Oil-Free Chicken Wings: The Ultimate Recipe
Crispy, flavorful, and ridiculously easy—no oil, no mess, just perfect wings every time.
If you know me, you know I love chicken wings. And so does Will. We make wings every weekend during football season and for just about every big sporting event we watch at home. Over the years, I’ve tested every method you can think of—frying, baking, air-frying, you name it. I used to deep-fry them, but my house always smelled like oil, and I was spending way too much money on avocado oil. Then I switched to baking and used a baking rack, but cleaning that thing was a nightmare. Little chicken bits would get stuck in all the little corners of the rack, and eventually, I had enough.
That’s when I discovered the best method: no oil, no rack, just perfectly crispy wings that are ridiculously easy to prepare, cook, and clean up. It turns out that the healthiest version also happens to be the tastiest and crispiest.
What You Need to Know Before You Start
The Right Wings: I use Bell & Evans cut wings (usually the organic ones). 2 packages usually end up being about 3.5 lbs. If you’re using larger wings, you’ll need to add more cooking time.
How Many Wings to Make: If wings are the main dish, plan for about 1.5 lbs per person. If they’re part of a larger spread, ¾ lb per person should be plenty.
Spacing is Key: Treat them like cookies that spread and leave space between each wing—if you put them too close together, they’ll steam instead of crisp.
Simple Seasoning: These wings are seasoned but meant to be tossed in your favorite sauces or dry rubs after cooking.
No Black Pepper: It burns at high temps.
Minimal Salt: There’s sodium in baking powder and most sauces.
Ingredients (for 3.5 lbs of wings):
3.5 lbs chicken wings
1 ¾ tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¾ tsp garlic powder
¾ tsp onion powder
¾ tsp paprika
Your favorite sauce(s), warmed (for tossing at the end)
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 425°F.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper (use as many trays as needed, ensuring they fit on your oven racks).
Wash and trim wings (if desired) in a colander, then transfer them to a long baking dish lined with paper towels. Pat them dry with additional paper towels—moisture is the enemy of crispiness.
Season the wings by sprinkling the baking powder, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika over them. Toss until evenly coated.
Arrange on baking sheets, leaving plenty of space between each wing.
Bake for about 1 hour, checking every 20 minutes. Halfway through, switch the trays to ensure even cooking. When the bottoms are crisp and the wings are golden brown, they’re done.
During the last 5 minutes of cooking, heat up your sauce or sauces so they’re warm when you toss the wings.
Toss the hot wings in your favorite sauce and serve immediately.
Serving Suggestions
I keep it classic with homemade ranch, celery, and carrots. Our go-to sauces are BBQ and buffalo, but these wings work with anything—just avoid anything too buttery, as it creates steam and softens the crispiness. Every now and then, I like to go all in on a Wingstop vibe and make some Cajun corn wheels to go with it.
Scaling the Recipe
1 lb: ½ tbsp baking powder, ⅛ tsp salt, ¼ tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp onion powder, ¼ tsp paprika
2 lbs: 1 tbsp baking powder, ¼ tsp salt, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp onion powder, ½ tsp paprika
4 lbs: 2 tbsp baking powder, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp paprika
5 lbs, 6 lbs, or even 10 lbs? Just follow the math and adjust accordingly!
No matter how many you make, just know that once you serve these, you’ll be on wing duty for every gathering from here on out. Enjoy!