How to Make Crispy BAKED Chicken Wings [EASY]

Learn How to Make Crispy Baked Chicken Wings at home! Forget about hot grease or deep frying because these easy baked wings are restaurant-worthy and super crispy.

Learn how to bake crispy chicken wings at home

Once you learn How to Make Crispy Baked Chicken Wings at home, you’ll never want to deep fry again! This recipe uses a handful of pantry-staple ingredients and a little bit of science to achieve the perfect oven-fried chicken wing. Follow the recipe carefully for the best results!

There are 3 secrets to super crispy baked wings:

1. Coat them in cornstarch, salt, and aluminum-free baking powder (NOT baking soda).
2. Let them dry out for several hours.
3. Bake them on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet.

This tried and true process will give you perfect wings every time. They can even be prepped up to 12 hours ahead of time and don’t require any babysitting (unlike deep-fried wings).

Serve them on game day along with my soy garlic wings and Baked Brie with Apricrot Preserves and Proscuitto. Talk about the best party ever!

Making chicken wings with baking powder vs baking soda

The secret to truly crispy chicken wings is to coat them in aluminum-free baking powder. According to Serious Eats, baking powder will soak up the chicken juices on the wing and will bubble as it bakes in the oven. The end result is a blistered, browned, and crispy chicken wing!

Coating chicken wings in baking soda (instead of baking powder) will raise the pH and can help brown and crisp the wing as well. The one major downfall? Baking soda will make your wings metallic tasting.

This is why this recipe calls for aluminum-free baking powder! It's the better option between baking soda vs baking powder.

Baked chicken wing ingredients

While these baked chicken wings use simple, pantry-staple ingredients, each one plays an important role in achieving a very crispy wing. Try not to make any substitutions to this list:

Chicken wings

Make sure to separate the flats and drumettes if your wings come connected. Dry them really well with paper towels so the cornstarch and baking powder sticks to the skin.

Aluminum-free baking powder

Coating the wings in aluminum-free baking powder, which you can find at most major grocery stores, will help the chicken skin bubble and blister in the oven without affecting the overall flavor. 

DO NOT replace the baking powder with baking soda. While it can crisp up your wings, baking soda will give them a strong metallic flavor.

Cornstarch

The baking powder and cornstarch work together to dry out the wing and form a crispy coating on the outside. The longer you let the wings sit in this coating, the better!

Kosher salt

For flavor!

Wing sauce 

Once the wings are done baking, toss them in your favorite wing sauce. Buffalo sauce is a classic choice or you can use any of the options I listed below.

How to make crispy baked chicken wings

I’ll show you how to make super crispy buffalo wings in just a few simple steps:

Tips and tricks

Follow these tips and tricks to make the best baked wings ever:

Let them rest!

The longer you leave the coated wings to chill and dry out, the crispier they’ll become. Let them rest for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours in the fridge.

Bake them on a wire rack

Baking the wings on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet will circulate more air in and around the wings. If you were to only use a rimmed baking sheet, the wings would steam and turn out soggy.

Dress up your wings!

Once your pile of crispy baked wings is ready, it’s time to add the sauce! Toss the wings in any of these classic sauces:

• Buffalo sauce
• Ranch dressing, my homemade ranch recipe will be a hit!
• Barbecue sauce
• Hot sauce
• Honey garlic

Recipe