Chicken Wing Recipes

If you're a chicken wing lover, you're in the right place!

Below, you'll find our very best chicken wing recipes, plus helpful tips on how to bake them to crispy perfection and how to reheat leftovers so they taste just as good the next day. These are great for either an appetizer or a main dish, and you can also check out our complete list of chicken dinner recipes.

How to Bake Chicken Wings So They're Crispy

Cooking chicken wings in the oven couldn't be simpler and this is how I make all of my skin-on chicken. Oven baked chicken wings are also healthier with no grease or oily mess like there is with frying. Plus, this recipe uses no flour!

Dry the Wings: The dryer the chicken skin, the better it will crisp when cooked. Blot the wings with a paper towel and press down on the wings to absorb even more moisture.
Toss with Oil or Baking Powder (not baking soda!): Toss with a little oil so the skin crisps up beautifully.
Arrange: Place the wings on a wire rack in a single layer with the skin side up.
Bake at a High Heat: Bake until well-browned, and ultra-crispy.
Season: Mix melted butter and seasoning together and brush liberally onto the wings.

More Tips for Perfect Chicken Wings

Use Any Rub or Seasoning: You can use any rub or seasoning to make as many flavors as you like! I would caution you to adjust amounts as needed based upon how strong the flavor of your seasoning is. With something more salty or spicy I'd scale back a bit. When in doubt, go light and serve extra butter/seasoning mixture at the table for those who'd like more. You shouldn't need to increase the amount of butter; it will just be a little thicker which is fine (in fact, it's preferable).
Seasoning Optional: You don't always need to season your chicken before baking. Yes, seasoning is almost always essential but with this method you don't want to risk your chicken being too salty. The seasoning you choose and how salty it is will determine whether or not it's a good idea to season first.
Lightly Coast Wings With Oil: It doesn't take much to coat wings and too much will make them pop and splatter.
Don't Crowd the Rack: Placing the wings so the air can circulate around them for even cooking.
Internal Temperature: For health and safety, chicken wings should reach an internal temperature of 165°F. Use a digital thermometer for an exact temperature reading.
Line the Pan: Cleanup will be easier if you line the pan with foil to catch the drippings.

How to Reheat Wings: Top Four Methods

Leftover wings isn't something common around here, but since it has happened on a rare occasion or two, let's get into how to reheat wings! The following four methods work best for chicken wings, regardless of how they were initially cooked.

Before we get started, here's a quick pro tip: Let refrigerated wings come to room temp for 10-15 minutes before reheating to help them cook evenly.

Oven

The oven works exceptionally well, which is why it is highly recommended. Best of all, pretty much everyone has an oven of some type, including countertop convection ovens. Ovens deliver more than adequate heat circulation and even heating. Because of that, you can achieve leftover wings that are crispy on the exterior and juicy on the interior. Here's how to reheat wings in an oven:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place the wings on a baking sheet, preferably fitted with a wire rack to promote even heat circulation. Even if your sheet/rack has a nonstick coating, lightly brush the surface with oil to prevent sticking or lightly coat it with cooking spray.
Lightly spritz the chicken wings with water. Water may sound counterproductive to crispy skin, but the surface moisture will evaporate while assisting with moisture balance.
Place the wings into the oven for 12 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meatiest portion of a wing reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit and the exterior is crisp. Flip the wings halfway through if you are not using a wire rack.
Plate and serve.

In addition to your standard oven range, you can reheat wings in a countertop convection oven or a toaster oven with a "convection" or "bake" setting. Convection ovens are very efficient and generally cook and reheat food faster, so watch the wings closely since they will probably reheat more quickly.

Broiler

Alternatively, you can use your oven's broiler. Here's how to reheat wings with this method:

Set the broiler to high with the rack positioned 6-8 inches from the heating element.
Line a baking sheet with foil, lightly brush it with oil to prevent sticking, then arrange the wings in a single layer.
Broil the wings for 5 minutes, flipping them halfway through.

Air Fryer

Reheating wings in an air fryer offers several advantages. First, air fryers use hot air circulation, resulting in a crisp exterior and tender interior as the circulating heat reaches all surfaces of each wing. In addition to positively impacting texture, air fryers reheat food quickly, and cleanup is easy. Here's how to reheat wings in an air fryer:

Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place the wings in a single layer in the air fryer basket.
Lightly spritz the wings with a neutral-flavored oil like vegetable or canola. If you don't have an oil spray bottle, lightly brush the wings with oil.
Reheat the wings in the air fryer for about 10 minutes, flipping them halfway through until the meatiest portion of a chicken wing reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Stovetop (with exceptions)

Another way to reheat wings is on the stovetop, but you should only use this method if the wings were previously fried (with or without batter or dredge). Simply putting wings in a hot skillet and reheating them on the stove without the amount of oil needed to fry will result in uneven heating. If you cover the skillet, even lightly, to promote heat circulation, the wings will steam, resulting in chewy, soggy skin. To reheat previously fried wings on your stovetop:

Fill a large, deep pan with ¼ inch of oil.
Heat the oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Carefully transfer the wings to the oil, ensuring not to overcrowd the pan.
Reheat the wings for 3 minutes per side - carefully flip them halfway through.
Transfer the wings to a plate lined with paper towels to drain excess oil.