With this recipe for crispy baked chicken wings, you can make delicious, perfectly crispy and juicy wings, without the mess of frying!
Buffalo wings are a popular game day snack, but they’re so messy to make, Even worse, deep frying isn’t the healthiest choice. But I have good news!
This baked chicken wings recipe will help you make them without a greasy kitchen to clean up.
Another great way to prepare them is on a smoker, like these honey garlic smoked chicken wings.
Video: Making crispy baked chicken wings
To see the recipe made from start to finish, be sure to watch the video located in the recipe card at the bottom of this post!
Buying and prepping the chicken
The first order of business is to shop for the chicken. You’ll want to plan on an average of one pound of bone-in wings per person.
Wings are available whole, with the tips intact, or cut, with tips removed. If you can only find them whole, it isn’t a problem. Just use a sharp knife to cut them at the joint and remove the tips.
Cut again to separate the drumstick from the middle flat piece. (See video for detailed instructions).
Baking chicken wings
- Preheat your oven. Heat oven to 250°F with racks in upper and lower positions.
- Mix the spices. In a small bowl, whisk together the baking powder, kosher salt, garlic powder and white pepper.
- Remove excess moisture from the wings. Use paper toweling to dry off the wings. This will remove any moisture that could prevent them from becoming crispy.
- Coat chicken with spices. Place the chicken wings into a large bowl or zip top plastic bag. Add the baking powder/spice mixture and stir to coat, or close and shake the bag to coat the pieces.
- Arrange on pan and bake. Set a wire baking rack on top of a baking sheet and spray the rack with non-stick cooking spray. Then, arrange the chicken wing pieces skin side up in a single layer on the rack. Transfer them to the oven.
How long to bake chicken wings at 425°F
- Bake chicken at 250°F. on lower rack for 30 minutes. This slowly renders the fat UNDER the skin.
Refer to the photo below. This is after baking chicken wings at 250°F for 30 minutes. The skin is slowly rendering fat and drying out for that crispy, crunchy exterior!
The baking powder assists in drawing moisture from the skin. This is a tip I picked up from America’s Test Kitchen and it works wonderfully to get extra crispy skin without frying!
- Move pan of wings to the upper rack, increasing the temperature to 425°F.
Bake chicken wings at 425°F for 45-50 minutes, rotating sheet pan if necessary for even golden brown crispiness. - Remove pan from oven and let the baked chicken wings rest for 5 minutes. Season with your favorite seasoning salt if you like, or serve with sauce of choice.
TIP: For EXTRA crispy wings (do this the night before):
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Then, set a wire rack on top of the baking sheet.
- Arrange the wing pieces onto the rack.
- Place the rack, uncovered, for at least 8 hours. Then, before baking, remove from fridge and allow it to come to room temperature.
FAQ
Yes, but let thaw them completely before preparing them. Putting them into a refrigerator overnight works well.
They’re fantastic as is, or lightly seasoned with celery salt or seasoning salt. Wings are also delicious tossed in Buffalo wing sauce with a side of blue cheese dip or ranch salad dressing.
Let refrigerated leftover wings come to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a baking sheet with oil or non-stick spray. Arrange the wings on the sheet, about 1-inch apart. Reheat wings for 5-6 minutes.
Enjoy!
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Crispy Baked Chicken Wings + Video
Ingredients
- 4 lbs chicken wings (See Note 1)
- 5 tsp baking powder (NOT BAKING SODA and make sure it's aluminum free baking powder)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/8 tsp white pepper (optional)
- non-stick cooking spray
Instructions
- Heat oven to 250°F with racks in upper, mid and lower positions. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- In a small bowl whisk together the aluminum free baking powder, kosher salt, garlic powder and white pepper.
- Remove any moisture from chicken wings using a paper towel, patting dry all over.
- Place chicken wings in a large bowl or zipper lock plastic bag and add the baking powder/spice mixture. Stir to coat or seal bag and shake to coat evenly all over.
- Lay the chicken wing pieces in a single layer skin side up on a wire rack sprayed with cooking spray (PAM /Oil) in the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake on lower rack for 30 minutes (this slowly renders the fat UNDER the skin). Move wings to upper rack, increasing the temperature to 425°F and bake for 40-45 minutes, rotating sheet pan if necessary for even golden brown crispiness.
- Remove from oven and rest 5 minutes. Season with your favorite seasoning salt if you like or serve with sauce of choice.
Notes
- If wings are already cut with tips removed (not whole) then use 3.5 pounds. Otherwise buy 4 pounds, remove tips and discard or save for chicken stock. Then using a sharp kitchen knife, split the wing into the drumstick and flat portions. I typically estimate needing a pound of wings per person (taking into account the bone weight).
- Optional: For extra crispy wings, follow steps 2-5, then refrigerate overnight, uncovered. The next day, allow chicken pieces to come to room temperature. then follow the remaining steps.
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Nutrition
Do you leave the wings in the oven while the oven goes to the higher temp and does the time it takes to go from 250 to 425 count towards the 50 min cook time
Yes Ellie you do. Bake on lower rack for 30 minutes (this slowly renders the fat UNDER the skin). Move wings to upper rack, increasing the temperature to 425°F and bake for 40-45 minutes, rotating sheet pan if necessary for even golden brown crispiness. Hope this helps.
These came our perfect ! This will now be my go to wing recipe. Any tips on reheating the leftovers ?
I never have any, but… Let refrigerated leftover wings come to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a baking sheet with oil or non-stick spray. Arrange the wings on the sheet, about 1-inch apart. Reheat wings for 5-6 minutes.
My husband and I are not the biggest chicken fans, but this recipe is absolutely perfect! Never even bother with sauce, I’ve tried other recipes…I won’t waste my time, or money anymore. This takes a bit of time preparing, but worth every minute. Thanks!
So, so happy you enjoyed this one and took the time to come back and let me know Shatice!
Do you know if this will work with a gas oven? I moved and no longer have an electric oven so my chicken wings skin was tough instead of crispy, like the fat disappeared instead of getting crispy. I’m gonna try the low 250 and see if that helps at all.
Gas should actually work even better than electric, as it distributes heat more evenly. If it has a convection setting (which circulates airflow), use that for anything but classically baked goods.
Cheers
This is my “Go-To” recipe for wings. Hands down the best!!!!
Fantastic, love to read comments like these. Thanks David!
These were so good. I made some sweet buffalo sauce and yummm.
That sounds delicious! I am so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!
Thank you Thank You Delicous …
I am so glad you enjoyed them!
Great but overcooked. Does the time it takes to go from 250 to 425 count towards the 50 min cook time?
I rarely write feedback, but this is my second comment for this recipe. Every time I make wings they are amazing and crispy. I have twelve cooking right now. Thank you again for this recipe!
I had already seasoned my wings before I found this recipe last week. But no matter, I followed everything else and they came out absolutely perfect! Only thing is I made sure to quarter rotate every 8 minutes to even out the colour. My wife and kids loved them so much that they said they were the best ever! Thanks Kevin.
I am glad you and your family enjoyed them Dwight!
I made these last week ! Came out Perfect ! How can I use this to make Chicken Tenders ?
Thank you I am so glad you enjoyed it! I have only made this recipe as wings but give them a try and let me know how they turn out! I would love to hear!
My chicken wings never turned brown; when done (did not want to overcook them ’til they got tough), they still showed the baking powder, no browning. Needless to say, was disappointed on their appearance.
Rosalind, I can see the baking powder still being somewhat visible after the initial low temp baking (as seen in video), but after the high temp at 40 minutes, the fat should have rendered and the skin crispy. Not sure what could have happened.
You dredged the wings in 5 tablespoons of baking powder instead of teaspoons (ask me how I know) Try again with 5 teaspoons and you will get the result youre looking for.
I was wondering about that! I haven’t made them yet. I knew that wasn’t enough. Thank you for your comment!