🍯🍋🍗 Baked Lemon Pepper Wings are tossed in a delectable, buttery, lemon pepper sauce that clings to the wings. With crispy skin and juicy fall-off-the-bone meat, they’re perfect for summer holidays, backyard get-togethers, game day parties, or any wing-worthy moment! Air fryer instructions also provided.
Baked Lemon Pepper Wings Recipe
- Everyone’s favorite appetizer, snack, and party food just got a lemon pepper makeover! These baked lemon pepper wings have a wonderfully crispy exterior, while the interior is tender and juicy. No dry chicken wings here!
- The chicken wings are tossed in a homemade buttery lemon pepper sauce that is fabulous. It’s sweet, tangy, sticky, and there’s very slight heat from freshly cracked black pepper.
- Because I use cornstarch in the lemon pepper wing sauce, it clings to the wings perfectly and keeps them super flavorful and juicy.
- Whether you want to serve these for Memorial Day, graduation parties, Fourth of July, casual backyard get-togethers, Labor Day, game day parties, or holiday entertaining, I can’t think of anyone who’ll be able to refuse these delectable baked chicken wings!
Love wings?
Make an appetizer platter with my crispy air fryer chicken wings and baked spicy barbecue chicken wings, too!
Ingredients and Notes
For these crispy, juicy, and fall off the bone tender baked lemon pepper wings, you’ll need the following simple ingredients:
Wings:
- Baking powder – I use this instead of flour. It’s my secret for extra crispy skin. However, if you don’t want a crisp exterior, you can leave that omit the baking powder. Truthfully speaking, though, who doesn’t want a crispy wing? Although still toss the honey lemon pepper wings in the garlic powder, salt, and pepper if you’re omitting the baking powder
- Seasonings – Garlic powder, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper
- Chicken wings – I prefer using fresh over frozen wings. If you’re using frozen, they need to be thawed first before beginning the recipe for baked lemon pepper wings. You can use either drums, or drumettes, which look like little chicken legs and have one single main bone running through the middle. Or you can use whole wings. If you’re using whole wings, separate the flat part of the wings from the drumette by slicing directly through the joint. Separate the tip of the wing from the flat by again slicing down through the joint. Discard the wingtips
Lemon pepper sauce:
- Dried lemon zest (from fresh whole lemons) – Zest four lemons, and let the zest sit out overnight. You can also zest your lemons as you’re making the sauce and use them immediately. Only use the yellow peel, not the white pith, which is bitter! However, I prefer the subtle flavor and texture difference if you zest the lemons the night before. As a last resort, you can use store-bought dried lemon zest. The zest of 4 lemons equals about 2 tablespoons of dried lemon zest. Then, when you’re making the buttery lemon pepper sauce for the chicken wings, your lemon zest will be ready to go. Trust me. It’s so much more flavorful than lemon pepper seasoning
- Unsalted butter
- Honey
- Freshly ground black pepper – When making the buttery lemon sauce, make sure to use freshly cracked black pepper. Put away that shake-on little can of pepper you’ve had in your pantry forever, and get crackin’ the fresh stuff
- Spices – Garlic powder, onion powder, and kosher salt
- Cornstarch – This is optional but highly recommended because it helps to get a thicker sauce onto the wings. Normally, lemon pepper wings can tend to be onthe dry side, but with this sauce, they’re juicy and bursting with tons of lemon pepper flavor
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Lemon Pepper Wings in the Oven
Homemade lemon pepper wings are so easy to make! With no deep-fryer, there’s no need for copious amounts of oil or waiting for the wings to drain on paper towels. Follow these basic oven-baking directions.
- Mix the baking powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and toss to coat the wings. Then, bake on a half sheet pan with wire rack with foil, turning frequently with tongs. Cooking the wings for an hour ensures a crispy exterior, but it also makes the meat extremely tender. Technically, chicken only needs to cook until an interior temperature of 165°F, and they may reach that temp before an hour passes, but I recommend giving them the full hour in the oven so they are at peak crispiness and tenderness and beautifully golden brown.
- In the meantime, melt the butter in a saucepan.
- Add the honey, pepper, garlic, onion powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Whisk in the cornstarch. Heat to chicken slightly. The sauce thickens more as it cools, so I suggest making it in the last 20 minutes or so of baking time rather than immediately after you start baking the wings. Feel free to hold a little bit back and save some to dip the baked wings. Whisk in the lemon zest to make lemon butter.
- Place the baked wings in a large bowl. Drizzle the sauce on top, and toss to combine.
Baking Tip
When you’re baking the lemon pepper chicken wings, make sure the wings are not touching each other on the wire rack. I know this may be tricky because there are a lot of wings in 4 pounds, but do your best. This will ensure they are crispy.
What to Serve with Baked Lemon Pepper Wings
Baked Lemon Pepper Wings
Equipment
- 1 Half-Sheet Pan
- 1 Wire Rack
Ingredients
Chicken Wings
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 pounds chicken wings*
Lemon Pepper Wing Sauce
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 5 tablespoons honey
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons dried lemon zest**
Instructions
Baked Chicken Wings
- Preheat oven to 425F, line a half sheet pan with wire rack with foil for easier cleanup; set aside. Tip – I highly recommend using a pan with a wire rack for the crispiest wings although a regular sheet pan without a rack may be substituted.
- To a large bowl, add the baking powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and stir to combine.
- Add the wings to the dry mixture and toss well to coat evenly. Note – If using whole wings, separate the flat part of the wings from the drumette by slicing directly through the joint. Separate the tip of the wing from the flat by again slicing down through the joint. Discard the wingtips.
- Place the wings on the wire rack and bake for 1 hour, or until golden browned and crisp. Turn every 20 minutes.
Lemon Pepper Wing Sauce
- I recommend making the sauce in the last 20 minutes or so of wing baking. To a medium saucepan, add the butter and heat over medium-low heat to melt, stirring frequently to encourage melting.
- Add the honey, freshly ground black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and stir to combine.
- Add the corn starch, whisking constantly after you add it.
- Heat the sauce for 2 to 3 minutes, or until you see the sauce just barely start to simmer. The sauce should have thickened and be free from lumps.
- Take it off the heat, whisk in the lemon zest, and set aside. Note – The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools so even if it doesn't seem very thick initially, it will thicken as it cools.
- Transfer the cooked wings to a large bowl, evenly drizzle the sauce over the wings, and toss well to combine. Serve immediately.
Air Fryer Instructions
- Preheat your air fyrer to 360F, let it preheat for 5 minutes, and then spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray or olive oil spray. I recommend an XL air fryer to minimize the amount of batches you’ll have to take in and out of your fryer.
- Add the wings to the basket, not touching, and air fry for 12 minutes. Tip: Do not crowd the wings!
- Flip, and air fry for an additional 12 minutes.
- Repeat and cook the wings batches until all the wings have been cooked.
- Make the sauce as directed and then when they’ve all been air fried, toss them in the sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I really love this recipe i made it before from Taylor.
I really love this recipe i made it before from Taylor.
I am glad you love it! Thanks for giving it a try!
great
great