No false promises here – these are seriously crispy Baked Buffalo Wings that are made entirely in the oven! Using a now-world-famous Cooks’ Illustrated technique, the skin is so shatteringly crispy it’s hard to believe they aren’t fried.
Don’t believe me? I don’t blame you! See and hear it for yourself in the recipe video……
Super Crispy BAKED Buffalo Wings!
The great thing about the internet is that there are loads of options for any recipe your heart desires.
The bad thing about the internet is sifting through all those Google search results to find a recipe that actually works as promised and is exactly what you are after.
So here is what I promise you: If you love perfectly seasoned crispy buffalo wings, tossed in a classic spicy, buttery Buffalo Sauce with a tinge of sweetness, and you prefer to avoid the mess and calories of deep frying, this is The One.
These aren’t just “quite crispy but still not like they’ve been deep fried”. These wings are seriously crispy. Read hundreds of testimonials from people who have tried it!
You can’t see how crispy the skin is when I’ve smothered them in that glorious Buffalo Sauce so here’s a photo of them plain, straight out of the oven. And if you have 90 seconds, watch the recipe video below the recipe so you can hear how crispy they are!
The recipe is ridiculously simple, and it’s a genius discovery by the amazing folk over at Cook’s Illustrated who used science to figure out how to make truly crispy wings in the oven.
How to make Ultra Crispy Buffalo Wings in the Oven
The 2 unique steps in this recipe that make all the difference are:
1. baking powder (secret ingredient!) – tossing the wings in baking powder which draws moisture to the surface of the skin and helps make it crispy. Rest assured you can’t taste the baking powder at all; and
2. bake on low then high – usually, the fat under the skin is part of the reason why baked wings don’t get really crispy. In this recipe, we start at a low temp first which melts the fat under the skin, then we crank up the oven which makes the skin super crispy!
What you need for Crispy Baked Buffalo Wings
And here’s a visual for what you need.
1. The crispy baked wings
2. The Buffalo Sauce
That perfect combination of spiciness from Franks hot sauce, buttery goodness and and hint of sweet.
3. Blue Cheese Dip
I know some people aren’t a fan of blue cheese dip – but I’m all in!! In fact, I love blue cheese dip so much, I like to keep mine a bit lumpy so I get little pops of blue cheese. But usually, restaurants serve it completely smooth. Go with what rocks your boat!
Celery?? YES!
Crispy wings + spicy, buttery Buffalo Sauce + earthy, creamy blue cheese dip + fresh, crunchy celery = MAGICAL COMBINATION
I don’t know who discovered it, but they deserve a Nobel Prize. I remember the first time I tried it, I squinted at the celery sticks and thought, “who would bother with them?”. But they work! It’s like the perfect way to reboot your taste buds in between each wing!!
You’ll make a total mess of yourself eating them. It’s just not possible to eat wings elegantly. You’ll get Buffalo Sauce smeared all around your mouth. You’re doing well if your shirt stays clean.
But that’s all part of the Buffalo Wings experience, right?? The dramatic clatter as you toss the naked bones into a bowl. Smack you lips. Suck each finger clean.
Dive in for another.
YES PLEASE. – Nagi x
Crispy Baked Buffalo Wings
Watch how to make it
PUMP UP THE VOLUME so you can hear how crispy they are!!
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Truly Crispy Oven Baked Buffalo Wings
Ingredients
Crispy Baked Wings
- 4 lb / 2kg chicken wings, wingettes & drumettes (Note 1)
- 5 teaspoons baking powder (NOT baking soda / bi-carb soda) (Note 2)
- 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt / cooking salt (not table salt, too fine)
Sauce
- 4 tbsp (60g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup Frank’s Original Red Hot Sauce (Note 3)
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt / cooking salt
Blue Cheese Dip
- 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese, softened (I use gorgonzola)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise , preferably whole-egg
- 1 clove small garlic , minced
- 1 – 3 tbsp milk
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt / cooking salt
- Black pepper
To Serve
- Celery sticks
- Lots of beer!
Instructions
Crispy Baked Wings
- Dry overnight (optional) – If you plan ahead, lay the wings on a rack on a rimmed baking tray and let them dry uncovered in the fridge overnight. Alternatively, pat them dry with paper towels.
- Preheat the oven to 250°F/120°C (all oven types). Put one oven shelf in the lower quarter of the oven and one in the top quarter.
- Line the tray with foil. Put a rack on the tray then spray the rack with oil.
- Toss wings – Place the wings in a large bowl. Sprinkle over baking powder and salt. Use hands to toss well (or shake in ziplock bag) to coat wings evenly.
- Bake 30 minutes on low temp – Place the wings skin side up on the rack (ok if snug, they shrink). Bake on the lower shelf in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Bake 40 minutes on high – Move the tray up to the higher shelf and turn the oven up to 425°F / 220°C (all oven types). Bake for a further 40 to 50 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through. The wings do not need to be turned over. They are ready when dark golden brown and the skin is very crispy.
- Toss in sauce – Transfer the wings into a large bowl. Pour over sauce and toss to coat. (Alternatively, serve wings plain with Buffalo Sauce for dipping).
- Serve immediately with Blue Cheese Dip (for both wings and celery sticks dunking)!
Buffalo Sauce
- Whisk together the Sauce ingredients until the sugar is melted. Keep warm or reheat just prior to using.
Blue Cheese Dip
- Mash the blue cheese with sour cream until smooth (or to your taste).
- Add remaining ingredients and mix well until combined, using milk to get it to the consistency you want. Store in the fridge until required. Remove from the fridge 15 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes:
* Salt – only a small amount is required, it’s a phenomenon I can’t explain but this small amount perfectly seasons 2kg/4lb of wings using this baking method.
* These shrink when baked because the fat under the skin renders out (melts) which is how these become super crisp. So they can be snug on the rack.
* They are JUICY not dry, despite the long cook time. This is because the first bake at the lower temp barely cooks them, it only melts the fat.
* These bake to a golden brown, not a deep golden brown. You will know they are done because the skin will be lovely and crispy. 5. Source: The recipe for the wings is from Cook’s Illustrated “Meats Book” cookbook. The sauce recipe is my own. 6. To reheat: Allow wings (not tossed in sauce) to cool, then cover and refrigerate. The skin will wrinkle and soften. Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F. Spread wings out on tray, skin side up, and bake for 5 to 8 minutes or until the skin puffs up so the wrinkles smooth out and becomes crisp again. Works 100% perfectly! 7. Make Ahead: These stay crispy for as long as the wings are warm, so around 20 – 30 minutes. The skin stays crispy for around 10 – 15 minutes after tossing in the sauce, then after that they start to soften but not go soggy, up to around 30 minutes. If you reheat after tossing in sauce, they go soggy. 8. Comprehensive FAQ is available in the original Truly Crispy Oven Baked Wings. 9. Nutrition for just plain crispy wings (419 cal) and including the hot sauce (476 cal), both assuming 8 servings. Note that the wings have been adjusted to reflect the amount of fat that is rendered out (I measured the fat I poured off the tray 🙂 ).
Nutrition Information:
Originally posted June 2015. Republished February 2020 with improved video and photos, then updated with tidy ups in 2023. NO CHANGE TO RECIPE. I wouldn’t dare – it’s perfect as is!
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What if I don’t have a rack to put them on top? Will they not be as crispy ?
Hi Tania! Yep they sure are, it is just that the parts touching the tray (and no, it’s not the entire underside) end up sitting in oil so it’s better to elevate. 🙂 But still super crispy! N x
Hi, Nagi.
Quick question… What does moving the chicken from the lower rack to upper rack do? I ask because I’m considering making two batches at once, using both racks at the same time. But if this shortcut method messes things up, I’ll just stick with switching racks as you recommend and do them in separate batches.
Hi Mike! It’s hotter right at the top of the oven 🙂 So moving it up ensures maximum heat for maximum crispiness!
This recipe was fantastic! I followed to a t except I added paprika to the baking powder and salt which added a bit of the red colour. They were crispy and the sauce on top YUM even though it was so simple. The blue cheese dip was also fantastic. Thanks! Great tip about the sauce at woolies very easy to find.
LOVE HEARING THAT MJ! N x ❤️
I made buffalo wings for the first time by using this recipe and they were really amazing. But for some reason my entire mouth felt really raw and chafed from the first bite. I wonder if it’s from the baking powder or the sauce..
Hi Panna – how odd! I’ve honestly never heard that before! Can you liken the feeling to something else I might be able to relate to?? 🙂 N xx
What a great recipe!
I was looking to make a big batch of these for a party so I wanted to make full use of the oven. In my test run I had a tray in the top rack and bottom rack at the same time and they still turned out crispy. My husband was so impressed we ate 1kg in one sitting.
The next day we reheated the next kg as per the instructions. Still got the crispiness, but the fresh batch was still a little bit better.
It was a little bit salty for me so might decrease the amount of salt or is the saltiness in the baking powder? What is the main purpose in baking powder here? I haven’t really used it in this way (non baking) before.
Hi Aizza! The baking powder is the secret to the crispy wings! The saltiness is only from the salt which is actually a tiny amount for such a giant mound of wings!! But if you want, just reduce the salt 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it! N x
Last year, my husband and I had a “wing” competition at home. He didn’t believe that wings could come out crispy for oven baking. And my experience told me the same, but I had faith in this method and recipe. He did a flour based coating and fried the wings. The competition result, theseboven baked wings are now our household’s standard/method for wings!!
LOVE hearing that Alexandra!!! So glad you enjoyed it! N x
Very very good, but a little too salty. Do I need to use salt in the baking powder?
Hi Dean! I’m a little confused – what do you mean the salt IN the baking powder?? There’s only 3/4 tsp salt for the wings 🙂
Hi there, I read all of the comments before giving this a go, and I’m glad I did! The recipe reads 3/4 teaspoons salt, rather than 3/4 teaspoon, so it may sound to some like 3-4 teaspoons which may account for the slight saltiness some have experienced? My first wings are in the oven now, super excited! I will let you know how they turn out 🙂 X
Mine are in the oven as I type! They smell so good! I just realized I forgot to spray the rack, though. I hope they don’t stick! Thanks for this recipe. I can tell they’re going to be crispy. Kids weren’t crazy about the soggy ones I’ve produced. Something tells me we are going to have Buffalo Wings a lot more around here!
Hi Karen! Use a spatula if they are a bit stuck to the rack, don’t want to lose any of that crispy skin! 😂
This recipe is AWESOME, Nagi!
My wife uses the deep fryer which I hate for the oil smell and the unhealthy end product. I found your recipe, am a huge fan of Cooks’ Illustrated, and took the plunge. These wings are absolutely fantastic… I mean the best I have ever had, deep fried or not.
Now I can finally hide the deep fryer and trot out this delicious and healthy recipe instead. Our teenage boys told me to double the number of wings next time… they loved them.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
PS, love the video, too!
I’m so happy to hear that Chris! Cooks’ Illustrated are the best 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi,
I am preparing to make this recipe today for my family and a friend that loves wings but they MUST be crispy for her like. In the past, many of my wing recipes have lacked that crucial crispy component. This recipe makes sense to me -the way you presented it, the construction and the expected results. Even without trying, I am feeling confident. Thank you so much for taking the time to put this out there. I found your website today searching for a good wing recipe and plan on going deep on your site trying your creations!
Just curious, how does a Japanese gal get an obsession with Buffalo style wings in Aussie? Is this a common thing/appetizer there?
Ha! That’s a GOOD QUESTION! My obsession stems from the very fact that we DON’T have them here in Australia. At least, not true authentic ones 🙂 But luckily we do have Frank’s here, so I’ve always made my own. It’s very much like many iconic foods from all around the world that I can’t get here in Australia (or at least, hard to find), I do my darnest to figure out the best way to make it at home. Pork Carnitas, Southern Style ribs, jambalaya, southern fried chicken, gumbo. Some of my very favourite foods are America 🙂 N x
That’s great! And an answer I can certainly understand. One of my favorite videos on the interweb is “Eating American BBQ with North Koreans”. Good food is good, no matter where it is eaten and by whom.
Just so you know, I have prepared and my family has chowed your recipe for wings now 3 times and going for a fourth time this evening. I have found that following the directions exactly as stated, measuring instead of eyeballing, yields the best results. I am still working on getting the wings dry enough for superior crispness but honestly, the flavor is so delish that doesn’t matter as much to me.
If you haven’t done so already, I would love a good Asian or Thai style wing sauce put forth.
Thanks!
Oh wow, forget that last comment on Asian style sauce. I just found the Baked wing book. 33 wing recipes? AWESOME!
I live in New York and usually get my chicken wing crave going on once or twice a week. Yup, It has to be buffalo and there has to be lumpy blue cheese dip w celery on the side. I’m obsessed — I dream about Buffalo Wings. After years of trying to master the wing thing I am positive this is the absolute best recepie. On point, easy to follow and freakin delicious. This is the second time this week i make them from this recepie. THANK YOU!!!!!
Possibly the highest praise I have EVER received for these wings! 🙌🏻
Hi Nagi could i do this recipe with skinless chicken strips/goujons ?
Sorry Susan, it needs to have skin!
These are fantastic wings! They’re every bit as delicious as the fried ones (and are hopefully healthier!) Thanks so much!
So glad you enjoyed this Michael! Thank you for letting me know! N xx
Hi Nagi, I made your Oven Baked Buffalo Wing Recipe for Super Bowl Sunday and it was a huge hit. The blue cheese dressing was fabulous and so easy to make. I will never buy commercial blue cheese dressing again. I’m looking forward to trying many more of your recipes. Thank you for posting, Sue
That’s wonderful to hear Sue! Thanks for letting me know! N x ❤️
So delicious!
Thank you!!!
Made these on Sunday for super bowl and family loved. It’s only Tuesday and me hubby made some more for lunch!
Love hearing that!
I made these last night for our Super Bowl party and they were a huge hit! They were truly crisp and the sauce was delicious.
Thanks
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Karen! Thanks for letting me know – N x
These were Excellent! My husband loved them too. We made them for the Super Bowl and I didn’t have time to dry overnight so I patted dry with paper towels and they were great. We only used drumettes because that’s what w e prefer. I love wings but so often when you order them from a restaurant they are too greasy, these were not and the sauce is classic wing sauce which I love. Thank you!
That’s terrific Laura! N x
These were fantastic! So incredibly happy we found this recipe. Our first time trying to make wings and this was perfect. Thank you!!
I’m so happy to hear that! N x
I made these for the Super Bowl game. They were excellent, came out perfectly cooked and crispy! Thanks for sharing!
WHOOT! So glad to hear that Shelly! N x