"They aren't greasy!" my husband said as he was eating these Crispy Baked Gluten Free Buffalo Wings. My ears perked up. I wasn't even trying for that when I was testing my recipe. So I felt like I scored another point! Whoop! Whoop! The biggest concerns I had while developing the recipe were, making it crispy without frying it, maintaining great flavor and keeping it gluten free. All of those were achieved as well. Talk about a win! Oh- they are pretty easy to make too. But, there are a few things to be aware of to get the best results, so I will run through the process.
Prepping the Wings
Start by taking paper towels and giving each wing a good squeeze to dry them off and get rid of any extra moisture. This will help to make them crispy. Next, combine the cornstarch mixture and seasonings together in a large bowl. You want to coat the chicken as evenly as possible on all sides then shake off any excess.
Prepping the Baking Surface
In order to keep the wings crisp on all sides, it works best to elevate them off the baking sheet so that they aren't cooking in their own juices. That is what can lead to soggy wings instead of crispy wings. For easy clean up, I line my baking sheet with aluminum foil, then place a cooling rack on top. I spray oil on the rack to keep the chicken from sticking. They still stick some, but not terribly. Now the juices drip below and there is enough air circulating below the chicken to keep them crispy on all sides.
The Easy Buffalo Sauce
This sauce is ridiculously easy to make. Throw all of the ingredients in a microwaveable bowl, heat and stir. Doesn't get much easier than that! Feel free to adjust the amount of brown sugar and hot sauce to your liking. I use 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar and 3 Tablespoons of Frank's Red Hot. This gives you sweet and mildly spicy wings. What is great, is that you can easily make adjustments to the heat level and sweetness even after it has been heated to get the results you like. January 2021 Update! My friend Kim, gave me a bottle of Truff Hot Sauce over the holidays... holy cannoli! This took Crispy Baked Buffalo Wings to a whole new level. Get your hands on some... quick!
Looking for something to go along with the Crispy Baked Buffalo Wings for a big game night? Check out Sticky Wings for variety, Fully Loaded Guacamole, Coconut Lime Shrimp Ceviche, Perfect Baked Potatoes (a baked potato bar is great for a crowd) or a big pot of Triple B Chili with some Gluten Free Cornbread Muffins are sure to please.
Ingredients
For the Crispy Baked Gluten Free Wings:
- 3-4 Lbs chicken wings and/or drumsticks - fresh or thawed if previously frozen
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (not baking soda)
- salt and pepper to taste
For the Easy Buffalo Sauce:
- 6 tablespoon butter - or dairy free alternative
- 3 tablespoon hot sauce - I use Frank's Red Hot or Truff to take it to the next level
- 1-2 tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and fit it with a cooling rack. Grease the rack to prevent the chicken from sticking to it.
- In a large bowl, combine the cornstarch, garlic powder, baking powder, salt and pepper. Mix to combine it well. Add the chicken to the bowl and stir it around to coat the chicken evenly. Shake off any excess and place the chicken pieces on the prepared rack and tray leaving space between each piece.
- Bake for 30 minutes, flip and continue to bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until they are cooked through. The baking time will vary based on the size of your wings, so adjust the time accordingly based on the size of the wings I have in my recipe. The internal temp should be 165 to be cooked through, although I like to take it out at 160 because it continues to cook for a few minutes after you remove it.
- Once you remove the wings from the oven, place them in your serving dish and coat them with the Easy Buffalo Sauce (instructions below). Serve with blue cheese dressing (dairy free dressing if needed) and celery sticks.
For the Easy Buffalo Sauce:
- Combine all ingredients in a microwaveable bowl. Heat for 1-2 minutes, stirring from time to time, until butter melts and sugar dissolves. You may need to stir it a bit after removing it from the microwave to get the sugar dissolved.
Gabrielle Clissold says
TOUCHDOWN! I just made this for our friend’s Super Bowl party and her son is GF! I looked at a bunch of recipes and went with yours. I was able to use the doubling feature because I had 10lbs of wings. It was exactly enough coating for the 10 lbs.
It makes really good “naked wings” and then you can get a bunch of different sauces for people to choose their favorite.
Ovens are all different so for me using a convection oven when I type in the temp, it automatically makes it 25 degrees lower, I therefore did that. Following this recipe I probably could have cooked them originally for 20 minutes and then turned them over for just 10 minutes. Because I am also re-heating them tomorrow.
Thank you for a great recipe! I will definitely make this again in the future! I appreciate this recipe so much!
Shay says
Whoop! Whoop! That is such great feedback Gabrielle! Great idea of keeping them "naked" and offering different sauces at a party. I hope you don't mind if I steal the idea;-)
Anonymous says
amazing! turned out so great that my family wants this on the supper rotation! especially love that it's gluten-free as we have 2 that are celiac
Shay says
That is so great to hear that your family enjoyed the Baked Buffalo Wings! Thank you so much for taking the time to rate & review.
Anonymous says
Thank you for sharing this recipe
Shay says
Thank you for taking the time to rate it!
Gina says
Tried your recipe this evening. Love the audible crunch factor that the cornstarch + baking powder bring to the wings. Tasty...and fun! Thank you!
Shay says
Yay! Thank you so much for taking the time to review Gina and I love that you got the crunch!
Amanda says
These were a huge hit! Thanks for the great recipe!
Shay says
Thank you so much Amanda! I am glad to hear that you liked the recipe:-)
Anonymous says
Delicious! Huge hit at our party! Thanks for the great recipe!
Shay says
Yay!!! That is awesome to hear!!! Thank you for taking the time to write!
Anonymous says
Delicious!
Shay says
Thank you!!
Cind says
Best oven fried ever. I used with Chicken thighs and just cooked longer and it was great. Super easy and quick prep. Love teh sauce as well.
Shay says
Thank you so much Cind for taking the time to review! I love your idea to use chicken thighs... brilliant!
Kelly says
So easy and SOOOOO good! Definitely saving this recipe for ever! I got married 3 weeks ago and this is by far my husband’s favorite recipe that I have made so far, he’s already talking about how I need to pass it down to our future children ?
Shay says
Hi Kelly! Best compliment EVER! So happy you took the time to comment, so very nice of you. Congratulations to you and your husband as well! May you have endless delicious and memorable meals ahead of you!
Carrie says
Just made these tonight and they were amazing! Thank you
Shay says
Hi Carrie! I am so happy to hear that you tried the recipe and enjoyed them! Thank you for taking the time to write too:-)
Pat says
If I am making these and freezing them, should I put the sauce on before I freeze it or when I am serving them?
Shay says
Great question Pat! I haven't frozen them, so I am not 100% sure. My guess would be to wait to put the sauce on until just before you serve them so that they don't get soggy. Please update me on how you go about cooking, freezing & reheating before you serve! This is a great idea, I just haven't tried it so I can't say what method will create the best results. Can't wait to hear how it turns out! Thank you for writing & trying the recipe:-)
Lila Huotari says
Shay, we really liked your recipe! I think it is one of the best gluten free chicken wing recipes that my family has ever had. We also loved the sauce.
Shay says
What a wonderful response! I am so happy to hear that you like my Buffalo Wing recipe! Thank you Lila for taking the time to write:-)
Bob Theroux says
Hi Shay, I originally got the air fryer for frozen things like fries, tater tots, onion rings, fish fillets, cheese sticks, etc. But after a few months I discovered that anything that can be oven cooked can be air fried faster and better. I use it for almost everything now. This week I did rib eye steaks, boneless country style pork ribs, teriyaki chicken thighs and a salmon fillet.
Shay says
Sounds great Bob! I will definitely look into it!
Bob Theroux says
I'm a fan of your recipes and weather forecasts. This is a good recipe and I'll use it for the SB wings I make. But I'll use and air fryer, not oven, to cook them. No problem making them crispy. Are you not a fan of air fryers? You on the show tomorrow?
Shay says
Thank you Bob! I haven't used an air fryer and don't have one. It sounds like you really like yours! What do you like to cook most with it? I will look into them:-)