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??
You are a legend Nagi, everything I’ve ever cooked from this website has been amazing. These wings are the best I’ve ever had. Thankyou so much!
Just made these and they were delicious. I made 2lbs and reduced baking powder to 2tsp. I salted after they were done, and made a little sauce using a little melted butter and hot sauce. Great technique. Thank you.
I’ve made this recipe about every month for the last 6 months. No one believes me that they’re not fried because they are so crispy. Great recipe!
Now that’s commitment Matthew, I love hearing this!! N x
These were perfect done in the oven. Could they also be cooked in air fryer?
I just made them with Salt and pepper + baking powder.
Mine were smaller wings, I should have taken them out 425 @ 30 min. I left them in for 45 min. Very crispy, delicious. I’d make them again. Just watch your finishing times to ensure wings are not dry.
The Best!
Are you kidding me? These wings are unbelievable. They come out super crispy, and juicy as well. I was sceptical of the baking powder, but there was zero aftertaste. I cooked mine about 15 minutes in the oven at 4:40, it tasted like they just came out of a deep fryer. This will be one of my go to’s if we ever get to have people over to our house again and watch some football 🙂
50 minutes, not 15😀
I’ve tried soooooo many different ways to do crispy wings, and will never look for another recipe again. This is it. Plain. Simple. CRISPY.
Love them all!
I have made these like SIX times and they are FAB! I like plain S Salt, Hubby likes shook in large ZLoc with Hot Sauce. I don’t have any wings at my disposal tonite so had to call out. 2 dozen $47.00 FORTY SEVEN DOLLARS!!! My question is please, do these freeze well? And how do you remake them (if they do freeze well) THANK YOU SWEETHEART!!! These are FABULOUS!!!
Sorry, forgot to click “notify me” I truly would love to freeze them. Cooked, uncooked, but ready t’go! ???
Hi Amy, sorry these are best fresh, I’m unsure they will stay crispy (and not dry out) if frozen after they’ve been cooked sorry! I’d love to know if you try though – and if you do, here’s how I would do it. Thaw and then reheat in a hot oven for 10-15 minutes until they crispy up again. N x
This recipe is INCREDIBLE. Thank you Nagi! I have made this recipe many times and it never disappoints!
I love hearing this – thanks so much Lisa!! N x
Another fantastic recipe! Turned out perfect!
I made these today. The wings came out crispy. Yum However, there is an after taste of baking powder. Did I use too much baking powder?
Did you use the Aluminum Free baking powder?
Its a must
I made this recipe again tonight, but skip the baking powder, crispy and yum!
I’m guessing you take the wings out of the oven after 30min @ 250 then preheat to 425 and put wings back in?? If not, then for sure the chicken wings will burn as the top element with be like a broiler trying to heat up @ 425.
Not sure about your oven but the top element in mine only heats when I set to”broil”. Her instructions say “bake”. So no you don’t remove to heat to 425.
We love this cooking method, very crispy wings with plenty of time to watch the game.
We usually season with Mediterranean oregano, cayenne pepper and black pepper before drying on a rack in the refrigerator overnight.
Thank you!
Yum, I love that idea Kelly! N x
What if you don’t have a rack to but the wings on?
Hi never had a fail with any of your recipes so was surprised when the wings tasted like crap, this can’t be right I say to myself so i check the recipe, I’ve used bi carb haven’t I 🙄 ugh luckily I’ve only done a few in the air fryer about to try again…. wish me luck.
Hi Linda – yes that’s why I put it in capitals in the ingredients, it’s important to not use bi carb!!! N x
Once I used the correct ingredient they were delicious, I won’t make the mistake again. Thank you xx
Not worth the time. Followed the recipe exactly and it filled the house with smoke, and was somewhat crispy but flavorless. Just throw oil and seasoning on wings and bake at 425 for 50 minutes (like we usually do) and it will be way better. Heat crisps the skin just fine. Don’t bother with baking powder.
Great recipe and very crispy wings (on the side facing up) after the 1+ hours of cooking and no turning the top side of the wings were amazingly crispy however the other side was not close to being crispy or colorful. I even used a rack. Would suggest flipping the wings halfway through the 425* cooking time
These are the best baked wings I (and my toddler) have ever eaten! I tossed them in a lemon pepper/butter/hot sauce blend. My picky toddler ate three of them and wanted more, thank you!
Too dry for my liking, wasn’t juicy at all! Do not recommend
I’m making these tonight as an appetizer for my husband and I but I am only using 14 wings. Would I half the amount of B-Powder and salt? I would think yes, but then maybe it will shake off any excess that doesn’t stick to the wings. Your thoughts please, thank you.