Baked Sticky Honey Wings (Printable)

Crispy chicken wings glazed with sweet honey BBQ sauce, baked until irresistibly sticky and flavorful.

# What You'll Need:

→ Chicken

01 - 1.5 lbs chicken wings, separated at joints, tips removed

→ Seasoning

02 - 1 tsp garlic powder
03 - 1 tsp smoked paprika
04 - 1/2 tsp salt
05 - 1/2 tsp black pepper

→ Honey BBQ Sauce

06 - 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
07 - 1/4 cup honey
08 - 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
09 - 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
10 - 1 tsp hot sauce (optional)

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top.
02 - Pat chicken wings dry and toss with garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper until evenly coated.
03 - Arrange wings in a single layer on the rack and bake for 35 minutes, flipping halfway, until skin is crisp and golden.
04 - Combine barbecue sauce, honey, apple cider vinegar, melted butter, and optional hot sauce in small saucepan; simmer over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
05 - Remove wings from oven, transfer to a bowl, pour warm honey BBQ sauce over them, and toss to evenly coat.
06 - Return sauced wings to rack and bake for an additional 10 minutes until sauce is sticky and caramelized.
07 - Serve wings hot, optionally garnished with chopped parsley or green onions.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • They get genuinely crispy in the oven, no deep fryer needed—just a wire rack doing the heavy lifting.
  • The honey BBQ glaze is tangy and sticky without being cloyingly sweet, so you'll actually want to eat more than one.
  • Minimal hands-on time means you can prep and then ignore them while you set up games or a playlist.
02 -
  • The wire rack is non-negotiable if you want actual crispy wings—without it, you're basically steaming them in their own fat and moisture.
  • Don't skip patting the wings dry, and don't crowd the pan on the first bake; they need space to breathe and crisp up properly.
  • Warm sauce sticks to warm wings; cold sauce slides right off—so make sure both components are hot when they meet.
03 -
  • For extra-crispy wings that stay crispy longer, pat them dry, arrange them on the rack uncovered, and refrigerate for an hour before baking—the cold and the drying action combine to create seriously crunchy skin.
  • Make your sauce a few minutes before the wings finish their first bake so it's exactly the right temperature when you toss them, because cold sauce on hot wings doesn't coat the way you want it to.
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