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??
Making this as we speak. Love the crispness of wings. I doused mine in butter and Parmesan cheese at the end. Awesome!
Oooh! Hope you LOVE!!!
Hello Nagi,
I just wanted to say “Thank You”. I have been using this recipe since you posted it. (found it on Pinterest) and it truly has been my go to for when I am in the mood for fried chicken. The chicken always comes out amazing and the garlic honey sauce is perfect. My family and guest love when I make it. Again thank you. Crazy as it sounds it inspired me to get back in the kitchen and let out my inner cook on a regular bases. 🙂
That doesn’t sound crazy AT ALL! So glad you love these wings as much as I do Joy! I actually made these just a few days ago – the Buffalo Wings version. Blue cheese dip and all. SO GOOD! 🙂 N x
Hi Scott! I’m sorry you think it was overdone, what do you mean by this?? The inside of the wings should still be extremely juicy!
Hi, Nagi…
I’m new here & crispy wings is what I’m after. I read all of the comments & feel this is the recipe forme. Just one thing, my hubby & I want to use a teriyaki sauce, one that will be nice & gooey, do you have a recipe for me? Want to make tomorrow for the Steeler/Chiefs game.
Thank you,
Charlee57
Hi Becky, I know wha you mean, I don’t actually have one! I only use Teriyaki for marinading chicken which will be too intense to toss these wings in. So sorry! 🙂
I have tried so many oven baked wings, and the majority were horrible! I can’t wait to try these after all the terrific reviews! Making them tonight, and I’ll let you know how they turn out!
Hope you love this too Anne Marie! I really am crazy obsessed with these wings, as are many others!! 🙂
The wings came out absolutely perfect ! I couldn’t believe how crispy they were and that being in the oven so long they weren’t over cooked. Will absolutely be making these for playoffs next week! I do have one question ? Can I also use chicken legs and get the same results ?
Hi Liz, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you for letting me know! it will work with legs for the skin only but with drumsticks, skin shrinks so it doesn’t come out like with wings which are fully enclosed in crispy skin. ❤️ N xx
Hello!
Could I still get crispy wings if I don’t have a rack to bake them on? Any tips (wax paper? Or turning over half way through? Or draining fat before raising the temp?)
Hi! They will still be super crispy, don’t worry! The bottom will just be oilier than if you use a rack 🙂 I have made them without a rack plenty of times. If you really want to, drain the oil about halfway through the high temp baking time. N x
My chicken is frozen and I wont have time to defrost. Do you think I could cook these from frozen?
Sorry for the late response, I was out of range for a few days. I’m afraid the wings must be defrosted 🙂
I lived in Australia for 8 years and learned to cut my wings using gardening branch pruning shears. I only used them for wings and they cut through the joints like butter. Much easier than a knife or cleaver. Thanks for the great recipe.
I love that!!!!!! That’s epic!
I made these and I love them. I have a gas stove so I went a little longer for the browning part, but they were great?
I have cooked in restaurants for 20+ years, this is the worst chicken wings recipe I have ever cooked. They were dry and tasteless. I even put Bar-B-Que sauce on them, did not help.
You did something wrong, I made them an we are so in love with this recipe, beautiful crisp wings. I can eat them, hate wet wings. We tell all our Friends about this recipe. Think you need to try it again an you will see you did something wrong an apology is needed to Nagi.
Wow really? Either your tastebuds have died from eating your 20+years restaurant food or you accidentally cooked frog legs!!!. Which would probably taste great to with this recipe.That being said, your recipe was
fantastic nothing more needs to be said.
Thanks Bill! PS And you HAVE tried the BUFFALO version of these wings, haven’t you…??? 😉 N xx https://salesdock.info/truly-crispy-oven-baked-buffalo-wings-my-wings-cookbook/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Hi Jackie, I’m sorry to hear that. It sounds like something went very wrong, there are 800-odd very happy reader messages below yours! All I can think is that you accidentally used baking SODA instead of powder as that will make it inedible. Or that your wings were unusually very lean? Because that’s the only thing I can think would make wings dry. I hope that helps! 🙂
No I used baking powder , I know the difference. My advice is add some kind of seasoning with the baking powder.
Hi Jackie! The only suggestion I can offer is that the wings were not coated evenly because clumps of baking powder would not be nice. And ensuring you used the right amount of wings because again, if you used too little then the coating would be thicker. I once halved the recipe but accidentally forgot to halve the baking powder and it was awful, metallic and inedible. 🙂
Excellent recipe! I don’t eat wings out t restaurants because of the low quality of chicken used in most restaurants and because they are deep fried. I made these with Bell & Evans organic wings, followed the recipe exactly and the wings came out perfectly. Fantastic, thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed it Karen! Thank you for letting me know! N xx
Hi Nagi,
One question, do I need to be fearful of smoking up my oven/kitchen with the fat from these cooking at such a high oven temp? Had this problem with another recipe.
Do want to try these though.
Thanks,
Hi Linda! I have had a few readers mention that (out of the 400 or so reader messages) but in all honesty, I have made this so many times and never had that problem. I have thought about it and can’t figure out what might have happened, except that perhaps they already had fat splattered in their oven which, at the high oven temperature this is cooked at, cause the fat to smoke a lot. Hope that helps!
Hello Nagi, i have two questions before i try this. 1 how long does the wings stay crispy without sauce & if i coat them with sauce straight out the oven? 2 can i season the wings as i normally do. Say garlic, pepper, spice rub etc…
Hi Rodney! Around 30 minutes without sauce, with sauce around 15 minutes 🙂 If you season the wings, stick with powders and it will still be far crispier than any other baking method but not quite as crisp as making them plan 🙂
We stumbled across these wings a few years ago. Your explanations are very helpful in ensuring that we keep up the great crispiness. We eat these every Christmas for Wings and White Christmas – we munch and sing along to all the songs. We keep some of the wings plain and offer dipping sauce and then we toss some of the wings in hot sauce warmed up with crumbled blue cheese – decadent and very messy. Thanks for a great recap and outline of this approach to great wings.
I’m so happy to hear that Liz, thank you for taking the time to let me know! N x
Hi Nagy,
I have to say these are the best wings I have ever made…the secret is the baking powder. My husband and I make them to watch football or on cold Sundays when you want good tasting comfort food. We make a few different sauces and baste in the last few minutes of baking.
Thank you for all your great recipes!!!
Tomorrow I’m having friends over and making your Chicken Cordon Bleu and Christmas Eve will be Ham and your Cheesy Potato Gratin Stacks…can’t wait 🙂
Hi Sandra, I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to let me know. So thrilled to know you’re making some of my recipes for Christmas Eve!! – N x
THANKS FOR THIS RECIPE, HAVE BEEN MAKING BUFFALO WINGS FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS. HAVE USED MANY DIFFERENT RECIPES AND MOST RATED O.K. SINCE I FOUND THIS ONE, ITS THE ONLY WAY THAT I’LL PREPARE MY WINGS!
THANKS. I ADD 1 TBSP OF RIB RUB SPICE MIX TO THE BAKING POWDER/ SALT BEFORE COATING, ADDS ANOTHER LAYER OF FLAVOR TO THE TRADITIONAL BUFFALO SAUCE THAT I TOSS THEM IN.
Thanks Toby! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it, thank you for letting me know! N xx
Don’t bother with any other wings recipe. This is THE ONE. I’ve tried so many other recipes I’ve found on the internet and this is the best by far. Clear instructions and they came out just like the photos. And as promised – SO CRISPY
Woo hoo! So glad to hear that you enjoyed it Peter, thanks for letting me know! N x
This recipe truly works for crispy wings with no deep frying they are amazingly crispy but I honey mustard them with SWEET BABY RAYS>>>
HIGH FIVE!!!!
Hi nagi, ive been loving your recipes because the instructions are so clear. I made the wings tonight and i love the texture however i find that there is bittter aftertaste that come through. The wings are nicely browned so its not from burning, im guessing its frm the baking powder? Im using the normal australian mckenzie brand. Have you across this before? Thanks
Hi PK! That’s exactly the brand I use 🙂 Just to check, is the baking powder definitely no past the expiry date? that definitely causes the problem – my friend experienced this problem. And the other key step is ensuring the wings are coated evenly, hence using a very large bowl or large zip lock bag to ensure even distribution. Because not much is used, it’s important to toss / shake well to ensure even coating, even small clumps here and there can cause that bitterness. Hope that helps! N xx