These Oven-Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings are baked until golden, then smothered in sweet and spicy buffalo sauce for a quick and easy appetizer. This healthier alternative to fried wings is just as crispy and delicious, and sure to become a family favorite.
Jump to:
- The Best Baked Buffalo Wings Recipe
- What To Serve With Crispy Chicken Wings
- Ingredients in Baked Buffalo Wings
- How To Make Oven-Baked Buffalo Wings
- Variations of Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings
- Tips For Making the Best Crispy Chicken Wings
- Oven-Baked Chicken Wings Recipe
- Other Drumstick and Wing Recipes That We Love
The Best Baked Buffalo Wings Recipe
Once you try baking chicken wings at home, you’ll be shocked at just how simple it is to get crispy restaurant-quality wings right in your own home. Deep fried wings taste great, but add extra mess and extra calories. This oven-baked version is so much easier, just as delicious and naturally gluten-free.
If you have anyone in your family who isn’t a huge spicy foods fan, you can set some of these crispy wings aside without the sauce, or else serve them all sauce-less and have everyone add their own.
You can also make two flavors of sauce, divide the wings in half and then serve them both! If you decide to go that route, we recommend making these Oven-Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings with Garlic Parmesan Wings. Yum!
What To Serve With Crispy Chicken Wings
Besides our Buffalo Wings Sauce, we love to serve crispy chicken wings with a side of Blue Cheese and Southwest Ranch Dressing. It’s the perfect game day or lazy Saturday afternoon snack!
If you want to serve these as part of a meal, they will go great with salads, such as Broccoli Salad or Pesto Pasta Salad or simple sides, like these Twice Baked Potatoes or Lemon Herb Rice.
Ingredients in Baked Buffalo Wings
- Bone-in Chicken Wings - there are about 4-5 chicken wings in a pound so depending on what else you are serving, you may want to double this recipe.
- Avocado Oil - you can substitute another cooking oil, such as canola or olive oil.
- Salt and Pepper
- Frank’s Red Hot Sauce - you can find this just about anywhere in the condiment aisle.
- Brown Sugar - you could also substitute a bit of honey.
How To Make Oven-Baked Buffalo Wings
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and set a wire rack on top.
- Pat your wings dry with paper towels. Then, in a large bowl, add the wings and drizzle with avocado oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss until they are completely coated.
- Place the wings on the wire rack that is on the baking sheet, making sure that the wings aren't touching.
- Bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown and a digital thermometer reads 165 degrees when inserted into the chicken close to the bone.
- While you bake the wings, add the Franks Red Hot Sauce and brown sugar into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat.
- Once baked, add the hot wings straight from the oven to a large bowl and drizzle with the buffalo sauce. Toss until completely coated.
- Serve baked buffalo wings warm with your favorite ranch or blue cheese dressing. Enjoy!
Variations of Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings
Buffalo Sauce is amazing because it only requires two ingredients and is so incredibly versatile. You can use it on all sorts of other chicken pieces, from chicken thighs, breasts, drumsticks, and tenders, or as a condiment for pizza, burgers, and tacos.
Some other variations of this recipe are:
- Extra Crispy - if you want to get your wings extra crispy, make sure to dry them super well with paper towel, then toss the wings in a mixture of 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper. Skip the avocado oil and bake as directed. Once they have finished baking, toss in your buffalo sauce and serve immediately.
- Buffalo Chicken Salad - bake and coat your chicken, then remove from the bone and cool to room temperature before tossing with your favorite salad.
FAQ
It should take about 35-40 minutes for your Oven-Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings to bake completely, and get nice and crispy. Always check the internal temperature to be sure it has reached 165 degrees F.
We find that 400 degrees is the sweet spot for baking chicken wings. It’s hot enough to get the skin crispy, but not so hot that it will burn the outside because they cook through.
When purchasing chicken wings there are generally 4-5 chicken wings in a pound.
Boneless chicken nuggets are not chicken wings. They are usually made from breast meat instead of being a de-boned wing. They are cut into wing sized pieces and then breaded and usually fried. Boneless wings are chicken nuggets, not actual chicken wings.
The chicken wings are best if cooked just before consuming but the Buffalo Wing sauce can be made up to 5 days ahead of time. Just cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the fridge and pull out as needed.
Tips For Making the Best Crispy Chicken Wings
- Make sure to pat the wings dry before you start. It helps them live up to their full crispy potential.
- For the freshest, most delicious wings, make only as many as you will want to eat in one sitting. They just don’t reheat very well.
- If the Oven-Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings aren’t getting crispy enough in the oven, you can toss them in the broiler for 1-2 minutes to finish them off.
- Using a baking rack yelps the fat drip down underneath so it isn’t cooking in it and getting soggy.
Oven-Baked Chicken Wings Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Bone-In Wings
- ⅛ cup Avocado OIl can substitute any other cooking oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- ½ cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
- ½ cup Brown Sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and set a wire rack on top.
- Pat your wings dry with paper towels. Then, in a large bowl, add the wings and drizzle with avocado oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss until they are completely coated.
- Place the wings on the wire rack that is on the baking sheet, making sure that the wings aren't touching.
- Bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown and a digital thermometer reads 165 degrees when inserted into the chicken close to the bone.
- While you bake the wings, add the Franks Red Sauce and brown sugar into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat.
- Once baked, add the hot wings straight from the oven to a large bowl and drizzle with the buffalo sauce. Toss until completely coated.
- Serve baked buffalo wings warm with your favorite ranch or blue cheese dressing. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Other Drumstick and Wing Recipes That We Love
- Garlic Parmesan Drumsticks
- Buffalo Drumsticks
- Parmesan Wings
- Oven-Baked Drumsticks
- Mediterranean Drumsticks
- Garlic and Herb Drumsticks
More Chicken Recipes
- Bacon Wrapped Chicken
- Honey Soy Chicken
- Best Game Day Food
- Healthy Chicken Recipes
- Easy Appetizer Recipes
- More Chicken Recipes
If you’ve tried this recipe, please rate it and leave a comment on this post. I love hearing feedback from you helps me and other readers too! If you love Pinterest, feel free to leave a comment and photo there too. Also, if you like to share, use the hashtag #thecarefreekitchen on Instagram and tag me @thecarefreekitchen so I can find you and give your post some love. You can also find me on Facebook at The Carefree Kitchen. Thank you!!
These Oven-Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings are a healthy alternative to fried wings and just as crispy and delicious. They also make the perfect game day snack!
Leave a Reply