Crispy Baked Buffalo Wings
Crispy Baked Buffalo Wings Recipe: Learn How to Make the BEST Baked Chicken Wings in the Oven. This Hot Wings Recipe (and Easy Hot Wing Sauce Recipe) is utterly irresistible!
Our Favorite Hot Wings Recipe Is Made In The Oven
Raise your hand if you love spicy buffalo wings!
Both of my hands are currently up, and so are my kids’ hands. In fact, my son Carson would tell you buffalo wings are the food of the gods. He would eat them every day if I let him.
Because of this, we make buffalo chicken wings a lot, and with many different methods.
Sometimes we smoke them. Sometimes we grill them. We’ve even, on occasion, pulled out the fryer to make restaurant-style fried hot chicken wings. (Although frying is my least favorite kitchen duty.)
However, I’ve find the easiest, most approachable, way to prepare buffalo chicken wings is to bake them in the oven.
Not only that, with a few tricks up your sleeve you can bake extra-crispy chicken wings, that taste like they’ve been fried!
Crispy Baked Buffalo Wings Recipe
The basic method for any great buffalo wings recipe is to:
- Make the hot wing sauce from scratch
- Cook the wings
- Then dunk the wings in the buffalo wing sauce.
That way, the hot chicken wings have the best chance of being super crispy out the outside, yet still dripping with sauce.
If you cook the buffalo wings in the hot wing sauce, the skin will never fully crisp up.
I’ll show you exactly how to make the best crispy Baked Hot Wings Recipe below.
How To Make Baked Chicken Wings Crispy
I know, it’s hard to believe you can “fry” chicken wings in the oven… And without any oil! Yet just think about how air fryers work.
It’s certainly possible, you just need to follow a few key steps.
To Make Our Ultra Crispy Baked Hot Wings Recipe
- Dry the Wings Thoroughly
- Coat the Wings with Baking Powder
Dry Wings: The chicken wings must be super dry before placing them in the oven. You can dry them by squeezing the wings with paper towels, or by placing them on a rack and letting them air-dry for hours. Or both!
Baking Powder: Baking powder (aluminum-free) is the secret ingredient to make the skins turn extra crispy in the oven. The baking powder changes the ph balance of the chicken skin, and helps to pull all the moisture out of it.
How To Make Your Own Hot Wing Sauce Recipe
Homemade Hot Wings Sauce (or Buffalo Sauce) consists of three simple ingredients:
- Cayenne Pepper Hot Sauce (like Frank’s RedHot)
- Melted Butter
- Honey (or brown sugar)
That’s it.
People mix these items in different proportions to get their own secret blend, but it’s still pretty much all the same recipe.
The secret to making smooth buffalo wing sauce, is to warm it just long enough to melt the butter (or brown sugar if using.) Then whisk it well and turn off the heat.
If you simmer buffalo sauce it will separate over time, losing its silky texture.
Oven-Baked Chicken Wings Recipe Ingredients
Excited to get started? Here is everything you will need…
For the Hot Chicken Wings:
- Trimmed Chicken Wings – Often called Party Wings
- Baking Powder – Aluminum-free if you can find it.
- Garlic Powder – To add zest to the chicken skins.
- Salt and Pepper – To season the wings.
- Cayenne Pepper Sauce – Thin red hot sauce.
- Butter – To make the sauce silky.
- Honey – To make the buffalo wing sauce spicy-sweet!
Baked Chicken Wings Recipe Equipment
- Oven
- Baking Sheet
- Baking Rack
- Saucepot
- Bowl
Get The Full (Printable) Best Baked Chicken Wings Recipe Below
Best Buffalo Chicken Wings Recipe Tips
So that’s how we make our BEST buffalo wings in the oven.
- We make the hot wings sauce,
- Dry the wings thoroughly,
- Bake the wings dredged in baking powder and dry seasoning,
- And dunk the wings in the sauce.
Here are a few things that also make a big difference…
Tip 1: The drying is so important I’m going to mention it again. The wings must be super dry in order to get crispy. Use paper towels to squeeze each wing so the skin is moisture-free.
Tip 2: The cayenne pepper sauce you use for the wing sauce needs to be good! I like Frank’s RedHot Original, but you can use your favorite brand.
Tip 3: You can place the chicken wings directly on a baking sheet, but it’s best if you set them on a baking rack over a baking sheet. That way, the hot air can circulate all the way around them in the oven.
More Amazing Chicken Wings Recipes
Other Party Recipes You Will Love
- Muffuletta Cheesy Garlic Bread
- Irish Pub Cheese
- Spicy Bacon Wrapped Dates
- Mini Chorizo Chili Bread Bowls
- Best Cheesy Stuffed Mushrooms
Crispy Baked Buffalo Wings Recipe
Ingredients
- 2.5-3 pounds trimmed chicken wings (often called party wings)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder (aluminum-free)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 5 ounces cayenne pepper sauce (Frank's RedHot Original)
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 3 1/2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Set a baking rack on a large rimmed baking sheet. Spray the rack with nonstick cooking spray.
- Use paper towels to thoroughly squeeze and dry every single wing. The drier the wings are, the crispier they will get.
- In a large bowl, mix the baking powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Add the wings to the bowl and toss to coat. Lay the wings on the baking rack, making sure they do not touch.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Then use tongs to flip the wings. Bake another 15-20 until very brown and crispy.
- Meanwhile, set a small saucepot over medium heat. Add the cayenne pepper sauce, butter, and honey. Once the butter has fully melted, whisk into a smooth sauce, then turn off the heat.
- Once the chicken wings come out of the oven, move them to a large bowl and pour the hot wing sauce over the top. Toss to coat. Serve warm!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Making this recipe? Follow us on Instagram and tag @ASpicyPerspective so we can share what you’re cooking!
Absolutely tasty! Made multiple times. Household requests often.
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I cooked the chicken separately and first. I put it in a crockpot with beef broth and let it cook for 4 hours. did not brown. it came out fall off the bone tender and delicious. I had my roomy chop the veggies. she’s very good at it and fasts.
Thank you for this recipes. Best wings I have ever made. I will make these again
These are LEGIT!!! Thanks for a terrific recipe!! We love wings, and I absolutely didn’t miss the frying- the texture was perfect!! Sauce is on point, and the only different thing I’ll do next time is dry brine overnight in fridge. So good. My husband and son just loved them as well.
Ah-mazing!! It was a very easy recipe and they turned out better than bdubs.
Thank you for your delicious buffalo wings recipe.
OMG I have been trying to get the “perfect” crispy chicken wing for YEARS!!
Hands down the best recipe!! Thanku!
My husband and kids were in love tonight!!
Made this recipe! They turned out really well. Crispy and good tasting!
Absolutely love these wings always come out nice and crispy
Thanks for this amazing recipe. I made this recipe for my sister on her birthday.
And the good thing is she liked it.. This is my third time after my college I cooked.
Thanks a lot for this delicious and simple recipe. You have written this recipe in
a very brief way which helped me to make it perfectly. Thanks! and keep it up…
Hi! Looks like a great recipe. Any substitute for the baking powder?
Hi Michelle!
Unfortunately, not really. The chemical components in the baking powder are what draw the moisture out of the wings and make them so crispy. You could skip the baking powder, but the wings would not have the same texture.
corn starch
Amazing. I made this for my two roommates who commented I should open a restaurant — so yes, this one worked very well and was very easy to follow. Better still, no frying involved. Thanks so much!
This is an awesome wing recipe! I followed all the directions except I substituted sriracha for hot sauce. It was yummy! Definitely give this recipe a try!
Can the wings be frozen or do they need to be thawed in order to dry them before cooking?
Hi Holly,
Yes, you do need to thaw the wings to dry them out properly. I promise, you will be glad you did! :)
We have been looking for a good baked wing recipe for a while, but ours have always turned out mushy and not crispy. This recipe is a complete game changer: wings turned out crispy and had a great texture. We baked the wings exactly as written with baking powder, granulated garlic and salt. Of course we made our own spicy sauce, but loved the addition of honey and added just bit into our sauce. Great recipe! Great technique! Can’t wait to get more wings so we can try the grilled and fried recipes too!!
amazing recipe.. I am a food lover and food blogger..
I am addicted to exploring new food..
This is my 2nd time visit here, and
I want to thank u because I have tried this
recipe on my first visit to GrandMaa and the best
thing is she liked it so much..
thanks for this great recipe.. well written..!!
oh, my, YES! These are so good! I love how simple they are as well!
These are the best! Loved making them without oil! So good!
This was really delicious! My husband loved it so much!
I was searching for a good wing recipe! I love that you can bake these for an easy appetizer!
I’m always looking for new wing recipes and this one is a keeper! Thank you!
These were so crispy and delicious! I’ll be making these again for sure!