Garlic Butter Wings

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It doesn’t take much to make insanely good chicken wings at home, and this Garlic Butter Wings recipe proves that!

With only a few ingredients, you’ll be rewarded with well-seasoned garlic chicken wings, all made in the comfort of your own kitchen.

Garlic Butter Wings in a white dish.

These flavorful wings are possibly the tastiest you will ever have! First, the chicken is seasoned and baked to golden brown perfection then coated in a delicious garlic butter sauce.

After several trials, I am glad to present to you this polished version of garlic butter chicken wings.

Hand holding a chicken wing.

Each time I order crispy chicken wings from a restaurant, I am unimpressed by how expensive they are. Wings are way easier and cheaper to make at home (especially this chicken wings recipe, with a prep time of 10-15 minutes max and simple ingredients!)

Serve these incredible wings on their own as a perfect appetizer or as a quick dinner alongside Corn Avocado Salad, Mango Avocado Salsa, or Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes.

Love wings? Also, check out these Baked Dry Rub Chicken Wings, Jerk Chicken Wings, and Epic Oven Grilled Chicken Wings.

Why This Chicken Wing Recipe Works

  • It is versatile: You can cook the chicken in the oven or outside grill. You can even make air fryer chicken wings! Either way, the hot air gives you crispy results. Dare I say: crispy perfection.
  • It is loaded with flavor: The chicken is garlicky, buttery, and well-seasoned. A flavor explosion and finger-licking good!
  • It can be served in different ways: You can serve these Garlic Butter Wings as appetizer party wings. They are perfect for game day and just football season in general! Or serve them as a quick dinner. It’s also a great recipe for entertaining.
  • No need for additional dipping sauces: The garlic butter is enough to coat the chicken wings with enough left for dipping the chicken in. So good!

For another appetizer recipe that could serve as a main dish, also check out this Salmon Bites Recipe.

Bowl of chicken wings with garlic butter at the bottom.

Ingredients Needed

Here are the simple ingredients you need to make impressive and well-seasoned Garlic Butter Wings!

Ingredients for garlic butter chicken wings with labels to explain each ingredient.
  • Chicken wings: Drumettes and flats will work here but if you have only drumettes, those will work as well. If you have whole chicken wings, cut them into sections and save the wing tips for making chicken stock.
  • Chicken Bouillon Powder: This adds extra flavor to the chicken, something you won’t find in other recipes. The bouillon powder I use and recommend is Knorr Chicken Bouillon Powder, but that is just my personal preference. I highly recommend you use it unless you are allergic to MSG, which it contains.
  • Onion Powder and Garlic Powder: My secret for adding flavor to most proteins, whether pan-seared, grilled, or cooked in the oven.
  • Minced fresh garlic: For the best flavor, mince your own garlic. You could finely mince the garlic on a chopping board with a knife or you could grate the garlic using a microplane zester, or press the garlic using a garlic press.

For the full list of ingredients with measurements, check out the recipe card below.

How To Make Garlic Butter Wings

Here is how to make Garlic Butter Wings in 6 easy steps.

  • Prepare and season chicken. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel to remove extra moisture then season the chicken with table or kosher salt, black pepper, chicken bouillon powder, garlic powder, and onion powder.
Chicken wings in a white bowl with powdered seasoning on top.
  • Bake, low-broil, grill, or air fry the chicken. Place wings onto a large baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and top with a wire rack or a large-rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with olive oil (or other cooking spray). Use foil because parchment paper might make them stick.
  • Then, cook the chicken using the method of choice. If baking, bake wings at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for about 25 to 30 minutes, flipping at the halfway mark. This high temperature is necessary for crispy garlic butter chicken wings.
Raw chicken on a rack placed on a baking sheet.
Baked chicken wings on a baking rack.
  • Make the garlic butter sauce: Melt room temperature butter in a medium skillet (larger than just a small saucepan) on medium heat then add minced garlic to the melted butter and stir. Turn off heat then add lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Garlic butter sauce in a stainless steel skillet.
  • Toss chicken and sauce: Add the homemade garlic butter sauce to a large bowl with the cooked chicken wings, and then toss together to combine. Try to scrape out every last bit of remaining butter sauce, because you want to enjoy every drop that you can! Also, avoid using a small bowl because you need enough room to toss wings comfortably.
Garlic butter sauce pouring into chicken.
  • Garnish and serve. Garnish with fresh parsley or chives and serve warm.
Chicken garnished with minced parsley.

Easily mince garlic by grating it using a microplane zester or by pressing the garlic with a sturdy garlic press.

Recipe Variations

  • Spicy: Add some cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes for a spicy kick. You can also add a dash of buffalo sauce or other hot sauce to the melted butter mixture. Who doesn’t love spicy buffalo wings?
  • Different seasoning: Seasoning the chicken with other seasoning blends like cajun seasoning, Italian seasoning, or all-purpose seasoning.
  • Teriyaki chicken wings: Toss the cooked chicken wings in teriyaki sauce to make teriyaki chicken wings.
  • Parmesan chicken wings: Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese over the chicken wings for a delicious parmesan flavor. Garlic parmesan wings are lovely. While you’re at it, sprinkle on some lemon zest, too!

Also, check out these recipes: Lemon Butter Salmon, Pan Seared Chicken Tenders, and Chicken Macaroni Salad.

Expert Tips

  • Always pat chicken wings dry before seasoning them so they bake up crispy under the high heat.
  • When sauteeing minced garlic in butter, ensure that the heat is on medium and turn off the heat 15 seconds after the garlic enters the pan to prevent the garlic from burning. Sauteeing the garlic a little bit removes the rawness and helps the flavors bloom.
  • For more flavorful Garlic Butter Wings, consider swapping plain unsalted butter for more flavorful butter like European butter. Irish butter and president butter are two favorite brands of European butter we use when we can find them.
  • To make the wings ahead, the best way is to bake the wings the day before and store in the fridge then the next day, bake to reheat and toss with the garlic butter sauce.
  • To test the chicken for doneness, insert an instant-read meat thermometer into the thickest part of the meat. The internal temperature should read 165 degrees Fahrenheit for the chicken to be considered done.
  • Keep leftover wings in an airtight container. They will keep fresh for 3-4 days. I recommend reheating them in the oven or air fryer to restore the extra crispy skin. Make sure they are in a single layer on the sheet pan or in the air fryer basket. Overfilling the baking tray will cause uneven heating.

Equipment Used

This extra crispy wings recipe requires standard equipment, but here are some items that make this recipe easier for me:

Recipe FAQs

Do I sauce my wings before or after I bake them?

Afterwards. Toss the sauce with the oven-baked wings once they are thoroughly cooked!

How do you get seasoning to stick to chicken wings?

Always pat chicken wings dry before seasoning to ensure that the seasoning sticks to the chicken wings.

How do you make sauce stick on wings?

To make sauce stick on wings, add honey to the sauce as an emulsifier so the sauce won’t slide off the wings.

Serving

Serve these Garlic Butter Wings with the following side dishes:

For another great appetizer recipe, check out this 4 Ingredient Guacamole Recipe.

How About Dipping Sauces?

You can also serve these Garlic Butter Wings on a serving platter as an appetizer, with your favorite dipping sauces. Classic ranch dressing, blue cheese dressing, or Chipotle ranch are dipping sauces to consider. This spicy African Pepper Sauce complements wings so well.

If you make this recipe please leave a star rating below. Your rating helps others find the recipe plus I love hearing from you! Thank you!

Garlic Butter Wings in a white dish.

Garlic Butter Wings

5 from 1 vote
It doesn't take much to make insanely good chicken wings at home and this Garlic Butter Wings proves that! With only a few ingredients you'll be rewarded with well-seasoned wings all made in the comfort of your own kitchen. You don't even need extra dipping sauce because you could dip the chicken into that glorious garlic butter sauce.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients  

  • 2 pounds chicken wings
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder

Garlic Butter Sauce

  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 Tablespoon minced garlic about 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • Pinch of salt and pepper
  • 1 Tablespoon freshly minced parsley or chives for garnish

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to low broil. Broil uses the upper heating element of the oven. If your oven doesn't have this function, then preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit instead.
  • Prepare and season chicken: Pat chicken dry using paper towels. To the chicken, add the ½ teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon of black pepper, chicken bouillon powder, onion powder, and garlic powder. Toss the wings together with the seasoning well, ensuring that the seasoning evenly coats the chicken.
  • Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil then place a rack on the baking sheet. Add the seasoned chicken wings on the rack in a single layer. If you don't have a rack, you could bake the chicken directly on aluminum foil brushed or sprayed with oil.
  • Bake or low-broil the chicken in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes to 30 minutes, flipping the chicken to the other side after 15 minutes.
  • Make the garlic butter sauce: Place a medium or large skillet on medium heat on the stovetop. Add the butter and let it melt. Add the minced garlic and stir for 15 to 30 seconds. Turn off the heat so the garlic doesn't burn. Stir in the lemon juice then season with a pinch of salt and black pepper. For a little spicy kick, you could also season with a little crushed pepper flakes.
  • Toss chicken and sauce: Place the cooked chicken in a large mixing bowl, add the garlic butter sauce then toss to combine, ensuring that the garlic butter sauce coats every chicken wing.
  • Garnish: Garnish with chopped chives or minced parsley.
  • Serve: serve as is because the garlic butter sauce underneath the chicken also makes a great dipping sauce or serve with a dipping sauce of your choice.

Notes

Chicken wings: A combination of both chicken drumettes and flats will work but if you have only chicken drumettes, those will work as well. Buy either plain fresh or frozen wings from the grocery store. Frozen wings will take a while to thaw but they are as good and sometimes even fresher than fresh wings.
Minced Garlic: For the best flavor, mince your own garlic. You could finely mince the garlic on a chopping board with a knife or you could grate the garlic using a microplane zester, or press the garlic using a garlic press.
Grilling: You could also cook the chicken wings on the outside grill. Cook on medium heat, flipping as needed. It takes about 15 minutes for the chicken to be done.
Sectioning Wings: If your chicken wings come whole, cut them into sections and save the tips for making chicken stock.

Nutrition

Calories: 482kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 155mg | Sodium: 504mg | Potassium: 231mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 0.3g | Vitamin A: 966IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg

Additional Info

Course: Appetizer, Dinner
Cuisine: Western
Calories: 482
Tried this recipe?Mention @preciouscore or tag #PreciousCore!

About Precious

Welcome to my core! I am Precious Nkeih, the recipe developer and writer right here on my blog, Precious Core. My goal is to show you insanely delicious recipes you can replicate in your kitchen. And I love to tell stories too. Hope you find recipes here that will make cooking easier for you! Check me out on YouTube at YouTube.com/PreciousKitchen.


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