Recipes / February 6, 2024

Garlic Parmesan Wings

These Garlic Parmesan Wings are baked to crispy perfection, then tossed with melted butter, Parmesan cheese and garlic for an explosion of flavor with every bite!

If you’re into chicken wings, here’s a recipe that will have you smitten: try these garlic Parmesan wings! These homemade wings are easy to whip up, bursting with garlicky goodness, and coated in a Parmesan blanket of bliss. Whether it’s for a game day snack or a weeknight meal (or you just love all things chicken!), these wings are about to become your new obsession. We whipped them up with this lemon pepper sauce that had everyone asking for the recipe!

Ingredient notes for garlic Parmesan wings

Garlic parmesan wings are perfect for game day tables, an appetizer, or a tasty weeknight dinner. They come out lightly crispy infused with an irresistible cheesy, savory flavor.

Chicken wings: Buy split wings for the easiest prep. (Or, you can remove the wing tips.) If you can, buy organic chicken for the best flavor and most sustainable option.
Baking powder: The secret to crispy chicken? Baking powder! This helps to crisp up the skin in the oven, similar to our baked chicken thighs.
Garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper: This blend of spices brings out the savory flavor of the chicken.
Salted butter: Salted butter is best, but you can also substitute unsalted butter with 1 pinch of salt.
Garlic: Fresh garlic is crucial to the flavor here!
Grated Parmesan cheese: Use grated Parmesan cheese, the type that is powdery and crumbly, not shredded (which is like large sticks).

Some wings recipes call for using flour to coat the wings to get them even crispier, but there’s no flour needed here! This makes them suitable for gluten-free diets, as well.

Tips for cooking wings

Garlic parmesan wings are simple to whip up and make a deliciously satisfying finger food! There are a few tricks to wings if you’ve never made them before:

Marinade for 30 minutes to 1 hour: Stir together the chicken wings with the baking powder, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Refrigerate 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Then, bake the wings for 30 minutes. Place the wings on an aluminum foil-lined sheet for 15 minutes. Flip and bake until browned and starting to become crispy, 15 to 18 minutes.
Add the garlic sauce and Parmesan cheese. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the wings and cook, turning frequently, until crispy, 1 to 2 minutes. Lower heat to medium and stir in the garlic. Cook 30 seconds until fragrant and then remove from heat. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve warm.

Make lemon pepper sauce, if desired

The sauce is optional, but it takes these garlic parmesan wings up a level! Lemon pepper sauce is a common dipping sauce for wings. While the name sounds similar, it’s not flavored with lemon pepper, a store-bought seasoning blend of lemon zest, salt and pepper. It simply uses a real lemon to bring in the citrus, and the other ingredients you probably already have in your pantry and fridge. You’ll just need to stir together the following ingredients to make a quick and simple sauce:

Salted butter
Lemon juice and zest
Freshly ground black pepper
Garlic powder
Salt

Storage and leftovers

Garlic parmesan wings are best served immediately, but the taste great at room temperature too. They can sit out for 2 hours at room temperature before they need to be refrigerated. Store leftover wings refrigerated for up to 4 days.

Buy organic chicken if possible

For this garlic parmesan chicken wings recipe, try to buy organic chicken if possible. Organic is the highest quality meat that was raised sustainably. It is also free of chemicals and additives so it’s the healthiest option for eating: and, it just tastes better! Per the USDA, organic chicken must be raised in living conditions that accommodate their natural behavior, be fed 100% organic feed and forage, and not be given antibiotics or hormones.

Other wing sauces

There are many other ways to serve garlic parmesan wings outside of the lemon pepper sauce! Here are a few options:

Try creamy Buffalo Ranch
Go for homemade Easy Ranch Dip
Mix up zingy Mustard Sauce
Make Cilantro Lime Ranch, Horseradish Sauce, or Easy Sour Cream Sauce

This garlic parmesan wings recipe is…

Gluten-free.