• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Nicky's Kitchen Sanctuary logo

  • > Start Here
  • The Recipes
    • Browse all categories
    • Asian
    • Dinner
    • Pasta
    • Roast Dinner
    • Curries
    • Sides
    • Soups
    • Big Batch
    • Quick Dinner Recipes
    • Skinny Recipes
    • Street Food
    • Lunch
    • Gluten Free
    • Vegetarian
    • Cakes & Treats
    • BBQ
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • Drinks
    • Appetizers
    • Sauces and Dips
  • My New Book
  • Blogger Resources
    • Living The Blog
    • How to start a food blog
    • Income Reports
  • About
    • About
    • Contact
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
  • Sign-Up
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
go to homepage
Homepage link
  • > Start Here
  • All Recipes
  • Never miss a recipe!
  • 20 Minute Meals
  • Appetizers & Party Food
  • Asian
  • Curries
  • Dinner
  • One Pot
  • Pasta
  • Roast Dinner
  • Sides
  • Slow Cooked
  • Soups
  • Street Food
  • Terms and Conditions
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home > Appetizers, Starters & Party Food

    BBQ Chicken Wings

    Published: Jul 2, 2020 · Modified: May 8, 2021 by Nicky Corbishley

    Go to Recipe Go to Video Print Recipe

    Crispy baked chicken wings smothered in a sweet and tangy homemade barbecue sauce. I'll show you the trick for making the crispiest chicken wings in the oven.
    The whole family are going to devour these wings and they're so simple to prepare (with none of the grease splatters from fried wings) you'll love making them too.

    Tall image of BBQ chicken wings on a baking tray with sauce being brushed on
    BBQ Chicken Wings

    These wings go SO fast! I only bought 1kg of them, and everyone whizzed through them like cartoon characters zooming through corn-on-the-cob at high speed!

    They make a fantastic appetizer or game day treat, but equally they make a fab treat dinner served with a few sides.

    I'm totally obsessed with the barbecue sauce too. This recipe makes enough to smother the wings, with another cupful or so leftover to serve on the side or to save and use as a dip for fries or to top burgers and sausages.


    What do we need for the wings?

    • Chicken wings (of course)
    • Aluminium-free baking powder (more about this below)
    • Salt and pepper
    Ingredients for crispy chicken wings on a wooden table

    How to make the wings

    Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.

    1. Cut each wing at the joint so you have a mini wing and a drumette. Dry with paper towels, then place in a large bowl and add the baking powder, salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
    2. Place in a single layer on a rack above a tray. Bake in the oven at 120C/250F for 30 minutes.
    3. Turn the oven up to 220C/425F and cook for a further 40-45 minutes until the wings are lightly golden and crispy. They taste great as they are, but they're over-the-top tasty with the homemade BBQ sauce.
    8 image collage showing how to make crispy oven baked chicken wings

    What do we need for the Barbecue Sauce?

    Ingredients for BBQ on a wooden table

    Full quantities in the recipe card below

    • For sweetness - tomato ketchup (and plenty of it!), dark brown sugar, black treacle or molasses and honey
    • For tanginess - white wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce
    • For a bit of heat and smokiness - mustard powder, smoked paprika and black pepper
    • Plus a little vegetable oil to bring it all together and make it smooth and glossy.

    How to make the Barbecue Sauce

    • Place all of the ingredients in a saucepan and mix together.
    • Heat over a medium-high heat, until boiling, then simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.
    8 image collage showing how to make bbq sauce

    Putting it all together

    • Toss the barbecue sauce with the wings (you can toss them in a large bowl, or use two spoons to toss them all together) and serve straight away.
    4 image collage showing how to smother crispy chicken wings in bbq sauce

    What to serve it with

    You can serve these tasty baked BBQ chicken wings with:

    • Creamy Potato Salad
    • Homemade Coleslaw
    • Garlic Chilli Oven Baked Fries
    • Cobb Salad with Smoky Chickpeas
    • Roasted Smashed Potatoes with Garlic, Cheddar and Bacon
    BBQ chicken wings on a black plate with a pot of BBQ sauce and a brush on top.

    Do you put BBQ sauce on chicken before or after baking?

    For ultimate crispiness, put the barbecue sauce on AFTER baking, then serve right away.

    Can you put BBQ sauce on raw chicken?

    Some recipes call for baking/grilling chicken in BBQ sauce. My method involves baking the wings first to guarantee crispiness. 
    However, even if you weren't looking for a crispy coating (i.e just baking chicken pieces in the regular way), I would recommend adding the sauce after cooking, or for the last 5 minutes of cooking only. Barbecue sauce has a lot of sugars in, which can burn and taste bitter if cooked for a long period or over too high a heat.

    How do you get sauce to stick to chicken wings?

    These baked wings have a crispy, craggy exterior, so the sauce will easily cling to the wings without sliding off.

    Do I need to marinate the wings first?

    Nope. We want the chicken skin to be dry so we can get it extra crispy.

    Is there a vegetarian option?

    I have been asked this question a number of times and after much testing I made a veggie option.  These Baked Asian Cauliflower Wings are as good as this chicken version.
    Bake the cauliflower in the same way, but swap out the Asian-style sauce for the barbecue sauce.

    BBQ chicken wings on a baking tray

    More fantastic Appetizer recipes

    • Buffalo Chicken Wings
    • Sticky Asian Style Wings
    • Baked Cauliflower Wings
    • Fried Korean Chicken
    • Cheese and Bacon Stuffed Bread
    • Chicken and Chorizo Puffed Pastry Rolls
    • Chicken Satay or my new Beef Satay Recipe
    • Thai Fish Cakes
    • Sesame Prawn Toast

    I've got soo many delicious appetizer recipes < CLICK HERE to check out the whole category full of them.

    Watch how to make it

    Stay updated with new recipes!
    Subscribe to the newsletter to hear when I post a new recipe. I’m also on YouTube (new videos every week) and Instagram (behind-the-scenes stories & beautiful food photos).

    BBQ chicken wings on a tray with BBQ sauce being brushed on

    BBQ Chicken Wings

    By: Nicky Corbishley
    Crispy baked chicken wings smothered in a sweet, tangy homemade bbq sauce. Simple to prepare - without the grease splatters from fried wings!
    5 from 3 votes
    Rate this Recipe Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 1 hr 30 mins
    Total Time 1 hr 40 mins
    Course Appetizer, Party Food
    Cuisine American
    Servings 24 -26 wings
    Calories 74 kcal

    Ingredients
     

    Crispy Chicken Wings:

    • 2.2 lbs (1 kg) chicken wings
    • 2 level tbsp aluminium-free baking powder (It has to be baking powder - NOT baking soda - see further notes on baking powder below
    • ½ tsp salt - make sure it's regular table salt
    • ½ tsp pepper

    Barbecue Sauce:

    • 1 ¼ cups (300g) tomato ketchup
    • 4 tbsp white wine vinegar
    • 5 tbsp dark brown sugar
    • 2 tbsp black treacle or molasses
    • 3 tbsp honey
    • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
    • 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
    • ½ tsp mustard powder -  - or 1 tsp English mustard
    • 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika
    • ½ tsp black pepper

    INSTRUCTIONS
     

    • Preheat the oven to 120C/250F and place a rack on a large baking tray.
    • Cut each wing at the joint so you have a mini wing and a drumette. Dry the wings with paper towels, then place in a large bowl and add the baking powder, salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Note - it's important to dry the wings first so they only get a light coating. Discard any remaining coating once tossed together.
    • Place in a single layer on the rack. It's fine for them to be touching slightly. Place on the lower shelf of the oven for 30 minutes.
    • After 30 minutes, turn the oven up to 220C/425F and rotate the tray for even cooking. Cook for a further 45-50 minutes until the wings are lightly golden and crispy (if your wings aren't particularly meaty, cook for 10 minutes less). Take out of the oven.
    • Whilst the wings are baking, make the barbecue sauce. Place all of the ingredients in a saucepan and mix together.
    • Heat over a medium-high heat, until boiling, then simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.
    • Toss the barbecue sauce with the wings and serve straightaway.

    Video

    ✎ Notes

    How to scale up and scale down this recipe
    You can scale up and scale down this recipe with the same ratios.
    So if you're only looking for 12-13 wings, you can halve all of the ingredients.
    If you're looking for 48-52 wings, double all the ingredients.
    The cooking times will be the same.
    Note: this recipe makes extra sauce. The recipe makes approx 2 cups of sauce altogether. You only need one to cover the wings, then I like to serve any remaining sauce with the wings and sides. So bear in mind that if you're doubling ALL of the recipe, you'll have 2 extra cups of sauce leftover.
    Note on baking powder:
    I get lots of messages on my other crispy wings recipe  on how delicious the wings are, but also the occasional message that the wings tastes bitter - despite assurances the recipe was followed to the letter and baking POWDER not baking soda was used.
    After doing a little research, it seems that some people can be sensitive to the taste of sodium aluminum sulfate - which can be an ingredient in some baking powders. People who are sensitive to it notice a bitter taste. If you are sensitive to it, you may have noticed certain cakes taste bitter. However, cakes contain a lot less baking powder then this recipe, so you may not have noticed it before and still been sensitive to it.
    My tips would be to:
    • Thoroughly dry the wings before dusting with the baking powder - so they only get a light coating.
    • Measure the amount of baking powder used exactly, and discard any excess left after tossing together with the wings.
    • Use aluminium-free baking powder - make sure it has no aluminum sulfate in it.
    Can I make barbecue wings ahead?
    I prefer these wings fresh out of the oven, but you can make the wings ahead - without the sauce- then cool, cover and refrigerate for up to a day. Reheat them on a wire rack over a tray for about 5-6 minutes at 200C/400F until they're crisp again.
    You can also make the barbecue sauce ahead, then cool cover and refrigerate. Reheat in a pan until it's warm before tossing with the wings.
    How do I make boneless barbecue wings instead?
    Use my Crispy Buttermilk Chicken tenders recipe for the base recipe, then make the barbecue sauce as per the recipe in this recipe card. 
    If you prefer oven baked - use my Oven-Baked Chicken Tenders for the base recipe, then make the barbecue sauce as per the recipe in this recipe card. 
    Nutritional information is per wing (approx 24-26 wings in this recipe), including half of the sauce poured on the wings (as per the recipe - we toss with half the sauce, then we have half sauce leftover over to serve with the wings or to save). 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 74kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 4gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 126mgPotassium: 80mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 96IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 13mgIron: 1mg
    Keywords bbq, Celebration, Game Day, Party Food
    Tried this recipe?Mention @KitchenSanctuary or tag #KitchenSanctuary on Instagram!

    Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.

    Hi I’m Nicky

    I love to cook and I want to share with you my favourite, delicious family friendly recipes. I want to inspire you to create fantastic food for your family every day.

    Read More
    « BBQ Sauce Recipe
    Chickpea and Sweet Potato Curry »

    Other Recipes You Might Like:

    These Asian Chicken Wings are Sticky AND Crispy . The best party food ever!
    Sticky AND Crispy Asian Chicken Wings
    Roasted peri peri chicken on a tray next to a jar of homemade peri peri sauce. There are garnishes surrounding the chicken.
    Peri Peri Chicken with homemade Peri Peri Sauce
    Square image of one-pot chicken and couscous in a blue pan, topped with feta and pomegranate. There is a wooden spoon digging into the couscous.
    One-Pot Chicken and Couscous with Feta
    Close up pictures of lamb koftas on metal skewers sat on a wooden board with a bowl of dipping sauce in the foreground out of focus.
    Lamb Kofta Recipe

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Rate the recipe




      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. Sharon says

      October 16, 2021 at 10:34 am

      Made these for the family , they thought I had bought them . They were so good

      Reply
    2. Nick T says

      July 18, 2021 at 6:32 pm

      5 stars
      Hi Nicky. Fantastic recipe and a family favourite. We made it recently with fairly small wings (about 32 to a kilo) and had a small mishap with the oven resulting in the first 30 mins being at 220 instead of 120 - luckily the resulting wings were still super tasty and crispy (and we only have them an extra 15 mins just to ensure they were cooked through). Can you explain the reasoning behind the first 30 mins at 120 please?

      Reply
    3. Jo says

      October 27, 2020 at 4:40 pm

      How many wings in a 1KG pack?

      Reply
      • Layla says

        March 11, 2021 at 9:15 am

        Can I use corn flour or rice flour as a substitute for baking powder?

        Reply
        • Nicky Corbishley says

          March 11, 2021 at 10:11 am

          Sorry no the baking powder is a must. The combination of the salt and baking powder work together to draw the moisture out of the skin to get the crispiest coating.

        • Layla. says

          March 11, 2021 at 2:26 pm

          Can you share the brand or link of baking powder you use. As my local supermarket sticks one type and I'll probably have to order sodium aluminum sulfate free from Amazon or something. Thank you. Much appreciated x

    4. Pat says

      October 26, 2020 at 11:09 pm

      5 stars
      This is a very delicious and easy recipe.

      Reply
    5. Salisa says

      July 18, 2020 at 7:25 am

      Hi, Nice recipe...Is this can be freeze. If can, how to defrost it? Thanks

      Reply
      • Nicky Corbishley says

        July 22, 2020 at 3:08 pm

        Hi Salisa, You can freeze them, but they will lose their crispness upon reheating. They'll still be tasty though.
        I would cool, cover and freeze, then defrost in the refrigerator overnight. You can reheat in the microwave until piping hot throughout. Or reheat on a baking tray, in a single layer, covered in foil until piping hot throughout (approx 20 minutes at 180C/350F).

        Reply
    6. Christine says

      July 08, 2020 at 7:40 am

      5 stars
      I have made your Asian chicken wings in the past, so I knew I was on to a winner with the family when I made these. Oh my 😋how tasty is that bbq sauce. So messy to eat, but so flippin good😍🍗

      Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi I’m Nicky

    I love to cook and I want to share with you my favourite, delicious family friendly recipes. I want to inspire you to create fantastic food for your family every day.

    Read More

    Recipes by category:

    • Popular Recipes
    • Asian
    • Curries
    • Quick Dinner Recipes
    • British Classic Recipes
    • BBQ
    • Roast Dinner
    • Street Food
    • Pasta
    Search For a Recipe

    Our Top Trending Recipes:

    • Crispy Sesame Chicken with a Sticky Asian Sauce
    • Honey Garlic Chicken
    • The Best Crispy Roast Potatoes
    • Cheesy Pasta Bake With Chicken And Bacon
    • Easy Chicken Curry
    • Easy Satay Sauce Recipe
    • Korean Fried Chicken
    • Creamy Tuna Pasta Bake

    FREE recipes direct to your inbox!

    Never miss a recipe and sign up for our completely FREE emails.

      Featured Recipes:

      • Chilli Con Carne
      • Traditional Lancashire Hotpot
      • Creamy Chicken Pot Pie
      • Egg Fried Rice
      • Korean Fried Chicken
      • Copycat Firecracker Chicken
      • Buffalo Chicken Pasta
      • Slow Cooker Spicy Chicken Curry
      As Featured On
      brit and co logo
      buzzfeed logo
      cheshire life logo
      country living logo
      beautiful home and life logo
      my fitness pal logo
      Neff logo
      The telegraph logo
      The Kitchn logo
      Vegetarian society logo

      Footer

      Nicky Corbishley is the recipe creator and photographer for Kitchen Sanctuary. Wife to Chris (chief techie and videographer) and mum to Lewis and Gracey. Read More…

      DMCA.com Protection Status

      Most Recent Recipes

      • Slow Cooker Beef Short Ribs with Rich Gravy
      • Simple Pesto Recipe
      • Salted Caramel Millionaires shortbread
      • Creamy Slow Cooked Pork Casserole
      • Sweet and Sour Vegetables

      Copyright © 2022 LoveFoodCreative Ltd - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Terms & Conditions