These Honey BBQ Chicken Wings are delectable, juicy, and delicious. These chicken wings are crispy outside, 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 crispy chicken wings right at home by either baking them or frying them. When you add Honey BBQ sauce to your wings, you'll be amazed by how flavourful and addictive they are! They're perfect for any holidays or occasions, like game day, 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!
How to make Honey BBQ 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, black pepper, salt, chili powder, smoked paprika, 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. Personally, I prefer fried wings since they're closest to restaurant quality, but you prefer, you can also bake them.
Toss the wings with the sauce – After cooking your wings, add them to a mixing bowl and toss them in the sauce. Now they're ready to serve!
How to make Honey BBQ Sauce for Wings
Making the sauce for your honey barbecue wings is simple!
Begin by melting butter in a pot, then add all the remaining sauce ingredients and combine using a whisk. Cook for about 10 minutes, then set aside until ready to toss with the wings.
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! 😋
What's the best BBQ sauce for wings?
For this recipe, you can use whatever kind of barbecue sauce you enjoy the most. Personally, I enjoy using Sweet Baby Rays Original as it goes very well with the other spices and seasonings in the recipe.
How do you get honey BBQ 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!
How do I make crispy chicken wings?
There are a few ways to ensure your chicken wings turn out 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 Honey BBQ Baked Chicken Wings
Serve on a large platter along with some dipping sauce if you like! Be sure to set out some tongs with the patter for serving.
What goes with BBQ Honey Wings?
- 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 Dip
More wings recipes you'll enjoy:
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Honey BBQ Chicken Wings
- Total Time: 45 minute
- Yield: 2 lbs of wings 1x
Ingredients
Sauce Ingredients
- ¼ cup of butter, unsalted
- 1 cup BBQ Sauce – I used Sweet Baby Rays Original but feel free to us any you like!
- ½ cup honey
- 2 tbsp ketchup
Wing Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken wings
- 2 tbsps cornstarch
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp pepper
- 1 ½ tsp chili powder
- 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 1 ½ tsp garlic powder
Instructions
How to Make the Sauce
- Begin by melting butter in a pot over medium heat. Add all remaining sauce ingredients and combine using a whisk. Once it begins to bubble, turn down the heat in a simmer for about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside until ready to toss with the wings.
- 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 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, salt, pepper, chili powder, smoked paprika 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 Honey BBQ 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
