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The most hassle-free fried chicken wings recipe! Truly crispy on the outside and the juiciest meat in the middle, these wings cook up in no time at all!
Looking for more chicken wing and chicken recipes? Try garlic parmesan wings, lemon pepper wings, and smoked chicken wings.
There are tons of ways to cook chicken wings, but sometimes, we want the classic style that is extra crispy, juicy, and restaurant-style. Enter fried chicken wings. They are golden brown, finger-licking good, and better than any bar or restaurant.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Easy and quick. The fact that you need to dredge the chicken wings only in flour mixture makes the process of making this crispy appetizer so much easier and quicker.
- Light breading. Made with flour, cornstarch, and spices, this recipe makes these chicken wings light and crispy, never oily (like oven fried chicken!).
- Can be made gluten-free. Swapping regular white flour with gluten-free flour is the only change needed to make this recipe gluten-free.
- It’s so easy to customize! We like to keep things simple, but you can dredge them in your favorite sauces, add more spices, or even double-fry them.
Ingredients needed
- Chicken wings. Choose meaty chicken wings as they will hold onto the batter better. I like to use a mix of wingettes and drumettes.
- Spices. The spices I use for my recipe are paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and dried parsley.
- Salt. To taste.
- Oil. Any vegetable oil with a high smoke point will work.
- Flour. All-purpose flour.
- Cornstarch. Mixed with flour, cornstarch makes the coating on the chicken wings crispier.
- Baking powder. A small amount of baking powder added to the flour mixture helps draw out excess moisture and leaves the chicken wings extra crispy.
How to make crispy fried chicken wings
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1 – Prep the chicken. Pat dry the chicken wings and separate the wing flats from the drumettes.
Step 2- Coat. Make the dry mixture by combining all spices with flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Toss the wings in the flour mixture until they are fully coated, and shake off the excess.
Step 2 – Deep fry the chicken wings. Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Start frying the flour-coated wings in small batches when the oil temperature reaches 350F degrees. Fry the chicken wings for 10 minutes or until they are golden brown on all sides.
Fried chicken wings cooking time
Frying chicken wings takes 10 to 12 minutes so long as the oil is heated to 350-375F degrees.
How to fry chicken wings without flour
Frying chicken wings without flour is easy. One way to do it is to fry the chicken in hot oil without any coating. Once the chicken wings are fried, you can coat them with your favorite sauce.
If you are aiming for the crispiest results but don’t want to use any flour, coat the chicken wings with mustard and dredge them in a mixture of cornstarch and your favorite spices. Fry the chicken wings in hot oil.
Tips to make the best recipe
- Check if the oil is hot enough. You should start frying the wings only when the oil is well-heated. Sprinkle some flour into the oil. If it sizzles, go ahead and add the chicken wings.
- Don’t crowd the pan. Adding too many wings to the pan will cause the temperature of the oil to drop. As a result, the wings will take longer to crisp up and will soak up too much oil.
- Check for doneness. Check the doneness of the fried chicken wings by inserting an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the wings. The chicken wings are ready if their internal temperature is 165F degrees.
- Turn the wings to fry them evenly. Use a fork or a pair of tongs to flip the wings halfway through the frying time to get them golden and crispy on all sides.
- Cool the wings on a wire rack. While paper towels soak up the excess oil, they take away some of the crispiness of the freshly fried chicken wings. Transfer the chicken wings from the pan right onto the wire rack.
Flavor variations
Like any good wing recipe, with a few tweaks, you can completely transform them to change up the flavors! Here are some ideas:
- Add some cheese. Sprinkle the fried chicken wings with grated parmesan while they are hot.
- Add sauce. Toss the fried chicken wings in buffalo sauce for buffalo wings or in some bulgogi sauce or Katsu sauce for an Asian twist.
- Omit the spice. Skip the cayenne pepper if you are going to serve these chicken wings to kids or don’t want them to be spicy.
- Herb it up. Don’t shy away from dried herbs. You can add dried rosemary, oregano, basil, and thyme to the spice mix (something we often do with armadillo eggs and grilled chicken wings).
Storage instructions
To store: Transfer fried chicken wing leftovers into an airtight container as soon as they have cooled completely. Fried chicken wings last 3 to 4 days in the fridge.
To reheat: As the fridge causes the fried wings to lose their crispiness, reheat them in the oven preheated to 350F degrees for 10 to 20 minutes or until they reach a safe internal temperature.
To freeze: place the cooled wings in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Frequently asked questions
Deep fried chicken wings are keto-friendly so long the coating is low carb. To make these fried chicken wings keto, substitute the all-purpose flour with keto-friendly flour, such as coconut flour or blanched almond flour, and skip the cornstarch. You can also try making keto chicken wings.
One of the biggest secrets to crispy chicken wings is to use cornstarch for the coating. You should also start cooking the chicken wings in well-heated oil and allow them to drain on a wire rack.
Using only cornstarch provides extra crispy results. If that’s what you are after, omit the flour completely.
Yes, and it would follow a similar process to baked chicken wings. Once seasoned, Bake them at 400F degrees for around 45 minutes. Use a thermometer to check the internal temperature of the wings and remove them from the oven when it reaches 165F degrees in the thickest part.
More delicious chicken recipes to try
- Cast iron chicken breast
- Air fryer chicken thighs
- Baked chicken legs
- Chicken schnitzel
- Baked chicken thighs
- Baked chicken breast
- Popcorn chicken
Fried Chicken Wings (Truly Crispy!)
Video
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken wings
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons oil * See notes
Instructions
- Pat dry the chicken wings with a paper towel.
- Separate chicken wings flats from the drums with a knife or scissors.
- Combine the spices, flour, cornstarch, and baking powder, and mix well.
- Toss the wings inside the mixture to coat well and shake off any excess flour.
- Add oil to a deep fryer or deep pot and place over medium-high heat. Once the oil reaches an internal temperature of 350F, fry the wings for 8-10 minutes, or until golden and crispy on all sides.
- Place the wings on a wired rack to drain excess oil.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published January 2023, updated March 2024
Hands down the best and crispiest chicken wings we have made to date(and we eat a lot of chicken wings!) We toss the wings in a little seasoning salt as soon as they come out of the fryer for extra flavor, and because we like salt;)
Thanks so much for the feedback, Richelle!
These wings were excellent juicy and crisy , I had to double the recipe due to 2lbs and over of the wings I had to cook , flour and seasoning , still had a lot of flour left over, I will cut back next time I make this , but overall good wings had flavor.
These were very crisp and juicy, but just a little bland. I will add more cayenne next time. M family loved these, and they are one picky bunch.
I followed the recipe exactly and these were the best wings I have made yet…and I have tried a lot of wing recipes. Thank you for posting it.
These turned out perfect. Followed the recipe exactly as written. Tossed them in Franks Red Hot. Tasty! Will definitely make them again.
Sooo good. I much prefer these to breaded.
I Love Chicken!!!! Niccceeennneeesssss!!!!!
Recipe is great. Frying is less mess. But they were delicious.
What is the 2 tbsp of oil for? Said see notes, but you didn’t leave a note about it.
You need to add more if needed.
2 T oil ? *see notes (I could not find notes).
I am guessing that this was a typo error.
I’m sorry! It should say minimum 2 tablespoons oil but more for extra deep fried chicken wings.
Delicious, easy , fried wings. The leftovers will become buffalo wings with blue cheese on the side, however these were delicious and crispy without any sauce!
what’s the “2 tablespoons oil * See notes” for? I’ve checked notes and don’t see any reference to it.
I’m sorry! It should say minimum 2 tablespoons oil but more for extra deep fried chicken wings.
Quick and easy and very tasty. Will be saving + using this one again and again!
Excellent!
Light and crispy