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)
- 🐓Ingredients
- 👨🍳How to Make Crispy Baked Chicken Wings—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
- 🤔When are chicken wings done?
- 🥣Buffalo Coating Sauce
- 🎉Check out other game day party recipes
- 🍽️Serving
- ❄️Storing leftover chicken wings
- 🔥Reheating Buffalo wings
- ❓FAQs
- 📖The Recipe Card with Step-by-Step Instructions
- Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
Featured Comment by Don:
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"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.
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🤔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 with Step-by-Step Instructions
Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
Video Slideshow
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
Step-by-Step 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 can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
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.
Kathy says
I gave been eating and cooking wings for over 20 years and could not replicate fried wings from restaurants in the oven- until now!!! Thank you very much - they were fabulous!! My go to recipe now!!
Dutch67 says
Doctor,
The crisp level was just right for our 3 family members. I made 24 pieces though, and adjusted the spice and baking powder amounts accordingly. They like Buffalo sauce, and thought the wings held up well with it. I, however, don't care for Buffalo sauce so much and instead used a bottled Asian sweet chili sauce (cut with a little extra vinegar) brushed on the pieces once they got to my plate. That worked well for me. They were also good with no sauce, just some white pepper sprinkled on. Thanks for the formula!
DrDan says
HI Dutch,
Thanks for the note. I'm kind of a no sauce person with this. It is that crispy skin with the garlic that is so good. I do like the white pepper idea. I will try that.
Dan
Michele says
I just found this recipe and I cannot wait to try it! I'm wondering how to tweak it if I were to use BBQ sauce instead? (I am not a huge fan of Buffalo sauce) I know I can't cook BBQ sauce at 400 degrees for 30 minutes because of the high sugar content.....so can you please advise me? Do I cut the 2nd cook time by 5-10 minutes, baste on the BBQ sauce and THEN put them back in for the last 5-10? Or cook completely and toss in a pan on the stove? I don't want to risk losing the crunch! Thanks and I really like your website!
DrDan says
Hi Michele,
Your plan is good. I would give a light brushing about 10 minutes before done (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 brush gives a base for the second coat to stick. I would add a tablespoon of melted butter to 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce to use. I think I will add this to the recipe in the comment area so others will see it.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Annmarie Anderson says
Simply, WOW, AWESOME, SUPER CRISPY, LESS SPLATTER etc...
Your recipe for chicken wing sauce is THE GREATEST!!
DrDan says
Hi Annmarie,
They are super crispy. I'm doing a double batch today for the Super Bowl.
Thanks so much for the note.
Dan
plasterers bristol says
These sound so delicious. Thaanks for sharing this recipe.
Simon
Richard Taylor says
Your printable recipe says 1/2 cup hot sauce, but in the article above, you say 1/4 cup hot sauce. Which is it?
DrDan says
1/4 cup. The reference recipe was for twice this so it snuck over from there in the one spot. Thanks for the catch.
Dan
rose says
My oven was clean and now My oven is a mess. My kitchen is full of smoke. Can barely breath. opened up doors and windows even though cold outside. I don't think spraying with pan helped. Just made more smoke.
N. Coulas says
Very good chicken wings,, also made the blue cheese dressing, so happy with the results.
First tried the chicken thighs, not sure how many times I have made them now, always requested by family.
Thanks for the recipes!
James says
Found them very salty , the baking powder I used said ingredients bicarbonate of soda and corn starch , so not sure if aliminium was in it, anyway not very nice. Would the molasses leave a salty taste ?
Jared says
Hi there, big fan of your site. It's been a big help to practice for cooking on my own.
I was just wondering why you use baking powder in the dry mix? My roommate was surprised when I told him I was going to use aluminum free baking powder instead of flour or corn starch. The end resulting wings I made were a bit on the salty side, and he said it may be accredited to the aluminum free baking powder, as we probably put in less salt than was suggested.
What are your thoughts?
Thanks for the recipes!
DrDan says
Aluminum free baking powder is less sodium the with aluminum. I always do aluminum free since there is a distinctive taste that many (me included) can taste. The baking powder is used to pull water out of the skin allowing it to be more crispy. A trick used by many. Flour and corn starch would pull a little fluid out but leave a starch coating.
Dan
Chris says
I have to try the molasses in the wing sauce. I've done worcestershire sauce but never molassess, I like that idea.
Aku Selasi says
I am from Ghana and I came across your site when we moved to the States 3 years ago. Your recipes are the only ones I have tried and it always turned out fantastic. I'm yet to try the wings for my family I know it will be a hit. I trust your recipes.
DrDan says
Hi Aku,
Thanks for the note. I would say that there is a huge universe of recipes out there to try. I think I'm a bit boring.
Dan
Leslie says
Although, Carolina Panthers lost, the wings, blue cheese dipping sauce, broccoli slaw, and brisket all won. Thanks again for the recipes!
Ryan says
Wings are in the oven. I'm trying your low temp technique and I'm interested to see how it compares to the much higher temps I usually bake at. I didnt have baking powder and figured baking soda wouldn't be a great substitute. Have you ever tried coating in olive oil? Mine always come out brown and crispy. I'm hoping with the lower temp the splatter inside the oven is much less or none at all.
Ryan says
Now that I look at my wing and yours, Id say mine were just getting brown but not crispy. Looking forward to trying our recipe w/ the baking powder.
DrDan says
Hi Ryan,
The baking powder really does make the difference in the crispiness. The initial low temp is to pull moisture out of the skin to help with the crispiness when finished at high temp.
Thanks for the notes and rating.
DrDan
Ryan says
Tried this again w/ the recommended 1Tablespoon baking powder and it was just way too much power for me. Did you really mean a tablespoon? I tried again with 1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder and it was nearly perfect. The added bonus is that the powder keeps most of the splattering grease from flying all over the oven. I blame your crispy chicken thighs recipe that i love, for making my oven a total mess. LOL
Leslie says
The wings sound great since I am making your beef brisket Saturday, I can make these Sunday. Thanks for the great recipes.
DrDan says
This one will not disappoint.
Dan
Lara says
Assume this would also work with chicken legs (which my family prefers)? Great idea - and much less mess! Can't wait to try this!
DrDan says
Yep it would work for drumsticks but the skin here is extra crispy to stand up to the Buffalo sauce coating. Try https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/the-art-of-drummies-oven-baked-chicken/ for the drumsticks.
Dan