Super Crispy Garlic Parmesan Wings

Golden delicious garlic parmesan wings made in the oven or the air fryer! These are better than your favorite restaurant wings! One little ingredient makes them extra crunchy like they came out of the fryer!

Garlic Parmesan Wings!

For someone who refuses to eat bone-in chicken, wings are about the only exception to the rule. And how can it not be when they’re golden, crispy, hot, and loaded with garlic parmesan flavor straight out of the oven instead of the deep fryer.

Speaking of chicken wings! Am I the only one that despises breaded chicken wings? Don’t get me wrong; this girl loves a good crispy chicken tender. But when it comes to wings, I want them tossed in sauce, and no breading should get in the way of that crunchy golden skin!

These are big on flavor and perfect for football watching!

Ingredients for Garlic Parmesan Wings 

• Chicken wings: Sometimes you end up with chicken wings that haven’t been cut for you. I like to remove the wing tips first and save them for a pot of homemade chicken stock. I then take the leftover ‘v’ and slice it down the center joint to create the drumstick and the wing.
• Baking powder: You’ll want to use aluminum-free baking powder for this recipe. The baking powder is the special ingredient that will help give these wings that super crispy texture. More on this below.
• Seasonings: You’ll need kosher salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and some paprika. The paprika isn’t really going to add to the flavor, but rather is used to give the wings a bit more color!
• Parsley: I love adding a bit of parsley to my garlic butter because it brighten both the flavor nad the color!
• Garlic cloves: We’ll grate the garlic and create garlic butter to toss the wings in.
• Butter: melted butter, garlic, and parsley and zapped together in the microwave and we’ll toss the wings in this right when they’re hot out of the oven.
• Parmesan: grated parmesan works best for this recipe, we’ll sprinkle this on top of the wings right before serving.

How to make Extra Crispy Wings

1. Prep first. Start by preheating the oven and lining a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. You’ll also want to set a wire rack on top of the baking sheet, and spry the wire rack with cooking spray to keep the wings from sticking.
2. Season the wings and bake. You’ll want to thoroughly pat the wings dry before seasoning them. Combine the baking powder, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and paprika in a small bowl. Sprinkle this seasoning evenly over both the skin side and the flesh side of the wings. At this point, if time permits, line the wings on the baking sheet and place in the fridge for at least 45 minutes and up to 24 hours in advance. If you don’t have the time to refrigerate, you can let the wings sit for 10-15 minutes at room temperature or bake them immediately.
3. Make garlic butter topping. When the wings are almost done, add the butter, garlic, salt, and parsley to a bowl and zap in the microwave for 30-60 seconds until the butter melts. Place the wings in a bowl, pour the garlic butter over the wings and toss to coat them evenly. Then, sprinkle with the parmesan and continue to toss until all the wings are evenly coated. Plate and serve immediately.

Tips for Making Extra Crispy Chicken Wings

• Pat them dry! Once you’ve trimmed the wings, take the time to dry them really well. I like to layer a few sheets of paper towels on a cutting board, line all the wings up, and place a few more paper towels on top and blot well. You want the least amount of moisture on the wings as possible.
• Don’t skip the baking powder! More on why this ingredient works below, but baking powder helps give these wings that crisp and golden brown hue.
• Spread them out and use a wire rack! It’s important to really spread the chicken wings out on a wire baking rack. Using a rack ensure that the wings will have air circulating all around. This will help brown them rather than steam them in the oven. If you happen to have really small wings, they may not fit on one baking sheet. In this case, I recommend baking them on two baking sheets, baking one sheet pan at a time for optimum golden and crispiness!
• Let them dry out, if time permits. If you are planning in advance, season the chicken with all the seasonings, then place them on the wire rack and pop the rack into the bottom shelf of your refrigerator at as long as time permits. Doing this overnight yields better results, but even 45 minutes to an hour helps!
• Toss the wings in a large bowl. When the wings are done, pop them into a large metal bowl and then drizzle in the garlic butter. Instead of using tongs to toss, swirl and toss the wings in the bowl. This keeps all that garlicky goodness from sticking to the tongs!

FAQs about garlic parmesan chicken wings

Why do you use baking powder on the wings?

Baking powder is alkaline, which means that it raises the pH of the wings’ skin, causing the Maillard reaction to occur between the reduced sugars and amino acids. So when we bake the wings, you get wings that are perfectly golden brown, crispy, and full of flavor!

I’m making these for the big game, how many wings should I prepare per person?

The general rule of thumb is about 8 ounces of chicken wings per person if this is a meal or if you aren’t serving too many other apps with it. This recipe would make enough wings for 5-6 people.

Can you make these in the air fryer?

Yes, absolutely! I suggest preheating the air fryer to 400ºF. When it’s hot, add a single layer of wings. Make sure not to overcrowd the basket as they won’t get crispy that way. Bake for 16-22 minutes, depending on the size of the wings. Flip them over around the halfway mark. Toss in the garlic butter when they’re hot out of the air fryer!

If you like this recipe, you might also like:

• Firecracker Chicken Meatballs
• Loaded Sheet Pan BBQ Chicken Nachos
• Crunchy Buffalo Chicken Jalapeno Poppers
• Sticky Baked Chicken Bites in Honey Sriracha
• Southwestern Egg Rolls with Avocado Cilantro Sauce