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.
- Video: How To Make Crispy Oven Baked Wings
- Why Bake Chicken Wings?
- Why These Baked Wings Are SO Crispy
- Why Use Baking Powder?
- Can You Use Baking Soda Or Cornstarch?
- Time and Temperature for Baked Chicken Wings
- How To Bake Chicken Wings So They’re Extra Crispy
- Seasoning The Wings
- Sauce For Baked Wings
- Even Better Crispy Chicken Wings?
- More Chicken Wing Recipes
- Podcast Episode: Baking Chicken Wings
- Crispy Oven-Baked Chicken Wings Recipe
Video: How To Make Crispy Oven Baked Wings
Here’s a short video showing the three-step baking powder method for making crispy baked chicken wings. You’ll see the three steps in our process: (1) baking powder, (2) low temperature, (3) high temperature.
Why Bake Chicken Wings?
There are several factors that influence how you might choose to cook your wings. Here are the reasons that you might want to bake yours.
- You want a lot of wings. You can fit a lot more wings on a pan in the oven than you can in an air fryer or in a pot for deep frying. This means you can make a lot at once without working in batches!
- You want a hands-off process. Once they are in the oven, you don’t need to move them around or flip, making it super easy.
- You want crispy skin! With my baking method, you get wonderfully crispy chicken skin with very little fuss.
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.
“My son says they’re as good as from his fave wing shop!”
Melody, TheCookful reader
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!
Even Better Crispy Chicken Wings?
I have to tell you something. So it is absolutely true that the recipe below, the one I’ve been telling you about so far, is the one I’ve been using for over 15 years and is the one that everybody raves about it. I love it and my readers keep coming back and making it over and over. I still stand by it and it is still the same recipe down there that it has always been.
However, recently, I’ve started doing things a little differently at my house. I’ve started brining the wings in a mixture of water, salt, and you guessed it, baking powder. Why?
- The baking powder flavor is undetectable with the brine method.
- The chicken wing meat gets nicely seasoned right though from the salt brine, so much flavor.
- I swear, the skin is even crispier! It even kind of bubbles up in places as though it’s deep fried.
So, if you want to try something new, head over to my new crispy baked brined chicken wing recipe.
More Chicken Wing Recipes
If you haven’t guessed it already, I’m obsessed with chicken wings. Here are all of my chicken wing recipes for you to browse through. If you specifically want to bake wings but with a different flavor, try our Zesty Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings! They are baked with baking powder, salt, and lemon pepper seasoning, and then have fresh lemon zest and cracked pepper added at the end, which is so crazy-good! Or, if I haven’t convinced you that baking is the way to go, here are some other ways to cook your wings:
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
For perfectly crispy baked chicken wings, you need our trusted three-step baking powder method loved by hundreds of thousands of cooks.
- 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)
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- Sauce or dry rub
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250°F.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- 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.
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
This post originally appeared in January 2016 and was revised and republished in December 2024.
I forgot to toss them in the baking powder will it be a huge difference?
Kandi, It’s the baking powder that changes the ph of the chicken so that it crisps up so much.
Do you think it will work for pan fried method? I don’t have an oven.
I agree with EVERYONE else, these wings are seriously like chicken candy. I haven’t tried the sauce- my man is a weirdo and doesn’t like condiments… but these wings, are hands down, the crispiest and yet moist wings I’ve EVER had made at home. I am sad I didn’t do 40 and only did 20 wing parts. These are serve-to-guest worthy. I saw the cook time and freaked but they are SOOO worth the wait ♥ My next mission will be to see if homemade Paleo baking powder still gets them just as crispy as regular baking powder so I can stay fully Paleo compliant! Thanks so much!!!!
Janelle, Is there baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) in your homemade baking powder? If so, it shoudl work. The whole idea is that the sodium bicarbonate changes the ph of the chicken skin, which is what lets it crisp so well. The reason we use baking powder instead of just using baking soda straight though is because baking soda has way too strong of a flavor by itself. In baking powder there are other ingredients so the baking soda flavor isn’t as prominent.
I didn’t try the sauce only the wings! These are way better then deep fried. Thanks so much for putting this out there. It was so easy to make these and a big hit all around! This is our new go to for wings!
Yay! Thanks for letting us know, Russ.
I brined some wings then looked for a baked wing recipe. I think chicken always tastes better when brined.
I followed the recipe exactly as written. Hands down the best baked wings ever! My husband sauced them up, I ate mine plain. This recipe is going into my collection.
The wings were so crispy & moist.
Thanks!
Kim, I’m delighted that you guys liked it so much. Interesting about the brine. I’ve never tried brining wings before but it’s great to know that the recipe works on brined wings too.
Unbelievable! These are so fantastic I will never make them any other way! I didn’t believe it could be true and that simple but it really is. Thanks for this recipe!
Sandy, you’re welcome. I love how much you liked them. Thank you for letting us know!
These are, hands down, the best wings I’ve ever made. I can’t believe how deliciously crispy they were! I didn’t use sauce, just salt and pepper and they were still delicious. Even my extremely picky 5 year old loved them. Thanks so much for this recipe 🙂
Kathleen, I am SO happy you loved them so much. Thank you for letting us know!
Tonight is either my fourth or fifth time making these. Chicken wings are my kryptonite, and I love having this healthy version for crispy wings on hand. This recipe is such a life savor. I don’t see why I wouldn’t be making them this way forever!
Anastasia, I feel the same way. I will never go back to any other way ever again!
These were amazing!! Even my non-meat-eating toddlers devoured them (with a lot of help).
Definitely making many more times!
Kaitlin, I’m delighted that you all loved them. Yay!
These were the BEST wings Ever!!!!!!!!
Yay!
I’ve lived in Buffalo, New York. This is my favorite recipe for chicken wings. Yes, it takes a long time, but it’s worth it. The skin is just as crispy as if it were fried, but the meat is surprisingly tender and juicy. The only things I would add it to spray your rack with spray oil and to remove the wings with a spatula to prevent anything sticking to the rack.
Paul, I’m delighted that you like them so much. Great tip about spraying the rack and using a spatula. I assume you mean a metal spatula. That is what I use and it lets me get right under those wings.
I make mine the same way, with two exceptions. For one I use the shake and bake method (no bowl) no mess, and two I cook them at 450 degrees for 15 mins (seals the juiciness in) then at 425 degrees for 35 mins. One last thingy …… instead of salt I use garlic salt 1/2 tsp for every 6 to 8 wings (2nd section only). Yum Yum !!
P.S. – spice them up with cayenne pepper 1/2 tsp for every 6-8 wings
This sounds great, Rob. Thanks for sharing!
BEST RECIPE EVER!!! I can’t even order wings when we go out to a restaurant because they pale in comparison to this recipe. THANK YOU FOR SHARING.
Caron, You’re welcome. I’m so happy you love it so much!!!
Hmmm. I never thought about adding baking powder to the mix. Thanks for the recipe. I’m looking forward to trying it out in my new bbq smoker oven. Thank you!
Have mad these many times and so good.
I like mine served with coarse salt and coarse ground pepper and then grate lime zest over it for that nice fresh citrus flavour!
Dave, I love the lime zest idea. Brilliant!
Found your recipe online and tried it yesterday for the Daytona race. All my wings came out with a very powdery taste to them. The wings were pre tossed with a spice rub and left uncovered, in a rack in fridge for 20+hours. Prior to cooking they were then tossed in a ziplock bag with baking powder. Will try recipe again but will take extra time to really dry wings before coating with baking soda.
Stephen, Make sure you’re using baking powder and not baking soda. Also, the amount of baking powder to use is very very small. The idea is NOT to end up with a breading or coating. It’s just enough powder to change the acidity of the wings, which is what leads to crispy skin. So make sure you’re not using too much. Finally, I’m not sure what was in the spice rub that you used. You can add the bit of baking powder to that spice rub mix and then refrigerate. That works.