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!
Life of Dozer
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I’m making these for the Super Bowl tonight. The wings I bought are still whole…not sectioned (drumettes/flats) and still with the pointy wing tips…yet. Do I use kitchen shears to cut the tips off and then also cut at the joint before drying with the paper towels, or is there a better way to do them?
Thanks!
Hi there! Yup, cut them up 🙂 have a look at the video to see how to do it!
Love the recipe ! but am I to assume the salt amount is for sea salt ? I found using normal table salt a little overpowering . I will cut it in half next time .
So glad you enjoyed it John!!!
I have a question about the cooking temperature. The wings I’ll be using are fairly small. Isn’t the cooking time excessive for chicken wings? I bake entire chicken pieces (thighs, etc.) in less time than prescribed here. I’ve seen the same temperature/duration recommended in other chicken wing recipes – I’m just wondering if most people are using larger wings. I’d hate to end up with dried out overdone wings.
Hi Corey – I know the cook time looks long, trust me, it works!! If you are using fairly small wings, they will cook faster so just take them out when golden and crispy!! 🙂 Extra small wings take me around 35 minutes at the high temp (same low temp time, that step is key!)
I’m making chicken wings for the first time and I don’t know if they should be thawed or frozen.. Anyone know what is the best option for this recipe?? Thanks in advance!
Hi Melody! Please thaw them 🙂
Thank you!
They look very crispy but are they tender and juicy in the inside? Seems to me at that high temp and the amount of time in the oven they would be dry
Hi Dave! Yes they are tender and juicy inside. The fat bastes it as it melts and the skin protects it from drying out!
Well I tried these today and they were fantastic. Gonna get the cook book for sure Could not believe how crispy and juicy they were. I did a sauce with butter, garlic, onion salt, black pepper then sprinkled parmesan cheese on top. Oh man, finger licking good. Thanks for this recipe. Gonna order the cookbook
YEE HA!! Glad you approved Dave, THANK YOU!!!
Thank you! This was exactly what we were looking for in a wings recipe. Count us in your fan club/faithful followers.
I’m SO GLAD you liked it Kirsty!! 🙂 N x
Just wondering, those nutritional boxes both say PER SERVING, but they do not describe what a “serving” is. Is that PER WING?
Hi Claude! nope, it’s for about 5 pieces, 8oz/250g in total 🙂 The whole recipe calls for 2lb/2kg of wings which I think is enough for 8, so the nutrition is per serving. 🙂
I have a bag of wings in my freezer. Can I thaw them and use your recipe? Or should I buy fresh? I cannot wait to try this!!!!
Hello there! I made these wings without any sauce a few weeks ago and my friends and I absolutely loved them. Tomorrow I am making 40 lbs of wings to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Unit in the nursing facility I work in and am deff using this method. Going to serve plain, buffalo, garlic Parmesan, and honey mustard.
Lol I am kind of nervous because I have never made so many wings at once before and I am also hoping everyone enjoys them as much I did! ( They would be silly not to ?) Anywho congratulations on your cookbook and thank you for posting these wonderful wings, I shall let you know how my fundraiser turns out! Much love.
Hi Nicole! I’m so sorry for the late response. What an amazing cause – and you are just a DOLL for making 40lb of wings….Wowzer. 40 pounds?? OHY MY GOSH!
You would be amazed to find out that we sold out of the 40 lbs in a ridiculous short amount of time and then had to go out and get another 40 lbs. There was a blizzard that day going down in Rhode Island USA haha.
So much of a success that people have been asking if we can have a wing day once a month! <3
NO WAY!!! That’s so fantastic Nicole! So it sounds like it was a HUGE success – congratulations!!!
Nicole… That’s a lot of wings and, hey, if they don’t like ’em, MORE LEFTOVERS for you! I’m taking a swing at these on Sunday for the Superbowl here in the US.
They all went and so fast!! I hope you had a great Super Bowl get together.
I’m so glad Nicole! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and let me know!
Hello, hoping to make these soon. What store can I buy wings to make from?
Hi Lydia! Any store that sells chicken wings will be fine!
So I did the wings this weekend. They were really good except I made less wings than your recipe and I forgot to lessen the salt…. Boy was it salty ! I’ll correct it the next time. And, they don’t sell Frank’s sauce here in France so I tried your bbq sauce from the ribs recipe and it really really goes well! You’ve given me back the love of cooking! Thank you Nagi!
As we get ready for our SuperBowl Sunday – I searched for an easy baked chicken wings receipe. So happy I found yours. Decided to give it a test run before Sunday and boy was I glad I did! They were delicious and crispy like you
promised! Now I will double the receipe for this coming Sunday as our Carolina Panthers take on the Broncos.
Thank you!
WOO HOO!!! So glad you enjoyed it Marta!!! Enjoy the game!
Oh BUGGER! 🙁 We don’t have frank’s in all the supermarkets here in Sydney, you can just substitute with any red hot sauce you want! But YES the BBQ sauce is a perfect sauce for this!! 🙂
Going to make these tonight but just realized I bought Frank’s buffalo sauce not the original hot sauce should I just use that instead? or mix it with butter and brown sugar like in your recipe ?
Hi Salina! Not a problem 🙂 Just use that!
Hi! These look absolutely amazing!!!
I was wondering how these wings hold up after a few hours? I am looking to make this for a potluck but the wings wouldn’t be served until about 4 hours after being cooked.
Saucing right before serving wouldn’t be an issue so I am not worried about soggy wings but would the wings still be crispy after 4 hours?
Thank you!!
Hi Mia! Hmm….I think they are good for about 30 minutes. I really recommend reheating them in an oven if you are making them 4 hours beforehand. Sorry!
I just want to warn ppl to not try and print from the bottom icons, but use the print button directly under the picture to the right of the recipe. I made this mistake and ended up with 100 pages,including all pictures, ads and every comment! My printer just would not cancel the job for some reason,ugh!
Oh no oh no! I’m so sorry!!! 🙁 I will REMOVE the icons so no one else makes that mistake!
Hi Nagi,
first of all I apologize for my terrible English. I write from Switzerland. I made last night your fantastic chicken wings and is the best recipe ever! The cheese sauce is just spectacular!! Thank you for sharing. Really super!! Thanks!! 5 stars!!
Terrible English? Sylvia, you humble me and 80% of the world’s population who cannot speak more than one language fluently. Your English is fantastic, 🙂 I am so glad you enjoyed this!!! Thanks so much for coming back to let me know!!
Thank you for the recipe! Can I just ask… what should the wings look like after the first 30 min at 250? Only a few drops of fat ran into the pan at that point. In the end, the wings were a little crispy but not shatteringly. I did preheat the oven well. I did tap with my fingernail in the end, they didnt have that great crispy sound like yours. My oven temp seems accurate as I checked with an oven thermometer.
Thank you.
Your newest fan,
Kasey
Hi Kasey! Sounds like your wings looked right at 30 minutes, they become kind of pale white and the fat is starting to melt, not yet melted 🙂 Did you pat the wings dry?? That’s the key to this! N x
Do you allow the oven to pre heat when switching from low heat to high
Hi Casey! Nope, just crank it up and move the tray up. 🙂
Never found a recipe that gives the crispy texture you get on wings like in Canada, until now, these are perfect, I’ve done them both straight away and overnight in the fridge, with the latter being better but the former being just great also.
Thank you Nagi for putting Franks Sauce in my life lol, also never will I buy Mr Newmans Blue Cheese dip again, both these sauces are great!
If you like wings just try these, dont skip Franks Sauce its a must.
YAY!! So glad you loved it Scotty, thanks for letting me know! N x
Wow..!! Thank you for this recipie. I’ve loved Buffalo wings ever since visiting NY but was always put off cooking them because of the frying. Not anymore they were absolutly superb, lovely and crispy and absorbed the sauce great.
Here in Great Britain you can also get Franks ready made Buffalo sauce in the supermarket.
That ready made sauce will be handy! We don’t have that here in Aus. I’m the same as you, I became addicted after my travels to NY too!!! They are starting to appear here in Sydney, but still not the same!!
Thank you for posting this recipe! Would be lovely to have a picture of the baking rack you describe , as it seems that’s where any confusion about the recipe lies.
Gosh, that’s a good idea! I will take a photo next time and add it. 🙂
These Wings are great. I did have one problem. As the recipe stated, I rotated the tray, but did not flip the wings over. The top side of the wings were nice and crispy, but the bottom side was not crispy at all. I’ll try flipping next time.
Hi Jason! Did you put the wings on a rack placed on the baking tray? By doing that, I find the underside gets crispy too!