These Buffalo Chicken Wings are delectable, juicy, and delicious. These crispy buffalo wings are tender inside, and super easy to make! If you enjoy KFC, Buffalo Wild Wings, or Applebees, this dish is sure to please! These chicken wings are always a crowd-pleaser, whether you're planning a party or just looking for a quick and easy meal.
In this post, you'll learn how to make the perfect golden brown, crispy and delicious wings right at home by either baking them or frying them. When you add Buffalo sauce to your wings, you'll be amazed by how flavorful and addictive they are! This wings recipe is perfect for any holidays or occasions, like game day, the super bowl, Thanksgiving, New Year, or any other time!
I hope you enjoy this recipe! ❤️ If you give it a try, please let me know how it turned out for you in the comments section at the bottom of the page or share a pic of your om noms on Instagram and tag @dishesanddustbunnies! ❤️
Be sure to see the recipe card at the bottom of the post for full ingredients & instructions!
Why is it called Buffalo wings?
There are two people who both claim they created Buffalo Wings, so it turns out that the origin of buffalo wings is up for debate and not without controversy, though Buffalo, New York is indeed the place where these wings were popularized.
One story credits Teressa Bellissimo, who is said to have made the wings as a quick, improvised snack for her son and his friends when they arrived unannounced from college in the late hours at her Buffalo, New York restaurant The Anchor Bar in 1964. By deep frying leftover chicken wings that would usually go unused and covering them in cayenne pepper sauce she invented the Buffalo wings on a whim!
Before the 1960's, before deep frying chicken wings and covering them in sauce gained popularity, chicken wings themselves were considered an undesirable part of the chicken, and not consumed by themselves but only used for stock or soup.
It has also been claimed that John Young, who moved to Buffalo from Alabama was serving breaded, deep fried chicken wings tossed in a tomato based sauce of his own invention as early as 1961 in his restaurant known as John Young's Wings ‘n Things.
In any event, it is clear that Buffalo wings were indeed invented in Buffalo and it was really not until the late 1960's when chicken wings were being deep fried, breaded and drenched in sauce that people began to love wings and chicken wings finally became a popular food.
What Ingredients are used to make Buffalo Wings?
Just a few ingredients are needed: Chicken wings, cornstarch, garlic powder and the buffalo sauce itself. You can use my homemade Buffalo Sauce recipe, or buying a premade bottle at the grocery store works too.
How to make Buffalo Wings – Overview
Delicious chicken wings are so easy to make at home! You can find the full instructions and ingredient amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the page, but first, here's a simple overview of how to make wings at home.
Make the wing sauce – more on that below!
Prepare the wings – Before cooking your wings, it's important to make sure that you prep them by drying them off with paper towels. Removing as much excess moisture as possible will give them a deliciously crisp texture. After patting them dry, toss and coat the wings with the dry seasoning mix – cornstarch and garlic powder.
Cook the wings – Next, cook the wings! In the recipe card at the bottom of the page, I've included a couple of different methods. In this post, I've included instructions for oven baked wings and for deep fried – I'll be adding more methods as I try them! Personally, I prefer deep fried wings since they're closest to restaurant quality but baked buffalo wings are great too!
After frying your wings, it a good idea to let them drain on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet rather than on a paper towel to maintain their crispness.
Toss the wings with the sauce – After cooking your wings, add them to a mixing bowl and then toss wings in the sauce. Now they're ready to serve!
How to make Buffalo Sauce for Wings
Making the sauce for your buffalo wings is simple!
If you're making homemade buffalo sauce, please make sure to prepare it before starting your wings so it's ready to go. If you're using store bought buffalo sauce (like Franks Hot Sauce or Red Hot Sauce), that's ok too!
To be prepared, I find it helps to pour the sauce into a large mixing bowl. That way, as soon as the wings are finished cooking, you can toss them and serve them right away. Yum! 😋
Do you put Buffalo sauce on wings before or after cooking?
The key to getting the perfect balance of sauce to meat is to apply the sauce after cooking. This will allow the sauce to stick to the wing without making it soggy. Barbecue and teriyaki are wet sauces and applying them before cooking would make the wings too soggy.
How do you get Buffalo sauce to stick to chicken wings?
The key to making sure the sauce sticks to your wings is to remove excess moisture from them before cooking, and also that they are coated in the cornstarch dry seasoning mix. The sauce sticks best to crisp wings!
Is it better to fry or bake wings?
You can bake chicken wings, but fried wings will be crispier. If you like your wings with the skin super crispy then frying is the way to go!
Baked chicken wings will have a slightly softer skin. If you prefer your wings with a softer skin, baking is the better option. You can try making crispy baked wings if you prefer, but frying will get you the crispest results!
Fried wings are the traditional method of preparation and tend to be more popular. I personally prefer fried wings because they're crispier, and to me crispy skin gives them a more appetizing, better texture. So for me the best buffalo wings are fried.
In the recipe at the bottom of this post, I've included alternative cooking instructions to make crispy BAKED buffalo wings if you prefer.
How do I make perfect crispy wings?
There are a few ways to ensure your chicken wings turn out perfectly crispy and delicious like the ones you get in the restaurants;
- Frying wings will create a crispier texture, rather than baking them. If you want to bake your wings, that's ok too, but I find they just don't compare.
- Before cooking, it's important to prep the wings by removing excess moisture from them.
- Pat them with paper towels
- Toss them in a dry seasoning mixture containing cornstarch. The cornstarch works amazingly to remove moisture and creates the right crisp texture!
- If you're baking the wings, you can remove excess moisture by boiling them first. I talk about this in the next section below.
Should you marinate chicken wings before frying?
For this recipe, there is no need to marinate the wings before frying! These wings will be super flavorful and absolutely amazing without marinating – make them according to the recipe at the bottom of the page and you're good to go!
Should you boil wings before deep frying?
When deep-frying chicken wings, you do not have to boil them beforehand. Deep frying works very well in rendering the fat and removing excess moisture from the wings to make them crispy.
If you choose to bake your wings, it's recommended to boil them first. Baking your wings in the oven, while a healthier option, will not usually give them that crispy deliciousness that you're looking for with wings. Boiling the wings before baking will help to remove excess moisture and fat from the skin. In the recipe at the bottom of the page, I'll go over how best to make your baked wings crisp and irresistible.
How to Serve Buffalo Chicken Wings
Traditionally Buffalo wings are served along with blue cheese dressing, some ranch dressing or your favorite dipping sauce! Be sure to set out some tongs with the patter for serving. Remember for when you serve wings: Blue cheese dip has a very strong flavor while ranch dressing is milder and thus may be more agreeable to some than blue cheese.
Storing Leftovers
If you have leftover chicken wings, you can store them in the fridge in an airtight container for about 2 days. When frozen, chicken wings will last in the freezer for up to 6 months.
To reheat your leftover wings, preheat the oven to 200°F. Place the wings on a foil lined baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until they are heated through (frozen will take about 25 minutes or more).
What goes with Buffalo Wings?
Serve buffalo wings along with:
- celery sticks, carrot sticks, etc
- Steak and Salsa Taco Bites
- Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts
- Fried Rice
- Onion Rings
- Cornbread
- Mac and Cheese
- Pasta Salad
- Coleslaw
- Creamy Potato Salad with Bacon
- Crispy Seasoned Potato Wedges, and other crisp potato sides, like fries
- Green salad
- Corn on the cob
- Roasted veggies
- Ranch Dressing
More chicken wings recipes you'll enjoy:
Buffalo Wings
- Total Time: 35-45 minutes
- Yield: 2 lbs of wings 1x
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken wings
- 2 tbsps cornstarch
- 1 ½ tsp garlic powder
- 2 cups or more of Buffalo Sauce – You can use my homemade Buffalo Sauce recipe, or a bottle of store bought is fine too!
Instructions
Prepare the Buffalo Sauce
If you're making homemade buffalo sauce, please make sure to prepare it before starting your wings so it's ready to go. If you're using store bought buffalo sauce (like Frank's Red Hot Sauce Buffalo), that's ok too!
To be prepared, I find it helps to pour the sauce into a large mixing bowl and set it aside until ready to coat the wings. That way, as soon as the wings are finished cooking, you can toss them and serve right away.
Prepare the Wings for Cooking
Before cooking the wings, you need to prepare them!
- Note: If you're planning on baking your chicken wings, you'll need to boil them in water for about 10 minutes before moving on to the next step. This step is not necessary if you're frying the wings.
- Pat chicken wings with paper towel to remove excess moisture. The more moisture you remove, the better! This will help them become crisp!
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cornstarch and garlic powder.
- Add the wings to the bowl and toss with the cornstarch mixture. Set aside until ready to cook (deep fry, bake, etc. – see below).
How to Deep Fry Chicken Wings
- Preheat the deep fryer to 375°F.
- Add wings to the frying basket and place them into the fryer. Cook for about 10-15 minutes. Please keep in mind, depending on the size of your frying basket; you may need to cook the wings in batches – that's how I do it!
- Once the wings have cooked, allow them to drain for a few minutes.
- Toss the wings in a mixing bowl along with the Buffalo sauce, then transfer to a serving plate and serve.
How to Bake Chicken Wings
- Preheat the oven to 375°F
- Reminder: Before baking the wings (as mentioned under the “Prepare The Wings for Cooking” section above), you'll need to boil them – This will help remove excess fat and liquid from the wings and result in the best texture. Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add the chicken wings and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove the wings from the pot, allow them to drain, then pat them completely dry with paper towels. Next, toss them in the dry seasonings described in the “Prepare the Wings for Cooking” section above.
- Place the wings on a wire baking rack (like this one) on top of a baking sheet.
- Place the seasoned wings on the rack – try to place them, so none are touching. Giving space between them will help them crisp up. 🙂
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until crisp to your liking.
- Once they've finished baking, in a mixing bowl, toss the wings in the prepared wing sauce and place them back onto the wire rack on the baking sheet.
- Place the wings back in the oven and Broil for 6-8 minutes. You want the heat to “glue” the sauce to the wings. 🙂
Looking for another cooking method for wings? As I try out different methods, I'll add them here!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15-25 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Baking, Frying
- Cuisine: American
