*This may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
When I say these are crispy baked chicken wings, I mean it. You'd never know these weren't deep fried! Tossed in a flavorful dry rub, baked at a very high temperature until the exterior is crispy and the inside is tender with meat that falls of the bone. This recipe produces the crispiest chicken wings – who knew that you could bake chicken wings and get them this crispy?!
In This Post
Why You'll Love These Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
- Minimal effort recipe – let the oven do most of the work!
- Insanely crispy, just wait until you hear how crispy these are!
- Dry rub uses pantry staple spices
- Tons of flavor from the dry rub
- A base recipe – this flavor combination pairs well with any sauce
Tell Me About This Baked Chicken Wings Recipe
- Flavor: These crispy baked chicken wings get so much flavor from the spice mixture. There are 7 spices used: salt, pepper, white pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, smoke paprika and rosemary. Every time I make this chicken wings recipe everyone LOVES the flavor combination.
- Ease: Aside from drying the chicken wings, there's only 3 steps to make the wings. If you want to make the homemade ranch, it's simple, toss the ingredients into a blender or whisk together. Overall, it's an easy recipe.
- Time: From start to finish, this chicken wings recipe takes just over an hour, most of that is oven time.
Steps To Follow
How do you make baked chicken wings? This recipe for crispy baked chicken wings has 3 steps – that's it! It couldn't be easier! Let's walk through it.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Toss the ingredients for the dry rub into a small bowl and give it a good stir. Set aside.
- Pat the chicken wings dry with paper towels, you want them as dry as possible. Add the chicken wings to a large bowl and sprinkle the spice mixture over the wings, tossing to evenly coat. I find that using your hands is the best for this. Place the chicken wings on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper, giving them plenty of room to breathe.
- Bake! Bake for 1 hour at 425°F, flipping every 20 minutes. Then, keeping the chicken wings in the oven, increase the temperature to 450°F and bake for an additional 5 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Dipping Sauce – Homemade Ranch Ingredients
There are tons of options out there for what to dunk these baked chicken wings in, maybe it's a family recipe, a neighbors recipe or store-bought, but for these baked chicken wings – GIVE ME HOMEMADE RANCH.
This homemade ranch is a bit lighter (only ingredients we can pronounce!) and WAY more flavorful than store-bought. This makes 1 cup (maybe slightly more) of ranch and stores well in the refrigerator for up to 1 week – I use leftovers for baked buffalo cauliflower or these buffalo chicken sliders.
- Mayonnaise: The mayonnaise is the base of the ranch. You can use any type of mayonnaise that you have, store-bought or homemade. This is the recipe that I use when making homemade mayonnaise.
- Greek Yogurt: Traditional ranch recipes use only mayonnaise as the base but I find using Greek yogurt adds the right amount of tang to the recipe. Any fat % works fine, just make sure it's plain and that it's Greek yogurt, not regular.
- Sour Cream: Adds additional tang and adds creaminess.
- Buttermilk: The buttermilk helps thin the ranch out a bit while adding more flavor. See the recipe notes for substitutions.
- Spices: There's 6 spices that give this homemade ranch the flavor it needs. Grab salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and dried parsley from your cabinet and fresh dill from the refrigerator. I know, not everyone has fresh dill, you can use dried as well (see recipe notes) but this gives it more of a "freshness" to it.
- Lemon Juice: Lemon juice finishes the the ranch giving it more "freshness" and helps the flavors come together.
Success Tips
- Dry those wings! It's extremely important to dry the chicken wings extremely well – when you think you're done, keep going. Lay the chicken wings on a baking sheet or cutting board lined with paper towels or a clean dish cloth, blotting and drying each one. Then, line a large bowl with paper towels and sit them in there for a few minutes, moving them around a bit. Remember, dry skin = crispy baked chicken wings.
- Use baking powder. I know, it seems... weird. But the baking powder plays a very important job in this recipe – pulling the moisture away from the skin as it bakes.
- Don't bake on a rack. Some recipes recommend sitting a rack in the baking sheets to allow air to flow under the chicken wings. While that works.. we want the chicken to sit in the juices they release from the skin. Because we are flipping the chicken, all sides get equally crispy.
- Give the wings room. When you place the chicken on the baking sheet, give them some room to "breathe". Putting them too close together will make them steam which will prevent them from getting crispy. Believe me, I've done it – still good, but not as crispy.
- Bake at a very high temperature. We start off baking the chicken wings at 425°F then, the last 5 minutes at 450°F. Don't worry, the chicken wings are still extremely tender and juicy.
FAQ
Should I use cornstarch or baking powder for crispy chicken wings?
You can use either, but I prefer to use baking powder as it produces a crispier chicken wing when baked in the oven. We're not using much, just 2 teaspoons for 2 pounds of chicken wings.
Is it better to bake chicken wings at 350 or 400?
You can bake chicken wings at either temperature. The higher the temperature typically the less time it takes. However, if you're looking for crispy chicken wings, I recommend baking at 425°F for 1 hour, flipping every 20 minutes and finishing them off at 450°F for 5 minutes.
What is the best way to get crispy wings?
The best way to get crispy wings is to use baking powder, drying the chicken wings extremely well and baking them at a very high temperature.
Why are my baked wings not crispy?
It could be a few things: didn't use baking powder, the chicken wings are too close together on the baking sheet causing them to "steam", or the temperature isn't high enough.
What is the secret to crispy wings?
There's a few secrets, but the first secret is baking powder. The baking powder plays a very important job – pulling the moisture away from the skin as it bakes. The second secret is drying the chicken wings extremely well.
What is the correct internal temperature for chicken wings?
The safe-to-eat temperature for all chicken is an internal temperature of 165°F. However, many chicken wing recipes go above that to produce a tender, melt-in-your-mouth meat texture.
Extra Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
When I say these are crispy baked chicken wings, I mean it. You'd never know these weren't deep fried! Tossed in a flavorful dry rub, baked at a very high temperature until the exterior is crispy and the inside is tender with meat that falls of the bone. This recipe produces the crispiest chicken wings – who knew that you could bake chicken wings and get them this crispy?!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 65 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Oven
Ingredients
Wings
- 2 pounds chicken wings
- 1 and ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
Homemade Ranch Dressing
- ⅓ cup Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tablespoon sour cream
- 3-4 Tablespoons buttermilk
- 1 Tablespoon fresh dill
- ¼ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Combine the salt, black pepper, white pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, rosemary and baking powder in a small bowl.
- Pat the chicken wings dry with paper towels – it's important to dry them extremely well. Place the wings in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the spice mixture over the wings, tossing to evenly coat. Arrange the wings onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 1 hour at 425°F, flipping every 20 minutes. Then, keeping the chicken wings in the oven, increase the temperature to 450°F and bake for an additional 5 minutes, flipping halfway through until the wings are crispy and browned. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
- While the wings bake, make the ranch dressing. Whisk or blend together the ingredients for the dressing starting with 3 Tablespoons of buttermilk. Check the consistency – if it's too thick for your liking, add the additional 1 Tablespoon of buttermilk. Cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Serve the wings with ranch dressing, celery and carrots.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can marinate the chicken wings up to 3 days in advance and store in the refrigerator. Marinated chicken wings freeze well for for up to 3 months. The ranch can be made up to 1 week in advance.
- Chicken: This recipe calls for pre-cut chicken wings. You can use any cut of chicken such as drumsticks or thighs – if it's more than 2 pounds of chicken, you may need to double the recipe.
- Buttermilk: If you don't have buttermilk you can make your own by placing 4 Tablespoons of milk in a small bowl with 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Give it a stir and let sit for 5 minutes before using. You can also use milk in place of buttermilk.
- Greek Yogurt: Any fat % of Greek yogurt works, just make sure it's plain.
- Dill: If using dried dill, reduce the amount to 1 teaspoon.
- Rosemary: If using dried rosemary, reduce the amount to 1 teaspoon.
Linda Curtis
This was the best wing recipe I've ever made. Even my husband loved it and he was skeptical since it wasn't grilled and smothered in bbq sauce.
Christina
I'm so glad that you both loved this recipe! It's a favorite in our house!
Mike
My new favorite chicken wing recipe. The wings came out extra crispy and very flavorful. I added a little chipotle chili powder for a little extra kick but used the recipe as written. Awesome.
Christina
Mike, Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. I'm so glad that you loved this recipe! I'll have the try the chipotle chili powder the next time– it sounds delish!
Jen
I made these last weekend for a small get together and it they did not disappoint! My husband loved it and was surprised when I told him that they were baked. I'm making them again this weekend!
Christina
Thanks for taking the time to leave a review, Jen. I'm glad everyone loved the wings!
Melissa
Whoa, seriously the best chicken wings. These actually get crispy and is now a go to recipe for us!