Everyone loves crispy chicken wings; they make a great party appetizer and are a must on game day or movie night!
These crispy baked chicken wings are cooked in the oven making them healthy - well healthier than fried wings. Many baked wing recipes use baking powder, but with this easy method, you don't need to coat the wings in anything.
The secret is to simmer the wings in salted water first. This starts to cook them and melt down the fat. These really are easy baked chicken wings! Add your favorite buffalo sauce, or serve them with a great wing dipping sauce.
Easy Baked Chicken Wings
Traditionally to get a super crispy skin on your chicken wings, you needed to deep fry them. Unhealthy and also messy!
Then a few years back baked chicken wings became all the rage. And they were good! Coated in a sprinkling of baking powder and cooked low and slow to start and then finished in a hot oven.
But!
I found out recently that some people are sensitive to baking powder. It tastes metallic and leaves an unpleasant taste in their mouth! Who knew!!! Apologies to my darling friend who politely spat out her chicken wing!!!
So I needed to come up with a new way to get crispy oven baked chicken wings!! And it occurred to me why not try an adaption on my BBQ drumstick method.
And boy did it work!
These wings are the crispiest baked wings you will ever try!!! They are soooo much better than the baking powder version!
Plus because we are just using wings, water, and salt, these babies hit all sorts of dietary levels - Gluten Free, Paleo, Keto, Whole 30, Delicious, Low Carb. Yes, I know "Delicious" isn't a diet….but for me, it is the only dietary concern I have! But for those people that have to follow a strict diet, these wings will be perfect too.
How to cook chicken wings in the oven.
This is really "boil then bake chicken wings" as these baked chicken wings don't start with the oven, they start with a pan of boiling water.
Place the wings in a large pan with a tablespoon of salt and then cover with boiling water.
Bring them back to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
I admit by this time the wings will look pretty horrid! But they will have rendered off lots of their fat and the meat will be hot all the way through.
Now comes the important stage.
Drain the wings and pat them dry with paper kitchen towel. They need to be dry to crisp well in the oven. If you work quickly and get them spread out after draining they will start to steam dry making it even easier for you to pat them dry.
You want to really make sure they are nice and dry, the drier they are at this stage the crispier the skin will be once they are finished.
At this point, the wings can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
How to bake chicken wings
Once the wings are nice and dry, lay them out on a rack over a sheet pan. I like to line the sheet pan with foil to make for an easier cleanup. They then go into the oven to get a crisp skin and golden color.
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How long to bake chicken wings for?
The wings will need 30 minutes at 450ºF/230ºC.
Always check that they are nice and crispy and golden brown.
How many calories in a chicken wing?
A fried chicken wing has around 218 calories in it.
Whereas these baked chicken wings have around 82 calories!
That is a serious difference!!!
Just 3 fried chicken wings provide you with 654 calories. Whereas you'll be able to eat 8 baked wings for the same calories!
Enjoy x
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Get the Recipe
Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken wings
- 1 tablespoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450ºF/230ºC.
- Bring a kettle of water to the boil.
- Place the chicken wings in a large pot, add the salt and then cover in boiling water.
- Bring the water back to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook the chicken wings for 10 minutes.
- Drain the wings well and use paper kitchen towel to pat them as dry as you can.
- Lay the wings on a wire rack set over a sheet pan (Line the sheet pan with foil to make clean up easier)
- Bake the chicken wings for 30 minutes until the skin is crisp and golden.
Nutrition
Nutrition is per serving
Charlotte says
This is a keeper! I followed the instructions step by step. They were crispy and completely cooked. Everyone put their favorite sauce over their wings at the end. Rave reviews. My one yo grandson ate three drumsticks. Easy and yummy. My kind of recipe.
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
That makes me smile so much 🙂
Thanks for taking the time to come back and comment.
Cx
Wendy Rafuse says
Always wanted to make wings at home, but never thought I could until I found your recipe. They were amazing and after hubby said he was full, he had more! LOL! I told him he now has to call me chef! Ha hah! Thanks so much for the recipe! Definitely a do-again!! HUGS!!
Claire W says
To say I was apprehensive on this recipe was an understatement, boiling the chicken, adding nothing but salt, no breading??? I stressed so much on how this could possibly work. I have also never left a review on a recipe, but this one compelled me too.
I trusted the process and it paid off more than I ever thought possible. The chicken was crunchy, juicy and so tasty. I used it to make buffalo wings and they were a complete hit. I have been making various versions of crunchy chicken wings for years, but this has revolutionised the way I’ll serve them going forward. Honestly such an amazing recipe, thank you so much for sharing and I can’t wait to make these again!!!
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Oh Claire! Thank you so much for the wonderful comment.
I agree when the chicken is first in the water it does seem a little crazy!
So happy you loved the method.
Cx
Tammy says
These were perfect! My picky teens loved them. Thank you
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Oh I am so happy. Picky teens are hardworking;-)
Thanks for taking the time to come back and comment.
Cx
Jen Kramer says
Absolutely the best wings! Crunchy, just like oil fried, but better! I'll never make them any other way! 😋
Iris Morant says
Made this recipe today (with a small tweak); I have to say BEST WIMGS EVER!!
My tweak, after drying, I prepared a mixture of Olive Oil, Sesame Oil, Smoked Paprika, Ranch Seasoning and Sazón (a Puertorican seasoning mix). I covered the wings in the mix before baking. Baked for 15 minutes, then turned for the las 15. My family loved it! Definitely a keeper.
Linda says
Tried SO many recipes for crispy wings....so so results. These wings using the Ranch seasoning hack was delicious AND crispy. Thanks
Claire McEwen says
SO happy you enjoyed them Linda
Terry says
I am not a big fan of the baking powder method either but when people say it's because of the metallic taste it's likely because they are using a baking powder that has aluminum in it. You have to get the aluminum free kind for that to taste better.
Lucia says
Wow! These wings turned out amazing! My twelve year old son who is very particular about his wings loved them! They are crispy but not dry. After boiling them I dried them and tossed them with Ranch dip mix and a little olive oil, popped them in the oven for 30 minutes, let them rest for 5 and then tossed them in Buffalo sauce. My version of Dirty Ranch wings. They are delicious!! Thanks so much for this wing hack!! I will never cook them any other way!
Mathew Partoon says
I followed this method and they we're delicious! Ate the with hot chilli sauce
Ted Cwiertnirwicz says
The worst Chicken Wings I ever made.., not crispy, but dry and tough..
Claire McEwen says
I am sorry to hear this Ted.
They usually get such rave reviews.
If you let me know if you made any changes we could troubleshoot for you 🙂
Cx
Karen McDowell says
I am so happy to have found this recipe! I made wings tonight. They came out perfect! Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe😊
Intell says
Can i season the wings after i boil them and pat them dry before I bake them??
Claire McEwen says
You can definitely do that 🙂
Cx
Shawn says
This turned out great! Love that you can "boil out" some of the fat, makes it that much healthier 🙂
p.s. What do you mean by "If you work quickly after draining they will start to steam dry before you can pat them." Is it not good if they steam dry?
Claire McEwen says
Hi Shawn, I am so glad you enjoyed them!!
I will reword that sentence as it is a bit confusing. Totally okay if they steam dry! Although I do still pat them dry.
Cx
Bob Bronis says
Never baked wings. Will use this method. But they will go in the fridge for several hours before I put in the time delayed oven to bake.
Q: is there potential hazard in putting wings in a time delayed oven
Claire McEwen says
Hi Bob,
I have to say that my first thoughts were that it could be a potential hazard, putting chicken into a cold oven for several hours and then having them heat up slowly as the oven comes to temperature. That is creating a warm breeding ground for bacteria.
Then I thought, hmm but the wings will be cooked when they are boiled so essentially the oven is heating them back up and crisping them off so it could be okay.
But with anything food related I tend to err on the side of caution and I think it just isn't worth the risk of food poisoning.
Hope that (sort of helps)
Claire
Jenn says
Love this technique and I'm glad I don't need to deep fry *or* use baking powder! Thanks so much!
Claire McEwen says
Thank you Jenn, I really love being able to eat chicken wings without the guilt 😉
Lisa says
I love my baked chicken crispy and this recipe is super easy to do. Thanks!
Claire McEwen says
Thank you Lisa, I am a big fan of crispy chicken skin too 😀