The crispiest chicken wings baked in the oven. The skin is deliciously crisp and salty, with tender meat on the inside. No deep frying required!
Smother in sauce (yes, they still stay crisp even with the sauce on) to make bbq wings, buffalo wings or sticky Asian-inspired wings.
Or eat as they are - they're totally moreish without any sauce!
I've shared a few recipes for crispy chicken wings smothered in sauce, but it occurred to me that I've never shared the basic recipe for wings without the sauce.
Don't ask me why, because these wings are so amazingly tasty on their own. If ever I'm making them with the sauce, at last 5 or 6 ALWAYS get swiped before I can sauce them up.
The taste without the sauce kind of reminds me of salt and pepper chicken - without the chilli heat. In fact you could totally just fry up a few sliced chillies and a sliced onion to put on top and they would be salt and pepper chicken wings (writing that down for later - totally doing that next time.......).
📋 What do we need?
Four simple ingredients.
PLEASE see my notes in the recipe card regarding baking powder and why only baking powder will do, and why you should go for aluminium-free baking powder.
🔪 How to make crispy chicken wings
**Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.**
- We start by carefully cutting each wing into a mini wing and a drumette. You probably noticed before when eating wings that some wings are thinner pieces with a consistent thickness (mini wing) and some are meatier on one end (drumette).
- Once we've sliced up the wings, we dry them off - to ensure crispier wings. Then toss them together with a mixture of salt, pepper and baking powder.
- The wings are baked on a wire wrack (so the fat can drip off underneath - we don't want greasy wings) - first at a lower temperature to render the fat, then at a higher temperature to crisp up that skin.
Look how golden and crispy they come out!
🍽️ What to serve them with
Why not serve them as a party food with:
- Cranberry Brie Bites
- Sesame Prawn Toast
- Cheesy Potato Croquettes
- Baked Asian Style Cauliflower Wings
- Cheesecake-Stuffed Strawberries
I won't tell you how quickly our little family of four can get through FORTY of these wings (but it doesn't stretch into hours....).
Want to upgrade those wings with a sauce? Try one of these:
Yes, just be sure to use gluten-free baking powder and you're good to go.
Yes. If you're using a gas oven, be sure to rotate the tray after the initial cooking time so that the wings cook evenly. Also keep a close eye on the wings, as gas oven temperatures can fluctuate more than electric fan ovens. You may only need to cook at a higher temperature for 20-30 minutes.
No, I wouldn't recommend that. The bone in the chicken and the fat of the skin helps to keep the chicken juicy. Using boneless chicken would result in chewy, dried chicken. Try my recipe for baked chicken tenders instead.
📺 Watch how to make it
🍲 More fantastic crispy chicken recipes
- Baked
- Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders
- Chicken Parmesan in a rich tomato sauce
- Crispy Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Fried
- Crispy Fried Chicken
- Crispy Chicken Pakora
- Korean Fried Chicken
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Crispy Baked Chicken Wings Recipe
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
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.
- Place in a single layer on the rack, skin side up. It's fine for them to be touching. Discard any remaining coating once tossed together.
- 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.
- Take out of the oven to cool slightly befor serving.
Video
✎ Notes
After doing a little research, it seems that some people can be sensitive to the taste of sodium aluminium 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.
She got the original recipe from Cook's Illustrated "Meat Book" cookbook (fyi - this is an affiliate link, and incidentally, I've got a copy of this book, and it's awesome - so much info on how to perfectly cook meat). Nutritional information is per wingette/drumette (approx 40 wings in this recipe)
Nutrition
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.
RJ says
Delicious, Crispy, and Golden Brown. Recipe simple with 3 ingredients, love it
angela says
what did i do wrong? these tasted like baking powder and left our mouths tingling. did i mis a critical step?
Tom says
I am in the process of making this recipe right now with left over wings not cooked for the Super Bowl.
I added 1tsp garlic powder, smoked paprika powder to the Baking powder, salt, and pepper. I is smelling awesome.
I also plan to take a portion of the wings and role in Frank's wing sauce and some of my personal fermented "KAOS" pepper sauce.
Then I am going to freeze some with no sauce, and freeze some after rolled in the Frank's Sauce.
I want to see how they react to being defrosted and re heated.
Crispy is the way I roll. Wings, Pizza, Hash Browns, etc..
I will let you know how they work.
Abby Baverman says
These were so easy to make and turned perfectly! I will definitely make them again. Thanks!
Laurie says
Do you have to use fresh wings? Can you use frozen party wings? If so does it change the cooking time?
Nicky Corbishley says
Hi Laurie, sorry, I've never tried with frozen wings. I would thaw the wings before using if I was buying frozen.
Abby Baverman says
I used frozen party wings with great results. Just be sure to let them thaw in the fridge for a day or so prior to baking them.
Michael says
Made these once a week for over 6 months never get sick of them, they are just the best
Christine says
I have made these many times in my gas oven. Towards the end of cooking I toss them in a spicy dry rub and then put them back in the oven. However I don't have a rack to cook them on so I put them on a cookie sheet covered in tin foil. But they really stick to the tin foil and lose some of their skin when removing. Any suggestions?
Tom says
Try a good parchment paper.
T. Lewis says
Reynolds non stick foil is great for that..
Maggie says
These chicken wings are crispy and tender and would have been delicious if I had dried them off more than I did. I got too much baking powder on them so I get a taste of that and grit on the skin.
I’m going out to buy more and try again. Thanks so much for the recipe. It’s the first time wings came out crispy for me.
Nancy says
Great recipe! Wings are not gummy! They are truly light and crispy.
Carol Cuevas says
I never made good chicken wings until I discovered this recipe.
It was so good, my husband and I ate almost the entire 3 LB package in one sitting. We couldn't believe how good those wings were! When we ate the leftovers, we simply re-heated them in the oven and coated in a different sauce. Just as juicy and crispy as when they were first served.......So, my advice is to make a huge batch :).
We used a simple butter-garilc-parmesan sauce first time, and a buffalo sauce the second time.
Thank You for this recipe and process. Crispy chicken wings will be a go-to for us on a regular basis.
Nicky Corbishley says
Thanks Carol - I'm so happy you and your husband enjoyed them 🙂
Denis says
Hi there....absolutely loving this site at the min..
Haven't had a takeaway in months and the kids love it too....especially the crispy chilli beef.....
Dying to try these wings.....before I do....is it not an excessive time in the oven for small ickle wings 😊😊
Chels says
I can't make these home alone, I'll eat them all!
Paulette says
Hi, these crispy wings look great. Can you freeze them?
Eleanor says
Oh my, so addictive😋, thank goodness they are baked 😉
YtheWait says
Delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!