Baked chicken wings are the perfect game-time appetizer. Thoroughly drying the chicken and adding a light baking powder coating ensures that each bite is crispy. These wings are delicious eaten straight from the pan or served with your favorite dipping sauce like buffalo, teriyaki, or ranch.
Crispy baked chicken wings are a tasty option to serve at your next party or gathering. For those health-conscious eaters, no problem, we’re going to bypass the deep fryer and use the oven instead. For this healthier version there’s not a drop of oil involved, well okay, maybe just a tiny bit but only to grease the rack to prevent sticking. That’s it!
Just because we’re not deep frying the chicken wings doesn’t mean we can’t recreate a similar texture. Using a simple drying method and just four ingredients will send you on a culinary path to crunchiness. There’s also no flour used which makes this meal gluten-free as well. So, turn up the dial on your oven and let’s get cooking!
How to make baked chicken wings
- Dry chicken with paper towels to remove excess moisture.
- Combine chicken with baking powder, salt, and pepper.
- Bake on top of an oiled wire rack placed in a sheet pan.
- Bake until golden brown and crispy, flipping just twice.
- Serve chicken wings plain or with desired sauce.
How long does it take to bake chicken wings?
It takes about 50 minutes to oven bake chicken wings at 450°F (232°C). The wings and drumettes contain white meat, covered by skin and some fat, so it can handle the hot oven temperatures. In just under an hour, the skin will be super crunchy and the meat will be fully cooked.
How do you make chicken wings crispy in the oven?
The key to making baked chicken wings crispy is drying as much moisture as possible from the skin, then coating it with baking powder, and cooking at high heat. Moisture on the surface of the chicken will create steam, which makes the skin soggy instead of crisp.
By drying the skin thoroughly with paper towels eliminates the time it would require for the oven to dry off the moisture. A small amount of baking soda in the baking powder accelerates browning and creates bubbles that harden on the skin to enhance the crispy sensation.
Cook at high temperatures
The goal is to create deep-fried results using consistent high oven temperatures. Baking above 400 degrees kick starts browning and cooking immediately. Placement on top of a greased wire rack ensures that the heat surrounds all sides of the chicken and that excess fat can drip to the pan and not make the chicken feel greasy. Make sure to flip the wings two times to ensure even cooking and heat exposure.
Looking for a dipping sauce to serve?
Sometimes these baked chicken wings disappear so fast from the tray that I don’t have time to make a sauce. But when I do, some of my favorite pairings are:
- Buffalo sauce
- Barbecue sauce
- Teriyaki sauce
- Chimichurri sauce
- Sweet and sour sauce
Each chicken wing is well seasoned with just the right amount of salt and pepper, so the sauce is completely optional. Once you’ve mastered the technique you can venture out and make baked buffalo wings served with a side of ranch. Just make sure to keep this recipe on hand for a game day, the Super Bowl, or other family celebrations. Once you make your first batch I hope you enjoy the results without all the excess frying oil.
More appetizer recipes
What is the functional purpose of baking powder?
Tossing the wings in a little baking powder does two things. First, it helps the chicken brown quicker, just like it does in cookies. Second, the sodium bicarbonate reacts with any moisture left on the chicken and creates tiny carbon dioxide bubbles on the surface that hardens with heat. The result is crackly chicken skin with extra crunch appeal.
Baked Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- vegetable oil, as needed for oiling wire rack
- 2 pounds chicken wings, wings and drummettes
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to the middle position. Preheat to 450°F (232°C).
- Line a large baking sheet with foil. Set a wire rack inside and coat both sides with vegetable oil.
- Thoroughly dry chicken wings and drummettes between paper towels.
- In a large bowl whisk together baking powder, salt, and black pepper.
- Add chicken to the bowl and mix to evenly coat the surface.
- Evenly space the chicken on the wire rack.
- Bake chicken for 20 minutes. Flip and bake for 15 minutes.
- Flip again and bake until skin is golden brown and crisp, 12 to 15 minutes.
- Serve baked chicken wings hot with desired sauce like buffalo, barbecue, or ranch.
Equipment
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Regina kegg says
baking soda and baking powder are mentioned in this article. Just wondering if this is a misprint.
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Regina- No, that is correct. There is baking soda in the baking powder, but I updated the content to make that more clear. Thanks 🙂
Lana Modelo says
Love your Chinese receipes. Do you have a book on these recipes? If so, where to buy? Thank you.
JJ says
It’s on Amazon: Easy Culinary Science for Better Cooking
It has great pics & instructions, but the biggest reason I love this book is for the easy-to-understand, brief explanations of the ‘chemistry’ in cooking…why certain elements are used in a recipe for the best results. It has a lot of Chinese-influenced recipes (first time I used Hoisin sauce was through one of her chicken recipes) but her focus is very healthy, fresh recipes with easy-to-find ingredients. It’s one of the best cookbooks I have…because I actually use it! Highly recommended.
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you SO much JJ, you made my day! So happy that you are experimenting in the kitchen and enjoying the results 🙂 Happy cooking!
Felix says
Jessica, I recently purchase the Power AirFryer Pro Plus. It has been staring at it for 3 weeks. Did I mention it’s a virgin. So I asked Google for air fried recipes for chicken wings. And your site came up in third ranking placement for baked chicken wings.
What would need to be changed for a airfryer wings. My unit is automated with 1 button presets for the basic and most common foods to prepare in the airfryer.
JJ says
Baking powder!! Never, ever learned this! I’m getting some wings today and try this!
Jessica Gavin says
Let me know how it goes JJ!
JJ says
EXCELLENT! I bought cleanly trimmed drumettes at the deli. Washed them, laid them out on a (very) clean tea towel on top of the butcher paper and wrapped them up (chicken, towel, butcher paper) to towel-dry while I prepared “Chinese Lettuce Wraps with Ground Turkey” (also one of your recipes…OMG!). It took more baking powder than the 2 t, and I was generous with kosher sale & pepper…all tossed well inside a zipper bag.
Elevating them on a rack and turning is essential. Your instructions are to cook ~15 min, turn, cook ~15 min and turn again, and that’s when they really started to get crispy. The aroma of baking chicken was amazing; they came out golden brown, succulent, and we enjoyed the skin, (something we’ve avoided eating for decades).
These delicious little drumettes lend themselves to getting dunked in all kind of sauces…a real staple recipe for making chicken that’s tender & juicy on the inside and crispy-crunchy on the outside. Love it! Thanks for sharing!
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you so much for your insightful feedback JJ! How much baking powder did you end up using? Maybe increase to 1 tablespoon?
JJ says
I bought 20 drumettes, and admittedly, after the first 2 tsp of baking powder quickly disappeared, I just gave the can a generous sprinkle into the bag and stopped there. I think I may have added a HEAPING Tbsp. and even that only slightly coated them. After adding more salt and more pepper & smooshing well to coat, I just let it rest. I realized the baking powder wasn’t there to cover (as in egg wash-and-flour or panko) but that it’s just to dry the skin slightly. But after 30 min of cooking (with 15 more to go) the baking powder really kicked in and gave me great crispy skin. For once, I actually had something come out that looked EXACTLY like the pics. I was elated!
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you for your helpful feedback! I’m so happy to hear the results were as you expected 🙂
Lucia says
Doesn’t the baking powder give them a weird taste
Judy Caywood says
Love the tips science here Jessica. I am always learning from the best teacher, YOU!!!
Deborah Foley says
Do you oil the both the sheet pan and the rack
Jessica Gavin says
No, just oil both sides of the rack and put foil down on the pan to make it easier to clean up.
Judy says
Could I make these in an air fryer Jessica
Jessica Gavin says
I’m sure you could, but I don’t have one yet so I’m not sure how to advise.
Christine says
Thanks for the easy, healthier baked chicken wings! It turned out crispy and perfect and used bbq sauce to dip but was wondering is there maybe another spice to add that would add more taste to the chicken?
josh Gannon says
Add garlic or make your own dry rub to toss them in afterwards. Maybe coriander and or something sweet.
Sheila Clear says
Great recipe made them tonite Thank You
Apona says
I was confused about the rack part and the pan and can’t I just put the chicken on a pan?
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Apona- When you put the chicken on a rack sitting in a pan it allows the air to circulate under the meat and the fat to drip off into the pan. You can definitely try it directly in a pan, I’d love to hear how that turns out!
Vickye migliaccio says
I put it directly on the pan. I think left enough fat to just make it juicy. I don’t like dried out meat.
Very good recipe. I’m definitely saving it!!
Erika says
This was amazing! It takes a long time but well worth it. Super crispy! My husband said he preferred it to fried. Thank you!
Ella says
Ahhhmazing!!! Super simple and….oh miracle…brown crispy skin!!! Thank you!
Patty says
Delicious! I almost didn’t believe that they would be…easy, and yes, crispy skin!
Kari says
I added a sweet and spicy kimchi sauce to mine! So good!
Phoebe says
I tried this at lunch and the whole family loved it. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
josh Gannon says
Thanks for the recipe. After the oven I tossed them in butter and hot sauce in a hot pan. Not healthy but just like a restaurant. Everyone loved them thanks again!
Pauline says
Yes they were crispy, at least until you dipped them in sauce, then got mushy. Also had a gritty texture to them that I suppose came from the powder.
Anne Graham says
Would it work to add the baking powder to a dry rub, to give them some extra flavouring?
Hannah says
My significant other has been bugging me to try making wings, for years, but I never did because I don’t have a fryer. But after he asked again, yesterday. I figured maybe you can bake them, and cane across your recipe. 100% set the fire alarm off, but my family says it was 100% worth it haha. I wanted to cook some baby potatoes at the same time, so I set one oven rack a little higher than the middle, and one a little lower, planning to switch them half way through. Started the chicken on the lower part, and the fat dripping from the chicken burned on the foil lined pan, which I didn’t notice until I opened the oven. Opening the oven, fat smoke billowed out and set off the fire alarm. I was 15 minutes from done, so we accepted that I may set the alarm off again, and switched the chicken pan to the top and the potato to the bottom. I’m pleased to say the fire alarm did not go off again haha The chicken skin crisped up beautifully. My significant other said these wings were better than Buffalo Wild Wings, which were his go to wings. So much so that he’s currently telling me about all the sauces he wants to buy, to try on these lol. These probably would have been fine with no sauce but I don’t think anyone in the house tried them without. Definitely trying this again. Hopefully I won’t set off the fire alarm next time.
Jessica Gavin says
Hannah, your story made me smile! You can try adding a little water to the bottom of the pan to prevent burning next time but don’t do too much or it won’t be as crispy. I’d love to hear what other sauces you make for the wings. I have a buffalo sauce on my website that would pair perfectly with the baked wings.
Dolores says
My smoke alarm went off when I opened oven for the first turn. Even though it was very cold outside I had to open all.my windows. I only cooked around a pound and had to use at least four tsp. of baking powder.
Wings did turn out crispy, however.
I have to find a way to stop my smoke alarm if I make these again. My dogs were traumatized…lol.
Heike Grabow says
Oh my goodness. Same here 🙂
I got them in the oven now. Curious to see how they turn out.
Rupert Northcote-Green says
Thank you for the recipe! First thing I have cooked in years that the kids liked, ate and finished! I was still told that Mum’s cooking is better, but hey, I’ll take it! 🙂
Jie Jie Oehlman says
This. Was. Delicious! Crispy. Tasty. The recipe is spot on! I’m looking forward to trying more of your recipes! Many thanks!
EDDIE says
Mine didnt come out right. I think it’s because I misread the instructions regarding how much baking powder. I coated them heavily and they taste like chalk. 🙁
Jessica Gavin says
How much baking powder did you add?
Scott says
Ok I’ll bite.Big college playoff games today & have 10 lbs of wings to cook.Never heard of baking powder,maybe it will impress a girl I like.
Steve Myerson says
I made these today. Instead of mixing the baking powder in the rub, I added it on after. So, I coated the chicken in oil, then sprinkled garlic salt, thyme, and black pepper. Then, dusted then with the baking powder and tossed them around a few times. Placed them on a baking sheet with parchment paper (no rack) and tossed them every fifteen min, three times.
They came out AMAZING!!! I saved this recipe in my paprika app. It is more or less a method rather than a recipe, as you can season the wings however you like. The key is to stick to the 450 oven and toss every fifteen minutes. The rack was optional as these came out perfect just on the sheet lined with parchment.
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you for the helpful tips Steve! You are rocking the wing method!
Beverlyn says
No need to marinate?
Jessica Gavin says
Marination not required, but you can if you’d like.
Anthony Carosella says
Good afternoon Jessica
I made the baked wings yesterday and they
We’re great I used two different types of pepper black pepper and also used Sichuan pepper corns and sea salt , they turned out great I had blue cheese 🧀 and also I used lemon 🍋 on them as well either way they were great
Marcia King says
I would love to be able to do this with bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts. Is this possible?
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Marcia- I feel like this method could work if you bake the chicken first to get the inside cooked, then turn up the heat for the skin to brown and become crispy. You can’t cook it at the high temp the whole time because the outside will burn and the thicker center would be undercooked.
Jacquelin Curry says
I LOVE this wing recipe. In fact, my entire family loves it. I have had to double it every time I make it. To Marcia’s point – do you think it would work with chicken tenders?
Susan McNamara says
Do you toss the wings in oil also or just oil the wire rack? How much baking soda do you use? They sound great and can’t wait to try.
Jessica Gavin says
Just use the oil for greasing the wire rack. Use 2 teaspoons of baking powder, not baking soda.
Jeanine Howard says
Absolutely the best oven fried wings I have ever had. That skin! It was light and crispy! These are my go to wings from now on. Thank you Jessica!
Anne says
I found that the baking powder gave this a really weird taste that overpowered everything else. I followed the recipe to the letter. Will stick to just using plain flour.
Catherine says
I am such a fan and followed the recipe exactly but these wings were OVERCOOKED. The spices were perfect but the final result was such a disappointment…crispy yet DRY!!! I will continue to play with the cooking time/heat in hopes of finding a happy medium between crispy skin yet moist wing meat.
Jessica Gavin says
I appreciate your feedback, Catherine! Perhaps you could lower the heat to 350ºF in the last 12-15 minutes to finish the cooking but not have dry meat. Let me know how it goes.
geri says
How many pieces are in a single servng? I’m eager to try the baking powder trick.
Thank you!
Jessica Gavin says
The nutrition facts are based on 1 chicken wing.
Maria Terry says
So simple and so good. I did add 1 teaspoon more baking powder to extend the breading. They were crispy and tasty. Sure they take time. I didn’t have to do anything during that time. Husband loved them. I will make these again and again. Love that they have Great result. Another winner, second one of the week. Love that they’re baked without oil, except on the rack. Winner, winner chicken dinner!
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you, Maria! Thanks for sharing your adjustments with the baking powder. Did you dip them in any sauce?
Maria Terry says
I used yogurt blue cheese dressing as one option and sweet heat bbq sauce as the other. I ate several with no sauce because they tasted that good and they were crispy.
Jessica Gavin says
Ooohh, those both sound delcious!
Melanie says
These are a weekly staple in our house. Soo easy to make and so delicious!!
Jessica Gavin says
Amazing! What sauce do you serve the wings with, Melanie?
Jennifer says
My son loves chicken wings!!! I just printed this recipe about 2 hours ago and he is eating them like a cave man as we speak. Every few minutes I have to remind him to breathe. They were super easy to make and I’m glad because I am sure he is going to ask for them again in a few days.
Jessica Gavin says
This comment made me smile, Jennifer! So happy to hear that your son is devouring the chicken wings. Great job!
Dadgrillsout says
Huge fan!! I throw mine on the grill and flip every 5 minutes until done. Usually 20-25 minutes.
Jessica Gavin says
I’ll have to try the grilling method with the wings!
Rodney Adams Adams says
WHAT IS CONSIDERED A SERVING SIZE?
Jessica Gavin says
The nutritional information is per wing. Depending on if you are serving other items as an appetizer, it could be 3-5 wings per person.
Doug says
Just found your site, love it! Am curious to hear your thoughts on something I do with all cuts, or whole, chicken that has the skin on: rinse all pieces, pat dry, season, put on a plate or tray in single layer uncovered in the frig overnight or at least 8hrs to dry the skin out. Bakes up really crispy, or on the grill too.
Jessica Gavin says
Glad you found me! I think it’s a great idea to dry the chicken in the refrigerator overnight for crispier skin. I do this for my dry brined turkey.