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??
The absolute best chicken wings ever! My husband is obsessed with them! I use a Chinese style salt and pepper seasoning on them and it works perfectly! Thank you for this great recipe and so many others I love too!
Whoot whoot! So glad to hear that Martine! N xx
Dear Nagi, I have made these wings a few times and one change I made is to add onion powder and garlic powder to the baking powder and mix well. This way I have more powder to cover the surface evenly. I like the extra bit of flavour and some times forget to dip the wings. I must say your dipping sauces are really good. Thanks for an awesome web site.
Oooh! I love your flavour additions Dixie, thanks for sharing them! 🙂 N xx
Best wings ever!! A little too salty is my only complaint.
Fantastic to hear Shelly! Did you definitely measure the salt per the recipe?? Because strangely yes that tiny amount of salt does stretch far in this recipe, it’s really odd!
These are AMAZING! Super easy and crispy as promised! I’m an experienced cook and can be quite picky! The sauce recipes were also very good! Thanks
I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this Mindy, thank you for letting me know! N x
I have always been to scared to fry chicken hence we never have it! But since this recipe we have awesomely fried like chickens for my little kids regularly! Thanks for making it easy Nagi! I’m such a fan! I swear I think I can cook now due to you! Loving the recipes!
Oh WOW!!!! I’m so glad to hear that Candice! I must admit, deep frying is not my favourite kitchen activity either – plus I always feel like I’m wasting oil!
Hi Nagi, I will try this method but can I use chicken drumsticks instead of chicken wings? Should I turn them in the middle of cooking? so as to evenly brown all sides?
Hi Ruby! Please see the FAQ about drumsticks 🙂
I make my own baking power, i.e. 2 parts cream of tartar to 1 part baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) I dislike the metallic additives in the commercial ones. Will it work with this?
Glenice
I admire you! I’m sorry I don’t know, I’ve never tried 🙂
Hey there- I made this yesterday too- and they came out great! I should note that I had brined my wings (hot sauce, honey, sugar, salt) overnight and then set them on a rack in dry out in the fridge. I also felt they needed a little more time at the lower heat (maybe 40 min- flipped once) and then 425 was too high for the crisping part… the edges were burning and the wings were still showing white baking powder so I did another 40 (flipped once) at 350 then finished skin side up at 450 for another 10. I think the brining may have messed up the chemistry a bit, but they came out as promised… SUPER delicious and SUPER crispy! (and it should be noted: I have spent my entire life as wing snob- only accepting FRYING as the proper cooking method- you changed my mind with this method!
That is a very high praise!! Thank you so much for the feedback – and helpful information for other readers! N x
Oh My Golly Gosh Those are some wicked wings had for dinner tonight, They were so crispy and so moist, they are now going to be right next to my yummy baked sticky wings I have done for over thirty years, Also am going to try your blue cheese sauce next time
Fantastic to hear Lindi! Thanks so much for letting me know! N x
These turned out so good….huge hit. One minor suggestion, after the 40 mins are up at 425 i flipped them over on the rack and cooked 10 mins at 450 and it crisped that side too. Glad we didnt toss in any sauce bc half of the people ate them plain and said how wonderful they were.
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed these so much Michael!! And YES I agree that eating them plain they are so good – isn’t it amazing how such little salt goes so far in this recipe??? N xx
Nagi, I’ve just found you! Looking for crispy baked wings can be, believe it or not, difficult and frustrating, depending on the words used to describe crispy chicken wings!
I love that you are in Australia, new recipes and ideas not in the same ole same ole pile!
I’m disabled so a 30 minute recipe can take me 4 hrs to get done with moving around and stuff but I look forward to it!
Hi Lisa! I hear you – sometimes it can take SO LONG to find what you’re after! I do hope this doesn’t disappoint, these wings really are one of my most requested recipes ever! N xx
Hi Nagi,
Rather than get a takeout I used your method to make chicken wings today and they turned out just as you promised! 🙂 I only had about 2lbs of wings so used 1 tablespoon baking powder and about 1/2 teaspoon of salt. They did shrink down but both my husband and I preferred them smaller as they were really crispy, even after I brushed them with buffalo sauce for the last 5 minutes before taking them out.
Looking forward to trying some of your other recipes!
Woo hoo! So glad you enjoyed these Caroline, thanks so much for taking the time to let me know! N xx
I’m so excited to try this recipe… wings are in the oven now for the first 30 at 250F… when I do the second bake at 425F, do I need to pull out the wings and wait until the oven is up to temp before putting them back in?
Nope! Just move the tray up and crank it up!
Hi, Nagios. Super excited to try this baking powder trick! I’m wondering if I can put them back under the broiler after I toss them in the sauce to caramelize it, or will that ruin the crispiness? Thanks!
Hi Haley! Sorry to say after the sauce has been put on the skin there is no way to salvage the crispiness! Keep the sauce separate, then the wings can be reheated in hot oven (see notes to recipe for directions) to re-crisp 🙂
My phone autocorrected your name! Oops!
Just curious, if your making these to take over to a friends house would you advise tossing them in sauce before you go or would it be ok to just serve the sauce on the side without tossing them? Don’t want them to get to “soggy” before serving.
The house we are going to is only about 15 minutes away.
Buy the way used this recipe several time, both in the oven and on my big easy oil-less fryer. Excellent results!!
Thanks!
Definately keep separate!!! If you can, toss them in the oven quickly and they will recrisp up, just like made fresh! Put the sauce on later 🙂
I only have 8 chicken wings…I thawed them before finding your recipe. I need help in figuring out how much baking powder to use. How much do you think. Thanks
Hi Jay, need to go by weight. If they’re large then they are probably 2 lb / 1 kg so use 1 tbsp of powder. If they’re medium then reduce to about 2 tsp baking powder 🙂
Thanks! A little while after I emailed you the ‘light bulb’ went off. I just halved the recipe then put it in a small shaker and was able to coat the wings by shaking it on. Thereby not getting too much on the wings.
Great recipe. So glad I found you!
Eating the leftovers tonight
jay
I’m also so excited to have these for the Super Bowl today. My mom and boyfriend requested wings. I’ll be baking at home and then transporting them to the party, about 10 minutes away. Can they be put in a crock pot to be kept warm at the party all night. I’m making the dips to have on the side.
Hi Carolyn! Unfortunately they’ll sweat and go soggy in the crockpot 🙂 Best to pop them in the oven just before putting them out (see notes for directions) then they’ll stay warm for around 15 – 20 min. 🙂
Also getting onboard with these oven baked wings today for the Super Bowl. Looking forward to reviewing the recipe.
Hope you love it! 🙂 Happy Game Day!!
We have been craving these for a while now so they will be baked tomorrow (2/5/2017) for Super Bowl Sunday… I’m really interested in the crispiness so, I will make the Honey Garlic and Blu Cheese sauces for dipping.. Just the two of us so I picked up 2 1/2 lbs of wings… I know they will be the star munching goodies of the day… :o)
I’m so certain of the outcome that I’m rating even before baking them… ;o)
Wish Dozer was here to share with him…
I should have stated, can I start these wings out frozen in the oven?
Unfortunately no Marcia, they must be thawed!