Crispy, Chinese-style salt and pepper wings are oven baked rather than deep fried. The wings are then tossed in a garlic, salt and pepper mix. It’s a little healthier, easier to make and just as tasty as the traditional method.
One of my all-time favorite ways to eat chicken wings are salt and pepper chicken wings. Traditionally, chicken wings are deep-fried until golden and then tossed in a garlic, salt, and pepper mix. The wings come out super flavorful, with a garlicky, spicy kick to them.
I’ve made them several times before as appetizers for parties or for dinner, but they are time-consuming and I don’t like frying foods when I can avoid it.
As you may recall, I recently discovered a fantastic recipe for super crispy baked chicken wings. I immediately knew I wanted to use that method to make my salt and pepper wings.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch
- Water
- Chicken wings/drumettes
- Vegetable oil
- Minced garlic cloves
- Olive oil
- Finely chopped scallions/green onions
- Red chili flakes
Salt and pepper seasoning can be found at Asian markets or you can make your own. Combine two parts black pepper, 1 part white pepper, and 1 part salt.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 250°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Place a wire rack on top and coat the surface with cooking spray.
Place the wings in a large bowl and sprinkle salt and baking powder over the top. Toss the wings until they are evenly coated.
Place the wings on the rack. They should be in a single layer and not touching. Place the pan in the lower half of the oven. Bake the chicken wings for 30 minutes. They will shrink while they bake and will be very pale when they are done.
Increase the oven temperature to 425°F. Move the pan to the upper-middle part of the oven. Bake them for about 50 minutes or until they are golden brown and crispy.
Leave them on the baking tray and cool them at room temperature for 10 minutes. They will crisp up more as they cool.
In a large skillet, pan, or wok combine the olive oil and garlic. Warm them over medium heat and cook the garlic until it’s browned and crisp. Adjust the heat to low and add the red pepper flakes and cook the mixture for about 30 seconds.
Add the cooled chicken wings to the oil mixture and toss to coat them evenly. Sprinkle the pepper and salt seasoning, green onions, and toss again to coat.
Transfer the wings to a large plate and serve. You can also garnish with more sliced scallions if desired.
These came out wonderfully. Golden brown and crunchy, with all the flavors from traditional salt and pepper wings. I may never go back to making the fried version again.
As a side note, this recipe took longer to post than I expected. I made the recipe, I took my photos and then I ate my wings. And then somehow, my photos vanished.
I spent many, many hours going through each and every memory card but I couldn’t find them. And so I finally gave up because it would be faster to make them again than to continue looking. In all my years of blogging, I haven’t had something like this happen to me before.
And then the second time when I took the photos (I was extra careful and even had two cards recording the images), right after I finished, the memory card started to get an error. Luckily, my photos were still okay. But I was beginning to think this was a recipe that wasn’t ever going to be shared.
But I was determined to share this chicken wings recipe because I really enjoyed this easy baked method.
More Appetizer and Snack Ideas
- Korean Style Grilled Chicken Wings
- Crispy Baked Chicken Wings with Tequila Glaze
- Bacon Ranch Cheeseball Dip
Baked Salt and Pepper Wings
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken wings defrosted and patted dry with paper towels (I purchased ones already separated into first and second wing sections but you can also use full wings and separate them)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tbsp baking powder not baking soda!
Seasoning mix
- 1/2 head of garlic minced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 green scallions finely sliced
- 1-2 tsp red pepper flakes
- white pepper and salt please use white pepper and not black pepper; you can also use Chinese pepper salt seasoning blend for fried chicken available at Chinese supermarkets, see photo in this post; or you can use a combination of white pepper, salt and five spice powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250°F. Line a large baking sheet (half sheet pan size works) with foil. Place a cooling wire rack on top and spray surface with cooking oil spray.
- 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. You want the baking powder to be a thin coat on the wings and not still powdery.
- Place the wings closely side by side (but not touching) onto the cooling rack. All the wings should fit in a single layer.
- Bake for 30 minutes in the lower half of the oven. The wings should shrink (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. Allow the wings to cool for about 10 minutes, which will further crisp up the skin. Do not attempt to remove wings from the wire rack until you have allowed them to set because the bottom of the wings will firm and crisp up during this cooling time.
- In a large wok or skillet, add olive oil and garlic. Bring to medium heat and cook until garlic turns a light brown and crisps up. Lower heat to low and add in red pepper flakes and cook until the red pepper is infused into the oil (about 30 seconds).
- Add chicken to the oil and toss to coat in the red pepper flakes, garlic and oil. Sprinkle salt and white pepper seasoning and scallions and toss until chicken is evenly coated. Turn off heat and serve.
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.
Omg these wings were so, so good. Who knew baking powder was so magical? We also loved having the super flavor garlic/scallion/red pepper flakes mixed with the plain steamed rice we had with the wings, just delish! I had wondered how leftovers would hold up, but I needn’t have worried, because my husband and I killed the whole batch in one meal LOL, and he’s not even really a big wings guy. He is now though 😉 Thank you for a fantastic (and fantastically easy) recipe!
We’re so glad you liked the recipe!
Seems like 1 1/2 tbsp of baking powder is not enough for 3 lbs of chicken wings. Shouldn’t it be close to 3 tbsp for 3 lbs of wings?
Nope, the correct amount is 1 1/2 tablespoons. We hope you try the recipe soon!
I love salt and Pepper chicken wings so I’m deathly going to make these
Great! We hope you love them.
I want to try this recipe. But isn’t the baking powder a little too much? Is it for tenderizing? Let me know. Thank you.
the baking powder is used to get the skin crispy. it’s linked in this post but I explain it here: https://kirbiecravings.com/crispiest-baked-chicken-wings/
Made the wings and the were fantastic. Can the be frozen after making them?
yes!
I was thinking of baking the wings earler in the day and reheating with the last steps. Would you recommend doing that?
I haven’t tried it that way but I think it should work!
Ooh I was hoping you’d make S&P wings soon 😀 So glad that you were able to share the recipe! I will definitely try to make these.
S&P wings are the best!