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??
For over 30 Years i have been making wings on the grill, slow cooked and then coated with lemonade honey mix. I thought I had the best wings ever until i just tried your crispy wing recipe . YOU WIN! I am making them again now for neighbors
Thank you
WOOT!!! Love this Kim! N x
These were amazing according to my husband and son. They are easy and so crispy!! Truly delish.
Can you leave out the salt entirely?
Hi Nagi, I found that 2kg of wings is far too much to fit on one tray (even with them ‘snug’ like you mentioned). Could I bake 2 x trays of these at the same time (bottom 2 shelves/top 2 shelves) and maybe swap the trays half way through each bake?
Yes 100% Kelly! N x
Hubby wanted to make chicken wings for mates coming over and I wasn’t going to be home to make them. Gave him this recipe knowing your recipes never disappoint. When I got home his mates couldn’t wait to tell me how amazing they where and how he did such a great job. Didn’t mention how easy the recipe was.
hello I’m searching for the perfect crispy oven baked wings. I’ve scaled your recipe down to 2lbs wings which would be roughly 24 wing pieces. is that correct? how would I measure 0.38 tsp salt? How many pinches roughly? I don’t know how else to measure it.
Hi Rachelle, depends on the size of the wing – but just use 1/3 teaspoon salt. N x
Awesome, thanks Nagi! First time trying your oven baked chicken wing recipe and am totally impressed. I’ve already shared your recupe with friends. Thank you so much!! Can’t wait to hear some of your other tips.
Thanks so much for the great feedback Candice! N x
Love this! I always add a little paprika just for a visual to be able to make sure I have them coated evenly!
We cooked these on our outdoor grill tonight & it worked great! I need to practice a few more times to get them really crispy on the grill, but still a great recipe!
I’ve never tried on the grill Andrea, so glad to know it works though! N x
These are simply AMAZING ! I followed the instructions EXACTLY as written but was a little skeptical because it didn’t look like it was enough coating or salt, but you were right on in all aspects! The color of the wings are perfect, the crunch and taste are great! THANKS SO MUCH. This recipe made me a new subscriber. Keep’em coming!
Wahoo – that’s great Donna, thanks so much for taking the time to leave feedback ❤️
Made this tonight, turned out really great. Nagi, I’ve been making a habit of using your recipes for family Friday night dinners (to cheer everyone up during quarantine) and they’ve been a hit (a 10/10) every single time. Thanks for spreading your joy of food.
That’s awesome Jema, thanks so much! N x
Can vouch, these wings are the absolute bomb!! Couldn’t ask for more, best chicken wings I’ve ever had <3 thank you so much Nagi, you're the best 🙂
Do you put 5tsp baking powder or 2????????
The video says to put 2tsp of baking powder and the recipe says to put 2tsp
Hi! The video says 2 TBLS – which is just over 5 teaspoons. N x
This is our go to recipe for Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday’s. An absolute never miss. Thanks Nagi.
Perfect Gord! N
BEST wings I have ever made..my go to recipe now.. have made these many times and they always come out great! My picky family asks for them. They are so good we even eat them without sauce. I sometimes cheat and use Frank’s Buffalo Sauce and make hot wings!
WoW this was Great but it could of been better-Because I made some mistakes. I cut my wings in half about 8 or nine of them. I put the ingrediencies in the bag and only shook about half of them at a time- when I shook the first batch they came out a pale lightly coated white wing–BUT- there was NOTHING left in the bag to shake on the remaining wings.. So I put the same amount of the required ingrediencies in the bag and added the rest of the chicken. Only 2 of the wings I ate were GREAT the others had a AWFUL taste and too much salt on them, Most likely to much powder. If I would of put all the chicken in the bag at one time there would not have been enough seasoning for all of them. HELP I WANT to make them again. What should I do?
Hi, I seasoned my wings with liquid seasoning, if I add the powder powder will it have the same crunchy effect?
Hi Spunky, the powder isn’t to completely coat each wing – but just a small amount. You really need to add the winds and all the ingredients in the bag and shake. 🙂 N x
I made this receipe as we were missing our Friday night buffalo wings at the the sports bar, due to isolation. Omg they came better than what we usually buy. The family loved them. Another success story, your receipes are fool proof and ever so delicious. Hats off to you Nagi! X
Just wanted to to thank you for this foolproof recipe. I would never deep fry but my family loves wings. This recipe has made them very happy. I also appreciate the notes and updates you’ve made.
Hello, I’m going to make these for dinner tonight and wondering if the cooking time will change if I only have 1 1/2 lbs of chicken? Thank you!
Hi Kerri, no it wont change as the time is for the pieces of chicken not the amount as a whole (as it’s not 1 piece of meat) N x
Konnichiwa, Nagi-chan! I’ve made wings for a couple of times then now I use this method for drumsticks and thighs. Works perfectly and my family loves it! Arigato!
YUM, sounds great Keiko! N x