Baked Buffalo Wings
Crisp oven-baked wings tossed in tangy, buttery hot sauce. You don’t need a fryer or any flour.
Nutrition per serving
about 8 wing pieces + celery- Net carbs
- 1.6g
- Calories
- 542kcal
- Protein
- 40g
- Fat
- 41g
- Total carbs
- 2.5 g
- Fiber
- 0.9 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient (optional ingredients excluded). Brands vary — check your labels if you track closely.
Ingredients
Garlic parmesan wings: No heat at all: the crisp wings are tossed in garlic butter, then showered with parmesan and parsley. A favorite for anyone who finds buffalo sauce too fiery.
- Instead of the buffalo sauce, melt the butter over low heat with the minced garlic and garlic powder and cook 1–2 minutes until fragrant, not browned.
- Toss the hot wings in the garlic butter, then add the parmesan and parsley and toss again so the cheese clings. Serve right away.
Lemon pepper wings: The Atlanta wing-joint classic: crackly wings tossed in butter with plenty of fresh lemon zest and coarse black pepper.
- Skip the hot sauce. Melt the butter with the garlic powder, then take it off the heat and stir in the lemon zest, pepper and lemon juice.
- Toss the hot wings in the lemon pepper butter and finish with a pinch of flaky salt.
Dairy-free buffalo: Avocado oil replaces the butter in the sauce. It is a little less glossy but just as tangy, and the wings themselves are naturally dairy-free.
- Whisk the avocado oil, hot sauce and garlic powder in a bowl until combined. Oil does not emulsify like butter, so whisk again just before tossing the wings.
- Serve with celery and a dairy-free ranch, or just the celery sticks.
- Wings
- Buffalo sauce
- To serve
- Nice to have (optional)
- Wings
- Buffalo sauce
-
½ cup Louisiana-style cayenne hot sauceleave out - To serve
- Also add
- Nice to have (optional)
- Wings
- Buffalo sauce
-
½ cup Louisiana-style cayenne hot sauceleave out - To serve
- Also add
- Nice to have (optional)
- Wings
- Buffalo sauce
- To serve
- Nice to have (optional)
Estimated cost $15.85 for 4 servings ($3.96 each) · how we estimate
Instructions
-
Pat the wings very dry. In a large bowl, toss them with the baking powder, salt and ½ tsp garlic powder until evenly coated with a thin, almost invisible dusting. For extra-crisp skin, refrigerate uncovered on a rack for up to 24 hours.
-
Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Arrange the wings skin-side up on a wire rack set in a foil-lined sheet pan, in a single layer with space between them.
-
Bake 45–50 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until the skin is blistered, crisp and deep golden.
-
Check a thick drumette: it should read at least 165°F (74°C). Wings are forgiving and taste best closer to 175–180°F (79–82°C), when the meat pulls easily off the bone.
-
While the wings bake, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Whisk in the hot sauce and remaining garlic powder until smooth and glossy, and keep warm.
-
Transfer the hot wings to a large bowl, pour the sauce over and toss to coat. Serve right away with celery sticks and chunky blue cheese dressing or ranch.
Tips for success
-
Adjust the heat with the sauce ratio: more butter makes it milder and richer, more hot sauce makes it hotter. Plain cayenne hot sauces have almost no carbs, but bottled “wing sauce” can contain sugar or starch, so check the label. - Air fryer: cook at 400°F (200°C) for 20–24 minutes in batches, shaking the basket halfway.
- The 3 lb is the weight you buy. After the bones and rendered fat, you eat about two-thirds of it, and the nutrition is calculated on that.
Nice to have, not needed
- A wire rack keeps the wings out of their rendered fat — without one, bake on parchment and flip them twice.
Storage & meal prepMeal-prep friendly
- Keeps 3 days in the fridge
- Freezes up to 3 months
Reheat: Reheat in a 400°F (200°C) oven or air fryer for 8–10 minutes, until sizzling.
Prep tip: For meal prep, store the baked wings unsauced and toss them in warm sauce after reheating — they stay much crisper.
Refrigerate up to 3 days. Reheat sauced wings in a 400°F (200°C) oven or air fryer for 8–10 minutes.
Variations
3 variations, each with its own ingredients and macrosGarlic parmesan wings
FlavorNo heat at all: the crisp wings are tossed in garlic butter, then showered with parmesan and parsley. A favorite for anyone who finds buffalo sauce too fiery.
- + 4 cloves garlic
- + ½ cup parmesan
- + 2 tbsp fresh parsley
- no Louisiana-style cayenne hot sauce
2.9 g net · 583 kcal · 44 g protein · 43 g fat · ≈$3.98 per serving (+1.3 g net carbs vs the original)
Lemon pepper wings
FlavorThe Atlanta wing-joint classic: crackly wings tossed in butter with plenty of fresh lemon zest and coarse black pepper.
- + 1 tbsp lemon zest
- + 2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
- + 1 tbsp lemon juice
- no Louisiana-style cayenne hot sauce
2.3 g net · 543 kcal · 40 g protein · 40 g fat · ≈$3.74 per serving (+0.7 g net carbs vs the original)
Dairy-free buffalo
DietAvocado oil replaces the butter in the sauce. It is a little less glossy but just as tangy, and the wings themselves are naturally dairy-free.
- butter → avocado oil
1.6 g net · 535 kcal · 40 g protein · 40 g fat · ≈$4.04 per serving (same net carbs as the original)
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