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??
Nagi, I hope you don’t mind, but I shared your website with a Facebook Group I am a part of (11/1, 5-Day Lean Lady Challenge). I had posted pics of the Carnitas and the Truly Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Wings and had people asking me for the recipe. So, I posted you and your site and listed the YUMMY recipes I have made. THANK YOU for YUMMY meals!!!
Thanks Linda, that’s great to hear!
I followed your recipe to the T but the skin was slightly tough and leathery. Do you know what could have gone wrong?
AWESOME WINGS!!! Thank you Nagi for giving us the most AMAZING recipes. You are truly the best!!
WOOT!!! Thanks Linda!
I made these wings for the game Sunday night . They were amazing !!! Will be using this recipe whenever I make wings .
Thanks Nagi ,
Geoff
Truly, the best crispy wings I’ve ever made! This recipe if definitely a keeper! 😋. Thanks for the great idea!
Wahoo, that’s awesome to hear Laurie!!
Excellent recipe again! This was easy and no mess of the whole frying thing. I use my Breville smart oven for all my baking so I think I ended up baking them too long. They were still crispy ( truth be told maybe more chewy than crispy But that was my fault not the recipe ).,I ended up tossing it in the leftover bbq sauce I had from when I made your slow cooker brisket …it was great! Tagged you on Instagram again!
I’m so happy you could salvage them Taz!
These are SO good! My 4 yr old particularly LOVES them! Thank you!!!
That’s awesome Kathy!
Excellent recipe….hubby loved it. Will be making again. Thanks for submitting.
This is my first time cooking them In this method. I have followed all your instructions and it’s taking me a lot longer to get them olden brown, I even have a Taylor oven thermometer to make sure the temp is accurate. At this point I’m at almost 1:40min as they wings are still pale.
Hi Dan, that doesn’t sound right! Try turning up the heat a little for the last 10 minutes to boost the colour – N x
Thank you, Nagi-san! I just cooked these today for dinner and they are really good!! I did add seasoning to my wings though. They came out crispy like I like and even when I tossed them in the honey-garlic sauce, they were even more delicious.
My son really likes them. This is definitely something I’ll make for family members who come to visit.
These were amazing! Followed your directions exactly and could not believe that baked wings could turn out so crispy. We’ll never fry them again, thank you!
You’re converted! WAHOO!
I just tried the baked wings recipe and followed all the steps. I found eating the wings by itself, the flavor could be a bit acidic/salty without putting any sauce. I know I used Baking Powder.
Is this normal?
Hi Derek, try using aluminium free baking powder, it’s got a less acidic taste – N x
Maybe I have posted this before on this site. Found this recipe 3 year’s ago right before Super Bowl. No fail-idiot proof. No smoke alarms, no overly powdered wings only crispy, yummy wings that are SO much better and cost effective than ordering out. Love Nagis recipes + they always are superb.
Wahoo!!! Thanks so much Chris! ❤️
Goodbye my FAVOURITE CHICKEN WINGS! After fire alarm screaming 3 times and the Fire Department showing UP TWICE while cooking my wings – AND POURING TONS OF WATER into pan whilst performing a fan dance that would be the envy of a Sultan…I’M DONE. Kills me to admit defeat but, EVEN adjusting to less Baking Powder etc. maybe it’s the altitude in Canada? Our ovens? Our being too polite? JUST US????? WE ARE THE NORTH and these wings apparently aren’t. SOB!!!!
A regular oven Nagi. Maybe it’s our altitude or position on the hemisphere OR, MY SON showing up with his Firetruck. He is a CAPTAIN * GULP!!!!!!!
Oh no!!! (Sorry I did laugh a little…) What kind of oven are you using??
This could work on legs and thighs right?
Yes – just need to change the cook time Ursula – N x
Nagi, these have become a standing order in my house for Friday night footy food! They are amazingly good, super crispy and really tasty even without sauce, and leftovers are a treat out of the fridge the next day. But I have to hide them at the back of the fridge… I especially love this recipe because there is almost no effort involved! And very little washing up. Thanks again for a great recipe Nagi.
K
Perfect Friday night food!! I’m so glad you love them Karen ❤️
I was somewhat skeptical about using BAKING POWDER, but the wings turned out crispy. They were sooo good. I added some other seasonings to it when mixing with the chicken. My family enjoyed them. This is definitely my new way of cooking my chicken wings.
You’re so converted Tangie!!
This really works! Just make sure to follow Nagi’s directions to the letter, she’s done the hard work for you! Thanks, Nagi, for another amazing recipe.
I’m so glad you loved it Valerie!!
This looks great, but how can I halve the recipe?
Hi Jane, use the slider scale and you can adjust the servings to suit!
The best chicken wings recipe ever!! A family favourite that we make so often. No fail recipe
Thanks so much!
Wow!!! What a super easy recipe! ! And boy were these wings crispy and delicious. I did add a teaspoon of garlic powder along with the baking powder and it was delish.
Thanks for the receipe