These Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Wings have been tested and approved by many! With the perfect seasoning blend, the best oven cooking method and just the right amount of sauce, these wings will blow you away!
I spent many days, countless hours of research, trial and error and LOTS of chicken wings to finally bring you the very BEST Baked Chicken Wings. It comes down to three important factors – how to properly prep the wings, time and temperature (cooking method) and finally how to sauce them.
I’ll break it down for you in this post so you can rest assured that your wings will truly be the best you’ve ever baked, dare I say, the best you’ve ever tasted.
How To Bake Chicken Wings in the Oven
First, we’re going to need to start by prepping our chicken wings so they’re just right for baking. Here’s what you’ll need to do:
- Separate the chicken wings into three pieces, the drumette (the meatier part), the wingette (the middle part) and also the wing tip (see picture below). Go ahead and discard the wing tips. If you purchase “party wings” this will save you a step in prep.
- Use a paper towel and blot the wings as dry as possible to remove any excess moisture. This is a critical step as we’re trying to achieve maximum crisp level in baking.
- Combine the seasoning ingredients in a large zip-close bag and shake. Add in the dried wings and shake until coated.
- Line a baking sheet with foil and place an oven-safe rack on top. Line the wings on the rack, making sure they are not touching each other.
- Bake at 450 degrees F. for 30 minutes, flip over, then bake another 30 to 40 minutes, until the wings are golden brown and crispy.
- Toss in just enough sauce to coat and serve immediately.
How To Segment a Chicken Wing
You can save a lot of money by purchasing whole wings then cutting them down yourself. You’ll need a sharp knife and cutting board.
Start by pulling the wing at the joints to find where the joint is. Cut between the joints as best as possible. When you find the right spot between the joints, it’ll actually be very easy to make a cut.
Is Baking Powder Necessary for Crispy Chicken Wings?
Yes! Using baking powder in combination with my spice blend, you’ll find that your wings will be ultra crispy without any added fat. As a bonus, the wings are naturally gluten free without having to add any flour.
There is some science behind what happens during the baking process with the chicken wings and baking powder. Essentially the baking powder helps to render down the skin on the chicken, causing it to gain that glorious crispy coating when baked.
Fresh or Frozen Wings? Which is Best?
For this recipe, you’ll want to stick with FRESH chicken wings. Frozen wings will be holding on to too much moisture, which is basically the enemy of crispy wings.
If you can only find frozen wings, that’s ok! Just make sure you let them fully defrost in your refrigerator and then use plenty of paper towels to squeeze out any excess moisture.
Chicken Wings in Convection vs Conventional Oven
If your oven has a convection setting (meaning when it bakes a fan circulates air in the oven) then you’re in luck! The movement of hot air in the oven will help these wings cook faster and get you that crispy skin in no time! If you do not have a convection oven, you can still cook these chicken wings with a conventional oven just as efficiently.
- Conventional Oven – cook at 450 degrees F for 1 hour 10 minutes, flipping them halfway through.
- Convection Oven – keep the temperature at 450 degrees F, but reduce the cook time to 50 minutes flipping them halfway through.
Tips and Variations
- Make sure you line the bottom of your baking sheet with foil to catch all the fat that’s going to drip down from the wings. It makes for easy clean up!
- Spritz the baking rack with non-stick spray for easy clean up.
- Be sure to remove as much moisture from the chicken wings as possible before tossing with the seasonings.
- When coating the wings with sauce, make sure you use just enough to coat. Too much sauce will make your wings lose that delicious crispy coating.
- If you’re not a fan of buffalo sauce, use your favorite wing sauce or eat them plain with ranch or blue cheese dressing!
More Chicken Wing Recipes To Try
- Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings
- Baked Honey BBQ Chicken Wings
- Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Wings
Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 4 lbs. chicken wings, separated and wing tips discarded
- 1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp seasoned salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 3 tbsp butter, melted
- 1/3 cup Buffalo sauce, such as Frank's Red Hot
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil, then place an oven-safe cooling rack on top. Spritz with non-stick spray and set aside.
- Use plenty of paper towels to squeeze as much moisture out of the chicken wings as possible, making sure they're dry.
- Combine the baking powder, seasoned salt, garlic powder, black pepper and cayenne pepper in a large bowl (or zip close bag) and whisk to combine. Add in the chicken wings and toss to coat evenly.
- Lay chicken wings on prepared baking sheet, making sure to give them room so they do not touch each other. Bake for 30 minutes, then flip and continue baking an additional 30 to 40 minutes, until chicken wings are golden and crispy.
- Combine the melted butter and buffalo sauce in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Just before serving, quickly toss the chicken wings in the sauce and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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These are phenomenal!! I make them all the time. My husband says as good as any restaurant!
I made this recipe for the first time, this past weekend. Do not put your oven at 450!!!
Smoke filled our entire house after baking for 40mins. We followed the recipe to a T. We have a brand new oven that made it through all the holidays this past year without incident.
I consulted my brother in law who is a pro chef. Wings should be cooked no higher temperature than 250.
I’m so sorry you had some smoke coming from your oven. This is most likely due to one or two things – 1. You had some food or residue in the oven from a previous cook that burned off from the high heat. or 2. You used an oil on the wings with a low smoke point, meaning if the heat in your oven is high (as it should be with these wings) then it’ll create smoke coming off your wings. I don’t suggest using any oil on these wings, as the fat in the wings should be plenty to give the wings a good crisp at the high heat. Cooking the wings at 250 degrees would definitely cook your wings, but the fat from the skin would take hours to render and they wont be crispy. I hope that helps!
When cooking in a convection oven, users are usually told to set the temperature at least 25 degrees lower. The time may still be too long depending on the size of the wings (there is no uniform size for wings after all!) Also, don’t throw the wing tips away. There’s hardly any meat on them but they can be used to make chicken broth, and are easily frozen until you have enough.
I don’t know about your oven, but 450 deg on convection for 50 minutes is WAAY too long a cook time for these wings!
I will check them every 10 minutes after the first 20 min when I try them again. I’m thinking 375 deg for about 30 min in a convection oven would be ideal to get them crisp and fully cooked without being over-cooked.
Could I use a whole wing and how long do I cook it
Could you do a dry rub version. Maybe Garlic Parmesan.
I make my wings by spraying them with olive oil flavored cooking spray then seasoning both sides with black pepper and McCormick chili powder. Then on to a wire rack and in the oven.
Thank you so much for all the recipes you put up here, I have tried quite a few of them and have not had a bad experience as yet, they came out so awesome. Thank you so much again for sharing and making it a little bit easier for for us. God Bless you and yours. 🙂
I made these yesterday. They were really good, but the grease splattered all over the oven!! What a mess. Fortunately, I have a self-cleaning oven, but still, I don’t think that I will be making them again any time soon.
This sounds like a great receipt and we are going to try it but there is one MAJOR problem. Never… Never toss the wing tips! These are wonderful and when baked correctly they are crisp and delicious!!
Just made these wings and goodness, they were unbelievably crispy outside and tender inside!!
I halved the recipe to 2 lbs of chicken wings (13 pieces total). For the halved recipe: 1 tablespoon of baking powder, halved all other spices except kept 1/4 teaspoon cayenne for a little bit of kick, and added 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder and 1/4 teaspoon paprika. The wings were done in 25 minutes per side (50 minutes total) for the halved recipe.
Tasted one wing before coating in the sauce and it was delicious just on it’s own! For a “healthy-ish” Buffalo-type sauce,1 tablespoon of melted butter and 2 tablespoons of Franks RedHot was sufficient to coat the 2 lbs of wings. Served with a side of blue cheese dressing.
Moving forward, this will be the base recipe for experimenting with different sauces and glazes!! Thank you Shawn!
This has become one of my favorite recipes. I toss them using my own secret recipe for the sauce. But I never knew baking powder would make so much difference. They come out just as crispy as deep frying without the grease. If you are in a hurry, toss them on the grill instead. I usually do them for 30-35 minutes on the Traeger at 375*, using a meat thermometer to test for doneness, as all grills and ovens are different (Trust me, I know because I was a Sears appliance technician. Some ovens are horribly calibrated and this is probably the cause for people having issues with their wings being overcooked). I use a blend of applewood, hickory and maple. The added smoke flavor takes this recipe to a whole new level.
I see that you have posted the calories and break down, but what is the serving size for that breakdown, While I would like it to be the entire batch, I know better than that. Thanks
Hi Kim, the recipe is for 24 wings total, with the nutrition information being per wing. Hope that helps!
I would love to try this recipe. We have an oven with an air fryer but I have been unsuccessful with other recipes. What temperature do you think I should use? I was thinking 500 but not sure if I would need to cook them as long. We also have a convection oven as well. 3 in 1.
Thank you in advance for any advice!
I love this recipe – it’s a staple in our house, Ihave found over time that 30 -40 minutes on each side makes the wings way too overdone and dry. I do 20 minutes per side using drumettes and they wings are perfect. I agree with others that it could be a tiny bit less salty – but these are wings, people! That’s how you make them.
Made these again tonight and they are the best!!! I can’t wait to have a family get together to make these. I fixed the recipe exactly as presented and made no changes.
So glad you enjoyed it Julie!
Pro “tip”: Save the wing tips and put into your collection of chicken bones you better be keeping for a big batch of chicken stock.
Ha! Love that! Thanks Mikes!
If using a baking rack and convection oven, flipping is not necessary. Otherwise, this is my go to wing recipe. Perfect every single time
Delicious And crispy
So glad you enjoyed them Christy!
I made these tonight they are awesome. I cook for 35 minutes at 4:25 convection and they were perfect. Thank you for a great recipe. Will be making again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Leslie! Thank you for sharing your experience!
I was worried about the length of time for these, but they were PERFECT!!! I cooked them in my convection oven, I tossed half with the buffalo sauce and the other half with a garlic butter. My husband and 2 boys devoured them! Thank you for the recipe
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Sarah! 🙂
Even mild Buffalo sauce is too hot for me. I love garlic parmesan wings. Might you have a recipe for that? I would certainly prepare the chicken using your recipe, just need to know how to put the garlic parmesan together! Thank you!
I don’t have an official recipe written out on the site for garlic parmesan just yet, but I do have a killer Lemon Pepper Wing recipe. It’s made in the air fryer, but you could also just swap out the seasonings for this oven baked recipe with the lemon pepper seasoning.
LOVED THESE !! I have searched and searched for a crispy wing recipe and this is it !!
I am in love and know I will gain weight knowing how to make these so perfect !! I can’t wait to try with other sauces also !
Yay!! Happy dance! I’m so glad you enjoyed them Christine!
Food look great.
Thank you Hattie!
So good!!! The wings came out so crispy. My family and guests ate them naked—my toddler had 5 pieces, this along days A LOT. Now, I eye-balled all seasonings and added dry rub, but the baking powder and drying off the wings were to key ingredients I think. Will be making again soon. Thank you for sharing!!
That’s great to hear Yulia! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
This recipe was amazing! My whole family was impressed and have asked for a repeat tomorrow!
YAY! So glad you enjoyed the wings Rebecca!
Are you kidding. Followed the recipe exactly. Overdone, inedible. Never again!
Oh maybe try again. I did have to to drop my temp to 400F with the convection as I know it’s hotter. Then I also did the temp check and they were done at 50 minutes (and yes I flipped)
Hmm.. that’s a bummer Gwen. I’m so sorry you found them overdone. I’m wondering if your wings were on the smaller side? In which case, you’ll want to check them sooner to make sure they don’t get over cooked. Hope you give it another try!
These were amazing!! Cooked perfectly in 40 minutes at 450 degrees convection, flipping halfway. Would definitely make these again! My fiancé said they were better than most of wings we had at restaurants!
Woohoo! So glad you enjoyed them!!
Outrageously overdone, thoroughly dried out, and blackening at 40 mins. Not sure what sort of asbestos chickens this is based on. Internal temp was well over 200 at 30 minutes. I reread this and tried to stick it out for a few minutes more, but it was already looking bad. In the end, it was not good. For comparison, the sauce bottle said 500F for 20 minutes in a conventional oven.
I’ll try 400F and flip at 15. Forget about blaming size, a whole chick would be ruined at those times/temp with a convection oven.
Is this a plot by the carry-out wings association to get you to ruin your at home attempts?
I’m really sorry you didn’t have amazing results Delia. This recipe is for a conventional oven, not a convection oven. Convection ovens can definitely run a lot hotter, and may vary based on the oven. It’s best to keep an eye on your chicken wings and if you notice they’re getting overcooked then pull them out early. Hope you give it another try!
These were great!! Thank you! I haven’t made wings in years and I was doubtful they would be crispy without an air fryer or deep frying. They came out really crispy and flavorful too! I am looking forward to trying a variety of sauces. Thank you again!
That’s so great to hear Melissa! I’m glad you enjoyed them!
I have tried a half a dozen or more oven baked chicken wing recipes and none compare to this one. The wings were crispy, juicy and, on fire! What a treat!! My husband and I kept saying that this recipe was a keeper. And it is. If you can’t handle fire, go easier on the cayenne. We added mashed potatoes and petite peas as sides. And some white wine, of course. Highly recommended.
Thank you so much for the best wing recipe ever!! I didn’t cook for the full time because my wings were kind of small. Tossing in just the sauce, without the butter was a big hit too. Your combination of spices was perfect for my family and I can’t thank you enough for an amazing recipe we will use again and again!!
Oh I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe Lisa! Thanks for your comment!
does anyone have any recipe for ins pot for pork chops
Shawn,I posted a reply for the oven baked wings about being salty.
I went back and checked my Lawry’s seasoned salt.
I do believe I found the source,just a touch of the salt is way to much.
I will try this again in near future.
I have used your recipes many times before and enjoyed them all.
Thank you for what you do.
Sorry you found it too salty for your taste Charles. I’m glad you tried them and hope you give them another try soon!
50 minutes seems like a long time. I’m afraid they’ll dry out with such a long cook time
50 minutes is just what you need to get them crispy. They wont be dry at all!
Want to make wings for the superbowl tomorrow and would love to try this recipe. I usually buy the larger fresh wings but our local store had the fresh party wings on sale (plus It will save me time as i don’t have to section them 🙂 ) Do you decrease the cooking time if using the smaller party size wings?
Wow! It look so yum! Thank you so much for the recipe, I can’t wait to try it.
How can I make these using boneless thighs?
I would like to know the answer to that (how to do it with boneless thighs) as well. tomroyer2014@gmail.com
Thanks for checking in on that too John. I would have to do some testing, but you could use this recipe for my Last Minute Chicken and toss it in the buffalo sauce! Hope that helps!
Hey Araceli, I would have to do some testing in order to give you a good answer. Quite possibly, that would require a whole new blog post. In the meanwhile, you can check out my Last Minute Chicken Recipe that uses boneless thighs!