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??
How big are the cooking racks you use?
Hi John! It’s about 35cm / 14″ x 23cm / 9″ 🙂
Making these for my sisters birthday. Can you add the sauce and put them back in the oven to glaze it a little. I am not a fan of the sauce just laying there.
Hi Rhonda! I’d just toss it in the sauce just prior to serving rather than putting it back in the oven becacuse it will lose crispness! 🙂
Hi, I made these today. They tasted excellent except they were tough. Is it I overbaked them or what did I do wrong? Thanks
Hi Teo, I’ve made this dozens and dozens of times, and tough is definitely something that has never happened. All I can think is – were your wings extra small??? Was it the flesh itself that was tough?? So odd, wings are so juicy, I have never in my life had a tough wing!
I am almost in tears! I made this recipe a second time today because we loved the crispiness the first time. The only problem was they were WAYYYY too salty. I assumed I hadn’t measured the salt correctly the first time, so was careful to put in just what the recipe called for. OUCH…I think they were even saltier the second time. Then I read the ingredients on my container of baking powder. The first two ingredients begin with sodium. I have to assume that means I probably shouldn’t have added ANY salt. I can’t believe you’ve had so many positive responses and none that ask about the salt. I love the technique, but don’t like having 911 on speed dial for when my heart attack hits.
Hi Judy – something is really out of whack, especially if it worked the first time. I checked my baking powder too and it has the same, but I just tasted my baking powder and it is barely salty at all. This recipe only calls for 3/4 TEASPOON salt for 4 pounds of wings so there is no way that quantity produces wings that are too salty, in fact, people always query whether it is enough!! (And are always amazed that it IS!). All I can think is that there is something wrong with your baking powder – or did you accidentally use 3/4 tablespoons instead of 3/4 teaspoons of salt??
These certainly are the BEST wing recipe I ever made… I did pat the wings dry and still let them in the fridge uncovered for about 6 hours before preparing for baking. I made my own honey Sirachia sauce for dipping… Yum!!
Woo hoo! So glad you loved them Barbara! N x
Wow, these wings were amazing! I have tried a lot of recipes and this one takes the cake.
Taste almost the same as deep fried, just take a little longer to make. Will be making these a lot!
Thank you Gabe! I’m thrilled that you enjoyed it!!
Will this work without a cooling rack ? I know I’m probably one of the only people that doesn’t have one in their kitchen !
It does Caitlin! It is just that the base touching the tray will be wet with oil, but actually it is still crispy because it is almost frying in it’s own fat! And it’s not the whole underside either because when it crisps up, the base “bows” rather than sitting flat like it does when raw 🙂
I love this recipe but I’ve made it twice now and each time my house becomes very smokey. What am I doing wrong?
These were the best wings we ever made! Thank you! Just wondering if chicken legs would work as well?
Hi Theresa, so glad you enjoyed them! I find that it does not work as well with legs because there is not enough skin – it shrinks when cooked. But it works better with thighs with lots of flappy skin to get crispy! I sort of tuck it around the thigh to enclose as much of the meat with crispy skin! 🙂
I have used this recipe a few times and love it. I am considering trying with thighs, ever try this?
Hi! Yes it works great with chicken thigh too as long as you have plenty of skin because skin shrinks when it cooks 🙂
The first time I used this recipe everyone was impressed. I almost forgot how to find it so I can make them again. This recipe is truly the way to go if you BAKE your wings! I will never do them any other way now!
Welcome aboard the Crispy Baked Wings train Liz!!! So glad you love these as much as I do! 🙂 N x
I’ve made these Wings three times and they are truly crispy without using the deep fryer.
So glad you’re on board the Crispy Baked Wings train Ryan! 🙂 N x
I just made these for dinner and the only complaint was that there wasn’t enough hahahaha!!!! Tasted better than fried chicken and without the oil!!! It’s a keeper!! I even added some seasoning to the mix and it was still crispy!
BA HA HA!! You had me there for a second, I was getting prepared to write a “Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear that” response! 😉 N x
I’ve always had a weakness for crispy chicken wings but never made them until yesterday. This recipe is PERFECT and so easy!!! I made a honey mustard dipping sauce as well, can see it being a regular favourite … thank you!
Thank you Jenny! I am SO GLAD you enjoyed them! N x
this recipe sounds great, but I would like to know if I can add spices to the baking soda, and get the same result!
I believe the recipe says baking powder and not to use baking sold
sorry….baking soda….
You’re absolutely right. Do NOT USE BAKING SODA! It is horrid horrid horrid!!! Have to use baking powder!
Hi Donna! Yes you can! The wings lose a tiny bit of crispiness because the skin ends up a wee bit thicker but it is still WAY crispier than any other baked wings method e.g. flour, corn starch etc 🙂
Hi Nagi!
I made you recipe today with turkey wings and looks crunchy and awesome too! Me and my boo love it! I jut have a question…. Did you oven looks super dirty after you done the recipe? because mine looks terrible! Turkey fat everywhere 🙁
Thanks for your recipes <3 I´m just know you´re site now but i´m already a fan!
Woah! You made this with TURKEY WINGS???!!! And YES I can imagine if you made these with turkey wings the fat would splatter everywhere, they are so much bigger than wings!!! I’m so glad to hear it worked out so well, it’s so good to know!!
I just made these wings and they are truly delicious I cannot believe how crispy they are and how free of all the extra stuff that store-bought wings have. This is now my go-to recipe for chicken wings and drumsticks. thank you so much ????
Thank you for trying my recipe Angela!! I am so glad you enjoyed them too, I LOVE this recipe! N x
OMG Nagi… Bookmarked instantly – these easy chicken wings will be perfect for any party. I am planign one for my family next weekend. The wings are simply salted so I can pair them up with any sauce or no sauce at all. I reckon kids will have tomato or BBQ sauce and grown ups will have a spicy sauce …
LOL … I also cut my chicken wings the same way as you do which turn the wings into great finger foods without the messy face & they cook better that way !
Rendering the chicken skin fat off the wings on low temp and then crisping the skin up on high temp is the perfect trick in this recipe. Great idea. Thank you so much for sharing this tip.
I swear to you Ada, this recipe is GENIUS!!!! PS See you at the beach tomorrow bright and early!!! Dozer is ready to get back into it!!
Nagi!
I just made these!! WAAA!! For my teen son..WOW!(he’s mumbling and eating with sparks flying.. ‘these are amazing’ he says..) I’m saluting you and singing for you “Hail to Nagi, Queen of crispy oven chicken!” GIRL!!!..these are phenomenal. I am sending this recipe forward to all fried chicken lovers. THANK YOU THANK YOU!! This is genius and you are a gracious and graceful angel. All love to you ~Barbara
Barbara, I think I love you. YOU MADE MY NIGHT!!!! N xx
The 350F with door open and 500F also with door open worked well but had to keep checking on it and lessen the time significantly. A bit nerve-wracking but totally worth it! When I heard the sizzle-crackle of the dripped out fat at near-500F, I was relieved!
Thanks so much for this 5-star recipe, and for the quick reply, you’re the best!
YES!!! I’m so glad it worked Wendy! N x