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My keto chicken wings are oven-baked until crispy, tossed in a sticky buffalo sauce, and broiled until caramelized. They’re addictive and have ZERO net carbs!
Ready for more keto chicken recipes? You’ll love my keto buffalo chicken dip, keto chicken tenders, and keto crack chicken.
My family is rightfully obsessed with chicken wings, which is why I’ve been making them on repeat for the last few weeks.
As much as I love fried chicken wings, it’s not exactly a healthy weeknight dinner. So, I devised a keto chicken wing recipe and swapped the oil for the oven. Now, they’re healthier, less messy, AND fit for a keto diet Win-win-win!
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Baked, not fried! So they’re significantly healthier, and there’s no big pot of oil to clean up after.
- Truly crispy. The wings are baked, then tossed in sauce, then broiled. This gives them maximum crispiness and helps the sauce become sticky and caramelized.
- Minimal prep time. All you need is one bowl and one baking dish, and the oven does most of the work.
- No one will taste the difference. I’ve made this recipe for my keto and non-keto friends, and the latter did not believe me when I told them they were keto!
Ingredients needed
- Chicken wings. I prefer using skin-on, bone-in wings and drumettes. If you’d rather use boneless wings, reduce the baking time by 5-7 minutes.
- Vegetable oil. To coat the wings so they get golden and crisp.
- Salt and black pepper. To taste.
- Baking powder. My secret ingredient! This guarantees browning and extra crispiness in every bite.
For the buffalo wing sauce:
- Buffalo sauce. Franks Buffalo sauce is keto-friendly. If you use another buffalo sauce, make sure there’s no added sugar or carbs.
- Keto honey. Adds essential sweetness and stickiness. I prefer making my own, as I’ve yet to find a high-quality store-bought brand.
- Butter. Unsalted and measured in its melted state.
How to make keto 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. Preheat the oven and lay a wire rack atop a lined baking sheet.
Step 2- First bake. Toss the chicken with the salt, pepper, and oil. Place the wings on the rack and bake until crispy, flipping midway through.
Step 3- Make the sauce. Whisk the buffalo sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer until warm and smooth.
Step 4- Toss the wings. Remove the wings and turn on the oven’s broiler setting. Place the wings and sauce in a large mixing bowl and toss to coat.
Step 5- Broil. Place the wings back on the baking tray and broil briefly, then serve warm.
Can I make these in the air fryer?
Yes! You can skip the oven and air fry these wings instead- they are almost identical to my air fryer chicken wings. Start by adding the wings in a single layer in the air fryer basket and air fry at 200C/400F for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. Remove the wings, toss them in the sauce, add them back to the basket, and air fry for another 5 minutes.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Pat dry the wings with paper towels before adding the oil to ensure there’s no moisture on the wings.
- Swap the oil for…mayo. I know it sounds bizarre, but mayo is mostly oil after all. If you toss the wings in it, you’ll get crackling crisp wings with great flavor.
- Don’t skip the wire rack. I tested this recipe with the wings directly on the baking sheet, and the results were SO different. Keeping the wings on a rack allows every side to get equal heat, and the oil can drip off so they get crispy.
- Don’t forget the dipping sauces! Serve the wings with blue cheese dressing and keto ranch dressing.
Variations
- BBQ wings. Toss the wings in my sugar-free BBQ sauce.
- Garlic parmesan. Toss the baked wings in minced garlic, melted butter, and parmesan before broiling. You can also make my garlic parmesan wings and skip the flour.
- Extra spicy buffalo wings. Add a few dashes of Frank’s hot sauce or add ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
Storage instructions
To store: Leftover wings can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
To freeze: Place the cooled wings in a freezer-safe container and store them in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Reheating: Reheat the wings in a preheated oven or air fryer until warm.
Frequently asked questions
Chicken wings are naturally keto-friendly until you start adding seasonings and sauces to them. If the sauce contains sugar or added carbs, it can easily kick you out of ketosis.
Chicken wings are naturally keto-friendly until you start adding seasonings and sauces to them. If the sauce contains sugar or added carbs, it can easily kick you out of ketosis.
More low carb appetizers
Keto Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken wings mix of drumettes and wings
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
For the low carb wing sauce
- 1/4 cup buffalo sauce
- 2 tablespoons keto honey
- 1/4 cup butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the chicken wings, salt, pepper, vegetable oil, and baking powder. Toss until all are combined. Transfer to the wire rack. Bake for 45 minutes or until the wings are crispy, flipping halfway through.
- In a small saucepan, prepare the sticky sauce. Whisk together the buffalo sauce and the honey and place it over medium heat. Once it simmers, add the butter and cook for a further three minutes.
- Remove the chicken wings from the oven. Turn the oven to broiler mode.
- Place the baked chicken wings into a bowl and coat in the sauce until completely coated.
- Place the chicken wings back on the wire rack and cook for a further 3 minutes, just until the sauce caramelizes.
So juicy!
BEST WINGS I’VE EVER MADE, HANDS DOWN!! Thanks for the great recipe!!
Thanks, Katie!
SO amazing and truly crispy! Skipped the buffalo sauce being I didn’t have it, but the flavors were delicious regardless. These are definitely wings I’m planning to make again and again!
I just made this today. I was anxious to try the baking powder ingredient to see what effect it had. The chicken came out crispy and brown. I had a bit of a time finding baking powder without aluminum. Since I didn’t have the ingredients for the sauce, I just dipped in some Keto Ranch (from this site).
One tip I might pass on, be sure you thoroughly dry your chicken before adding it to the oil.
My wings didn’t get crispy but after I added the sauce and it caramelized they were delicious I didn’t have wing sauce so I had a sugar free chicken dippin and red hot BBQ sauce that I mixed with honey. It worked perfect. Will make again.
This is the best dish that I ever had!!!! Even my son, who’s not a big meat fan, loved it.
These chicken wings look fingerlickin good! I want to put that glaze on everything haha! Teriyaki is my favourite!
These are so good! I made mine with Frank’s RedHot as my Buffalo sauce and dipped them on honey mustard. They had just the right balance of heat and sweet.
Do the wings need to be thawed to make this recipe? I usually buy a large frozen bag.
Thank you