How To Bake Chicken Wings That Are SOOO Crispy

For baked chicken wings that are perfectly crispy, you need our three-step method that’s loved by hundreds of thousands of cooks, cooks who come back here over and over again to make them. It’s the best chicken wing recipe ever!

Good news! You don’t have to deep fry wings in order to end up with deliciously crispy chicken. You can easily make trays of wings for game day in the oven with my crispy baked chicken wings recipe. A little bit of baking powder and a two-step baking method gives you delicious wings without a lot of effort.

Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.

Jump To:

1. Video: How To Make Crispy Oven Baked Wings
2. Why Bake Chicken Wings?
3. Why These Baked Wings Are SO Crispy
4. Why Use Baking Powder?
5. Can You Use Baking Soda Or Cornstarch?
6. Time and Temperature for Baked Chicken Wings
7. How To Bake Chicken Wings So They’re Extra Crispy
8. Seasoning The Wings
9. Sauce For Baked Wings
10. Even Better Crispy Chicken Wings?
11. More Chicken Wing Recipes
12. Podcast Episode: Baking Chicken Wings
13. Crispy Oven-Baked Chicken Wings Recipe

You can see in this How to Cook Chicken Wings post that we compared different ways of cooking chicken wings and baking is best for cooking for a crowd and the best option for crispy skin other than deep fried chicken wings.

Why These Baked Wings Are SO Crispy

These chicken wings are seriously so crispy, you’d think they were deep-fried. There are three reasons why they give you that crunch:

• They use a small amount of baking powder which helps crisp the skin, see more about why this happens below.
• They are baked at a low temperature first to really dry the skin out and to give the baking powder time to start working.
• High heat at the end to finish cooking the wings and to really brown and crisp the skin.

Why Use Baking Powder?

Baking powder is a leavening agent usually used in baked goods such as cookies and cakes. It’s a mixture of sodium bicarbonate, cream of tartar, and cornstarch. But interestingly, when mixed with salt and dusted on chicken, after cooking, the chicken skin is extra crispy. Why does this happen?

It happens because baking powder is alkaline (the opposite of acidic). The addition of the baking powder therefore raises the pH level in the chicken, allowing the peptide bonds in the skin to break down, which in turn lets the skin get more crisp and brown.

You can also use this method with other cuts of chicken, like these amazingly crispy Baked Chicken Drumsticks. And, I’m going to tell you below how adding baking powder to a wet brine mixture can also get your crispy chicken skin.

Use Aluminum-Free Baking Powder

Note that while most of the comments below this post are very positive (people seriously love this method of baking crispy wings!) a couple of commenters noted a bitter taste on their wings. I at first thought that they were using baking soda instead of baking powder. Doing so would definitely lead to a terrible taste. However, they claimed that they were really using baking powder for sure. I was stymied until another helpful commenter posted this link showing that some people are sensitive to a flavor that is found in some brands of baking powder.

Baking powder that contains “sodium aluminum sulfate” has a bitter taste to some people. If you notice this flavor, you’ll want to try a different brand of baking powder. The Rumford Brand is aluminum-free, so that’s one to try. And note that Rumford is not a sponsor of this post or anything like that. We just know for sure that they are an aluminum-free brand.

Can You Use Baking Soda Or Cornstarch?

Baking soda is NOT a good substitute for baking powder. While baking powder does contain baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), baking soda alone is stronger and has a very metallic taste if used without being neutralized with an acid. The cream or tartar found in baking soda is acidic and neutralizes that taste.

In the comments below this recipe, several people have asked if they can use cornstarch instead of baking powder. While people do use cornstarch on their wings to make them crispy, it works in a different way. Baking powder changes the pH of the skin so that the skin itself gets crispier. On the other hand, when you put cornstarch on wings, it’s the cornstarch coating itself that is toasting and crisping.

Therefore, my answer is that you can use cornstarch on wings, but not as a substitute for the baking powder in this recipe – it won’t work the same way and the amounts would not be equivalent.

Time and Temperature for Baked Chicken Wings

We start at the low temperature of 250°F for 30 minutes to dry out the wings.

Then, without removing the wings from the oven, increase the temperature to 425°F and bake for 40-50 minutes more. This cooks the chicken through and browns the wings to crispy perfection. If your wings are smaller than average, you will likely only need to cook them for 30 minutes at this step.

How To Bake Chicken Wings So They’re Extra Crispy

Prep and Season

If you have whole wings, you can learn how to cut chicken wings here. (When you cut ten wings, you end up with 30 wing pieces. That’s 10 drumettes, 10 flaps and 10 wing tips. You’ll either discard the wing tips or save them for another use. That leaves 20 wing pieces that you’re using here.)

Note: You can leave the wings whole if you prefer and it won’t affect the cooking time. I think they area little more awkward to eat though. You also can leave the wing tips attached to the flap, but there’s so little meat on there that they aren’t the best to eat.

Once they’re all cut up, put them into a big bowl. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of aluminum-free baking powder (and NOT baking soda!). It doesn’t seem like much but you’re not trying to make a coating for the wings here. You’re trying to change their pH level so that they will crisp up better. Mix it up, I usually just toss it around or get in there with my hands.

I’ll also say that I am somewhat of a perfectionist and so to get a really even coatingthat is dispersed well on the wings, what I usually do is to put half of the wings into the bowl, sprinkle with half of the salt and baking powder, then add the other half of the wings and sprinkle with remaining salt and powder, and then I mix them with my hands. That just reduces the likelihood that the salt and baking powder will be overly concentrated on some wings.

Use A Wire Rack

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil to make clean up easier. Then set an oven-safe metal rack onto the baking sheet. Spray the rack with cooking spray or lightly oil it to help prevent the chicken from sticking. Place the wings on the rack.

The rack is really helpful for crisping the wings because it allows air to circulate all around the chicken pieces so that they get evenly crisp. It also lets the fat drip away from the chicken so they’re not sitting in pools of fat, which will also reduce crispiness.

Start at a Low Temp

Place the chicken in a 250°F oven for 30 minutes. This gets some of the fat rendered from under the skin and starts that drying out process. Here’s how they look after 30 minutes. These are not cooked. Do not eat them yet.

Finish with High Heat

Leave them in the oven and crank the heat up to 425°F and cook 40-50 minutes more, until golden brown and so crispy. If your wings are smaller, skinnier ones, you will likely only need to cook them for 30 minutes at this step. If they’re crispy on the outside and their internal temperature on an instant read thermometer is 165°F, they’re done.

Note that a lot of people’s ovens aren’t calibrated well and usually run a bit lower than is displayed. If your wings are not browned well after 40 minutes, increase the heat to 450°F or even 475°F to get a final bit of browning on them.

In general, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer that sits in your oven and tells you the actual internal temperature. They’re inexpensive and very useful if you’re trying to perfect your cooking. They sell them at a lot of grocery stores, and you can also get one on Amazon here.

Seasoning The Wings

You can season them before baking, but sometimes some spices burn from the high heat. I therefore prefer to toss them with just the salt and baking powder for baking and then add flavor with a spice blend and/or sauce after.

Having said that, this wing dry rub contains baking powder and great seasonings and works beautifully – these spices don’t burn.

After baking, my favorite is really just adding more salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Use regular fine salt, which is more likely to stick to the wings, not kosher or anything thick here. A bit of tajin seasoning thrown in is always good too! Or try these seasoning blends that are great on wings. And yes, pizza seasoning is one of them and is my kids’ favorite on crispy baked wings!

Sauce For Baked Wings

These wings are so crispy that I find it a shame to add moisture to them and lose any of the crispiness with a sauce, but if you must toss them with a sauce…

This easy decadent homemade Buffalo sauce will blow your mind or grab some BBQ sauce.

And then you’ll need a great dip, like ranch or blue cheese dressing. I prefer ranch dressing. You can grab a bottle at the store, make your own with fresh herbs like this, or make homemade ranch seasoning with ingredients from your pantry and stir together 1 cup of sour cream with 1 tablespoon of the seasoning. It’s so fresh-tasting and delicious!

More Chicken Wing Recipes

Podcast Episode: Baking Chicken Wings

Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this recipe, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:

Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.

Print

Crispy Oven-Baked Chicken Wings Recipe

Contributor: Christine Pittman

For perfectly crispy baked chicken wings, you need our trusted three-step baking powder method loved by hundreds of thousands of cooks.

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.9 from 149 reviews

• Author: Lyndsay Burginger
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
• Yield: 20 wings 1x
• Category: Entrée
• Method: Baked
• Cuisine: American

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 10 whole chicken wings, cut into flats and drumettes (here’s how to do it). Discard tips or use for a stock. That leaves you with 20 wing pieces total
• 1 Tbsp. aluminum-free* baking powder (NOT baking soda)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Sauce or dry rub

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 250°F.
2. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Place an oven-safe rack on top of cookie sheet. Spray rack with cooking spray or lightly oil it.
3. In a large bowl, use your hands to toss the flats and drumettes with the baking powder and salt until chicken is evenly coated. But do not add extra baking powder, just mix them so they all have some.
4. Place wings on the prepared rack in single layer. Transfer rack with the cookie sheet under it to oven and cook for 30 minutes. This baking at a low temperature dries the wings out and allows the baking powder to penetrate.
5. After 30 minutes, leave the wings in the oven but raise the heat to 425°F. Continue to cook until brown and crispy, 40-50 minutes.**
6. Take wings out and let rest 5 minutes. Toss in a delicious sauce like this one and serve.

Love this recipe? I’d appreciate it if you could scroll down and add a *5 star rating* to help others know they’ll love it as well!

Notes

*As stated at the top of this article and in the comments below, some baking powders contain aluminum and some people (maybe 10%) can really taste it and it tastes bitter to them. To make sure that your wings do not taste bitter, please use an aluminum-free baking powder such as Rumford Brand. And as noted everywhere, please make sure you’re actually using baking powder and NOT baking soda. And please make sure that you’re just using a little bit of baking powder, like the 1 tablespoon called for. You are not trying to create a breading or coating for the wings. You are just putting a little bit because that little bit changes the ph of the wings which is what makes them crisp up so well. Who knew there was so much to say about baking powder??? lol

 

**If your wings are smaller, skinnier ones, you will likely only need to cook them for 30 minutes at this step. If they’re crispy on the outside and their internal temperature is 165°F as read on an instant-read thermometer, they’re done.

Method dapted from Cook’s Country. The science behind it all can be found here on Serious Eats.

This post originally appeared in January 2016 and was revised and republished in December 2024.