Crispy Baked Chicken Wings (+Video)
These Crispy Baked Chicken Wings are deliciously tender, flavorful and are oven-baked to crispy perfection. So good you’ll think they’re fried! Enjoy these as an easy appetizer or as a main dish!
THE EASIEST WAY TO MAKE CRISPY WINGS
These Crispy Baked Chicken Wings are the perfect thing to serve to family and friends! They come out of the oven golden brown and oh-so-tasty. The secret is in the homemade breading that takes these plain chicken wings, and turns them into wings that you’ll think were fried in oil. You can easily customize them to your favorite flavors as well – add some garlic for extra flavor, or go spicy with chili powder and cayenne pepper. Whether you’re hosting a football party, family dinner, or date night at home, these Crispy Baked Chicken Wings will hit the spot!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Using baking powder helps dry out the skin and that helps give you crispy chicken wings. It’s also important to pat the wings very dry with a paper towel. Any extra moisture on the skin will keep it from getting crispy.
Traditional baking powder will work just fine. Some people, like myself, can taste the aluminum in traditional baking powder, so I choose to use aluminum-free powder.
Using a lower temperature for the initial 30 minutes in the oven gives the baking powder enough time to dry out the wings while the rest of the 45 minutes of bake time makes sure they’re safe to eat and nice and crispy.
I haven’t tested it-yet! But if you chose to use frozen wings, you have to thaw them first and pat them dry. Otherwise, they’ll release too much moisture as they’re cooking and you’ll never get the crispy wings that you want.
These won’t be as crunchy as deep fried wings, but they will be crispy and they definitely won’t be rubbery! These are healthier than deep fried wings since they’re baked too.
They can but the only problem is that you’ll have to do them in batches since you can’t cram all of these into an air fryer all at once and it’ll end up taking longer to do than if you had just popped them into the oven all at the same time. I truly prefer the result of the baked method over the air fryer. But if you absolutely insist on the air fryer, you will cook (in batches) at 375F degrees for 20 minutes (shaking the basket every 5 minutes) then turn it up to 400F degrees for an additional 3 minutes. Continue with the rest of the wings.
Of course not! You can eat these plain or you could use barbecue sauce. Whatever you enjoy!
Baked wings are best served right when you first make them. If you want to keep them for later, store them in an airtight container for up to a day or two.
Reheating them can be tricky because of the buffalo sauce but you can try to reheat in the air fryer or back into the oven. Reheating in the microwave will result in the skin no longer being crispy.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- whole chicken wings – I prefer to buy whole wings and cut them up myself since I think they usually end up having more meat on them and they are usually cheaper than ones already cut up. Plus you get a good combo of flats and drumsticks. But you can purchase the wings that you prefer.
- baking powder – see my FAQ above about the baking powder
- salt – just regular table salt. You don’t need anything fancy here.
- table grind black pepper – I like a good fresh pepper grind here. I just think it tastes better but use what you have.
- garlic powder – this adds great overall flavor to the wings. You can use whatever your favorite seasoning is instead of the salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cajun seasoning and lemon pepper seasoning all work as well. To give it a deeper color, try adding a little paprika.
- Frank’s Buffalo Wing Sauce – Frank’s is my personal favorite but use what you love. Or don’t use any sauce at all if you prefer.
HOW TO MAKE CRISPY BAKED CHICKEN WINGS
Preheat the oven to 250F degrees. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Then top that with a large cookie rack. Spray the rack with nonstick cooking spray. Pat all the wings dry with a paper towel. Place wings in a large bowl and set aside. In a small bowl combine baking powder, salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the wings in the bowl. I like to do a little at a time then stir then add a little more than stir. This ensures every bit of the wings are covered in the seasoning.
Place wings in a single layer on the cookie rack. Bake at 250F degrees for 30 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 425F degrees and cook for an additional 45 minutes. Remove wings from the oven and place them into a large bowl. Pour buffalo sauce over the wings and gently toss the wings so each one gets thoroughly coated in the sauce.
Then serve with some ranch dressing on the side!
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Crispy Baked Chicken Wings (+Video)
Ingredients
- 20 whole chicken wings
- 2 Tablespoons aluminum-free baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon table grind black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Frank’s Buffalo WIng Sauce (about a cup) (enough to coat all the wings)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250F degrees. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Then top that with a large cookie rack. Spray the rack with nonstick cooking spray.
- Pat all the wings dry with a paper towel. Place wings in a large bowl and set aside.
- In a small bowl combine baking powder, salt, black pepper and garlic powder.
- Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the wings in the bowl. I like to do a little at a time then stir then add a little more than stir. This ensures every bit of the wings are covered in the seasoning.
- Place wings in a single layer on the cookie rack. Bake at 250F degrees for 30 minutes.
- Increase the oven temperature to 425F degrees and cook for an additional 45 minutes (not shown in video).
- Remove wings from the oven and place them into a large bowl.
- Pour buffalo sauce over the wings and gently toss the wings so each one gets thoroughly coated in the sauce.
- Then serve with some ranch dressing on the side!
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- The baking powder basically dries out the skin and is what helps them crisp up in the oven.
- Cooking it at a low temperature for the first 30 minutes gives the baking powder enough time and heat to help with that drying/crisping process.
- You do not have to use Buffalo sauce, you can eat them as-is or with your favorite wing sauce.
- Best served right when you make them.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
DELICIOUS!! This baked crispy chicken is better than frying & a healthy way to cook. Flavorful with a crisp, my new favorite family dish. Far most the best crisp baked recipe. Thanks for sharing!
I have been looking for a chicken wing recipe that fits my cooking style. Brandi, you’ve done a fantastic job. I love these wings and will cook them from now on.
Thanks again Sandra!!
I made these wings for a light dinner. Followed the recipe, and they turned out perfectly! Will definitely do this again. I love wings!
Hey Donna! I’m so happy you gave these a try!! Thanks so much for coming back to comment!