These spicy baked chicken wings are slathered in hot sauce and baked until crispy and golden. Consider it a healthy-ish alternative to the classic Buffalo wing that doesn’t sacrifice anything in flavor.
There’s a small town in Texas called Buffalo. It’s located between Dallas and Houston, and the town’s name has always stuck with me when thinking about spicy chicken wings, which are often called Buffalo wings. When I was young, because said chicken wings are spicy, I assumed they were named after this small Texas town. But no, they’re named after a town in upstate New York on the Canadian border, a place that’s decidedly not known for its spicy cuisine. To eliminate any confusion, I want to explain that this spicy baked chicken wings recipe packs plenty of heat. They’re a perfect party food, and they always go fast, so if you’re serving a crowd you might want to double the recipe.–Lisa Fain
LC Spicy Baked Chicken Wings?! Note
And while the dish’s origins may be in the Northeast, there’s no question that this version has its roots firmly planted in Texas—Buffalo and beyond. [Uh, baked chicken wings?! As in, chicken wings without the butter, deep-frying, or grease-splattered stovetop? Count us in. Wherever they hail from.]
☞ Contents
Spicy Baked Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil, for the baking sheet
- Salt, to taste
- 2 pounds chicken wings wing tips removed, wings separated into flats and drumettes with a sharp knife or a pair of kitchen shears
- 1 cup vinegar-based hot sauce (such as Cholula, Tapatío, or Frank’s RedHot)
- Blue Cheese Dip for serving
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Slick a rimmed baking sheet with just a little oil.
- Lightly salt the wings and then toss them with 1/2 cup hot sauce. Using tongs, place the wings on the baking sheet in a single layer and bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes, flipping once after about 25 minutes.
- Remove the wings from the oven and turn on the broiler. Using tongs, pluck the wings from the baking sheet and plop them in a clean bowl. Toss with the remaining 1/2 cup hot sauce. Drain the fat from the baking sheet and discard. Return the wings to the baking sheet and broil for 1 to 2 minutes, until brown speckles begin to appear. (If you prefer your wings obscenely crisp-skinned, use those tongs to flip the wings one last time and leave them under the broiler for another 1 to 2 minutes.)
- Pile the Spicy Baked Chicken Wings onto a platter or plate and set them out while still warm with the Blue Cheese Dip on the side for dipping (and lots of napkins).
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Recipe Testers’ Reviews
These spicy baked chicken wings are the kind that you just can’t stop eating. This is probably the easiest chicken wings recipe I have found to date. I used Frank’s RedHot Sauce to coat the wings. The hardest part is the long baking time. I found after 45 minutes they were lightly browned but weren’t terribly crisp, so I gave them another 10 minutes. Then I tossed them in the other half of the sauce and broiled them for 4 minutes until they were a mahogany hue and very crisp. They had a little heat and very crisp skin. Since my family are not fans of blue cheese, I made a lovely ranch dressing and cut up some heirloom carrots to go with. As soon as they finished eating a wing, they were grabbing for another one. The recipe does double easily with just a small time adjustment for the roasting, approximately 10 minutes per extra pound. Out of the 4 pounds of wings I made, I have 8 little wings left for tomorrow. This recipe is a definite keeper. It will be interesting to try this with other types of hot sauce.
What can I say? I love hot wings, and this spicy baked chicken wings recipe gave me everything I wanted. I really like that they’re super easy, quick, and baked. They had a perfect amount of heat—not too hot, perfectly cooked, and covered with a nice messy sauce (I had to give everyone extra napkins). I followed the recipe exactly as written, and they turned out perfectly. Two pounds made 24 wings (without tips) and drumettes. They went perfectly with the Blue Cheese Dip on the Leite’s Culinaria website. Oh, and that Blue Cheese Dip was the BEST I ‘veever had! Honestly! This one’s going to the top of my pile of wing recipes!
I love fried wings, but because deep frying can be messy, I’m always trying out recipes that are baked. This spicy baked chicken wings recipe didn’t make me miss fried chicken wings. I used Frank’s RedHot Sauce, as that’s what I had on hand. I was surprised that the wings didn’t come out hotter, and I think it’s because the sauce had trouble clinging to the wings, probably since they’re not coated in any flour. Because of this, I think you could get by using less sauce to toss the wings. For those of you looking for a spicier wing, I’d recommend doing an additional toss of sauce after they’ve finished under the broiler.
I just had an impromptu dinner party, and I needed something really fast to throw together. This was the perfect dish! Everyone raved about these spicy baked chicken wings! They turned out perfectly. I’ve made a lot of wing recipes, and this was by far the easiest, simplest preparation of any I’ve tried. The only tweak I made to the recipe was to keep them under the broiler for a few extra minutes (I like my wings really crisp) and to flip them so both sides of the wings were browned. Some of my guests were worried the baked chicken wings would be too spicy just from the smell of the Frank’s RedHot Sauce, but the wings had just the right amount of heat. Even the heat wimps were in heaven. A definite recipe to repeat.
Wings, hot sauce, and blue cheese! This trio is always a winner, yielding terrific flavor with very minimal effort. This spicy baked chicken wings recipe is a great staple for those insanely over-scheduled days or weekends. Many recipes call for the use of butter integrated into the hot sauce. This baked chicken wings recipe does not and allows for the above mentioned trio to shine. With that being said, I prefer to LIGHTLY spray a bit of oil on the wings, using my Misto, before tossing them in my preferred hot sauce. My go-to sauce is Frank’s RedHot Sauce (the Original recipe), and the Blue Cheese Dip recipe on this site rocks! Call it psychology or mind games, but raw carrots and celery are a terrific sidecar.
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If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #LeitesCulinaria. We'd love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Excellent. Tasty and made well done/crispy the way I like.
Thanks, Postell! We’re delighted that you enjoyed them so much.
FYI not sure where you got the info as far as Buffalo NY not known for its spicy wings but Franks is a very popular sauce here and most wing places always have a spicy hot version of the wing. just thought I would give you some insight. If you are in doubt attend the WIng festival which is an annual event in Buffalo and you will get a taste of it all.
Prudencio, I don’t think Lisa is saying that Buffalo isn’t known for its spicy wings–she’s saying that Buffalo is known for spicy wings, but not spicy food in general!
Cooked this recipe on the weekend, couldn’t find any of these hot sauces (Cholula, Tapatío, or Frank’s RedHot) as I live in Russia, so I made my own hot sauce using several hot sauces I had at home and a bit of white wine vinegar, it turned out to be pretty good. I baked the wings 25 minutes on each side and to make them a bit crispier I fried them for about a minute from each side on a frying pan after I removed them from the oven. Blue Cheese Dip is perfect for these wings.
I would definitely cook this again. Delicious.
Kristina, I’m so delighted you were able to make the recipe work–all the over there in Russia! When I visit St. Petersburg, I’ll make sure to bring over some hot sauces for you!
There’s no doubt that with the weather getting warmer here in Missouri I will be doing these on the grill, maybe with a caprese salad alongside or roasted vegetables. I’m trying to do paleo and it’s been difficult doing without pasta or bread but the longer I’m away from those things the less I miss them and have been actually really enjoying vegetables and salad.
Midge, magnificent to hear! I am so thrilled to hear that you’re acclimating to your new approach to food. You’re right, it takes time and patience, but sounds like you’re reaping the rewards and enjoying trying some new ingredients.
So many great recipes for wings. I make wings or drumettes at least 2 times a month. We enjoy them so many ways but the first choice is 1/2 cup melted butter, 1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce. I will even marinate them if I have time, usually, though, I just brush and bake.
Sounds excellent, Jennifer. And fiery!