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Crispy, saucy and so delicious, these Baked Buffalo Wings are the perfect appetizer recipe for game day or for just about any day! I’m sharing all my tips for making crispy wings in the oven!
Crispy Baked Buffalo Wings
Bring on all the buffalo recipes, because I can never get enough. Between my Buffalo Chicken Meatballs, Crispy Buffalo Chicken Bites, Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes, and so many more, it’s no surprise we’re big fans of buffalo anything. Today I’m bringing an oldie up from the archives with these Oven Baked Buffalo Wings so more of you can find this fan-favorite recipe. Buffalo Wings are a classic appetizer for game day, or you can make it a meal by serving it with a few sides.
How to Get Wings Crispy in the Oven?
I have two tips for getting really crispy wings. The first is to pat these wings dry as best as you can with paper towels. The goal here is to get rid of any excess moisture.
The second tip I found a few years back and it’s changed the way I make oven-baked wings: baking them on a wire rack! Because the air circulates around the wings, and any excess moisture drips off, it allows them to get nice and crispy all over. It’s a game-changer!
Ingredients Needed:
- Chicken Wings
- Salt
- Garlic Powder
- Olive Oil or Avocado Oil
- Hot Sauce (I recommend Frank’s Original Hot Sauce)
- Butter, Ghee or Coconut Oil
- Cayenne (optional, for extra heat)
What Type of Buffalo Sauce to Use?
Easy answer: make it yourself! It’s super simple with a minimum of two ingredients. It’s just hot sauce and butter (or ghee or coconut oil for dairy-free). I recommend Frank’s Red Hot Sauce. To make it, you simply heat the two ingredients together in a saucepan until the butter is melted. Whisk it together and there you have it: homemade buffalo sauce.
What to Serve With Buffalo Wings
There is a reason cut up veggies are served with buffalo wings, so no need to re-invent the wheel. Cut-up celery, carrots, and cucumbers are great to serve with baked buffalo wings because it helps neutralize the heat and strong taste of buffalo wings BETWEEN bites, allowing you to enjoy your next bite all the more!
And of course, you have to serve buffalo wings with a nice cooling dip too! You can go the bleu cheese route or the ranch route. I have a homemade ranch dressing recipe located in this Sheet Pan Ranch Chicken and Vegetables. Or you can buy store-bought!
Watch the video:
If you like this buffalo recipe, check out these others:
- Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
- Crispy Buffalo Chicken Bites
- Buffalo Chicken Burgers
- Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Buffalo Chicken Tenders
Baked Buffalo Wings
Ingredients
For Baked Wings:
- 2-3 pounds chicken wings
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
For Buffalo Sauce:
- 1/2 cup hot sauce I use Frank's Original Hot Sauce
- 1/4 cup butter ghee, or coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon cayenne totally optional, for extra heat
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place a wire rack on top.
- Pat chicken wings dry with a paper towel, and then coat the chicken wings in oil, salt, and garlic powder.
- Bake wings for 30 minutes, flip them over, and then cook for another 10-15 minutes, or until the wings are crispy.
- Meanwhile, make the buffalo sauce: Heat hot sauce and butter together in a small pot. Once butter is melted, whisk together.
- Carefully add cooked wings and 3/4 of the buffalo sauce to a large bowl. Toss together.
- Transfer the wings back to the baking rack and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
- Remove wings from oven and transfer to a serving platter. Drizzle the remaining sauce on top of the wings, or set aside for dipping. Serve wings warm with dipping sauce of choice, and cut up veggies.
Any way to cut down on the fat (butter) in the sauce? These look so delicious!
Yum doesn’t even begin to describe these wings! Hubby and I were bowled over by them; I love that I can make delicious wings and a healthier alternative on my own. Can’t stress the patting dry and cooking on the rack enough!
This recipe is the real deal! I followed the recipe and technique to a tee. My drummettes were on the small side so I questioned the cooking time a bit but rode it out and was glad I did. The meat was still tender but was fall off the bone. The skin was perfectly crispy and the sauce was incredible. Thank you for helping me add ‘perfect’ clean wings to my repitore! All the recipes I’ve tried in the past were fine, but something was always off. I think the cooking time (and raised racks) are critical. Thanks again!
So happy they were a hit 🙂
If you didn’t have Buffalo wings, did you even do the Super Bowl at all??
omg I’m gonna love this recipe alot!! That’s so simple to make the sauce also. I’m so excited to try it asap ??
Thanks for the healthy alternative to fried wings Lexi! Next time I make these wings I will definitely try using the wire rack idea to make the cooking more well rounded. Is that the biggest secret to making the wings crispy or is there anything else that you would suggest doing to bring out the crispiness?
That, and patting them very dry!
These were delicious, but extremely salty and I only used a half teaspoon of salt instead of a whole. Next time I might only use a quarter, or maybe just an eighth of a teaspoon. We also finished these wings off in a grill pan on a gas grill, two minutes a side. I will be making these often.
What type of hot sauce did you use? It shouldn’t be overly salty! Salting the chicken before cooking brings out flavor!
What is the serving size and calorie count on these?
These came out so great! I made them last weekend and I’m making them again tonight. My husband is on a Whole30 so this is a nice treat for him. Thanks for the great recipe!
These are SO good! I’m putting a link to this recipe on next week’s meal plan at The Better Mom and via my email subscribers so I hope it sends lots of new friends your way! Thanks for sharing such delicious recipes like this one! Blessings, Kelly
Hiya,
I have a few questions.
Firstly, I live in the UK. where can we get this Frank hot sauce, and how does it taste?
Secondly, I don’t understand how you line a baking sheet with foil :S
Is there any chance of a photo of the baking sheet/wire rack process?
@Zan cut a piece of aluminum foil the size of your baking pan and put it in the baking pan. Take a wire cooling rack and put it on top of the foil in your pan. Here is a photo.
http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2k31vody41qdei8m.jpg
Amazon.co.uk has Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
http://www.franksredhot.co.uk/franks.html
Will this recipe work for chicken legs?
My husband and I made these wings for a Super Bowl party on Sunday. (We substituted Franks Buffalo Wing Sauce for the hot sauce and left out the butter). We transported the wings and kept them warm in a crockpot. They were DELICIOUS! We have been discussing other sauces we could use like our favorite BBQ sauce or GF teriyaki sauce.
Aren’t 40 minutes way too much for these little giys? Are they still juicy?? I would have thought that they only take about 20 minutes since my chicken breast only take that long either.
Nope. Definitely needs that time! Wings are a fatty part of the chicken. Promise you they are nice and juicy!
Thank you, I will try it then 🙂