Best Homemade Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings

This baked buffalo chicken wings recipe is the ultimate easy party food. It's the "set it and forget it" that turns out great with little tending and is devoured in seconds. In fact, this is that one appetizer or party food that is rarely leftover after the party. With this simple baked version, you don't have to stand over the fryer and can still have crispy delicious wings!

Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings

While I think of chicken wings, I immediately think buffalo. It's the most common item on most menus featuring wings. In fact, it's so popular and loved that the chain restaurant, Buffalo Wild Wings, is all about these. This recipe takes inspiration from popular versions, but is much easier to make and requires less tending while cooking. If you are a busy parent, then you know how that helps a ton at dinner time or when prepping for a party.

For those serving these up at a party with vegetarians in attendance, you can whip up a batch of these buffalo cauliflower bites. They are a great addition to your buffalo flavored food trend that are easy for anyone to enjoy with zero guilt.

Are Buffalo Wings Spicy?

Yes and no. Simply put, they pack heat, but it's not so bad that you can't enjoy the flavor. The spice in buffalo sauce is more about rich flavor and less about burning away your taste buds. These have a mild spiciness that works perfectly with chicken as a base. The meat and skin soak up the sauce so you have a little spice in every bite, but aren't overwhelmed.

That said, if you are sensitive to hot peppers, then you may not like the heat in this. Buffalo sauce is made from a combination of hot sauce, butter, and seasonings, but is primarily the hot pepper sauce. One thing to remember when making this is that the type of hot sauce you use in your buffalo sauce is important in how spicy they will be. When in doubt, use Frank's Red Buffalo Sauce or hot sauce as a base for your homemade buffalo sauce.

If you need to cool off after having a few wings, you might want to serve up some crunchy Parmesan garlic baked potatoes with yogurt dip. The perfect choice to cool down after a hot bite of wings. You could even serve some of these salt and pepper chicken wings instead for the same crunchy yumminess without the heat.

Do I Need to Cut The Wings Apart?

While I prefer to leave the wings together, my husband prefers the pieces cut apart for easier handling. This depends solely upon your preferences. If you like a little less mess when eating your buffalo chicken wings, then cut the wings apart before baking.

What are the Different Parts of the Wing?

The chicken wing has three distinct parts. They include the drumette which looks the most like a chicken leg, only in miniature. The wingette is the portion with less meat but still a part of the wing. Finally, the tip is the part that really has no meat at all. This is sometimes called the flapper, and is most commonly removed completely when making chicken wing recipes like this one.

Slicing between the drumette and wingette creates two pieces for easy handling. I prefer this method as it creates more servings for a party, but also means it is much easier for me to eat without making a mess.

Aren't Chicken Wings Deep Fried?

Sometimes, yes. The original preparation of buffalo chicken wings was definitely a deep fried version. Rather than being battered and fried like you would see at your local fried chicken restaurant, the buffalo wing is just lightly seasoned and fried. This creates a crispy skin that soaks up the yummy sauce without getting soggy.

Frying is not necessary and can be very messy as well as time consuming. Baking the wings still renders the fat of the skin down so it is crispy, and it creates much less mess to clean up. Having had both versions, I see no difference in flavor, but much prefer baked when making at home.

What Buffalo Sauce Should I Use?

I like to use my homemade buffalo sauce recipe since I already have those ingredients on hand at all times. My family prefers using Frank's Red hot sauce. Frank's has a ready-made buffalo sauce that you can pick up and keep on hand, but I like to make my own using their hot sauce and other ingredients.

If you have leftover buffalo sauce, use it in this buffalo chicken dip recipe or on these buffalo chicken enchiladas. So delicious and super easy to whip up!

What do You Serve with Buffalo Wings

Typically you will see buffalo chicken wings served with a side of carrot sticks and celery sticks along with dressing of some kind. Traditionally it is served with blue cheese dressing. I, however, do not like blue cheese so would serve with ranch dressing or ranch dip. My husband, he loves blue cheese. So, we do a little of each to satisfy both sides of the family.

He loves this creamy blue cheese dip recipe to go with anything buffalo. It also goes great with pita chips or even with these crispy air fryer chicken taquitos if you want something else to serve up to your guests.

Ingredients

• Chicken wings
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Smoked paprika
• Buffalo sauce

How to Make Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line your baking sheet with aluminum foil. You may need more than one baking sheet, depending upon how many wings you are preparing.

Add an oven safe wire rack to the baking sheet.

In a large bowl, toss the wings, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion power, and paprika together until the chicken is nicely seasoned on all sides.

Lay the chicken wings in a single layer on the wire rack of the baking sheet. If working with larger wings or a large batch, you may need multiple baking sheets.

Bake for 45 minutes until the skin is crispy and golden.

In a clean large bowl, add the cooked wings and buffalo sauce then stir to combine and coat all well.

Serve with celery and carrot sticks as well as your favorite dipping sauces. Ranch and blue cheese are common.

More Appetizer Recipes You'll Love

If you don't have enough ideas yet for yummy snacks and appetizers, I have more! We love snacking and love finger food parties, so of course I have more delicious recipes that are sure to suit your needs. Whether it's spicy, creamy, savory, or for dipping, the list below is sure to be what you need.

• No-Bake Jalapeno Cheese Balls with Bacon and Chives
• Crispy Baked Zucchini Chips Snack Recipe
• Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites with Cheddar Queso
• Baked Avocado Fries with Jalapeno Sauce Recipe
• Taco Dip Recipe
• Baked Tortellini Bites

Chef's Tip

If you like supporting small business and trying new spice blends, check out FlourandHerbs buffalo wings spice on Etsy. This little shop creates delicious spice blends for many of your favorite dishes.

Continue to Content

📖 Recipe

Yield: 8

Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings

Print

Delicious crispy and ever so slightly spicy homemade baked buffalo chicken wings are a hit at every party!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 3 lb chicken wings
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 2 cups buffalo sauce

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil;
2. Place an oven safe wire rack onto the prepared pan;
3. In a large bowl, place the chicken wings, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika then toss well so that the wings are nicely coated;
4. Arrange the wings onto the wire rack in a single layer;
5. Bake for 45 minutes until crispy and golden;
6. In a large bowl, add the wings and buffalo sauce then toss to combine;
7. Serve with celery, carrots, ranch, or blue cheese dressing.

Notes

For easier snacking, cut the wings apart into wingettes and drumettes.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 568Total Fat: 42gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 23gCholesterol: 139mgSodium: 2467mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 29g