Toss out that deep fryer, just like last year’s jeans. We’ve got the solution to crispy chicken wings without the hassle of deep frying. These ones are baked but use a secret technique to make them extra crisp.
Raise your hand if you like chicken wings. Good. Now keep them up if you enjoy spending time in front of a deep-fryer while oil splatters all over the kitchen. Did I see a few hands go down? Mine sure did.
It’s been branded into our heads that chicken wings need to be deep fried to be crispy. However, after some research (and yummy taste-tests), we are proud to share our findings on how to bake chicken wings that are sooo crispy.
Check Out This Video On Crispy Oven Baked Wings:
Why Use Baking Powder?
Were you surprised by the baking powder in that video? Unusual right? Stick with me as I go into the details.
Baking powder, not to be mistaken with baking soda, 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. When mixed with salt and coated on chicken it dries out the skin, leaving it crisp and crunchy. Why does this happen? Get ready, sciency stuff ahead! It happens because the addition of the baking powder raises the pH level in the chicken, allowing the peptide bonds in the skin to break down, thus letting the skin get more crisp and brown.
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 do try that one. I haven’t yet done a taste test comparison using the two different types of baking powder but I will soon and then I will report back with my results here.
O.K., enough chatter. Let’s get cooking!
How To Bake Crispy Chicken Wings, Step By Step:
Step #1
Cut up 10 whole chicken wings. (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.
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.
Step #2
Mix it up. Don’t be afraid to use your hands. It’s way easier and one less thing to wash. It’s gobs of fun too! (Hey look! My nails match the bowl! This was unplanned but I like it).
Step #3
Place the wings on a cooking rack in a sheet pan. This lets air circulate all around the chicken pieces so that they get evenly crisp. It also lets the fat drip away from the chicken, leading to crispy, crispy, crispy skin.
Step #4
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.
Step #5
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.
Step #6
Toss them in a super-amazing sauce. We’ve got one for you…
This easy decadent homemade Buffalo sauce will blow your mind!
Wasn’t that easy? And no pot full of hot oil to dispose of either. So awesome. Scroll down to find the printable version of the above instructions.
Print Crispy Oven-Baked Chicken Wings
Toss out that deep fryer, just like last year’s jeans. We’ve got the solution to crispy chicken wings without the hassle of deep frying. These ones are baked but use a secret technique to make them extra crisp.
Listen to our editor, Christine Pittman, explain briefly about how to make these wings, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
- 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
Ingredients
- 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)
- ½ tsp. salt
- Sauce or dry rub
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250°F.
- Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Place a oven-safe rack on top of cookie sheet.
- 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.
- Place wings on the rack in single layer. Transfer rack and cookie sheet to oven and cook for 30 minutes. This baking at a low temperature dries the wings out and allows the baking powder to penetrate.
- 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.
- Take wings out and let rest 5 minutes. Toss in a delicious sauce like this one and serve.
Notes
Video by Leigh Olson. Photos by Christine Pittman.
This post originally appeared in January 2016 and was revised and republished in February 2017.
My go to baked wings recipe
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Wonderful, Michael! 🙂
My son says they’re as good as from his fave wing shop! That’s a huge order, and thanks to you a much appreciated compliment!
Question – if I want to make drumsticks or thighs using this , method, how much longer would I have to bake them?
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Melody, thank you so much! I’m so happy that you both liked them so much. As to the drumsticks and thighs, several people have asked that in the comments above and so I have added it to my recipe-testing for this summer. I’ll try to remember to email you once we post it. I suspect it will work exactly as written for the wings though. That amount of time should be plenty for drumsticks and thighs even though they’re bigger than wings.
I ♥️ chicken wings..this recipe so easy…warning…do not keep them in oven @425 any longer than 40 minutes..or maybe less….yes, the were crispy but way too dry.
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Came out perfect for us following the recipe exactly. Our air fryer is too small to make a large batch of wings so this is exactly what we needed. Leftovers re-crisped in the air fryer perfectly too!
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So happy to hear that, Matt! I usually don’t have leftovers, but glad to know the air fryer worked well for reheating. 🙂
Tried this the first time to great success — baking powder, who knew! — but had trouble getting my hot sauce to stick to the wings. Any pro tips to get a good saucy wing? Thanks!
Sandy, so happy you liked the wings!
What I typically do is to put a small amount of sauce into a large bowl, about 1/2 cup for 20 wing pieces. Then, when the wings come out of the oven I use tongs to transfer them to the bowl of sauce and I use the tongs to stir and toss the wings around. The wings all end up with a light coating of sauce. I will say that I am not a big sauced-wing fan and prefer them dry with seasonings or very lightly sauced, so maybe that’s why I haven’t had a problem.
I’ve been making them in a similar manner for years and this is the best way to do chicken wings that there is. I used to do them on the grill, but I decided that this is just as good if not better. At the end, you can toss them in any sauce you like. We’ve done a traditional buffalo sauce, a simple garlic butter sauce, a VERY hot Jamaican jerk sauce, an Asian-inspired ginger soy sauce…the sky’s the limit on how you sauce it at the end. I like making a blue cheese dipping sauce to serve on the side, along with carrot sticks.
But yeah, as you clearly point out in the recipe…use baking POWDER, not baking soda. Using baking soda is an unrecoverable error.
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Thank you for sharing, Michael! Those all sound like amazing sauce options.
Will cornstarch have a crunch to?
Marilyn, I’ve never tried this recipe with cornstarch. The baking powder is there to change the pH of the chicken skin and make the skin itself crispier. Cornstarch doesn’t have that effect.
Do I drop my oven to rack down one row or leave it on the top
Thank u
Theresa
Theresa, I typically cook these in the middle of the oven, with the rack in the center-most slot. However, when I do two big pans of them, then I do one at the top slot and one at the bottom, and I swap them halfway through the first round of cooking and then again halfway through the second. And note that the pan on the bottom does sometimes get very hot and smokes, so watch for that and switch them around before it happens.
Can I add spices to the baking powder and salt? Can’t wait to make these this weekend!
You can, Nancy, and some readers love to do that. They are in the oven for a long time though, so keep that in mind. I actually like to toss them in a dry rub like this – https://thecookful.com/best-dry-rub-for-chicken-wings/ – after they come out of the oven so there’s no risk of the seasoning burning while the chicken cooks.
Purely awesome! Great way to have & her special wing sauce is wonderful. I do use unsalted butter though for …..well… a decadent wing meal. Kudos!
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Happy to hear, Mary! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Hi Christine,
My name is Barbara in Sputh Africa.. Im trying to follow your recipe but i do not know whether you used oil or not.
If you did ihave some questions to ask. When and howmuch oil do you use. Also which type of oil.
No, Barbara, we didn’t use oil for these chicken wings. Enjoy!
I use chicken drumsticks instead of wings – so much meatier – they are awesome. Sprinkle with lemon pepper before baking and turn over half way through cooking.
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Thanks for letting us know, Mel! Glad you enjoyed.
Would just like to say that this is my go to oven wing technique. I have done it this multiple times and it just works out so great.
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That’s wonderful, Lila! Thanks for taking a moment to rate and comment.
Christine, this is a wonderful recipe and your instructions and warning are great. I feel badly that someone said “shame on you” because they used arm & hammer baking soda. Shame on them! lol
I made a small batch (10 pieces) today and was glad to read your instruction about not using more baking powder. I used 1/2 a tablespoon and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and that worked well.
Keep up the great work girl!
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Thank you, Mari! Can’t make everyone happy, but glad that you enjoyed. 🙂
Don’t they sell already cut up chicken wings?
They do in many places, Lisa. I have found that it’s more expensive, so I prefer to cut my own. Do what works best for you though!
This is my go to wing recipe. They turn out super crispy and tasty every time! Best wings ever!
Yay! Love to hear that, Marie!
I used baking soda from arm and hammer and these wings are the worst tasting wings I have ever had shame on you!
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As we clearly state in both the post and the recipe, you want to use baking POWDER not baking soda. So sorry you discovered that the hard way.