Baked instead of fried, these chicken wings are tender on the inside and covered with perfectly sticky BBQ sauce on the outside. Nothing quite says game-day like these oven-baked wings!
Serve these up with other game-day snacks like nachos, pasta salad, or other appetizers!
About this recipe
The great thing about this recipe is that there are no rules! That’s right, you can marinate them in any sauce that strikes your fancy. For this recipe, I used the Caribbean Jerk marinade I grabbed from Kroger’s sauces section.
I dumped the frozen wings in a bowl, tossed them with the marinade, and let them do their thang until we were ready to cook. These always turn out perfectly done each and every time we make them.
You can also switch up the marinade to anything you like, including a dry rub.
Best Tools for this recipe
- Baking sheet with a fitting rack – We always line a baking sheet with foil, and use the baking rack that came with the sheet. The baking rack allows air to circulate around the food instead of one side at a time. If you don’t have a baking rack and only a baking sheet, these will still be finger-licking good!
- Meat thermometer – Ideal for making sure your chicken is cooked to the appropriate temperature.
- Silicone Brush – Silicone brushes are best for basting the wings to get that sticky sauce action. I prefer silicone as they seem to come clean much easier than brushes with bristles.
Steps for Making the Wings
- Marinate the wings in a sauce or rub of your choice for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day.
- Line a baking sheet with foil and place the accompanying baking rack inside the baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray.
- Place wings on the rack and inside of a preheated 400F degree oven for 20 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the marinade from the chicken.
- After 20 minutes, remove from the oven and baste with the reserved marinade using a silicone brush on both sides. Flip chicken so the underside is now facing up. Discard all remaining marinade.
- Place back in the oven and continue cooking for another 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165F degrees.
- After the chicken is done cooking, you can continue basting with fresh BBQ sauce of your choice, or serve and allow others to sauce and season their own wings.
Tip: Don’t continue to cook them much past the 40-minute mark – just until the exterior of the wings begin to caramelize.
Tips for sticky wings
The biggest tip for sticky chicken wings is using a sauce with sugar…which almost every sauce would have that included in the ingredients already.
Basting the wings halfway through the cooking process with the reserved helps big time with the stickiness.
It’s still safe to use the reserved marinade at this point because you will continue the cooking process. BUT, please make sure to discard the remaining marinade after this step. It is never safe to reuse any marinade – ever.
FAQ for Sticky Chicken Wings
When a meat thermometer reads 165F degrees internally.
Whatever you want! Wings go well with other gameday snacks (nachos, pretzels, chips, fries, etc.) or a side salad works too! We like to enjoy these with a cold beer!
There’s no marinating time limit, but the flavors will become more intense the longer meat marinates.
**I recommend at least 2-3 hours for the best flavor, but no less than 30 minutes.
Yes! You can use a wet marinade (like a sauce) or a dry rub to infuse flavor into the chicken wings.
Here are some ideas for marinade sauces:
– Italian dressing
– Caribbean Jerk
– BBQ sauce
I place all of the wings in a bowl and cover with marinade.
– If they are frozen, you can allow them to thaw on the counter for no more than 4 hours (or until thawed) to avoid any funky bacteria. Once thawed, place back in the fridge until ready to cook.
– If they are thawed, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or lid and place back in the fridge until you are ready to cook.
I always estimate 6-8 pieces per person for a meal and 3-5 pieces for snacking.
BBQ Baked Chicken Wings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 pounds of frozen or fresh chicken wings
- Marinade or rub of your choice
Marinade Ideas:
- Italian dressing
- Dry Rubs
- Caribbean Jerk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F degrees.
- Marinade the wings in a sauce or rub of your choice for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day.
- Line a baking sheet with foil and place the accompanying baking rack inside the baking sheet. Spray with foil.
- Place wings on the rack and inside of a preheated 400F degree oven for 20 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the marinade from the chicken.
- After 20 minutes, remove from the oven and baste with the reserved marinade using a silicone brush on both sides. Flip chicken so the underside is now facing up. Discard all remaining marinade.
- Place back in the oven and continue cooking for another 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165F degrees.
- After the chicken is done cooking, you can continue basting with fresh BBQ sauce of your choice, or serve and allow others to sauce and season their own wings.
