The Ultimate Guide to Oven Baked Chicken Wings

Unlike deep-fried chicken wings that require much of your preparation time, baked chicken wings are quite easy to make. Let's start with the ingredients that go into making these wings.

• Chicken Wings: We use "party wings" for this recipe. Party wings are actually chicken wingettes, the middle part of a wing. It is also often called the flat. But it would be just as fine to make with a whole wing. It's just that the wingettes are easier to cook and get extra crispy in the oven.
• Flour: This is the secret weapon to making your wings extra crispy. Flour forms a coating around the wings, allowing whatever seasoning there is on them to stick even better. Go with all-purpose flour and make sure that you season it.
• Butter: Since we will not be deep-frying these wings, butter is a good alternative. Take unsalted butter and place it on the baking sheet. By the time the chicken wings are cooking, the butter will melt. This prevents the wings from sticking to the sheet. It will also crisp up the skin.
• Seasonings: We keep it very simple when it comes to seasonings. Just a basic dry rub made with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and garlic powder. Using a basic dry rub brings out the natural flavor of the chicken. It's also great if you plan on using a sauce to finish it up.

The following includes step-by-step instructions on how to make the best-baked chicken wings:

Ingredients:

• 10-12 chicken wingettes
• 3 tbsp butter
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp ground paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper 

Instructions

1. Line the baking sheet with aluminum foil. Also, add small pieces of butter to the tray while keeping some space between each other. Simultaneously, set your oven at 425° F. Prep the wings by patting them dry with paper towel.

2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together flour and the seasoning mix until everything is well combined. Add in your wings and mix until your wings are well coated, patting to remove excess. Place wings onto the prepared baking tray so they do not overlap or touch one another.

4. Bake the wings at 425°F for 30 minutes, flipping the wings halfway. Then cook for another 15 minutes until you see visual signs that the wings are done.

5. When cooked, let them cool for 5 minutes. If you are using sauce, you can skip cooling. Remove the wings from the baking tray to a serving plate and serve with your favorite dipping sauces.

How Long To Cook Chicken Wings

Generally speaking, chicken wings take about 40 minutes to an hour to cook. Add the prep time to this, and you're looking at something from an hour up to 80 minutes. Cooking time will depend on the type of wings you choose, the temperature you're cooking at, and the type of oven you have.

Our recipe will take 45 minutes in total to cook. If you want really crispy wings with browning throughout, you can cook them for 90 minutes. Do this by baking the wings at 400°F for 40 minutes. Turn the oven down to 170°F. Take the next 30 minutes and allow the wings to stay in the oven. This gives super crispy skin with brown spots throughout.

We happen to enjoy our chicken wings with a few tasty sauces. With so many choices, at times it may feel overwhelming. Thus, just to reduce the number, the following are four of our favorite sauces for wings:

1. Honey Mustard: We believe that honey mustard sauce goes well with these wings because this sauce is somewhat sweet and, at the same time, has that tangy mouth feeling. Bought from a store or homemade, either way, this sauce is simply the best option out there. Just toss the wings in the sauce and dig in!

2. Ranch: Classic, and pairs well with every variety of chicken wing out there. We recommend ranch as a dipping sauce rather than a wing sauce. Wings, ranch, and celery on the side are everything a game-day appetizer should be.

3. Chimichurri Sauce: For those who like fresh and herby taste in their sauces, chimichurri would work great both as a dipping sauce and a wing sauce. Garlicky, rich in herbs, and tangy from the vinegar, we make our chimichurri in the blender, but you can chop it if you like.

4. Buffalo Sauce: How could we not include this classic? This is still the most popular for a reason or two. For one, it's super easy to make and goes well with just about any chicken wing recipe. Just add melted butter to the hot sauce and voilà. We like ours with a bit of honey in it.

• Use Baking Powder: Adding baking powder to your flour and seasoning mixture is one of the tricks to getting crispy wings. Baking powder serves to soak moisture out of the skin of the wings, whereby flour and seasoning stick better with the wing.
• Not Using a Rack: When you bake your wings, you will not need to place a baking rack over the baking tray. Some recipes call for this in order for hot air to pass through all sides of the chicken evenly to bake. This is not necessary when flipping wings halfway. This will allow the wings to cook in their own juices, boosting flavor and moisture inside the wings.
• Dry The Wings: This is one thing that must be done for crispy skin. Pat dry the chicken wings with a paper towel, removing excess moisture. Seasoning sticks better to dry wings.
• Give Them Space: Space out the wings in the baking tray. This allows even cooking and baking of the wings without any steam building up. Thus, the wings still stay juicy inside while they turn crispy outside.
• Bake At High Heat: Baking the wings at a high temperature, 425°F also helps attain crispy skin. High heat creates browning on the wing which gives you crispy edges.

If you have leftover chicken wings, you can store them in the freezer. They will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

If you want to freeze them, we suggest that you line them up on a baking tray in one layer. Freeze them, then transfer them to a ziplock bag.

To reheat chicken wings, let them thaw overnight then pop in the oven at 350°F for 15 minutes. You can also reheat in the air fryer. We recommend not microwaving because the skin isn't as crispy that way.

Chicken wings are one of the quintessential game-day snacks. These work well with appetizer dishes, such as sliders, fresh vegetables, dips, and some chips. If you need some sides for chicken wings, here they are:

• Caesar Salad
• Roasted Cauliflower
• Baked Potatoes
• Coleslaw
• BBQ Pulled Pork Nachos