Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
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These crispy baked chicken wings come out beautifully browned and crisp without deep-frying. The secret is a quick parboil before they go into the oven.
If you’re looking for a baked chicken wings recipe that actually gets crispy, this is the one I swear by. I’ve tried the baking powder method that many recipes use, but I’ve never been happy with the results. My trick is to parboil the wings before they go into the oven. The brief simmer renders some of the excess fat from the skin, helping the wings brown and crisp beautifully as they bake.
Before baking, I toss the wings with a smoky spice rub that gives them plenty of flavor on their own. You can serve them just as they are or with Buffalo sauce, plus blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing.
“Super crispy…My husband, who is a wing nut, loved these. This is the only way I will be making my wings from now on.”
What You’ll Need To Make Baked Chicken Wings
- Chicken wings: Look for wings that are already split into drumettes and flats to save yourself some prep. If you buy whole wings, cut them at the joints and discard the tips or save them for stock.
- Vegetable oil: A neutral, high-heat oil is best for coating the wings before baking.
- Smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper: This simple spice blend gives the wings a smoky, savory flavor and plenty of seasoning even without sauce.
- Frank’s RedHot and butter: For Buffalo-style wings, toss the baked wings with melted butter and Frank’s RedHot Original. Frank’s is my go-to here for that classic Buffalo flavor.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
Boil the wings: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the wings, and boil briefly. This renders some of the fat from the skin, helping the wings crisp up in the oven. Drain the wings thoroughly.
Dry and season the wings: Transfer the wings to a baking sheet and blot them as dry as possible with paper towels, wiping away any moisture on the baking sheet, too. This is important—moisture will cause them to steam rather than crisp up. Drizzle with vegetable oil, sprinkle with the salt and spices, and toss until evenly coated.
Bake until crisp: Bake the wings in a hot oven, then flip and continue baking until browned and crispy all over.
Make the Buffalo sauce, if you like: Whisk together the melted butter and Frank’s RedHot. Serve the sauce on the side with the crispy wings.
Video Tutorial
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Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
Ingredients
For the Chicken Wings
- Salt
- 3 pounds chicken wings, split into drummettes and wings (tips discarded)
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
For the Buffalo Sauce (optional)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 6 tablespoons Frank's Red Hot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce (or similar brand)
Instructions
For the Chicken Wings
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (235°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position.
- In a large pot, bring 4 qts (4L) of water and 1 tablespoon of salt to a rapid boil. Add the chicken wings, return to a boil, and boil them for 7 minutes. Drain the wings thoroughly in a colander.
- Place the wings on a 13 x 18-in (33 x 46-cm) baking sheet. Using a wad of paper towels, blot the wings as dry as possible (wipe off any moisture from the baking sheet, too). Drizzle the oil over the wings and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt, the chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika. Toss with a rubber spatula until the wings are evenly coated. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the pan from the oven and, using tongs, flip the wings over. Return to the oven and bake for about 10 minutes more, or until the wings are crispy all over. Transfer the wings to a serving platter and serve with the Buffalo sauce on the side, if desired.
For the Buffalo Sauce
- In a small bowl, whisk together the butter and hot sauce. The sauce will solidify as it cools; reheat if necessary.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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I had mixed results with this one. I followed the recipe exactly, but many of my wing flats stuck to the sheet pan. I’m not sure why, but I lost the skin of several. If I were to make these again I would spray the sheet pan with non stick spray or maybe use parchment paper. On the plus side, the flavor of the wings were perfectly seasoned and the flavor really good without the sauce. I used BBQ sauce as a dip and the flavors were perfect. The skin was moderately crispy, but good.
I will likely try again.
Try using a baking sheet rack or grate and do skin up only. Don’t flip them. It should come out OK.
These wings were excellent, juicy and flavorful. I would definitely make again. I tossed the wings in a bowl with the oil and spices rather than on the pan.
These wings were excellent, juicy and flavorful. I would definitely make again.
These chicken wings were out of this world!!!! I made them for my husband and son on Super Bowl Sunday and they were a big hit. Crispy, tender, so moist, delicious and so easy to make. They added some ranch dressing on the side for that classic taste. I am already being asked when I plan to make them again.. Thanks again, Jen, for a wonderful recipe to add to my list of goodies for parties and get togethers.
Taste was good, texture was good but not particularly crispy. I was surprised at the amount of smoke produced. Fortunately the Jenn-air took care of most of it. I still prefer the charcoal grill.
Can you take skin off before putting in oven ? Thanks
While technically it should work, so much of the flavor is in the skin. In my opinion, that’s what makes them good. 🙂
Made these for the Super Bowl. I have to say that they were fully enjoyed. I added a touch of smoked habanero spice just to give the wings a bit of heat as I wasn’t creating the sauce. I just wanted them baked and not saucy. They turned out perfectly with my main appreciation being that the parboiling of the wings ensured that there were no rubbery chicken parts on the wings after baking. Much prefer baked wings to fried so this recipe is my go-to recipe now. Thanks Jenn!
These are the best wings I’ve ever made. The parboiling makes them so tender and moist. The oven bake is so easy and provides crispy wings with very little work.
Thank you Jen!
Absolutely delicious and easy to make! My husband loved them!
These were so delicious! What a great super bowl menu addition. However, I won’t wait til next year to make them again. Easy, fast and tasty….what more can you ask for. We all loved them. Thank you 😊
These surpassed my expectations. They turned out almost the same as those served up in my favourite pub. My wife loved them and she is somewhat of a connoisseur of chicken wings. I followed the recipe except for letting them bake an extra few minutes. That was more of a convenience than a necessity.
We had celery and carrot slices on the side, just like in the pub, with some blue cheese dressing for a dip. I also mixed up some Buffalo dip for the wings. Just right.
The only small change I might suggest is that would be easier to coat the wings evenly by tossing them with the oil and spices in a large bowl rather than on the pan. I used a USA jelly roll pan to bake them and it cleaned up easily.
I tossed them in a bowl, too. It certainly made for a more evenly coating.
I’ve made several Buffalo wing recipes, in the past, and these by far will be my go to recipe. I always thought you had to fry to get a crispy wing (was never previously satisfied) but maybe the parboiling is the trick?!! So happy I tried this recipe… a new family favorite. 💕🍗