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 have made this so many times with wings, they are my daughter’s favourite. Lately I have also been marinating boneless skinless chicken thighs in the sauce, then baking or BBQing them. SO GOOD!! Another Nagi hit!
Simply the best thank you!!
Not a fan of blue cheese … any substitute ideas for a dipping sauce? Would Aioli be too bland?
On the menu for tonight but just checking…you say “DO NOT mistake with baking soda /bi-carbonate soda (it’s inedible).” . Is bi-carb soda not partnered with baking powder in many recipes, thus making it perfectly “edible”?
hey…I am pretty sure she doesn’t mean that it is unsafe to eat. From what I understand, baking powder has some baking soda in it but, if you were to coat your wings with ONLY baking soda, they would taste horrid. In that sense, it makes the dish inedible. Hope that helps.
I lived in Buffalo for one year right behind Gabriel’s Gate, two blocks from the Anchor Bar. Two best wing places ever…..(Though Native Buffalonians may argue in favor of Duff’s) Been trying to Master Wings ever since. Deep Fried, (tried several different oils) Baked, Grilled, Smoked, Air Fried….making my own sacue etc etc.
Hands down….this is the best way to do it! I just order a few bottles of Wing Sauce from Anchor Bar ….it can’t be replicated. This is the ONLY wing recipe you need. Perfection!!
Follow up note. Follow the temps / times precisely. 40-44 minutes on 2nd bake is better than 50 minutes….some of them start to dry out at 50.
Abolsutely made my Super Bowl!
Thank you so much for this recipe – it was fantastic.
We had a whole wing platter also loved your honey soy wings.
Would have tried your jalapeno poppers but left my run a bit late and could not find any fresh ones – will be better organised next year 🙂
I have been searching forever for a good buffalo wings recipe, but I will look no further than THIS ONE! To be honest, I was skeptical when I saw all the five-star reviews because I felt for sure something was not right, but I could not have been more wrong! I have been cooking for over 40 years and this has to be one of the best wing recipes I have ever had in my life. I bought high protein wings from Aldi (yes, Aldi!) and followed the cooking instructions exactly. I had Frank’s Original Buffalo wing sauce, but I only added 1.5 Tblsp of butter and only 1 tsp of brown sugar (personal dietary preference for these adjustments). The sauce was a perfect blend of sweet, hot, buttery goodness! I made the mistake of saucing all 4lbs of wings for just the two of us (I have no idea what I was thinking!)… The skin was crispy, crunchy… the wings were perfectly seasoned…. and they were juicy and insanely tender!!! This recipe is IT! I am finally done looking for the perfect wing recipe because I have found it here!
Good point! Try to find a Meat Market or Butcher Shop to get the wings….they are always larger and way cheaper than the Big Chain Supermarkets. (Publix, Winn Dixie, etc etc)
I used baking powder once a long time ago and the wings didn’t come out great. I tried this recipe and they were fantastic! Compliments from kids and adults. Thanks so much! Next time I’ll definitely try the blue cheese recipe.
Great recipe. The wings were so crispy!
Without a doubt one of if not the best recipe I’ve ever had for buffalo wings. Amazingly crispy. Tad too salty and not hot enough for my pallet. I’ll half the salt and do half and half of franks and sriracha next time
These were great! I made them as written and they turned out very crispy and delicious. Everything was spot on, especially the buffalo sauce and blue cheese dip. I did a full review of these on my YouTube channel, The Real Deal Recipe Reviews, where I always try to make recipes as written and give honest reviews. I can’t say enough good things about this entire recipe.
These are the best wings I’ve ever made. I use my own sauce & dip, but the actual wing is the star. I will never make them another way again, and I’ve shared this recipe with all my friends! Thank you.
Excited to try this! Has anyone tried doing these in air fryer and if so, recommended temps/times? I’ve heard a rule of thumb of subtracting 25F and dividing time in half, but curious if anyone else has had success.
I love Buffalo wings, but which Franks sauce is used in this recipe?
Is it the Redhot Wings Buffalo sauce, or Redhot Original Cayenne Pepper Hot Sauce?
Help please!
Depends how ‘hot’ you can take. The Franks “Buffalo” is fine for us, but if you want to up the heat, get the extra hot.
I’m making these tonight but I don t have 4 lbs I have 2 1/2 she I readjust my cooking times or something
The prep and cooking time should be exactly the same, just adjust ingredients for how much sauce and dip you need.
Amazing.
Um. Don’t mix up baking/bicarb SODA and baking POWDER.
Still crunchy. Still juicy.
But will taste a bit ick and make you think you’ve poisoned your guests even though you’ve probably just ensured they have very settled tummies…
Sooooo good.
Great recipe. I found the skin was very crispy but tough. Did I over cook it?
This recipe is a favourite in our household. I’ve made it many times & it’s always awesome. So yummy & easy.
Aussie living in the US. I Have never had buffalo wings before so really didn’t have a benchmark, but these were delicious. They weren’t as deeply coloured as Nagi’s but after 40 mins they were definitely cooked. Not a fan of blue cheese but a fresh crisp salad (with celery) was refreshing. My American friends loved them.
Delicious