Tender, juicy baked chicken wings coated in a mouthwatering homemade dry rub that will have your tastebuds singing! Pair it with a creamy gorgonzola dipping sauce and it’s a party hit!
These baked chicken wings are SO good, you won’t miss the deep fryer OR the sauce!!
This post was partially brought to you by the makers of Sutter Home. All opinions expressed are my own.
Who’s starting to get excited for the big game in a couple of weeks? I am!! Not necessarily for the football (my team is the Bengals, and let’s face it, they’re definitely no where near championship material), or the commercials… but for the food!
Game day foods are the most mouthwatering, and can be so creative. Usually, there’s a chicken wing or two on everyone’s game day plate, but this year, I’m inviting you all to take a break from the traditional, and try these epic dry-rubbed baked chicken wings!
I know, I know… chicken wings are supposed to be deep fried and tossed in a spicy sauce right? But what if I told you that these baked chicken wings are every bit as tasty as the traditional variety… in fact, they’re utterly fantastic? Seriously, I’m a huge wing fan, and these knocked my socks off. I meant to save some for my husband after the photoshoot was finished… and well, let’s just say there was nothing left for him to try!
While not a copycat recipe, this dry rub is inspired by one of my favorite local treats. Ohioans love chicken wings… like a lot! We also love our unique chili recipe too 😉
I titled this recipe Epic Dry-Rubbed Baked Chicken Wings, because I truly feel they are epic. They hit nearly every flavor component, and are the perfect little crispy bites of flavor! Even better when this spicy dish is paired with a sweet wine like Sutter Home Riesling!
No chicken wing is complete without a dipping sauce, and this one is truly fantastic. Instead of the traditional blue cheese, I went with a homemade creamy gorgonzola cheese sauce, which is not as sharp, and more buttery. It perfectly balances the heat from the wings… you don’t want to skip it. However, if you don’t have time or the ingredients to make it, a good quality blue cheese dressing could be swapped in for it.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO BAKE CHICKEN WINGS IN THE OVEN?
Let’s get down to brass tacks here… how long before you can be munching on these delicious wings? I like to bake my wings at 400 F degrees and it takes about 45 minutes. So yes, it takes a little while, but it’s totally hands-off time… so you can go about your day until the oven timer goes off.
BUT REALLY? WINE WITH BAKED CHICKEN WINGS??
I know… I know. I’m breaking just about EVERY chicken wing rule here… there’s no beer. While you might be thinking I’ve lost my marbles… just hear me out okay? Sutter Home Riesling has an amazing almost tropical fruit taste, which when paired with a spicy dish, is absolutely delicious and memorable! I promise! After pairing it with a sweet wine, I was blown away. Remember back when I paired this spicy chicken meal with white zinfandel? Wine is the way to go here friends!
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR MAKING BAKED CHICKEN WINGS:
- If you’re using frozen wings (I usually do), make sure they’re completely thawed.
- Be sure to pat the wings dry with a paper towel. This helps the oil and rub coat them really well.
- For the most even cooking (and easy cleanup), line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil (or two sheets of regular), then top that with and oven safe metal cooling rack (like the one below). Spray that with non-stick cooking spray and you’re good to add the wings.
- This rub is insanely flavorful, so make extra and keep it in an airtight container with your other spices. It’s great on chicken of any kind!
- The gorgonzola sauce can be made ahead of time, or while the chicken wings are baking.
So this game day season, treat yourself and make these EPIC dry-rubbed baked chicken wings!
HELPFUL TOOLS:
- Extra large baking sheet AND rack – this is a fantastic combo! I’ve been using this combo for years and it still works like new.
- Nitrile gloves – to keep your hands from being stained from the rub, these gloves are perfect! I like nitrile as it feels stronger than traditional latex.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
EPIC DRY RUB:
- 1/2 Tbsp ancho chile pepper
- 1/2 Tbsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 Tbsp onion powder
- 1/2 Tbsp kosher salt
- 3/4 Tbsp light brown sugar, packed
- 3/4 tsp chili powder
- 3/4 tsp paprika
- 3/4 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (less if you're worried about the heat level)
- 1/2 tsp dried mustard powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp dried ground thyme
WINGS:
- 4 lbs chicken wings, thawed completely if using a frozen bag
- 2 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil
CREAMY GORGONZOLA SAUCE:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 3-6 Tbsp buttermilk
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 -3 oz crumbled gorgonzola cheese
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
MAKE DRY RUB AND CHICKEN WINGS:
- Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Line a large baking sheet with 2 sheets of aluminum foil (or 1 heavy duty sheet). Top that with an oven safe cooling rack and spray it with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- Combine all dry rub ingredients in a small mixing bowl, set aside. In a large mixing bowl, add chicken wings and vegetable oil. Use a rubber spatula to toss gently to coat.
- Sprinkle in about half to 2/3 of the dry rub mixture and use your hands to massage it into all of the chicken wings, coating evenly. Feel free to use all the dry rub, but for a coating like in the photos, 1/2-2/3 of the mixture does just fine.
- Add chicken wings to prepared baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes.
MAKE GORGONZOLA SAUCE:
- To your food processor or blender, add mayo, buttermilk, sour cream, 1.5 oz of the gorgonzola cheese, garlic, lemon juice, pepper and salt. Process until smooth.
- Transfer to serving bowl and stir in remaining gorgonzola cheese. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
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Chef Tips
Video
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Carherine says
Fantastic taste! I will be tweek if this again and again to find the perfect “heat”. Thank you SO much for sharing this! It taste almost the same as our favorite local restaurant too if not better 😊
Ginny Duggleby says
Girl, these were fabulous. Going to try them in the smoker next time!
Blue Bell says
We are avid smokers and that’s what I thought of when I saw this recipe.
Have you tried it in your smoker? I have two offset and one pellet smoker. I thought maybe I’d use the pellet with oak pellets.
I’d would really appreciate your thoughts on
Smoking with the Epic Rub.
Thanks
Blue Bell
The Chunky Chef says
I think these wings would be FABULOUS in the smoker! I have a pellet smoker as well, and I’ll be trying them this summer. Oak would be a good choice, as would hickory or pecan.
Quinton says
Made for super bowl. Was delicious
Quinton says
Delicious!!!!!
Carole says
These disappeared before the Super Bowl even began! Fantastic!
Mary Field says
Made these for Super Bowl and my husband purposely didn’t invite anybody over as he said he wanted ALL these Wong’s for himself and said he will enjoy the leftovers for days to come! In other words, too good to share! Lol
Ann says
Made these for the Superbowl tonight. Amazing!
STEVE WICHMAN says
Really liked this recipe. Had everything on hand besides the Gorgonzola and the wings so that made it a snap. Made the rub as written although having discovered one trick to make the crispier I first did a dry rub of salt, pepper, and basking soda. Let it it sit for 30 minutes and then followed the rest (out of respect for Amanda). Came out great. Everyone liked them. Clean up was a breeze.
nick says
Did the chicken taste like baking soda?
Ann says
He probably meant baking powder.
Aliza says
I LOVE wings and have eaten them all over the world, but I’ve never had any quite like this! It’s like the flavors just kept unfolding as I ate them. I’m making them for a group this weekend and I can’t wait… This recipe is a keeper!
Michael says
They were INCREDIBLE!!! I looooove deep frying and BBQ wings. But these baked wings were awesome! Tweaked the recipe a tad just cause I have to…not that it needed any! Thank you so much! Tagged you on my IG also!
alisha says
made these twice. their delicious.
Margie says
I’m going to try this using boneless, skinless chicken thighs. I know I’ll also have to cook longer and turn half way through. I’m going try see if 60 mins works here. I don’t have the chili pepper but noticed from your comment section that quite a few people left out some of the ingredient. We’ll see how it goes.
Margie says
I tried it out as I said I would and it worked great. I didn’t even need to adjust the cooking time because the thighs were kinda thin. I didn’t have the ancho chili pepper so I just used more chili powder. The family was happy and there are no leftovers. Thanks for doing the hard part of developing the recipe so sad sacks like me can get kudos from the family.
Jason says
Amazing. Followed this recipe exactly, except I didn’t have chili powder, and I added a tablespoon of baking soda for extra crispiness, and it turned out terrific. I placed the chicken wings on a wire rack, as in my experience I’ve had trouble with wings sticking to the foil and ripping the skin away from the wing. I flipped them 30 min in then cooked them another 20. My skeptical neighbor, who always deep fried his because he didn’t think you could get them crispy by baking them, was so shocked and impressed that he’s now ready to ditch his fryer and do it this way instead. These were so tasty you really didn’t even need to sauce them, but I still put some sweet chili sauce on some of them and holy cow they were awesome. I didn’t have the ingredients for the Gorgonzola sauce, but looking forward to it next time. Thanks so much.
Johnston Robert says
Hi: I think you meant Baking POWDER, not Baking SODA. Check out Cooks Country for difference. In any case, fabulous recipe.
Karen Paige says
These wings were truly positively EPIC. The only thing I added more of was the salt and made it paleo by replacing the brown sugar with coconut sugar. It was totally fantastic.
This recipe is being added to my my hall of fame recipe for both wings and rub.
Bruce says
This is a real winner. Everyone at my birthday party loved them!!!! I followed the recipe but I used all of the rub on 5 lbs of wings. Came out fantastic. I just love the smoky/grilled flavor.
Patricia says
Made this for the nfl divisional playoffs yesterday. Turns out the (long-winded) inspiration/explanation was completely justified. These wings were both very easy and super delish. The only thing I would do next time is to spray both sides of the rack with cooking spray (I only did one side and had to scrub a bit afterwards). But the combination of spices in this dry rub resulted in smoky, tasty and utterly delicious wings. Will definitely make this again.
Kathleen says
The wings were absolutely delicious! I made whole wings and cooked them for an hour. I didn’t have the smoked paprika and some of the other spices, the fancy ones! I used everything else!
I didn’t make the sauce either. I used plain old ranch dressing!
This will be my new go to party wing recipe! This was just with dinner!
Elizabeth says
I used this on frozen chicken breasts for myself to test taste before using wings at a party tomorrow. I love it! My only concern is the strong cumin smell, it always smells like pungent body odor to me lol. If I cut it to .25tsp, will it take away the spice? Idk what cumin really even tastes like on it own or what kind of flavor it brings because I am not too used to it.
The Chunky Chef says
Cumin adds smoky flavor, but not spice or heat. I haven’t tested the spice rub recipe with 1/4 tsp of cumin, but I think it should work out well 🙂
M M says
Excellent wings. Used all of the spice mix and cooked in a convection oven for 40’. Will be our “go to” wing recipe going forward.
Chad says
My wife doesn’t eat chicken wings. She refuses to eat chicken wings. I convinced her to try one and she raved about these! So much so I was told to make them for new years!