Baked Buffalo Wings

I’m spilling my secret to the crispiest Baked Buffalo Wings (spoiler alert: it’s baking powder!). Bake the chicken wings, then toss them in hot buffalo sauce and pair with blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing for the ultimate game-day appetizer idea.

Meggan’s notes

The secret to the best crunchy Buffalo wings is baking powder, no deep fryer or air fryer required. This pantry staple is alkaline (remember acids and bases from chemistry class?) and helps to break down the peptide bonds in the chicken wing skin. Voila: Brown and crunchy texture, no added oil necessary.

If you like my Cauliflower Buffalo Dip and Buffalo Chicken Dip, you’re going to love these easy Baked Buffalo Wings. Add them to your game-day menu and everyone will award you the entertaining MVP award!

Baked Buffalo Wings Ingredients

At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.

• Chicken wings: Flats and wings; wing tips removed. The tips tend to overcook and don’t have much meat on them anyway, so remove them yourself or ask your butcher to tackle the task for you. Most supermarkets sell chicken wings with the tips already removed, so you may not even need to ask.
• Baking powder: This baking staple, sprinkled onto very dry chicken wing meat, is the secret ingredient for the crunchy texture, no deep-frying required.
• Hot sauce: I love toss these Baked Buffalo Wings in Frank’s Red Hot sauce, although you could use any hot sauce you prefer.
• Ranch Dressing or Blue Cheese Dressing: Traditional Buffalo wings are always served with blue cheese dressing for dunking. If you don’t like blue cheese, though, and do want to channel your inner Midwesterner, use ranch instead. Just don’t tell anyone from Buffalo!

How to Make Baked Buffalo Wings

1. In a Dutch oven or large stockpot over medium heat, melt butter until foaming. Arrange two oven racks in the upper middle and lower middle positions. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top. Coat rack with nonstick spray.

2. Pat wings dry with paper towels. In a large zipper-top plastic bag, add baking powder and wings and toss to coat. Arrange coated wings skin-side up on rack.

3. Transfer baking sheet to lower-middle oven rack and bake for 30 minutes.

4. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Transfer baking sheet to upper middle rack and bake until the wings are golden and crispy, about 45 to 50 minutes longer.

5. In a large bowl, add butter and hot sauce. Add baked wings and toss to coat.

6. Serve with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.

Recipe tips and variations

• Yield: This recipe makes about 32 wings (depending on the size of actual chicken wings), enough for 4 entree-sized servings (8 wings each) or 8 appetizer-sized servings (4 wings each).
• Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. I love to reheat buffalo wings in my air fryer.
• Make ahead: The wings can be coated with baking powder and stored uncovered, in the refrigerator, a day in advance (this will actually lead to even crispier skin).
• Air fryer: If you don’t want to fire up the oven, make crispy Air Fryer Wings instead. They’re ready in 20 to 25 minutes total.
• Chinese Chicken Wings: These oven-baked wings are tossed with a spicy, smoky dry rub. They are FULL of flavor with strong cumin and fennel notes and plenty of heat from Sichuan peppercorns. You don’t even need a sauce.
• Barbecue sauce: If you prefer sweet over spicy, try my copycat Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce.

More game-day snacks

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Veggie Pizza

Baked Buffalo Wings

By Meggan Hill

I’m spilling my secret to the crispiest Baked Buffalo Wings (spoiler alert: it’s baking powder!).

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Servings 4 servings (8 wings each)

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Calories 648

4.50 from 4 votes

ReviewPrint

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

• ▢ 4 pounds chicken wings flats and wingtips removed (see note 1)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons baking powder (see note 2)
• ▢ 4 tablespoons butter melted
• ▢ 2 tablespoons hot sauce (see note 3)
• ▢ blue cheese dressing for serving (see note 4)
• ▢ celery sticks for serving

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions 

• Arrange two oven racks in the upper middle and lower middle positions. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top. Coat rack with nonstick spray.
• Pat wings dry with paper towels. In a large zipper-top plastic bag, add baking powder and wings and toss to coat.
• Arrange coated wings skin-side up on rack. Transfer baking sheet to lower-middle oven rack and bake for 30 minutes.
• Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Transfer baking sheet to upper middle rack and bake until the wings are golden and crispy, about 45 to 50 minutes longer.
• In a large bowl, add butter and hot sauce. Add baked wings and toss to coat. Serve with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.

Recipe Video

Notes

1. Chicken wings: Flats and wings; wing tips removed. The tips tend to overcook and don’t have much meat on them anyway, so remove them yourself or ask your butcher to tackle the task for you. Most supermarkets sell chicken wings with the tips already removed, so you may not even need to ask.
2. Baking powder: This baking staple, sprinkled onto very dry chicken wing meat, is the secret ingredient for the crunchy texture, no deep-frying required.
3. Hot sauce: I love toss these Baked Buffalo Wings in Frank’s Red Hot sauce, although you could use any hot sauce you prefer.
4. Ranch Dressing or Blue Cheese Dressing: Traditional Buffalo wings are always served with blue cheese dressing for dunking. If you don’t like blue cheese, though, and do want to channel your inner midwesterner, use ranch instead.
5. Yield: This recipe makes about 32 wings (depending on the size of actual chicken wings), enough for 4 entree-sized servings (8 wings each) or 8 appetizer-sized servings (4 wings each).
6. Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. I love to reheat buffalo wings in my air fryer.

Nutrition

Serving: 8 wingsCalories: 648kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 45gFat: 50gSaturated Fat: 18gPolyunsaturated Fat: 9gMonounsaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 219mgSodium: 1077mgPotassium: 396mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 720IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 386mgIron: 3mg

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