Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
If you’re looking for the absolute best Crispy Baked Chicken Wings, these are it! I have tested several competing methods against this one, and these reign king, with hundreds of rave reviews in the comments. These turn out extra crispy thanks to parboiling away the excess fat, then cooking in a super hot oven. Less fat, less calories, and healthier than deep-fried!
This recipe is one of the oldest and most popular on my site, and for good reason. A crackly skinned chicken wing is SO good!
I have long been enamored with wings (as evidenced by the many variations of chicken wing recipes on my site, like these Garlic Parmesan Wings, Korean Chicken Wings, and Honey Garlic Chicken Wings), and I’ll use any sports event that comes up on TV as an excuse to make them.
Why This Recipe Is The Absolute Best:
The crispiest crackliest skin, without deep frying – In the 9 years since this recipe has been posted, I have repeatedly revisited this to see if newer methods were better than this one. But I’ve found that this two-part cooking method of parboiling, then baking, gives the crispiest skin.
Easy to scale – Because we don’t have to worry about overcrowding a fryer, it’s easy to make a ton of these at once, and get several trays in the oven. Of course, you can also just make a few.
The healthiest option – I try not to fry in vegetable oil at all anymore, since the evidence is pretty clear that it’s bad news on the health front. I love that these are still wonderfully crispy, but not deep fried in bad oils.
Can be mostly made ahead – You can parboil the chicken ahead of time, then keep in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Then just toss in the oven before you’re ready to serve!
I have done a ton of recipe testing on oven baked crispy chicken wings (and have done many deep fryer renditions as well), and have seen some people using baking powder. The skin felt leathery to me, which you can sort of see in the photo below. I wasn’t a fan.
After lots of testing, the original parboil and bake method from 2012 has always remained king, and you can see in the comments people saying things like, “This was the best ever… did it for Super Bowl, and hubby and I emptied the bowl of wings in minutes!” and “The best crispy baked chicken wing recipe ever!”
Tips for the Best Results
Dry the skin well – Water and moisture are the enemies of crispy, so you will need to make sure to dry the chicken skin thoroughly so they can get supremely crispy.
Flip once during cooking – It’s a little more work to flip the pieces over during cooking, but it really is essential. They won’t get as crispy all over unless you flip them over and give the other side a chance to brown.
Buy “party” cut pieces – It’s true that you can sometimes save a tiny bit of money by cutting the whole wings yourself into wingettes and drumettes (and discarding the wing tips), but pre-cut pieces tend to be more consistent. This consistency in size is essential for even cooking and browning. If you have some larger pieces and some smaller, you’ll have a mix of over and underdone chicken.
How to Make It Step by Step:
Here’s an overview of the game plan.
- Cut the chicken wings into drumettes and wingettes, if needed. If you buy “party wings” at the store instead of whole, they are already prepped for you. I recommend this to save time and hassle.
- Simmer the chicken in salted water for about 7 minutes, to render excess fat.
- Dry them thoroughly.
- Place them face down on a sheet pan and bake, flipping once while cooking.
- Coat in sauce, and serve.
Let’s look at some step by step photos.
Parboil first to render some fat
Parboiling is one of the secrets for superior crispy skin. All parboiling means is we’re going to partially cook the chicken in simmering water before baking in the oven.
Boiling meat feels very strange, but I’ve done test batches comparing parboiling to straight baking, and parboiling is the way to go. It helps get rid of some of the excess fat so they turn out crispier.
It’s kind of like when you have to render out the fat on a duck breast in order to get it crispy. Parboiling boils away some of the excess fat so we can get a thin layer that crisps more easily than a thick and flabby layer.
Make sure to bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat slightly to a simmer.
Drain in a colander
After parboiling for 7 minutes, drain the chicken in a colander or on a wire rack:
Really let it sit for a few minutes so the steam can finish burning off.
Dry the pieces even more
Lay the chicken pieces out on paper towels and dry very well, giving each one a squeeze.
If you want crispy results, you have to dry thoroughly
It’s REALLY important to dry the pieces well with the towels, because it has a big impact on how crispy they will end up later. In order for the skin to get crispy, all the surface water must evaporate and cook off first, so you want as little there as possible from the start.
Want to add seasoning?
If you’d like to add some sort of seasonings or a dry rub, now is the time to rub it onto the chicken. Popular choices are garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, and of course, black pepper and kosher salt. However, because I like to add the flavorings via the sauce, I do not add any spices to the meat here.
Get them in the oven!
Lay the wings in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake in a 450F oven for about 25 minutes, until you start to see golden brown bits on the bottom of the wings.
Look closely, and you can see golden bits peeking out from the sides here:
Flip them over
Flip all the pieces over, and you can see those caramelized parts starting to develop:
This is what we want! But, we need to cook it more. Most of it is still isn’t crispy yet.
Continue baking for another 5-10 minutes, until much more of the skin has crisped:
Variations on Baking Time: Size Matters
The sizes of chicken wings at grocery stores vary hugely, so the visual cues are incredibly important! Make sure to look at the photos above, and to use the baking times as estimates, but go more by visual cues. If the wings turn out dry, this means they were overcooked. They definitely shouldn’t be dry on the inside.
Now you should have the crispy wings that you desire, ready to be paired with a cayenne hot sauce, blue cheese dressing, celery sticks, or whatever your heart desires.
Toss in your preferred sauce
At this point your crispy baked wings are ready to be tossed in a large bowl with Buffalo Sauce (assuming you want to enjoy these as the classic buffalo wings, but oven baked), and devoured.
Don’t like spicy sauce?
If you prefer something that isn’t spicy, you may like Garlic Parmesan Wings better. I also have sweet and spicy Korean Chicken Wings, Honey Garlic Chicken Wings, or you can toss in BBQ Sauce. Feel free to try out your personal favorite sauces, as this cut of chicken is like a blank canvas that works well with most flavors.
What to Serve with This Recipe:
Serve your delicious wings with a side of Blue Cheese Dip if you’re doing classic Buffalo Sauce, along with celery sticks and carrot sticks. This is one of the most popular and favorite dips on the blog.
You can also do a side of Buffalo Garlic Knots and Buffalo Chicken Dip (or the Crockpot version, Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Dip) to round out a full spread of tasty appetizers for football or game day snacks!
I also love making Homemade Guacamole and a pot of Ground Turkey Chili.
How to Make Sure The Meat Doesn’t Stick to the Pan
A few people have reported issues with the wings sticking to the pan. This means they were too wet when they went into the oven.
Make sure to:
- Dry the wings very thoroughly after parboiling. As stated in the recipe, let them air dry for a few minutes (you will literally see steam evaporating off the wings as they cool). Then dry them very well with towels, squeezing well.
- If you want extra insurance, you may grease the pan with a high smoke point oil, like ghee, tallow, avocado, vegetable, canola, etc. Just make sure you don’t put parchment paper or a silicone mat underneath the wings, because they won’t crisp up the same.
- Bake on an uncoated sheet pan (affiliate) for best results, and use a turner like this (affiliate) to really get under the wings and scoop the crispy bits off.
Tips and FAQs:
I only recommend you bake these fresh. They won’t stay crispy later.
Yes, go through all the steps of parboiling the wings and drying well with a paper towel, then place the chicken pieces on a sheet pan and refrigerate UNCOVERED for up to 24 hours. Then all you have to do is pop them into the hot oven and bake them. Because they will be cold, they will likely need to bake a little longer.
Never cook meat from a frozen state, always thaw first. Because you will be parboiling these anyway, you can thaw them quickly in cold water, then parboil them.
Yes, definitely! Parboiling renders out some of the fat, and the remaining fat is used to crisp the wing naturally. Plus, the vegetable oils most people use for frying are very unhealthy.
Absolutely. Unfortunately, frozen meats lose moisture in the freezing process. This is true not just for chicken but also beef, pork, etc.
Yes, these are made without baking powder, without flour, without breading of any kind. They are also Paleo, Whole30, and friendly to other kinds of eating styles. You can add the sauce of your choice or eat them as is.
In a 450F oven, bake for 25 minutes, then flip and bake for about 10 more minutes, until crispy on both sides.
Did you enjoy the recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. Or, follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest!
Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
Ingredients
For the Chicken Wings:
- 2 lbs chicken wings "party style" (pre-cut into wingettes and drumettes)
- salt
What to Serve With Them:
- Blue Cheese Dip
- Cut celery and carrot sticks
- Buffalo Sauce
- Buffalo Garlic Knots
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- Heat up a big pot of boiling water. Season the water like you would for cooking pasta (taste the water, it should taste a little repulsively salty, like sea water).
- Add the chicken wings to the pot, and reduce the heat slightly to keep them at a simmer for 7 minutes.
- Drain the chicken pieces in a colander, then place them on a wire rack for a couple minutes, letting the steam evaporate from the cooling wings and also letting any excess moisture drip down. Then dry them very well with paper towels or highly absorbent kitchen towels.
- Place the chicken wings directly on a metal sheet pan, with the fattier top side down.
- Bake for 25 minutes on the first side, then flip the pieces over and bake for another 5-10 minutes on the other side, until the skin looks golden and crisp. Make sure to keep your eye on them, particularly if you have smaller wings, to check for doneness. Overcooking risks drying the inside out.
- If serving the wings with sauce, coat them while they're hot out of the oven. Enjoy!
Notes
- Dry the wings very thoroughly after parboiling. As stated in the recipe, let them air dry for a few minutes (you will literally see steam evaporating off the wings as they cool). Then dry them very well with towels, squeezing well.
- If you want extra insurance, you may grease the pan with a high smoke point oil, like ghee, tallow, avocado, vegetable, canola, etc. Just make sure you don’t put parchment paper or a silicone mat underneath the chicken, because the skin won’t crisp up the same.
- Bake on an uncoated sheet pan (affiliate) for best results, and use a turner like this (affiliate) to really get under the pieces and scoop the crispy bits off.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
Post updated in August 2020. Originally published in 2012.
817 Comments on “Crispy Baked Chicken Wings”
They sound delicious, do you think it would work with thighs and drumsticks.
These were perfectly delicious just as the recipe is!!! I have tried so many recipes & this is the best by far!
YAY! That’s great Courtney. Glad you enjoyed the wings =)
If I want BBQ wings, do I prepare the sauce the same way I would for the hot sauce? (Add butter to the mixture)
Hi Kayla, I’m not completely understanding your question, but basically you would just soak it in your favorite BBQ sauce (you don’t have to add butter to it).
I love this recipe. After I parboiled the wings, I let them cool. I drizzled a little olive oil on them and rolled the wings in my seasoned(dill, parsley, garlic powder, paprika and celery salt) panko and breadcrumb mixture. Shaking off excess mixture. I changed the oven temp. to 375 degrees F. Cooked them the same amount of time. I lined my cookie sheet with foil. Wiped a little olive oil on the foil so the wings wouldn’t stick. They stayed moist. Delicious! This is a great recipe for wings!
Hi Nancy, that sounds absolutely lovely!! Thanks for sharing your version with us.
Great tip, Nancy. I was wanting to try some sort of dry rub but wasn’t sure how to go about it. I will try this.
Hi Joanne,
I tried another batch of crispy chicken last night with less baking time but I ran into other problems. After 20 minutes (instead of 30), I tried to flip the chicken wings over but they were stuck to the pan! I scrapped them off anyway and turned them but the crispy skin were stuck to the pan! Then I put them back in the oven for 10 minutes to cook the other side. But the wings didn’t come out crispy at all. What did I do wrong? Help!
Lucy
Hi Lucy, did you very thoroughly dry the chicken wings after parboiling? They tend to stick if the skin isn’t dried very well. Also I think the chicken wings should probably bake for the full 30 minutes and maybe just do 5 minutes of cooking on the other side, or not even flipping if they look crispy enough.
Hi Joanne,
You may be right that I did not fry them thoroughly. Also, I will change the baking time. Thanks for your prompt reply. Appreciate it.
Lucy
Hi Lucy,
I used a similar recipe from Alton Brown. The main difference is his recipe has you use parchment paper on the baking sheet. I swear this makes all the difference. My wings do not stick what-so-ever. Give it a try!
I was going to Alton Brown’s good eats wings as well, but he steams them vs. boiling and I want to do big batches 40-50 wings s I think the boiling is a better idea. Thanks for this recipe I am crazy excited for football season.
Hi Joanne,
I tried your crispy chicken recipe last night and it was really crispy and good. The only comment I have is that the chicken wings were a little dry. It was crispy but dry. How do I keep it moist? Do I need to reduce the baking time or oven temperature? Please advise. Nevertheless, it was delicious! My husband says that it’s the best baked chicken wings he has ever had!
Thanks.
Lucy
Hi Lucy, I suggest baking them for less time (check them 10 minutes before suggested baking time, and see if the skin is crispy yet. If it is, you can take them out and sauce them up and enjoy). You may have smaller wings than the ones I tend to get from my grocery store, so I believe they just need less baking time.
I cannot print this recipe..can you help
Hi Carole, when I click print it seems to be working. Are you able to provide more details as to what might not be working? Does nothing appear when you click the print recipe button?
I made these wings for dinner tonight and they were FABULOUS!! I must have amazing cookie sheets because my wings didn’t stick like some of the others. I made my own buffalo honey mustard sauce with them. Seriously amazing.
Hi Kari, fantastic! So glad you enjoyed them. Hope you enjoy them again and again =)
your buffalo honey mustard sauce sounds like a good idea can u possibly share a recipe for it please. thanks
so………
I’ve been skeptical at first… “boil the chicken? won’t that makes them dry and, like, hard?”
You really are putting us into faith test here, Joanne!
But I give it a try, considering my love to chicken wings are in the danger zone of unhealthy and more like obsession…
I boil it.. for about 7 minutes, but not a minute more! I feel my wings are so little I’m afraid they become dry.. I thought I would boil it in less time, but no, I put my faith in you..
and then..drying the chicken. It can’t dried thoroughly, so I thought, “what’s the harm?” and I let them. MISTAKE for not putting my trust enough in you = oily chicken!
and.. here comes the oven-baking part..
I put them on 10 minutes timer.. I thought, since they were so little, I guess that makes the cooking time faster, right?
WRONG.
10 minutes, and they haven’t crisp out. I thought (me and my thoughts.. ha!) that they will never be crispy.. but then I bake it again.. for 15 minutes..
and after that, I flip it. It’s sizzling!! it’s sizzling!! wow! can’t believe, and behind the sizzle, I see the start-to-crispness.. oh Goodie..
and after that I bake it again for 15 minutes…
damn. total time was the exact time you wrote here. Are you sure you aren’t a, wizard or something? I’ve never seen a recipe that can match up my oven! awesome!!
and the result?
*gobble gobble* I’m sad… sad of making it too few!! definitely making it again, and again, and again!! for picnic, for lunch, breakfast, dinner… I can imagine it already.. the crispness, the tenderness, the juiciness…. I’m drooling right now..
gotta eat again! sorry for the long post, I’m just too happy with the result!! Thank you thank you thank you very much!! Your recipe is magical!
Hi Lucia, WOW! What a journey. I’m glad that you ended up trusting the recipe though and enjoying the results. I get that same feeling too when I make them…that I didn’t make enough, haha!
Question- I always liked adding a little flower mixed with pepper on the wings. Do you think after boiling the wings I could mix them with light flower?
Hi Kerri, I’m not sure, since I haven’t tried it. It’s possible the flour would burn since it’s such a hot oven but again, not sure since I haven’t done it. If you try it, please let us know how it goes.
These are amazing! I’ve been looking for a great baked wings recipe for almost a year, and I’ve finally found it! I made a dozen or so and my husband and I gobbled them up and wished we’d had 12 more. I have about 35 baking right now because when I told my husband I was making 16 he said, “Can you make even more?”
Fantastic!!! So glad to hear that you love them that much!!
Joanne, thank you so much for posting this recipe. My wife and I eat these at least once a week and they always turn out great! Parboiling is the trick! Never would”ve thought of that. We had a little trouble with sticking to the pan until we started using our Pampered chef stoneware to bake them in. No more sticking. Amazing taste and great recipe!! Thanks!!
Hi Dave, thank you for your comment! I am so happy to hear that you and your wife enjoy these so much. And good to hear that your stoneware works so well for baking. Happy cooking and I hope you keep enjoying the wings =)
HI Joanne,
When you say parboil the wings, do you mean i should bring the pot to boil then put the wings into the pan for 7-8mins or should i just put the wings in the pan and bring to boil for 7-8mins?
Helppp…lol.
Yeah im a beginner….!
x
Erm Joanne,
I just managed to watch the video. I think i saw the answer…..lol
Cheers. Will let you know how it went.
I’m glad the video helped you out! Yes, wait until the water is boiling, then drop the wings in and cook. Let me know how you like them!
Holy cow… um, chicken. These are GREAT! I just took a vacation w/my family and my sister made some wings which she steamed, then chilled, then baked.. it seemed and was a little tedious. But they were great.. so I looked and found Joanne’s version of baked wings and thought, oh yeah, this is the one. And it is! so much easier, and frankly more tender then the steamed ones. I will never ever fry wings.. or buy them. Mine were crispy, spicy and perfect. Dangerous so…. Thank you!!
Hi Angie, I’m so glad that you loved the chicken wings so much!!! I agree, no need to deep fry them. I love deep fried foods on occasion, but only when necessary =)
Too funny; about 45 years ago, before microwave ovens, my husband invited people over for dinner & wanted to barbeque chicken. I have a BIG pot (for cooking for large groups ) so I boiled salted water and put in about ten lbs of frozen chicken parts. This thawed it & partially cooked it so when we put it on the grill it didn’t burn & dry out like the bigger pieces do to get them cooked in the center. Since then I’ve always par-boiled my frozen chicken which sort of brines it at the same time.
Cool! Someone else mentioned that they parboil before grilling for those reasons. Sounds like a great thing to do before finishing up the cooking.
Hi Joanne. When you bake the wings in the oven, which rack do you use? The middle or a higher rack? Thanks
Hi Popie, unless otherwise specified, all my recipes default to baking in the middle rack of the oven. Hope you get to try these wings, enjoy!
Oh I’ve made them twice using your recipe and they are delicious! I take the time to cut my own wings simply because I “think” the wings may be better. If the thawed frozen wings that are already cut up are good I wouldn’t mind trying them when I’m short on time. Do you always use the fresh wings?
Wonderful! I use fresh wings, but I think thawed frozen wings would be perfectly fine too.
My roommate and I were really craving wings, but didn’t want all the fried junk.These were absolutely perfect. Made 20 wings last night using this recipe and they really hit the spot. While we did use salt in the water, we only seasoned the wings with Mrs.Dash (sodium free). So glad to have found your website! Will definitely try out many more of your creations.
Hi Kate, that’s great! Glad you and your roommate had fun cooking together and enjoyed the wings.