What’s Inside: This crispy oven-baked chicken wings recipe is the perfect crowd-pleasing appetizer or meal. Plus, they’re made without baking powder, yet still so crispy! They’re AIP- and Paleo-friendly. Serve with some crudités, my honey-garlic sauce, and lemon coconut yogurt dip!
Table Of Contents
- Homemade Baked Chicken Wings
- Key Ingredients for Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
- How To Bake Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
- How To Make Crispy Baked Chicken Wings Without Baking Powder
- How To Store, Freeze, and Reheat Baked Chicken Wings
- How To Make Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings
- More Recipes To Try
- Paleo Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
Homemade Baked Chicken Wings
If you’re a carnivore, chances are you love chicken wings. But you may not love that they’re fried, ordered out with questionable ingredients, or soggy when you bake them yourself. That’s where I can help.
It took some time to perfect, but this crispy oven baked chicken wings recipe is just that — perfection! And it’s easy. Best of all you can achieve a crispy, crunchy crust without deep frying; just let your oven do the work.
The secret to crispy baked chicken wings without baking powder is using a wire rack on your baking sheet to create 360-degree airflow in your oven! Even better if you can use a convection setting on your oven or an air fryer (instructions for that method below).
I love to serve these as a charcuterie-style chicken wings board by tossing them in my honey-garlic sauce fresh out of the oven and arranging with crudités vegetables like chopped raw carrot sticks, broccoli florets, or celery stalks on a large platter or cutting board with some of my homemade lemon-yogurt dipping sauce. Again, perfection! Perfect for any game-day, get-together, or just a Sunday at home.
Key Ingredients for Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
- For the Chicken: 1.5-2lbs chicken wings, patted dry (organic and free-range, if possible); 1 tsp sea salt; and 1 tsp olive oil (or olive oil spray).
- For the Honey-Garlic Sauce: ½ Tbsp garlic powder; ½ Tbsp garlic flakes (or you can just use all garlic powder, so 1 Tbsp total); 1 bunch scallions, chopped and divided; 2 Tbsp raw honey; and ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil.
- For the Lemon Yogurt Dip: ¼ cup coconut yogurt (for dairy-free) or greek yogurt; juice and zest of 1 small lemon; ½ tsp sea salt.
Optional: Make it a chicken wing board by arranging crudités vegetables such as chopped raw carrots, broccoli, or celery around the baked chicken wings on a platter or cutting board. And you can use any of your favorite sauces… but this honey-garlic one just might top anything in a jar.
How To Bake Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees (use the convection setting if you have it for slightly speedier cooking), arrange a rack in the middle of the oven, and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and a wire rack on top.
- Rub the wire rack (or spray) with ½ the olive oil and add the chicken wings flat-side (or skin-side) down. Season with the rest of the olive oil and sea salt.
- Bake in the oven for approx. 45-50 minutes, flipping the wings halfway through. As the skin cooks and crisps, it will release drippings which may cause some smoke in the house, so have your windows open and fan turned on (it’s worth it, trust me). Trim off any burned wing ends if you have them.
- Meanwhile, mix all ingredients including ½ of the chopped scallions for the honey-garlic sauce in a large mixing bowl and toss cooked chicken in the sauce until well coated right out of the oven and let sit.
- Next, mix up the yogurt dip in a serving bowl.
- Serve chicken wings with the yogurt dip, and garnish with more chopped scallions. Optionally serve on a crudités board with your favorite chopped raw vegetables.
How To Make Crispy Baked Chicken Wings Without Baking Powder
Many baked chicken wing recipes call for baking powder to help achieve the crispy skin you typically find in deep-fried wings. However, your average baking powder is not compliant with an AIP lifestyle for those working through eliminations and it’s also just an extra step you don’t need.
You can make delectable, crunchy, tender, and crispy baked chicken wings using just a little bit of extra-virgin olive oil and the natural fat from the chicken itself. The result is a super crispy chicken wing bursting with pure chicken flavor!
If you feel like you need some sort of “breading” on your baked chicken wings to make them crispy, you can always dust lightly in baking soda. But, it’s not really necessary for something as simple as this crispy oven baked chicken wings recipe. They’ll crisp up all on their own!
Want to make your own AIP baking powder for recipes you actually need it in? You can with just two pantry staples. Simply mix 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar with 1 tablespoon of baking soda. And voilà! AIP “baking powder.” Store the mixture in an airtight container for up to 6 weeks and used as desired.
How To Store, Freeze, and Reheat Baked Chicken Wings
- Store leftover chicken wings in an airtight container or plastic bag and keep in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- Freeze leftover, completely cooled wings in an airtight, freezer-safe container or plastic bag for up to one month.
- Reheat thawed wings that have come to room temp in the oven at 325 until warmed through and crispy (about 10-15 minutes), or (even better) in your air fryer at 350-400 degrees until hot and crispy (approx. 5-10 minutes).
How To Make Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings
If you have an air fryer… let’s chat! You can also make these crispy baked chicken wings by making them in everyone’s new favorite kitchen gadget — the air fryer!
Believe me, air fried chicken wings are easier to make than you may think. Just follow these simple steps:
- Pat the chicken wings dry: Eliminating as much moisture as possible from your raw chicken is crucial for achieving crispy chicken wings — especially since we’re not using any baking powder.
- Spray your air fryer lightly with oil: You won’t need much because the fat cooking out of the wings will serve the same purpose as the olive oil, but this will help the chicken wings not stick when you toss them.
- “Fry” in two steps: Spread the wings out so that they don’t overlap. You’ll “fry” them in two stages — first on medium heat to make sure they’re cooked through, then at 400 degrees to achieve that crispy, crunchy skin. The result is chicken wings that are soft, tender, and juicy on the inside and super crispy on the outside — as if they were deep fried!
- Don’t crowd your chicken: Spread the wings out so that they don’t overlap. This is key for getting crispy wings every time. Giving the chicken enough room for the air to flow all around them will help them cook evenly and get crispy on all sides. Best to use a large air fryer if possible, but if you have a smaller one (I get it. Counter space is crucial!), just air fry the chicken wings in batches and allow the cooked wings to hang out in a 250-degree oven while the other batches cook to keep them crispy.
- Serve ’em up: Toss the crispy chicken wings in my honey-garlic sauce. Then, plate those bad boys with my lemon-yogurt dip and your favorite side, like some crudités or baked potato wedges, to complete the meal, and enjoy!
More Recipes To Try
AIR FRYER LEMON PEPPER CHICKEN WINGS
Paleo Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
The secret to crispy baked chicken wings without baking powder is using a wire rack on your baking or “cookie” sheet for 360-degree airflow in your oven! Even better if you can use a convection setting on your oven. Add your sauce after cooking and level up your serving game with a beautiful platter of crudités and dipping sauce! This is a major crowd-pleasing appetizer or meal.
Instructions
Ingredients
For the Chicken Wings
- 1.5-2 lbs chicken wings
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil (or olive oil spray)
For the Honey-Garlic Sauce
- 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1/2 Tbsp garlic flakes (can also just use all garlic powder, 1 Tbsp total)
- 1 bunch scallions chopped and divided
- 2 Tbsp raw honey
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
For the Lemon-Yogurt Dip
- 1/4 cup coconut yogurt (for dairy-free) or Greek yogurt
- 1 small lemon, juice and zest
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 425f degrees (use the convection setting if you have it for slightly speedier cooking), arrange a rack in the middle of the oven, and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and a wire rack on top.
- Rub the wire rack (or spray) with ½ the olive oil and add the chicken wings flat-side (or skin-side) down. Season with the rest of the olive oil and sea salt.
- Bake in the oven for approx. 45-50 minutes, flipping the wings halfway through. As the skin cooks and crisps, it will release drippings which may cause some smoke in the house, so have your windows open and fan turned on (it’s worth it, trust me). Trim off any burned wing ends if you have them.
- Meanwhile, mix all ingredients including ½ of the chopped scallions for the honey-garlic sauce in a large mixing bowl and toss cooked chicken in the sauce until well coated right out of the oven and let sit.
- Next, mix up the yogurt dip in a serving bowl.
- Serve chicken wings with the yogurt dip, and garnish with more chopped scallions. Optionally serve on a crudités board with your favorite chopped raw vegetables.
Notes
Make it a chicken wing board by arranging crudités vegetables such as chopped raw carrots, broccoli, or celery around the chicken wings on a large platter or cutting board.