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
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
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! Thank you so much for this recipe. My husband and son cannot get enough of these wings and the delicious sauce. I have a “chicken nugget & hot dogs only” 5 year old so i love to see him eat these wings. I really enjoy cooking your recipes. We will enjoy this again this evening as requested by the family (hubby has submitted an early request for double sauce).
I’m so happy to hear that Chanel! Thanks so much for letting me know! N x
Hi,
First off, these wings come out perfect, crispy, and delicious every time I have made them which is quite a few times. Thank you. Secondly, I found some large skin on, bone in leg quarters. Can I follow the same instructions you think for a similar result or should I adjust time and/or temps? Your help is much appreciated!
Hi Hath, so glad you enjoyed this!!! Yes it will work, I’ve tried other cuts and it works great. I just adjusted the cook time for the 2nd baking time until the chicken was cooked. I haven’t made it with large quarters though, but I’m sure it would work!
By the way, your honey garlic sauce is delicious as well! I will be drizzling it on the quarters once cooked. Thanks again.
Thank you Hath!! 🙂
Would this work on chicken breasts?? Thanks!
hi Hannah! Sorry no, it needs skin 🙂
Does cornstarch have the same results?
I have both baking powder and cornstarch in my cupboard.
Hi Glen! Stick with the baking powder – cornstarch doesn’t have the same result!
Will this work in a commercial convection oven with 6 full size sheet pans holding 40 wings each? I was thinking to much moisture would build up with that many wings in the oven. What’s your thoughts?
Hi James, terribly sorry but I don’t know! I haven’t tried this in a commercial oven ?
This MUST be some kind of a joke. I followed the recipe to the T . Oh my god. Dont do this recipe. Worst i have ever cooked. My fault because i new better.
You may have done what I did, not follow the recipe to the tee, so my coating was too thick, which stopped them from browning as they should have!
Hi Randy! Somehow…I suspect….based on your reaction…you used baking soda / bi-carb instead of baking powder…:( Yes it’s disgusting and inedible. It needs to be made with baking POWDER!!!
Truly crispy oven baked wings ! Thank you !!! Was perfect for the Super Bowl 50 dinner.
WOO HOO!!!
I make wings all the time – but then my brother made a thanksgiving turkey and did a dry brine with baking powder. Gave me the idea to google baking powder wings and I found this recipe. They are in the oven right now and I’m super pumped. I’m pairing it with a garlic cayenne sauce.
Hoping you love them as much as I do!! 🙂
Perfect wings. Thanks for the post.
Thank you Karen! So glad you enjoyed them!!!
do I have to thaw the wings first, or can I bake them still frozen?
Hi Debbie! Please thaw first 🙂
I’ve made this recipe multiple times. Thank you for posting. The wings are absolutely crispy, juicy, and delicious. They are in the oven now. 🙂
Woo hoo! Glad you love these as much as I do! 🙂
These are a regular at our house now, they are so great. The first time I made them was for a wing party and everyone loved them. They couldn’t believe that they were baked in the oven because they were so crispy. Thanks for the great recipe. Making them for Super Bowl tonight! It’s a 10!
Enjoy the game?? 😉
I’m so glad you love these too!!!
I ran out of baking powder! Will I get the same effect using your cooking temps and times?
Unfortunately not! Sorry to disappoint ?
What if I don’t have a rack to cook them on? Will they still come out good and crispy if I just put them on a baking sheet?
Hi Michelle! They sure do. Using a rack allows the fat to drip and keeps the wings elevated out of it’s own fat. Without a rack, it is still very crispy around 75 – 80% of the wing all around and just the very bottom part that is in direct contact with the tray is not quite as crispy because it’s sitting in the fat that comes out of the wings. Still definitely worth making!!
I am confused about the rack on a tray. So do I bake them on top of the rack sitting on tray?
Hi Roger! Place a rack on a tray, then put the wings on the rack on the tray. Please refer to the video if you wish to see exactly how to do it! 🙂
I bought two 4-lb bags of chicken wing sections, to make for watching the Superbowl. I decided to test the recipe by using 6 wing-sections to see how they tasted and how crispy they were. The final product was a 10! I did add some Webster’s chicken seasoning, granulated garlic, and black pepper along with the baking powder and salt. Absolutely, they came out crispy, tasty; and, as far as I am concerned, to perfection. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
WOO HOO!!! Love that you tested it 🙂 Even better than you approve!!
Tryed your basic wings, outstanding!!! Everyone loves them. Thank you for sharing your expertise. Look forward to trying more.
So glad you enjoyed it Kathy and agree that it’s a ripper!!! 🙂 N x
Can these be made using frozen chicken wings or do they need to be thawed first?
Hi Chris! They need to be thawed 🙂
Your recipe looks great! It looks like something a non cooker (like myself) could handle. I am wondering if you have a way to make these with frozen chicken. Otherwise I’ll just thaw the chicken tonight and make it tomorrow.
Hi Nae! Just thaw the chicken and it will work perfectly!
Hey Nagi
Looking forward to trying your delicious recipe for the Super Bowl , bought 4 lbs of wings. I would like to added smoked paprika to the baking powder before tossing, it’s fine like dust.
Will this hider the baking processes in any way? You expert advice is valued.
Thank you,
Michael