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Crispy baked chicken wings are possible. Discover the one secret ingredient for crunchy chicken wings, then toss them in a sweet and tangy soda-based sauce for a game-day snack idea that will have everyone cheering (and asking for the recipe).
Why should Buffalo wings get all the glory? If you lean more sweet and tangy than over-the-top spicy, this is the chicken wing recipe for you.
There’s no need to fuss with deep-frying, and you don’t even need an air fryer to crisp up these lighter baked chicken wings! The secret? Baking powder. Since this pantry staple falls on the alkaline end of the acid spectrum, it helps break down peptide bonds in the chicken wing skin. The result is a brown, crunchy exterior on the baked chicken wings, even without added oil.
Kids and kids at heart will adore the sweetness that the Coca Cola lends to the glaze, which is balanced beautifully by umami and salt sources like soy sauce and bacon. A good does of garlic and onion make the wings downright dangerous(ly addictive).
For any day or game-day, you’ll win the hosting trophy if you add these Coca Cola Chicken Wings to the menu.
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. Most supermarkets sell chicken wings with the tips already removed, so you may not even need to ask. But if they’re still on the chicken wings you are planning to purchase, ask your butcher to tackle the task for you or use a chef’s knife to trim this portion off before proceeding with the chicken wing recipe.
- Baking powder: Toss very dry chicken wing meat with this baking staple for supremely crunchy baked chicken wings, no deep-frying or extra oil required.
- Coca-Cola: Classic, not Diet or Zero, please. The sugar is crucial for the best flavor and the glaze consistency.
- Cornstarch: This helps give the soda glaze a rich, syrup-like texture.
Step-by-step instructions
To make the wings:
- 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.
To make the Coca Cola glaze:
- In a 3-quart saucepan or deep skillet, heat olive oil until shimmering. Add bacon and onions and fry until the onions have softened, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk in Coca Cola, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in brown sugar and soy sauce. Transfer 2 tablespoons Coca Cola glaze to a small bowl and whisk in cornstarch until smooth.
- Add back to pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened and reduced by half, about 20 minutes.
- Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pushing down on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible.
- Keep warm on stove until wings have finished baking. Toss the baked wings with Coca Cola glaze.
- Garnish with scallions and serve with extra Coca Cola glaze.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: My Coca Cola Chicken Wings recipe makes approximately 32 wings (this will vary based on the size of your individual chicken wings and how many come per pound); enough for 4 entree-sized servings of 8 wings each or 8 appetizer-sized servings of 4 wings each.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: The Coca Cola glaze can be made and refrigerated a day in advance. Reheat on the stove before tossing with the wings.
Recipe FAQs
No need. In fact, it can be a food safety risk if you do. The CDC recommends that you never wash chicken, as doing so can spray raw chicken juices onto your sink and any adjacent surfaces. There’s no need to wash any kind of poultry before cooking.
The chicken wings will have a little residual moisture from the packaging. Patting the chicken wings dry with paper towels allows the baking powder to adhere evenly, and also leads to the crispiest, crunchiest baked wings.
A wire rack stacked on top of a sheet pan lets air circulate 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 want to do so and don’t own a rack already, simply use tongs to flip the wings halfway through cooking time so they cook and crisp on both sides.
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Coca Cola Chicken Wings
Ingredients
For the wings:
- 4 pounds chicken wings flats and wingtips removed (see note 1)
- 2 tablespoons baking powder (see note 2)
For the Coca Cola glaze:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 slices bacon
- ½ red onion sliced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 (12 ounce) can Coca-Cola (see note 3)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch (see note 4)
- Scallions thinly sliced, for garnish
Instructions
To make the wings:
- 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.
To make the Coca Cola glaze:
- In a 3-quart saucepan or deep skillet, heat olive oil until shimmering. Add bacon and onions and fry until the onions have softened, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk in Coca Cola, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Stir in brown sugar and soy sauce. Transfer 2 tablespoons Coca Cola glaze to a small bowl and whisk in cornstarch until smooth.
- Add back to pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened and reduced by half, about 20 minutes.
- Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pushing down on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Keep warm on stove until wings have finished baking. Toss the baked wings with Coca Cola glaze and serve.
Notes
- Chicken wings: Flats and wings; wing tips removed. Most supermarkets sell chicken wings with the tips already removed, so you may not even need to ask. But if they’re still on the chicken wings you are planning to purchase, ask your butcher to tackle the task for you or use a chef’s knife to trim this portion off before proceeding with the chicken wing recipe.
- Baking powder: Toss very dry chicken wing meat with this baking staple for supremely crunchy baked chicken wings, no deep-frying or extra oil required.
- Coca-Cola: Classic, not Diet or Zero, please. The sugar is crucial for the best flavor and the glaze consistency.
- Cornstarch: This helps give the soda glaze a rich, syrup-like texture.
- Yield: My Coca Cola Chicken Wings recipe makes approximately 32 wings (this will vary based on the size of your individual chicken wings and how many come per pound); enough for 4 entree-sized servings of 8 wings each or 8 appetizer-sized servings of 4 wings each.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: The Coca Cola glaze can be made and refrigerated a day in advance. Reheat on the stove before tossing with the wings.
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.
This is our go to recipe whenever my partner smokes wings! Definitely a crowd pleaser. Thanks so much!
Thanks Aly, so glad you guys love it! – Meggan
Such a fantastic recipe, thanks for sharing! Loved these.
I. Recently used this recipe for a litthe party and everyone loved them. The flavor was a lot better then I expected and I look forward to trying other things from this site. Amazing job.
Well that’s awesome, thank you Justin! I hope you find something else around here that you might like. :) Have a great week!
Mmmmmm…..yum. This looks totally amazing. I’m just starring at the screen looking at how delicious they look.
Wow, really, I can’t get over that delicious taste! So simple and yet – sooo great. Thank you for this recipe – it’s a real keeper
Thanks so much Roshani, glad you loved the wings! Thanks for reading.
This looks and sounds fantastic, like everything you make! I will be trying this out for a dinner this week. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much Amelie! I hope you enjoy the wings. :)
Nagi changed my chicken wing cooking life too. Your recipe is correct, it says baking powder, but your write up above it says baking soda.
Thank you!!!! Typos. Oy. I’ll go fix it right now, I appreciate you pointing that out.