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! That’s because after baking, 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!
Ingredients in Lemon Pepper Baked Chicken Wings
For these crispy, juicy, and fall off the bone tender baked lemon pepper wings, you’ll need the following basic and common ingredients:
Wings:
Baking powder Garlic powder Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper Chicken wings
Lemon pepper sauce:
Dried lemon zest (from fresh whole lemons) Unsalted butter Honey Freshly ground black pepper Garlic powder Onion powder Kosher salt Cornstarch
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
Making Dried Lemon Zest for Baked Lemon Pepper Wings
Lemon zest is critical to give you the luscious lemon flavor that these baked lemon pepper chicken wings have. To make 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.
How to Make Lemon Pepper Wings in the Oven
Homemade lemon pepper wings are so easy to make! Follow these basic oven-baking directions.
Bake the Wings
Make the Lemon Pepper Wing Sauce
How Long Should Chicken Wings Be Baked?
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 one hour passed, but I recommend giving them the full hour in the oven so they are at peak crispiness and tenderness.
What to Serve with Baked Lemon Pepper Wings
Wings are a universal favorite appetizer, snack, and party favorite. They will go well with almost anything! From ham and cheese sliders to bacon potato salad, serve them with whatever tickles your fancy. 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. Make sure when zesting your lemons to only use the yellow bit of the lemon peel, and not the white (pith). The pith is bitter so avoid that when zesting your lemons. 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! Adding fresh herbs to the lemon butter sauce including parsley, scallions, or chives adds extra fresh flavor and is a nice touch visually speaking as well.
Storage Instructions
These baked lemon pepper wings are best hot and fresh from the oven. Although extra wings will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days and in the freezer for up to 4 months. Note that the skin will lose its crispiness once they are refrigerated or frozen.
More Easy Chicken Appetizers:
Spicy Baked BBQ Chicken Wings — These baked bbq chicken wings are perfect for entertaining, parties, or whenever you’re craving juicy chicken wings. Bonus: you only need 5 ingredients! Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes! Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings — You don’t have to fry chicken wings to get them extra crispy, juicy, and finger-licking good thanks to the tangy buffalo sauce! FAST, EASY, and everyone LOVES these air fried crispy chicken wings! BBQ Chicken Sliders — These FAST and EASY sliders are made with shredded chicken, smothered in tangy barbecue sauce, sandwiched between soft Hawaiian rolls with cheese, and baked until warm! Firecracker Air Fryer Chicken Meatballs — Lightly crisped on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside, these homemade meatballs are air fried and then coated in a sweet-with-tangy-heat firecracker sauce with the perfect amount of heat! Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Meatballs — EASY homemade chicken meatballs that simmer in buffalo wing sauce, seasonings, and spices in your slow cooker!
