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I’m spilling my secret to the crispiest Baked Buffalo Wings. Bake the chicken wings, then toss them in hot Buffalo sauce and pair with blue cheese dressing for the ultimate game-day appetizer idea.
The search ends here: these are the best Baked Buffalo Wings! No need to dress them up with garlic powder, onion powder, Worcestershire, or other seasonings; these pub-style chicken wings prove that simple is best.
Curious about the secret to getting deep-fried-like, crunchy Buffalo wings, no fryer or air-fryer required? Baking powder. The pantry staple ingredient is so alkaline (remember acids and bases from chemistry class?) that it helps to break down the peptide bonds in the chicken wing skin. Voila: Brown and crunchy texture, no added oil necessary.
If you like my Cauliflower Buffalo Dip and Buffalo Chicken Dip, you’re going to love these easy Baked Buffalo Wings. Add them to your game-day menu and everyone will award you the entertaining MVP award!
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Chicken wings: Flats and wings; wing tips removed. The tips tend to overcook and don’t have much meat on them anyway, so remove them yourself or ask your butcher to tackle the task for you. Most supermarkets sell chicken wings with the tips already removed, so you may not even need to ask.
- Baking powder: This baking staple, sprinkled onto very dry chicken wing meat, is the secret ingredient for the crunchy texture, no deep-frying required.
- Hot sauce: I love toss these Baked Buffalo Wings in Frank’s Red Hot sauce, although you could use any hot sauce you prefer.
- Ranch Dressing or Blue Cheese Dressing: Traditional Buffalo wings are always served with blue cheese dressing for dunking. If you don’t like blue cheese, though, and do want to channel your inner midwesterner, use ranch instead.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a Dutch oven or large stockpot over medium heat, melt butter until foaming. Arrange two oven racks in the upper middle and lower middle positions. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top. Coat rack with nonstick spray.
- Pat wings dry with paper towels. In a large zipper-top plastic bag, add baking powder and wings and toss to coat. Arrange coated wings skin-side up on rack.
- Transfer baking sheet to lower-middle oven rack and bake for 30 minutes.
- Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Transfer baking sheet to upper middle rack and bake until the wings are golden and crispy, about 45 to 50 minutes longer.
- In a large bowl, add butter and hot sauce. Add baked wings and toss to coat.
- Serve with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 32 wings (depending on the size of actual chicken wings), enough for 4 entree-sized servings (8 wings each) or 8 appetizer-sized servings (4 wings each).
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. I love to reheat buffalo wings in my air fryer.
- Make ahead: The wings can be coated with baking powder and stored uncovered, in the refrigerator, a day in advance (this will actually lead to even crispier skin).
Recipe FAQs
The CDC recommends that you never wash chicken, as this can splatter raw chicken juices onto your sink, counters, and any close utensils or surfaces. There’s no need to wash poultry before cooking.
This step is essential. Not only does patting the chicken wings dry with paper towels allow the baking powder to adhere evenly, but it also ensure the crispiest, crunchiest Baked Buffalo Wing results.
A wire rack stacked on top of a sheet pan allows for ample air circulation around all sides of the baked chicken wings. I highly recommend investing in one (Amazon sells wire racks for less than $10), but if you don’t have one, simply flip the wings halfway.
Blue Cheese Dressing
This made-from-scratch recipe for Blue Cheese Dressing is from an old-fashioned Kansas City steakhouse that has long been closed. It’s simple, delicious, and perfect on your next wedge salad.
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Baked Buffalo Wings
Ingredients
- 4 pounds chicken wings flats and wingtips removed (see note 1)
- 2 tablespoons baking powder (see note 2)
- 4 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce (see note 3)
- blue cheese dressing for serving (see note 4)
- celery sticks for serving
Instructions
- Arrange two oven racks in the upper middle and lower middle positions. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top. Coat rack with nonstick spray.
- Pat wings dry with paper towels. In a large zipper-top plastic bag, add baking powder and wings and toss to coat.
- Arrange coated wings skin-side up on rack. Transfer baking sheet to lower-middle oven rack and bake for 30 minutes.
- Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Transfer baking sheet to upper middle rack and bake until the wings are golden and crispy, about 45 to 50 minutes longer.
- In a large bowl, add butter and hot sauce. Add baked wings and toss to coat. Serve with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Chicken wings: Flats and wings; wing tips removed. The tips tend to overcook and don’t have much meat on them anyway, so remove them yourself or ask your butcher to tackle the task for you. Most supermarkets sell chicken wings with the tips already removed, so you may not even need to ask.
- Baking powder: This baking staple, sprinkled onto very dry chicken wing meat, is the secret ingredient for the crunchy texture, no deep-frying required.
- Hot sauce: I love toss these Baked Buffalo Wings in Frank’s Red Hot sauce, although you could use any hot sauce you prefer.
- Ranch Dressing or Blue Cheese Dressing: Traditional Buffalo wings are always served with blue cheese dressing for dunking. If you don’t like blue cheese, though, and do want to channel your inner midwesterner, use ranch instead.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 32 wings (depending on the size of actual chicken wings), enough for 4 entree-sized servings (8 wings each) or 8 appetizer-sized servings (4 wings each).
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. I love to reheat buffalo wings in my air fryer.
- Make ahead: The wings can be coated with baking powder and stored uncovered, in the refrigerator, a day in advance (this will actually lead to even crispier skin).
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
I used this delicious recipe to make buffalo wings last year during Super Bowl and my family devoured every wing.
Thank you for this recipe Megan. Its a keeper☺
Hi H.M! You’re so welcome! Take care! – Meggan