Super crispy baked chicken wings coated with a garlic Parmesan wing sauce. These garlic Parmesan wings are the perfect game day or party food.
I recently tried garlic Parmesan wings for the first time and it inspired me to make these chicken wings. The versions I had eaten were twice-fried, and while I make fried wings at home, too, I wanted to do a healthier baked wing recipe for these.
Ingredients
- Chicken wings
- Salt
- Baking powder
- Unsalted butter
- Garlic powder
- Grated Parmesan cheese
- Minced fresh parsley
Chicken wings: I like to use wings that have already been separated into drumettes and wingettes. You can use frozen wings, but you will need to thaw them and pat them dry. I use seven pounds of chicken wings for this recipe, which serves about 12 people as an appetizer. This is a good amount for parties, especially if you’re serving other snacks.
Salt: This adds flavor but also helps the wings get crispy while they bake. Salt draws out the moisture from the skin so it gets crispy.
Baking powder: This is the key ingredient for achieving super crispy wings. Like the salt, the baking powder dries out the chicken skin allowing it to crisp up as it bakes.
Garlic parmesan sauce: The butter, garlic powder, and Parmesan are used to make the wing sauce.
How to Make Them
You will need baking sheets and oven-safe metal baking racks (like the ones used to cool cookies). Placing the chicken wings on the racks allows air to circulate around them so all of the chicken wings turn crispy, not just the top. This also means you don’t have to flip the wings over while they’re baking.
Place the chicken wings in an even layer on the baking racks. They can be close together but not touching each other so all of the skin is exposed to the oven heat.
The chicken wings are baked in two stages: For the first stage, place the baking sheet in the lower half of the oven and bake the wings for 30 minutes at 250°F. This first stage renders the fat from the chicken wings slowly without browning the skin.
After 30 minutes, remove the wings from the oven and increase the heat to 425°F. Once the oven reaches temperature, place the wings in the top half of the oven. Bake the wings for 50 minutes. During this stage, the chicken will cook through, and the skin will turn golden and crispy.
I like to let the wings cool for about 10 minutes. During this time, you can make the garlic parmesan wing sauce. Melt the butter and add the garlic powder and Parmesan. Stir and then brush the sauce on the baked wings.
Recipe Tips
Be sure to pat your chicken wings dry before baking them. This removes excess moisture, which is important for achieving super crispy skin.
I think they are best when they are hot from the oven, but you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a few days. The skin will soften but they’ll still be good. If you have an air fryer, I recommend that you air fry them for reheating, which will help crisp up the skin again.
This recipe makes a big batch of chicken wings, and you can use two sheet pans and bake two batches at the same time.
For the first stage, position two oven racks in the lower half of the oven and place a baking sheet on each.
For the second stage, move the oven racks up. When the wings on the top sheet pan are golden and crispy, remove them from the oven.
If the wings on the bottom baking sheet are not quite done, you can move that sheet up to the top rack and bake the wings for five to ten minutes longer or until the wings are crispy.
Once the wings were finished, I brushed them with a garlic Parmesan wing sauce. Then I sprinkled on more parmesan and parsley. I served them with chipotle ranch dip, but they’d also be great with blue cheese dressing or plain ranch dressing on the side for dipping.
This garlic Parmesan wings recipe came out so good! I couldn’t stop eating them as I was trying to plate them for a photo – I really love the flavor of the wings with Parmesan sauce. Luckily, I made a really big batch.
More Chicken Wing Recipes
- 2 Ingredient Super Crispy Chicken Wings
- Baked Tequila Chicken Wings
- Golden Fried Chicken Wings
- BBQ Chicken Wings
Baked Garlic Parmesan Wings
Ingredients
- 7 lbs chicken wings (see note)
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp baking powder not baking soda!
Sauce
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese plus additional for topping
- 1 tbsp minced parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with foil. Place an oven-safe cooling wire rack on top of each baking sheet and generously spray racks with cooking oil spray.
- Pat the wings dry with paper towels.
- In a large bowl, add wings and sprinkle with salt and baking powder. Toss the wings until they are evenly coated in the baking powder and salt.
- Place the wings side by side onto the cooling racks. They should be close together but not touching each other.
- Bake for 30 minutes in the lower half section of the oven. After 30 minutes, the wings should look smaller (from the skin being dried out and fat rendered off) but still very pale.
- Raise oven temperature to 425°F. Place wings back into the oven, this time in the upper middle section of the oven. Bake wings for about 50 minutes. Wings should be golden brown and when you touch the skin, it should feel crispy. If you had to use a lower rack for your second baking sheet, these may need slightly more time. You can place them in the upper section of the oven after removing the top sheet and bake for about another 5 minutes or until golden. Allow the wings to cool for about 10 minutes, which should crisp the skin even more.
- While wings are cooling, make the sauce. In a small saucepan, add butter, garlic and 1/4 cup cheese. Stir and cook until butter is melted. Use a pastry or basting brush and brush wings generously with sauce, making sure to brush on the garlic powder and cheese. Sprinkle wings with additional parmesan cheese and parsley. Serve while wings are still warm and crispy. They taste great on their own or with a side of ranch dressing.
Notes
- For best results use wings that have already been divided into drumettes and wingettes.
- Nutrition estimate does not include the extra cheese for garnish.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
What’s the baking powder for? Or should I ask what does it do?
as explained in the post, the baking powder dries out the skin so that it crisps up even more.
Mmm these look awesome. The suggestion of serving it in ranch? Level up!
Have you tried using an airless fryer to cook up wings? I’ve tried mine once for sweet potatoes and they came out a little mushy. I think I overcrowded the pan. You can’t fit one serving in a one layer space of that fryer… 🙂
I have not tried making with airless fryer. My fryer is pretty small, and yes, you can’t put too much in there. I use my airless fryer mainly for reheating fried foods