Is it any wonder we associate chicken wings with fun? Of course, any food you can eat with your hands is always fun (and maybe a little messy), but wings are often eaten at memorable events such as game day, cookouts, tailgating, or just hanging out with friends and family. Wings are guaranteed, crowd pleasers.
There’s just something about crispy, sticky chicken wings that you can’t say no to, especially when they’re served with a sauce, or ranch or blue cheese dressing. But who says chicken wings are just for game day? With a few sides, they also make a great dinner treat.
Below, you’ll find a wide variety of chicken wings to suit any taste. From classic BBQ, fried, and Buffalo wings to more far-flung wings that hail from Korea, Mexico, Iran, and Peru.
So next time you’re craving some good ol’ chicken wings, don’t reach for the takeout menu, give these delicious chicken wing recipes a whirl! As well as wings hailing from all over the globe, you’ll find chicken wings that can be baked, grilled, smoked, slow-cooked, or air-fried.
But no matter how you cook them, you’re sure to end up with some tasty chicken wings. Napkins at the ready…
Crispy Baked Buffalo Wings
How could we not start off our list with the king of wings? We’re talking about buffalo wings, of course! These buffalo wings are drenched in a homemade buffalo sauce that is easy to make.
In fact, these wings couldn’t be simpler to make and are sure to go down a treat. They’re crispy on the outside but tender and juicy on the inside.
Each wing is chopped into two pieces and dried well with kitchen towels to make sure they don’t absorb too much baking powder. Whatever you do, don’t use baking soda over baking powder with this recipe!
Baking powder may seem like an odd choice, admittedly, but it really brings out the moisture of the chicken and makes the skin extra crispy.
Sticky Asian Chicken Wings
These Asian-style chicken wings are sticky yet crispy, sweet yet savory, and covered in a gorgeous caramelized glaze. The star of any party, these wings are perfectly crisp and spicy.
BBQ Chicken Wings
These crispy chicken wings are drenched in a homemade barbecue sauce that is sweet and tangy and is sure to become a family favorite. But these chicken wings are just as a delight to make as they are to eat, as they’re easy to prepare, and you avoid the grease splatter associated with fried wings.
The recipe requires you to make a generous amount of barbecue sauce that leaves you with an extra cup to serve on the side, or to dip your fries in!
Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Wings
Cooking chicken wings in a crockpot may be a novel concept, but it makes cooking chicken wings so easy and quick that you’ll wonder why you haven’t been cooking them this way all along!
Just throw your wings in the slow cooker and make the dipping sauce right before you serve. With a beautiful garlic and ginger flavor and drenched in homemade teriyaki sauce, these wings don’t taste half bad either.
Baked Firecracker Chicken Wings
Another Asian-inspired wing, these baked firecracker chicken wings will delight any fan of firecracker sauce and are the perfect spicy and sticky wings for game day. The sauce is actually inspired by Chinese cuisine and is packed with spice.
Not to mention, it has a peppery punch! Bake these chicken wings in the oven to make sure the wings are perfectly crispy and sticky.
You can use chicken wingettes and drumettes for this recipe, as long as your wings are a similar size, so they cook evenly. You can also switch out honey for brown sugar, and you can find chili garlic sauce in most Asian grocery stores.
Dry-Rubbed Baked Chicken Wings
These baked chicken wings are coated in a delicious homemade dry rub that is sure to have your mouth watering! Serve with a creamy Gorgonzola dipping sauce, and you have chicken wings that are bound to go down a storm.
Not everybody is convinced by baked chicken wings, as chicken wings are traditionally deep-fried and tossed in a spicy sauce, but we think these chicken wings will prove the doubters wrong.
Slow Cooker Sweet Chili Chicken Wings
This recipe is all about convenience. These sweet chili chicken wings are cooked in the slow cooker to make your life easier, and this recipe even lets you add frozen chicken wings right to your crockpot.
Even from frozen, your wings will be tender and almost fall off the bone. Does it get more delicious than that?
Grilled Chicken Wings
These grilled chicken wings are covered in a tasty garlic coating and a lemon and herb marinade before being grilled until they’re beautifully golden brown. This simple, satisfying appetizer can also be elevated to a main.
The key to grilled chicken wings is the right marinade. This marinade calls for brown sugar, Dijon mustard, garlic, lemon zest, olive oil, parsley, salt, pepper, thyme, and soy sauce to be whisked together. Then you place your chicken wings in a resealable bag and pour the zesty marinade inside.
To really get the most flavor out of the grilled chicken wings, let them marinate for up to 8 hours. But if time is against you, you can marinate for an hour instead and still get delicious chicken wings.
Bourbon BBQ Smoked Chicken Wings
If you have a smoker, why not give this recipe a try? These wings are dry rubbed, basted with a bourbon BBQ sauce, smoked to perfection, and charred until they’re crisp. So good, you may only cook your chicken wings in a smoker from now on!
Korean Gochujang Chicken Wings
Warning: These Korean Gochujang chicken wings are addictive. They’ll sate every craving for heat, sweetness, salt, and spice you’ve ever had. In fact, they’re so good that even those of you who don’t like spicy food might be convinced.
But what is Gochujang? It’s a Korean sauce that is sweet, savory, and spicy all at once, and a little of it goes a long way. Gochujang is also readily available at most Asian supermarkets.
Orange Chicken Wings
If you love orange chicken, then you’re going to love these wings! It’s all the sweet, tangy deliciousness you love in orange chicken, but just in wing form.
This is a fun, tasty twist on traditional chicken wings and can be cooked two ways, either in an air fryer or baked in an oven. But however you cook them, you’re sure to end up with deliciously crispy wings
Kung Pao Chicken Wings
Another great alternative to traditional chicken wings, these Kung Pao chicken wings are coated in a spicy, tangy sauce and ‘fried’ in the oven. Not only are they a healthier alternative to deep-fried wings, but the cooking process is far cleaner and less messy. Win-win!
Slow Cooker Honey Buffalo Chicken Wings
We’re going to bet that this is the chicken wing recipe you’ll keep coming back to. Firstly, they’re made in the slow cooker. Secondly, they’re delicious, and thirdly they’re hands-off, meaning you can be a part of the action in the living room on the game day instead of being back and forth in the kitchen.
Plus, this recipe is a great buffalo chicken wing recipe for those who perhaps find regular buffalo sauce too spicy or overwhelming. The honey doesn’t just mellow this flavor out but helps to caramelize the wings when you broil them.
Peruvian Chicken Wings
If you love Peruvian roasted chicken, then you’re going to love these Peruvian chicken wings! They’re easy to make and serviced with a creamy green sauce that is full of herbs and spices.
Five Spice Grilled Chicken Wings
These wings are juicy, moist, and easy to grill. The marinade of Five Spice, garlic, and soy sauce make for chicken wings that are aromatic and intense with flavor.
Chinese Five Spice powder makes for a great spice rub to use on chicken wings because it really brings out the flavor in the chicken. Five Spice powder can be found in most supermarkets and is easy to use. A little goes a long way!
Baked Piri Piri Chicken Wings
If you like spicy wings, then this Piri Piri recipe is for you! Baked in chili-garlic oil and coated in a sauce that is sweet and spicy, it’s certain to be a winner on game day!
Cilantro Lime Chicken Wings
The combination of fresh cilantro and red pepper flakes is what makes this chicken wing recipe truly great. We all love a bit of char, and grilling the wings ensures extra charred crispiness. Plus, this recipe couldn’t be easier to make.
You only need 5 minutes to prepare! Cilantro is a divisive ingredient, with some people believing it has a ‘soapy’ taste, while others absolutely love it. Personally, we think fresh cilantro combined with citrus flavors is absolutely delicious!
Vietnamese Chicken Wings
These oven-baked chicken wings are coated in fish sauce, garlic, and sugar marinade and make for a delicious treat you can’t say no to!
Tandoori Chicken Wings
Marinated in yogurt and Indian spices, these tandoori chicken wings are crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside and can be easily made in an oven or an air-fryer.
Perfect for sharing – although they are delicious enough that you’ll want to keep them all to yourself!
Shawarma Spiced Chicken Wings
Shawarma is traditionally a Middle Eastern dish that consists of meat thinly sliced and slow roasted to perfection. It’s a street food that is loved all over the world, and the spice blend used varies, although the blend is commonly made of cinnamon, coriander, cumin, paprika, and turmeric.
Shawarma is also served in a number of different ways. Sometimes it’s served with grilled vegetables, pickled vegetables, or tahini.
But this recipe incorporates the Shawarma spice blend with chicken wings. You then oven-bake the wings and serve them with a lemon tzatziki dipping sauce. Trust us, after trying these tasty chicken wings, you’ll be craving Shawarma on a regular basis!
Persian Style Grilled Chicken Wings
For an exotic take on chicken wings, why not try these Persian-style grilled chicken wings? They’re marinated in a saffron yogurt mixture, which makes them extra tender. It’s common to grill food in Persian (or Iranian) cuisine, and grilled chicken wings are known as Baal-kababi in their country of origin.
They’re super easy to make, just let the wings marinate for an hour overnight and then grill to perfection over a charcoal grill.
Ultimate Spicy Chicken Wings
Replicating the spicy chicken wings you’d find in your favorite restaurant, these ultimate spicy chicken wings are lightly breaded and deep-fried without being greasy. No mean feat! If you love your wings to be hot with a capital H, then give these wings a try. You don’t need a deep fryer to make them either, just a deep pot and thermometer.
Everything Bagel Seasoned Chicken Wings
Served with garlic aioli, these Everything Bagel seasoned chicken wings are delightfully crispy and can be enjoyed as a main as well as an appetizer that is sure to become a favorite at your house. The Dijon mustard and lemony aioli sauce are what give the aioli its punch.
Elote Style Chicken Wings
If you want to shake up your chicken wings for game day, why not try these Elote-style chicken wings? In case you didn’t know, Elote is a Mexican street food involving corn, often smeared with mayo, coated with cotija cheese and chili powder, as well as a generous amount of cilantro and lime juice.
Sticky Hot Chicken Wings
Get your napkins ready for these stickily delicious hot chicken wings! Everyone is sure to love these wings, specially prepared with a garlic sauce that is both hot and zesty.
These wings are sticky and sweet with the perfect balance of heat and are juicy and crispy even when baked in the oven. There may not be much prep with these wings, but there is heaps of flavor.
Slow Cooker Apricot BBQ Chicken Wings
If you prefer your wings to be sweet rather than spicy, then why not try these wings with apricot BBQ sauce? We know what you’re thinking… apricot on chicken wings? Well, if orange chicken works, why not apricot? It’s worth trying once! But we know you’ll be returning to this recipe again and again.
What’s more, this recipe is ideal for kids who may not appreciate spicy wings. Plus, cooking these wings in a crockpot means not being stuck in the kitchen on game day. What more could you ask for?
Nashville Hot Chicken Wings
These Nashville Hot Chicken wings are lip-smackingly, finger-licking good! These wings are deep-fried and crispy, as well as spicy and sweet. Not to mention drowning in homemade Nashville hot sauce! You’re hit with flavor as soon as you take a bite of these wings.
Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings
A great, budget-friendly alternative to takeout chicken wings, these garlic Parmesan chicken wings are delicious, ultra crispy, and make a great appetizer with a dipping sauce of your choice, or you can beef them up and serve them as a main with french fries or macaroni and cheese.
They’re also super easy to prepare! Yet another reason to opt for these instead of an expensive takeout option.
Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings
It’s impossible to eat just one of these tasty lemon pepper wings. Fried until crispy and brushed with lemon pepper butter, this simple recipe works great as an appetizer or as a main course with mashed potatoes and roasted broccoli and tastes just as delicious as the wings you’d find at a restaurant.
Fried Chicken Wings
An iconic Southern dish, fried chicken wings are a great way to incorporate Southern flavors into game day. All you need to make these tasty fried chicken wings are a few basic ingredients, such as eggs, flour, and milk.
Conclusion
We hope that these recipes have made you realize just what is possible with the humble chicken wing!
Of course, classic Buffalo wings, sticky wings, and BBQ wings are guaranteed crowd-pleasers, but broadening your culinary horizons with South American and Middle Eastern flavors is sure to make for one interesting game day filled with irresistible chicken wings that are crispy, spicy, sweet and savory!
But who says you can only enjoy these chicken wings on game day? Get creative with sides and these would make delicious weeknight meals!
