No false promises here – these crispy oven baked wings are SERIOUSLY crispy! You will be gob smacked how easy they are to make. They honestly taste like they’ve been deep fried, with a thin shatteringly crisp golden skin. You can see how easy these are to make and hear how crispy they really are in this cooking video.
These are so good they can be eaten plain. Or toss them in your favourite sauce, or serve it on the side. I’ve provided a selection of sauces for these crispy baked wings in the recipe below!
Truly crispy oven baked wings
This recipe for how to make Crispy Oven Baked Wings is a discovery by the genius folk over at Cook’s Illustrated. Being the food nerd I am, I really enjoy how Cook’s Illustrated explains the science behind why they do things in a particular way.
And I honestly believe this to be one of their most all time most epic recipes, especially because it’s so insanely EASY!!! And today, I’m sharing the secret with you. Are you ready? 🙂
How to make crispy oven baked wings
Crispy oven baked wings in 3 easy steps:
Pat wings dry with paper towels;
Toss wings in baking powder and salt;
Bake at 120°C/250°F for 30 minutes, then at 220°C/425°F for 40 – 50 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
Yes, that’s it. That’s all there is to it. 🙂
Why this recipe works
In those 3 simple steps are 2 very important things to make these truly crispy oven baked wings:
1. Coat in baking powder – yes, you read that right, baking powder! I won’t go into all the technicalities, but in a nutshell, the baking powder draws moisture to the surface of the skin so it can evaporate, thereby making the skin crispier; and
2. Bake for 30 minutes on low to melt the fat before blasting in a very hot oven to crisp up the skin. There’s a lot of scientific explanations around this and I’ll skip it because I’ll bore you! But basically, the wings are first baked on the lowest shelf in the oven at a very low temperature for 30 minutes which causes the fat under the skin to “melt”, then you move the wings up to the top shelf and crank up the heat which crisps up the skin.
The other tip is ensuring that the wings are dry. If you are organised enough, put the wings on the rack and refrigerate, uncovered, overnight. However, I neither have the fridge space nor am I organised enough, so I just dry them using paper towels (see photo below for how I do this).
When these come out of the oven and you tap the skin with your nail, you can instantly “hear” how crispy the skin is. They even look like they’ve been fried! And in case you are concerned, you don’t taste baking powder at all.
Got questions? See FAQ under the recipe card.
You will notice that the wings are smaller than you are used to. That’s because so much of the fat under the skin melts off the wings – you’ll see it all pooled on the tray. So these have the added benefit of reduced calories too!
You can toss the wings in your sauce of choice or serve the sauce on the side. I’ve also shared classic Buffalo Wings using this same method for crispy oven baked wings. For this recipe, I’ve included a few simple sauces that I like to serve wings with: Honey Garlic Sauce, Honey Mustard Sauce, Ranch Dipping Sauce.
Let’s get stuck into these wings! – Nagi x
PS I’ve now published the Buffalo Wings version! Here it is: Truly Crispy Oven Baked BUFFALO Wings.
Watch how to make it
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Truly Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Wings
Ingredients
Crispy Wings
- 4 lb / 2 kg chicken wings , cut into wingettes and drumettes (Note 1)
- 5 teaspoons baking powder (NOT BAKING SODA / BI-CARB SODA!!)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- Oil spray
Instructions
Crispy Wings
- If you are organised enough, uncover the chicken wings and leave them in the fridge for a few hours to dry out. Otherwise, use a paper towel to pat the wings dry.
- Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions.
- Preheat oven to 250F/120C (all oven types – standard/convection/fan).
- Line a baking tray with foil, then place a rack (like a cooling rack) on the foil. Spray the rack with oil spray.
- Place wings in a large bowl or in a ziplock bag. Add the baking powder and salt, then toss to coat evenly.
- Place the wings on the baking tray in a single layer with the skin side up. They should just fit snugly. They will shrink when they cook because the fat renders out so don’t worry if they look too snug.
- Place wings on the lower middle oven rack and bake for 30 minutes.
- Move wings up to the upper middle rack and increase the oven temperature to 425F/220C. Bake for 40 – 50 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through.
- Remove baking tray from the oven and let it stand for 5 minutes.
- Toss wings in sauce of choice or serve it on the side to dip / drizzle on the wings, then serve.
Recipe Notes:
* Honey Garlic Sauce: Mix together 4 tbsp honey, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp white vinegar (or sub with any other vinegar except balsamic), 2-3 garlic cloves, minced. Use for dipping OR tossing.
* Honey Mustard Sauce: 1/4 cup Dijon mustard, 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup honey
* Ranch Dipping Sauce: Mix 1/3 cup mayonnaise, 1/3 cup sour cream, 2 tbsp milk, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1/4 tsp EACH dried dill, parsley, chives, onion and garlic powder, salt & pepper to taste.
* Spicy Creamy Dipping Sauce: 3/4 cup mayo, 1/2 tso garlic powder, 1/8 tsp paprika, 3-4 tbsp sriracha, salt & pepper
* Pink Sauce: 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce, 2 tbsp ketchup, 2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp sriracha (or other hot sauce) 7. Nutrition: The nutrition is per serving, assuming 8 servings. Note that the calories is HIGHER than it actually is because so much fat is rendered out (melted) and discarded which is not reflected in the nutrition below. I measured the discarded fat once and calculated that it should be 60 calories LESS per serving (around 1/4 cup fat in total was discarded).
Nutrition Information:
Originally published in November 2014, updated with fresh new photos and step by step photos!
Frequently asked questions
I don’t have a rack. Does this cause a problem? The skin will still be crispy but the bottom of the wings that is in contact with the tray will be oily. This is because the purpose of the rack is to elevate the wings off the tray and allow the chicken fat to drip down.
One way to get around an oily underside is to take the wings out after around 35 minutes during the high temp cooking. Drain the oil out of the tray then return to the oven to finish crisping/browning. You could also drain the excess oil from the wings on paper towels before serving.
Can I make ahead? These stay crispy for as long as the wings are warm, so around 20 – 30 minutes. After that, the skin starts to wrinkle and soften. However, I was shocked how well they reheat! Just allow the wings to cool (uncovered), then cover and refrigerate. Spread wings out on tray, skin side up, and bake for 5 to 8 minutes at 200C/390F. The skin smooths out and puffs up, just like when they were baked fresh. Other than to you (if you’ve made as many wings as me!) and true hard core Wings experts, the difference in juiciness and crispiness is barely noticeable – my friends never notice when I reheat!
The skin stays crispy for around 10 – 15 minutes after tossing in the sauce, then after that they start to soften but not go soggy, up to around 30 minutes. If you reheat after tossing in sauce, they go soggy.
Please do not toss in baking powder then refrigerate or freeze, this won’t work (makes the wings sweat too much to become crispy).
Can I add seasonings? You sure can! It does marginally reduce the actual skin crispiness but a crust forms from the extra seasonings/spices and adds more crunch. I did a lot of testing around this and I can assure you it works really well!
There was a lot of smoke! Help! A few readers have had this problem and I don’t think it’s from the chicken wings because I’ve made a ridiculous amount of these wings (in my kitchen and others) and never had the problem. The problem may be: a) spillage of chicken fat onto the oven burners when transferring from the lower to the upper shelf or b) there already was fat on the oven burners. I can’t think of anything else. While the smoke point of chicken fat is below that of the high oven temperature used in this recipe, the fat is not in direct contact with the heat because it’s shielded by all the wings and diluted by chicken juices dripping into the fat.
You really don’t need to flip? Really! Even if you don’t use a rack, the underside will get crispy.
Can I make this with other cuts of chicken? Yes BUT the crispiness will only work on the skin. So it works best on wings because they are almost fully enclosed by skin. With drumsticks, thighs and skin on breast, they are not fully encased with skin when raw and the skin shrinks while cooking. But the actual technique works super well! For 1 kg / 2 lb drumsticks or other cut of chicken, using 2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt – less than the recipe for wings because there is less skin surface area.
Life of Dozer
No wings for Dozer – cooked chicken bones are dangerous for dogs! How about a Honey Prawn instead??
I tried this, and its really crunchy and yummy. Thank you. 😊
You’re so welcome Dhin! N x
I can absolutely vouch for the crispiness. I bought a tray of wings out of desperation during the Great Food Shortage of the Coronavirus 2020. Staring at the tray, wondering what to do with this strange item of food, I knew Nagi would have the answer. You didn’t disappoint. The family smashed their dinner and asked for it again!
Wahoo!!! That’s great Mel! Stay safe – N x
Great recipe, Nagi. The first time I made this the skin was perfectly crispy. The second time the skim was a bit chewier. Any ideas on where I could have gone wrong?
Also, do you take the wings out while waiting for the 425 degree preheat?
Thanks!
Hi Brian – they may of needed slightly longer if they weren’t as crispy. I leave mine in the oven whilst increasing the heat – N x
Just made these for dinner ( here in Canada). SO good! Served with potato salad, and warm homemade dinner rolls with slatherings of butter, and a creamy garlicky dipping sauce. Great recipe. It’s a keeper alright. Thank you Nagi!
Wahoo, I’m so glad you enjoyed them Mis! N x
I can definitely see the potential of this recipe! The skin turned out very crispy but my wings were so overcooked and dry. 🙁 I think it may be because the chicken wings here in my country are much smaller than the ones you used. If I’m using meat that is half the size, would it work to cook half the time for both cooking steps?
Hi Suzy, they definitely shouldnt be dry. How many wings are you getting in a kilo?
There are total 22 pieces which counts for 11 wings in a kilo. Do you have any suggestions? 🙂
This is my go to recipe for chicken wings. I add 3/4 tbs Lawreys season salt, !/2 tsp garlic powder and 1/2 tsp onion powder to the dry mix.
These are incredibly easy and endlessly yummy!
Sounds great Mike! N x
The ingredients note an Oil spray but it is not used in any of the steps.
Are you supposed to put a light oil spray on the wings before they go in?
It’s on #4 on Instructions. The oil spray is for the rack.
an oil spray is not necessary
Looking foward to tryingbthis method. I want to make jerked wings which i generally marinate then cook with sause on. Will this work with the jerk sause marinade on them while they cook?
Best crispy chicken wings ever thanks
Can I substitute agave for honey in the sauce recipes?
Thanks!!
This was great. And easy. I used too much salt in my spice. But that was my fault. Will make this again !!!
Unbelievable! I had tried chicken wings once as a child; over 40 years ago, and loathed them. I made these today and scoffed down half within 5 min. These will be on our fortnightly weekend lunch rotation. Thank you, Nagi!
You’re totally converted now Kate!!!
Wings came out excellent and we loved them. I am too lazy to deep fry and this is the perfect way to avoid that. I’d give more stars if I could.
Yes and soooo much easier to do a big batch all at once! N x
The baking powder is great. But can I get the same amount of crispiness without the salt? The sauces I use have enough already.
Definitely, just leave it out Erik 🙂
I made these 2 nights ago & forgot to rate them. This is my go to recipe for wings. I made them & then did some of them as buffalo wings. This will be so awesome to make a wing bar with different toppings that people can choose what they would like
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Linda! N x
Made these as lemon pepper wings in the oven tonite. Added Onion powder, Lemon pepper, Paprika and smoked Salt. So crispy!! Great recipe. Cant wait to try this on the smoker. Thank u!
Sounds divine Clove!! N x
Made these tonight, perfect, easy and a great crunch with alot less fat. Had with coleslaw and bread, delicious. Halved recipe as only two of us but worked well.
Sounds fabulous Danielle! N x
These are delish! I added garlic powder for the extra kick. Thank you!!! The famiky really enjoyed it! I’ve already shared your recipe with friends and family!!!
Yes there are so many possibilities here! I’m so glad you love them as much as I do Rowena! ❤️ N x
Hi Nagi, do you have a parmesan and garlic recipe for the wings?
Sounds delicious – pop it on my recipe request page Deb! N x
Hi Nagi,
Great recipe, great technique. Made a batch yesterday and they came out awesome….just as advertised. I added a tsp each of Stubbs (chicken), Rufus Teague’s (meat) and “Montreal Chicken” to the shakin’ dry mix. Scuptious and crisp!! Thanks!
Sounds amazing Mike!!!