Make these extra Crispy Baked Chicken Wings in your convection oven using baking powder and a rack. They're a healthy alternative to fried wings with about half the calories. Add your favorite seasoning for the best Buffalo hot wings you've ever made—you'll never want to fry again.
🐓Ingredients
Chicken wings
Baking powder—aluminum-free
Salt
Garlic powder
Buffalo coating—hot sauce, butter, molasses
Jump To (scroll for more)
Featured Comment by Don:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"My wife and I have used your basic recipe for quite some time, and it is "spot on" every time. Wings are crispy, and meat is tender. "
Wings are an All-American favorite and the perfect finger food for game-day parties. However, most Buffalo wing recipes require frying, which results in a greasy mess, making it daunting for many people to make at home.
Make extra crispy chicken wings using baking powder and a rack and bake them in a convection oven. Using two-stage baking, start at 250° to dry the wings, then at 400° convection to finish. Easy to prepare with simple step-by-step photo instructions. Serve with your favorite sauce and dips.
Check out some other crispy chicken recipes such as Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Thighs, Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks, and Crispy Grilled Split Chicken Breasts.
👨🍳How to Make Crispy Baked Chicken Wings—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
1. Trim chicken wings of loose joint parts and the tip. If you wish, you can cut the wings apart. Then, pat them dry with paper towels.
2. Prep a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and a wire rack. Spray heavily with PAM.
3. Mix aluminum-free baking powder with salt and garlic powder in a food bag. Add chicken wings and shake well to coat.
4. Arrange the wings on the tray and bake on a lower rack in a 250° conventional oven for 30 minutes.
5. Move the tray to the middle rack and bake at 400° convection until golden brown and crispy, about 40 minutes, and an internal temperature of 165°.
6. While the wings are baking, prepare the Buffalo sauce of butter, hot sauce, and molasses to coat the wings.
7. Allow the wings to cool for 5 minutes, then coat them with the Buffalo sauce or your favorite sauce.
8. Serve hot with dip of your choice, celery, and carrot sticks.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
🤔When are chicken wings done?
Like any chicken, according to the USDA, they must reach 165° internal temperature.
🥣Buffalo Coating Sauce
I suggest the traditional Buffalo coating sauce, which combines hot sauce, molasses, and melted butter. BBQ seems to be a favorite, but you can choose a different sauce if you like.
Alternate BBQ Coating Sauce
- Skip the Buffalo coating.
- Mix ½ cup of BBQ sauce with 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Give the wings a light brushing of the BBQ sauce about 10 minutes before the end of cooking (be sure to flip to get both sides), then a heavier brush when they come out.
- It somewhat depends on the amount of sauce you want on the wing. The light brushing gives a base for the second coat to stick.
🎉Check out other game day party recipes
Don't miss these other party recipes, like Oven Pulled Pork Butt, Chicken for a Crowd, or Oven Baked BBQ Beef Brisket. And for sweet snacks, try Chocolate Cheesecake Bites and Crock Pot Chocolate Peanut Clusters.
Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites
These bacon-wrapped chicken bites are a perfect appetizer. The juicy chicken, crispy bacon, and a spicy brown sugar coating will make them the first finger food to disappear at any party.
🍽️Serving
I serve them with my Homemade Blue Cheese Dip, carrots, and celery sticks. But many other vegetables, such as slices of bell pepper and green onions are commonly added.
Other sauces for dipping include BBQ Sauce, Honey BBQ Sauce, Ranch Dressing, and Blue Cheese Salad Dressing.
Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce for Wings
This Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce for Chicken Wings perfectly complements buffalo wings and veggies. A 5-minute dipping sauce recipe that's creamy and irresistible.
❄️Storing leftover chicken wings
Store leftover buffalo wings in an airtight container and refrigerate for 4 days or freeze for 4 months. If frozen, be sure to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating in the oven.
🔥Reheating Buffalo wings
You can reheat buffalo wings in the oven or air fryer. The oven is best for retaining the wings' original flavor and texture.
Use a preheated 350° oven, spread them in a single layer, and bake for 10-15 minutes, flipping them halfway through. An air fryer would be similar.
Using a microwave will result in soggy skin and is not recommended.
❓FAQs
Baking powder is used in a coating; it will pull water out of the skin and break down some proteins, leading to crispier skin. Don't buy baking powder with aluminum in it—the aftertaste will ruin this dish for sensitive people.
Baking powder comes both with and without aluminum-based acid that activates with heat and triggers the other ingredients. The without version will have a different acid activator.
A number of people will have a metallic taste from the aluminum, and some people want to avoid the aluminum for health concerns. The two types of baking powder will cost and function the same. We always buy the aluminum-free version for the taste issues.
A note about baking soda. While it can be used to replace the baking powder in this recipe, it will also have metallic taste issues and is not recommended.
There will be 4-5 raw, untrimmed chicken wings per pound.
Smoking ovens have been an issue for at least one user due to higher-temperature cooking. I haven’t had the problem, BUT it is probably related to multiple factors.
1. If there is trimmable fat, trim it.
2. Use a pan with some sides to keep any splatter contained.
3. Use the bake mode if your oven has a convection roast and convection bake.
4. You could turn down the oven by 25°-50°. This will increase the cooking time and may be prone to drying out some. Remember to cook to an endpoint, not by time.
5. Of course, the oven should be clean so the smoke isn’t coming from a previous splatter.
6. Some water in the pan under the rack will prevent most of the smoking issues. It will cool the fat when it drips. But in this recipe where we are working to dry the wings, I do not recommend this solution.
📖The Recipe Card
Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
Video Slideshow
Save this recipe link to your inbox for later!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken wings
- 1 tablespoon aluminum free baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Buffalo coating
- ¼ cup hot sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter - melted
- 1 ½ teaspoons molasses
Instructions
Start by preheating an oven to 250° conventional. Have a lower and a middle oven rack.
Prep a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and a wire rack. Spray heavily with PAM.- Trim about 2 pounds of chicken wings of any loose joint parts. It is OK not to cut the wings apart or just trim off the tip. Pat dry with paper towels, and then pat dry again.
- Mix 1 tablespoon of aluminum-free baking powder ½ teaspoons of salt, and ½ teaspoons of garlic powder in a 1-gallon ziplock bag. Add chicken wings and shake well to coat.
- Arrange the wings on the tray with the biggest pieces in the corner and the thinnest in the middle. Place in the preheated oven on the lower rack and bake for 30 minutes. Then move the tray to the middle rack and increase the oven to 400° convection (preferred) or 425° conventional if you don't have convection.
- Prepare the Buffalo sauce to coat the wings. Melt 2 tablespoons butter and combine with ¼ cup hot sauce and 1 ½ teaspoon molasses.
- Bake until golden brown and crispy, about 40 minutes, and at 165° internal temperature.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then coat with the Buffalo sauce or sauce of your choice.
- Serve hot with dip of your choice, celery, and carrot sticks.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- Trim the joints for bone fragments. You may cut the wings apart, leave them whole, and just trim off the tips.
- It is important that the baking powder is aluminum-free. Aluminum leaves a metallic taste that many can taste.
- Make sure the wings are very dry after trimming.
- Change up the coating if you want.
- I suggest Blue Cheese Dip, but everybody has a favorite
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
© 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors.
The inspiration recipes are Cooks Country Oven-Fried Chicken Wings (subscription required) and Serious Eat's very long writeup. This recipe is featured in Tailgate Recipes and Game Day Recipes roundups.
Editor Note: Originally published January 30, 2016. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Don K says
My wife and I have used your basic recipe for quite some time and it is "spot on" every time. Wings are crispy and meat is tender. For convenience we use frozen wing pieces (thawed and "squeezed dry"). We use your basic ingredients and add 1/4 tsp of paprika. Since we like the wings "plain" we don't use sauce but often do use various dips (depending on our moods and whatever we have at our old house). One different thing we do is - after thoroughly drying the thawed wings - we apply the coating as described (plus paprika) and then leave in the lowest refrigerator shelf on the baking pan/rack for about 5 hours. It seems to dry the wings a little more before cooking. As we are part of the older generation, we love your recipes; attention to details, regularly check your emails, and appreciate your devotion to this "art" of "cooking for two". Bless your heart.
Bill says
Nice! First time I've used baking powder to season wings. The skin crisped up nicely without flipping. I added a 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika and a 1/4 tsp of pepper to the seasoning mix, but other wise followed the recipe. I was a bit leery about the differing times and temps, but, contrary to my normal instincts, I went with it. Baked up the wing tips as well and saved them for chicken stock. For the sauce I used honey in place of the molasses. Enjoyed that as well. Went well with crispy cast iron pizza. My wife and I don't usually eat chicken skin, but, with it crisping up and still having tender juicy meat it was a hit.
Thanks Doc,
Bill
Dea Varner says
Have been eyeing this recipe for awhile and finally had the pleasure of making these tonight. I made my own dry rub, including the baking powder in it and then followed the directions exactly. These had to have been the most moist yet crispy chicken wings I’ve ever eaten!! My husband who is picky about his wings, devoured them!! We served with both ranch and BBQ sauces and some crudités. This is totally a keeper recipe!!!
Halfadime7 says
Thank you for supplying the link to the "Serious Eats" article. It was an eye-opener for me. We've been eating your Baked Split Chicken Breasts (Bone-in) recipe for years now and I'm anxious to try these wings. Another good one, Dr. Dan.
jon b kraft says
the skin on my wings was like a sheet of plastic. your great so I must have done something wrong-I just used whole wings. help!!!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Jon,
Welcome to the blog.
I have seen that a on a few wings. I suspect they were a little dehydrated from prolonged freezing in the supply chain. Give then a light spray of PAM cooking spray between the drying and the cooking steps. That should help and it will not change the final results much if you don't need it.
Dan
Kathy Franklin says
These wings were excellent! Husband agreed. Best wings I have ever made!
Thank you for such a quick response to my comment this morning. Cooking time was perfect. Wings were so moist inside.
Kathy Franklin says
I am going to make these tonight. I’m surprised the wings cook an additional 40 minutes at the higher temperature after 30 minutes on low. Hopefully I interpreted the recipe correctly. I love all your recipes. I have made the White Chicken Chile many times. Always enjoyed!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Kathy,
The recipe is correct. The initial low temp is to help the baking powder dehydrate the skin. Then turn it up to finish cooking and crisping. So, in a way, it is the secret to the "crispy."
Dan
I think I will make some chili this weekend.
Greg B says
The baking soda made the wings unbearably salty. My wife couldn’t finish them. I’ve got a “salt tooth” and even I found the salt taste overwhelming.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Greg,
Welcome to the blog.
The recipe calls for baking powder, not baking soda. Baking soda has four times as much sodium as baking powder.
Dan
(Rating removed due to not following instructions)
Jaime says
These turned out amazing. Definitely going on the super bowl menu. Thank you!
Erica says
This is the best crispy wing recipe I have ever had!
I can't wait to make these again and honestly look at more of your recipes based of how amazing this one was.
I added a McCormick spice packet (honey habanero to be exact) and they were HANDS DOWN the best wings I've ever had in my life
Mollie Harlow says
These were amazing! My husband absolutely loves wings, but since I have celiac disease and many times the restaurants share the fryer with breaded items, it makes it tough to go out and find good wings.
We followed the recipe exactly, and the wings turned out perfectly crispy and perfectly doused in the amount of buffalo sauce that we like. Thank you.
Alicia Bland says
Delicious and very crispy! My girls loved them! One of my girls likes to get general tso's wings so I made a batch of your general tso's sauce and used that on some of the wings and it was so good! Now we are looking forward to making the general tso's too.
jackiv says
This method of preparation does indeed make for a crispy wing, however I found that the chicken fat makes one heck of a smoky mess of my oven and kitchen for that matter. That being said, I remedied this by placing a one-sheet layer of paper towels over the aluminum foil to catch the fat. I have done this many many times, and no-it does not catch fire! Problem solved! Thanks for the recipe. I detest Buffalo sauce. I'm like you - just give me the dang wings!
DrDan says
Hi Jack,
Welcome to the blog.
The cooking of chicken at high temp tends to do that sometimes. Really, I never have had a problem.
But in my high temperature cooking of chicken thighs, others are having issues occasionally. Here are my suggestions there and I will add it to this recipes. Or the paper towel if it works for you.
-If there is trimmable fat, trim it.
-Use a pan with some side on it to keep any splatter contained.
-If your oven has convection roast and convection bake, use the bake mode.
-You could turn down the oven by 25-50 degrees. This will increase the cooking time some and may prone to drying out some. Remember to cook to an endpoint, not by time.
-Of course, the oven should be clean, so the smoke isn’t coming from a previous splatter.
-Some water in the pan under the rack will prevent the smoking issue. It will cool the fat when it drips.
Thanks for the note and glad it works well for you.
Dan
Jackie says
What can I replace the baking powder with since mine has aluminum sulfate.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Jackie,
Welcome to the blog.
There is no good substitute. Baking soda will dry the skin but leave an odd taste, so don't do that. You can use the baking powder you have if you (or who you are serving) are not sensitive to the aluminum taste. It is a genetic thing, if I remember correctly, about 10% of the population.
If you skip it, the wings will still be crispy, just not super crisp.
Hope that helps some.
Dan
Cassie says
30 mins at 250F and then 40 mins at 400F?
Am I reading this right? Should put 10 mins at 400F, makes it less confusing.
DrDan says
Hi Cassie,
Welcome to the blog.
The 30 minutes at 250 draws the moisture out of the skin and the 40 minutes at 400 cooks and crisps. I haven't cooked this since last Super Bowl so I want back to the model recipes and Cooks Country is 40-50 minutes at 425. So the recipe is correct. I will re-word it some to clarify.
Thanks for the note.
Dan