Crispy Baked Lemon Garlic Chicken Wings
on Jan 23, 2020, Updated Aug 11, 2025
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Savor Crispy Baked Lemon Garlic Chicken Wings—juicy, zesty, and perfectly seasoned for a healthier, flavorful snack!
Table of Contents
What Makes This Recipe Great
Craving incredibly crispy chicken wings without the mess of deep-frying? Look no further! These baked lemon garlic chicken wings are so crispy, you’ll swear they were fried. The secret? A simple, powerful ingredient that you probably already have in your pantry: baking powder.
This recipe delivers perfectly golden, crunchy wings bursting with a bright, zesty lemon and savory garlic flavor. They’re easy to make and are perfect for a game day snack, a party appetizer, or a simple weeknight dinner.
Ingredient List
- Chicken Wings– whole or drumettes and flats
- Baking Powder– the key to achieving that irresistible crunch
- Salt
- Garlic Powder
- Lemon Zest
- Lemon Juice– you can use fresh or from a squeeze bottle
- Ghee– has a high smoke point and a rich, buttery flavor that complements the lemon and garlic perfectly.
Step By Step
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire cooling rack on top.
- Pat your chicken wings dry (the dryer they are, the crispy they will get!). Then place them in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl combine baking powder, ½ tsp salt, 2 tsp garlic powder and 1 Tbsp lemon zest and stir to combine.
- Pour the spice mixture over the wings and toss to coat evenly.
- Place the wings, spread out evenly, on the cooling rack and bake for 30 minutes, flip them all, then bake for another 20-30 minutes or until browned and crispy.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine 1 tsp garlic powder, lemon juice, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ cup melted ghee and stir to combine.
- Place cooked wings in a large bowl and add ghee mixture on top. Toss to coat the wings.
- Serve with veggies!
Pro Tip
- Use a wire rack: Elevating the wings allows for better air circulation and prevents them from getting soggy.
Frequently Asked Question
Do I need to use the baking soda?
- Baking powder is the key to achieving that irresistible crunch. When mixed with salt and tossed with the wings, it raises the skin’s pH, which helps it brown and get extra crispy as it bakes. It also creates tiny air bubbles, which results in a lighter, crispier texture. Don’t worry, you won’t taste it—it simply works its magic to transform the texture.
You Will Need More Grub for the Season
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Crispy Baked Lemon Garlic Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken wings
- 2 tsp baking powder**
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
Sauce:
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup ghee, melted
- Serve with: Celery, carrots, bell peppers & ranch dressing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire cooling rack on top.
- Pat your chicken wings dry (the dryer they are, the crispy they will get!). Then place them in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl combine baking powder, ½ tsp salt, 2 tsp garlic powder and 1 Tbsp lemon zest and stir to combine.
- Pour the spice mixture over the wings and toss to coat evenly.
- Place the wings, spread out evenly, on the cooling rack and bake for 30 minutes, flip them all, then bake for another 20-30 minutes or until browned and crispy.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine 1 tsp garlic powder, lemon juice, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ cup melted ghee and stir to combine.
- Place cooked wings in a large bowl and add ghee mixture on top. Toss to coat the wings.
- Serve with veggies!
Notes
- **To make these paleo, make your own baking powder by combining 2 tablespoons cream of tartar, 1 tablespoon baking soda, and 1 tablespoon tapioca starch
- You can use butter instead of ghee.
The crunch on these wings was fantastic! Made the paleo baking powder and it worked fantastic. Will make again, but will add more lemon to the sauce to really give it a punch
That’s awesome!!
I’m planning to make this for the super bowl this weekend and I need to make them whole 30, is the baking powder that is paleo that also or how does that work? Thank you!
Yes you can do the paleo version for Whole30!!
Yum!! So good! My husband was raving about them and said to definitely keep the recipe. Making sure the wings are really dry before cooking is super important. I was lazy on measuring for the zest and lemon juice so it was basically the zest from a small lemon that I used and the juice from almost half the lemon. Will definitely make again!!! Pro tip: after cooking when you have the cooling rack that needs washing I flip it over so that it sits inside the baking sheet and fill it with some dish soap and hot water to let it soak and it makes it a breeze to clean!
Yes! Great tip!
I made these last night and they were amazing!!! Such great flavour. Will 100% be making again and will be the staple recipe I use for chicken wings!!! Cannot rave enough about how good these are!
That is great to hear!!
This looks delicious! Can you use frozen wings?
Yes, just let them thaw before cooking!
These were so delicious! Super crunchy and loved the flavor!
I am so glad!!
Holy smokes – my husband and I devoured these!! Crispy and fresh! We will definitely make these again!
That is awesome!!
We made these for the Super Bowl and holy smokes they were delicious!!!! My child, who is extremely picky, even ate them and asked for more!!
Amazing to hear!!
Since food shopping is an every other-ish week thing right now I bought a bunch of protein this last trip to Costco. When I saw the wings, this is the recipe I thought of and tossed em in my cart. Holy moly. The crunch. The sauce. Sooooo easy. I may or may not have taken a piece of bread and sopped up the leftover sauce from the bowl 😉 and really, next time we make garlic bread, I’m doing it with this sauce, because YUM. This will be on repeat.
That’s awesome to hear!!
So good!! Thanks for sharing.
Of course! 🙂
So, so good!!
Awesome!!
These are fantastic! I have added these into my rotation of chicken wing recipes I use. Wings are such an easy thing to make and so quick if you are in a time crunch. These work great in an airfryer too – I just shake the basket once or twice while cooking them. They turn out great every time! I cook them at 360 for 24ish minutes – always temp them since times vary depending on the thickness of the wings or the type of airfryer you are using. Can’t wait to make them again soon!!!
Awesome, thank you for that!!