out my easy Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks.
Expert Tips for Crispy Wings
- Pat them dry. When you take them out of the packaging, you need to pat them dry really well. The dry they are the crispier they will be.
- Flour + Baking Powder. Some recipes don’t use baking powder but it really does help with the crispy skin.
- Tap off excess flour. 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.
- Storage: Keep leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
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 of these yummy sides:
- 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.
- 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!
- Southern Potato Salad – Tender potatoes with a creamy, tangy dressing.
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. Shake off excess.
- 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 ½ 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 wings into a large bowl. Pour the sauce over the wings and toss to coat.
- Serve with celery and carrot sticks and a side of ranch or blue cheese dressing for dipping.
OMG!!!!! This IS THE BEST baked wing recipe ever!!!!! They really do turn out very crispy. I think the seasonings in the flour are spot on, and the baking powder is an absolute must. I love Frank’s Wing Sauce, so I used that to season my wings with. My husband was wishing that I had made more!!!!!! (I only made half the recipe to try it out)
Hey, I’m sorry but you did not say exactly how to make the sauce. You only said 1/2 a bottle but half a bottle of what? I just want to be clear because I do not want make this feeling as if I missed any key steps. Thank you
It’s the bottle cayenne hot sauce that’s listed in the ingredients. I’ve updated the instructions so it’s clear.
Do you use a bag of frozen wings or buy fresh?
I’ve used both since you need to thaw if frozen.
Amazing recipe! Best wings ever! THE family devoured them! Two thumbs up!
I am skeptical of the bakibg powder! Is that safe to eat?!
Well you’re cooking it, so yes, it’s fine. Just like in any other baked good.
I think they are confusing it with baking soda?
You’ll probably never see this but yes – you can even drink a mix of baking soda and water – it’s used to prevent kidney stones.
Kristin,
You’ve got some new recipes for pasta salad here. I look forward to trying a couple of them – especially the bowties w/chicken and ranch/hot sauce dressing! It’s amazing how many different sauces or vegetables one can add for a completely different taste. I will try your crispy recipe for the wings as well. Thanks for sharing! Have a great Independence Day weekend!
These tasted amazing! I made another batch with garlic parmesan sauce and they were great!!
Kristin, I just had to leave a comment – which I admittedly never ever do. This recipe is amazing!! I’m stumbled upon it one day while craving some crunchy wings, and I hear a fear of frying things for some reason. I have made it more times than I can remember, and proudly provided your site when asked for the recipe. I did my own spin on the sauce, but it is foolproof!! My boyfriend now swears off any other wings HA!
Quick question, have you tried this coating but in popcorn chicken form? I’m curious to see how that would be! Thanks again!!!
I haven’t tried that, but it would work…just probably wouldn’t be nearly as crispy because there’s no skin. I’d go with a panko breading and then the hot sauce.
Hey, you said to use butter but I only have margarine…. Is that alright?
Usually I’d say you can swap one for the other, but in this instance, I strongly recommend the butter. The margarine just isn’t the same when melted.
Why is the butter necessary?? Can you make without? Trying to keep it healthier. Thanks!
The butter basically “cools” the heat of the sauce and makes it a little creamier. You could just as easily use a difference sauce or leave the sauce out altogether.
Hi Kristin
what if I don’t have baking powder? please tell me I can omit that ingredient ?
The baking powder is what helps get that skin nice and crispy. I wouldn’t omit it, but it you must, you should be ok.
This will be my 3rd time making your recipe. I held off making my wings til today because I don’t want to mess up a good recipe. I went and bought all my ingredients to ensure I had more than enough. Thank you Kristin
Awesome Jacklyn! How did you like them?
recipe for baking powder : 2 TBSP. cream of tartar, 1TBSP. baking soda , 1TBSP. corn starch . Sift ingredients together and store in air tight jar. this might come in handy if someone does not have baking powder on hand. All these ingredients are common items in most pantries. Hope this helps.
Thanks for sharing!
Have made these, BBQ dinner the wings and made a BBQ spicy maple sauce and they were absolutely awesome.
I just made them & just realized it called for baking powder! I didn’t add & these wings are AMAZEBALLS!
Thank you for making me feel like a bomb-winger-cooler! Haha. So good!
I hope this is true because I forgot baking powder, too. Realized it when I saw it on the counter as I put the wings in the oven! We’ll see how this turns out.
I didn’t even know about the baking powder and use seasoned flour for my wings for the past year in my air fryer, it will be fine. I am going to try adding the baking powder though next time I make wings and see if there is a difference.
Just wanted to drop a few lines and tell you that I just finished eating these wings. All I can say is AWESOME! MY husband and I couldn’t believe they tasted just as good as fried. Thanks so much.
Hubby and I loved your recipe. I seasoned the wings before dipping them in the flour. I also added some dried thyme to the flour mixture. And I didn’t do the sauce. They were crispy and delicious. Thank you for sharing.
I’ve made this recipe at least a dozen times. Best chicken wings ever. Sometime we like them plain, just as good as with the heat!
Seriously fantastic recipe. I’ve made it multiple times and it turns out crispy and delicious every time. Thank you for sharing!
Making these for dinner but adding Lemon pepper seasoning! Looking forward to it!
I’m making these tonight for the super bowl game. Hope they turn out as well as everyone’s elses.
These were awesome!!! So crispy and delicious. I swapped Frank’s wing sauce because that’s what I had on hand, but besides that I followed the recipe exactly and turned out perfectly. Thanks for the recipe!
These sound really yummy! gonna give this recipe ago thanks for sharing.
Simon
I have the wings in the oven right now. Only, I didn’t thaw them first. So bummed. When I grill them, I keep them frozen. Was wondering if you had any idea how these will turn out!?
Never mind! It turned out good! Broiled the wings for 5 minutes each side and they crisped up!
This is a awesome recipe. thanks for sharing this ours turned out great…
simon