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
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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??
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!!!
Nagi, hi! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I was so impressed that I was able to make these using $14 (just over 2kg)worth of wings. We usually pay $1 per wing just for the pleasure of enjoying crispy wings at a restaurant. I had one slight issue and I hope you can help. While eating the wings, I felt a sort of gritty feeling on my teeth. I am leaning towards the baking powder as the culprit. I used the required amount and checked a thousand times that it was definitely baking powder :). How much could I reduce the baking powder by while still ensuring the crispiness? Or do you have any other ideas as to why this happened? Thanks.
The grittiness doesn’t sound right at all – I’ve never had this issue! What brand of baking powder do you use – it’s usually a finer grain than flour so shouldn’t be the culprit! N x
Hi Nagi. Thanks for your reply. Mackenzie’s baking powder. Maybe my description wasn’t accurate. It is more of a chalky feeling on my teeth and tongue. What brand of powder would you recommend? Or a lesser measurement? Thanks again.
These chicken wings/drumettes are so good. I had about 700 grams from a raffle win. I adjusted the recipe & they turned out perfect & the honey garlic dipping sauce was also delicious. Will be making these again & again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Jacinta!!
I did not like the taste of the baking powder. A family consented never again to use baking powder again.
It’s my Super Bowl go to every year! My family loves them! On one note you said you don’t have to coat the whole thing, but I do and the little bits of skin have a slight crisp to it. I do table spoons of the powder. And a bit more than the 3/4 of salt. I do everything you say except I coat the whole thing. No issues. ❤️😊
Can i substitute cornstarch
Sounds like this would be good to try on the grill. Has anyone tried it?
Question
Do I remove wings while waiting for oven temperature to reach 425?
Good question! I leave mine in the oven 🙂
I don’t enjoy frying, so I never made wings before. I used your recipe last night and they came out perfect. I will be cooking chicken wings often now. Soooooo easy.
You’re converted now Diane! N x
If I add a dry rub AND the baking powder, what order should I do that? Or should I mix them and toss it all together?
Hi Jake, yes definitely you can mix the dry rub with the baking powder – love to know how it turns out! N x
Really crispy just as you said. I did turn them over and cooked longer because we are super crispy wing freaks! Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so glad they lived up to the name Bonnie 😂
Really crispy just as you said. I did turn then over and cooked longer because we are super crispy wing freaks! Thanks for the recipe!
Time and time again I come back to this method, It’s solid every.single.time. Thanks, Nagi!! My three boys + their Dad love to sit down to football with a plate of these and have at it! P.S. If you are in the US and have access to COSTCO, the organic chicken “party wings” are very consistent and all I’ve ever used to make this.
Wahoo! That’s great JL!!
OK, so you seriously upped my wing game with this recipe! My wife says they were perfect.
Fabulous James!!!
Just cooked and devoured this with 3 hungry family members. Served tossed in buffalo sauce, incredible!!
Easy fast and fantastic. Solves my wing craving, gf hubby approved too. I had tried a similar method before that involved overnight and poor results. This method works great. Thanks
Can this recipe transfer to an air fryer? Would the 2 cook times be the same? What about the temp?
Hi Sweet, I haven’t tried to be honest – would love to know if it works!
Best homemade wings ever! My husband is the wing guy in my house, but I outdid him with your recipe. They were easy to make and a BIG hit. Thank you for sharing.
YESSSS! You nailed it Sharon!
These are fantastic, and do reheat great. Thai Chili Sauce is also great on them. Thanks for the recipes Nagi!
I’m so glad you love them Linda!
These were amazing! I followed the directions exactly. I made a half batch. Luckily we get pre-cut chicken wings here in Canada, so that saves me from cutting them myself. Really crunchy and exactly what you have in the pub. I made a buffalo wing sauce from All Recipes -https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/219109/buffalo-chicken-wing-sauce/
Just omitted the vinegar though 🙂
I’m so glad you loved them Agill – I also have buffalo wings on my website 🙂
Hi Nagi, I put a third of the 2 kilos of wings in the bag and they absorbed all the baking powder so I put the next third of wings in the bag with another 5 teaspoons of baking powder and they absorbed all again. All in all I used 3 times as much baking powder and salt than the recipe and once the wings were cooked there was too much baking powder on them so we had to throw them out. I had pat dry the wings prior to putting them in the bag. I’ll use a much bigger bag next time and put all 2 kgs in the bag at once. I LOVE wings and will try again and let you know how I go. Any tips from you would be much appreciated:) Thank you for all your amazingly delicious and awesome recipes Nagi 👏👍
Hi Linda, yes that’s waaaaay too much baking powder to use!! They only need a light bit on the skin, it doesn’t need to be enough to “Coat” them – N x
Thanks Nagi, I tried it again with only 5 teaspoons of baking powder for the 2kg of wings and they were perfect. I up the anti by making your buffalo sauce, I always thought the sauce had a lot of ingredients and needed a high level of cooking skill. It was so easy and was just AMAZING!! Thanks sooo much for sharing, your website is my go to for all my recipes.