I don't like to fuss with deep frying wings and the mess that comes with it, but I do love a crispy skin on my chicken wings. Today, I'll show you how I still manage to get the crispiest chicken wings from the oven without frying!
Toss these wings with a sauce or keep them with the simple seasoning like I do. Pair with a side salad for meal or serve as a party appetizer.
I used to make my oven chicken wings in a baking pan with tons of butter. Yes, the chicken wings got a little crispy on the top but they also were soggy on the bottom and just felt heavy. I put up with it for a while but since then I have figured out a way to have truly crispy baked chicken wings with an airy texture and I'm not even using butter!
Want to know my secret?
The secret ingredient to perfect wings in the oven is cornstarch!
Cornstarch for the crispiest wings
I'm sure you've used corn starch before. If you've ever made my Chicken, Broccoli, Ziti recipe, you've definitely used it because it's in my recipe! Heck, your kids may have even talked you into making slime with it! So many uses.
The spices in my chicken wings are pretty basic. I've got picky kids and they don't want spicy. They want a subtle flavor.
Since all I want is to be able to have us all around the table eating the same meal, I make the recipe rather mild. You really can't go wrong with the combo of garlic powder, onion powder, salt & pepper.
Sauce for wings?
If you really want to heat things up, you can toss the crispy baked wings in buffalo sauce, this
Carolina Gold BBQ Sauce, traditional bbq sauce or whatever your favorite sticky wing sauce is.Or keep them as is and dip in a yummy wing sauce, ranch, blue cheese or whatever creamy dip you desire.
Alternate spices
I have also made these wings exactly, adding in 2 teaspoons of lemon pepper seasoning and that is really good too. Feel free to use your favorite spice blend.
How To Get The Crispiest Chicken Wings From The Oven
Start off by patting dry your wings with paper towels.
If you really have extra time, you can leave the chicken wings, unwrapped in the refrigerator to dry out the skin. I do this with my Thanksgiving turkey but I do not have the time to do this with my wings.
Mix together flour, corn starch & spices. Toss the wings in the mixture. You want to get in there with your hands and make sure each wing is totally covered.
Place the coated wings on a rack, over a baking sheet. Cover that baking sheet with foil for easy clean up.
Pop the wings in the oven. They will take anywhere between 35-45 minutes, depending on the size of your wings.
I check mine after 35 minutes with a quick-read thermometer and pop them back in if need be. No need to even flip them over halfway through cooking. How great is that?
Printable Recipe Card
The Crispiest Chicken Wings From The Oven
Ingredients
- 4 pound chicken wingettes (separated wing portions)
- ¼ Cup flour all purpose
- ¼ C Corn Starch
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper freshly cracked
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F.
- Line baking sheet(s) with foil if desired for easy clean up. Place oven-safe rack(s) over baking sheet and spray rack with cooking spray.
- Combine flour, corn starch, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Set aside.
- Pat chicken wing parts dry with a paper towel and place in a bowl. Coat chicken with corn starch/seasoning mixture. Place coated chicken on rack(s) over baking sheets. Place in oven and set timer for 35 minutes.
- After 35 minutes, check chicken temperature with quick-read thermometer. If not reading 165 F, return to oven in 5 minute increments until up to temperature.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
- Recipe can easily be halved
- Do not over crowd your chicken wings or they will not get crispy - you will need more than one baking sheet or prepare in batches
- If wings appear to be "white" still when cook time is almost up, brush with a little oil or butter and they will quickly turn golden brown.
ANTHONY Garcia says
I made these wings today followed the recipe to the letter after they were done I glazed them with a homemade Teriyaki sauce. They came out perfect. Kids said “They were on the money” The wings cooked for 45 minutes as they were big and when placed in I’ve they were placed in the middle of the oven on the 3rd Tier.
Thank you for sharing the recipe as this will be my go too wings.
CHARMAGYNE says
I was looking for a really good recipe and ran across this one. So I will be trying it today! I'll let you know how they turn out. Thanks for the info!
Mary Heller says
We love these! So easy too.
Nisha says
Tried this recipe today. It was a hit with my family.
Thanks for sharing.
Maggie Bah says
I finally found a tasty, reliable recipe for crunchy baked wings!! I added a bit of smoked paprika and cayenne to the dry ingredients - delicious
Aunt Jackie says
Going to try these tonight. Sound and look delicious. I too will be adding Red Pepper to the flour. I liked the idea someone said about Teriyaki Sauce, although mine is store bought. We love Teriyaki Chicken sandwiches.
I also plan on putting them in the broiler for 1-2 min. For extra crispness.
Thanks for this recipe. I will let you know how they turn out.
Mike says
These turned out great! Dried the wings out in the fridge for a few hours, spritzed a little oil on them the last 10mins to get better browning, and worked like a charm! 100% recommend this recipe.
foodyschmoody says
Awesome! Thanks for the review!
Ron2TheZ says
I don't use cooking spray. I melt butter and add it to olive oil and put it an industrial chemical sprayer from Amazon that can handle thick liquids. I always have this in my cabinet. It will separate after it cools but just shake it real good before spraying anything. I spray it on anything I want that crispy fried texture that I cook in the oven.
BillySteve says
Can I ask what you ordered for the sprayer? I have a olive oil one that I ordered, it doesn't do the job..
Jay says
I have been baking chicken wings for a long time . I thought I would try this recipe even though I thought something was not quite right. My suspicion became reality when I checked at 35 min. The ingredient that is included in resipes that focus “Crispy” wings is Baking powder not corn starch.
Maybe you can correct before more people are disappointed by this recipe and waste their money.
foodyschmoody says
I’m sorry to hear these didn’t turn out for you. There is nothing to correct in the recipe, I use this recipe often and as you can see others have reviewed it well. You didn’t state what the problem actually was - let me try to trouble shoot: was your pan over crowded? Did you cook on a rack? If you give me a little more information I might be able to help see where it went wrong for you.
Jacki Cisewski says
First time making them . Baked them for 45 minutes because the wings were big.
After 30 minutes I noticed some of the coating was white. Not sure what I did wrong. I just took a baster brush and brushed the dry spots with oil. Then they browned up nice.
My husband thought they were really good but needed a little more salt. Better less than too much. I will definitely make these again.
foodyschmoody says
I have run into this a few times too actually. I think I'll make a note in the recipe. I'm not sure why this happens and it isn't every time. I do the same though, brush with a little oil or butter and they're perfect. Thanks for the feedback.