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This easy and flavorful chicken wing marinade adds a sweet and salty flavor to oven baked, grilled, or air fried chicken wings! Plus the marinade can double as a finishing sauce.
Love chicken wings? Try my Grilled Chicken Wings or Fried Chicken Wings next.
Why We Love This Recipe
- Easy Ingredients – I love that the chicken wing marinade uses simple ingredients (I typically have them all on hand!)
- Balance of Salty and Sweet – Using both soy sauce and brown sugar gives that perfect balance.
- Doubles as a Sauce – You can reserve some of the marinade to use as a sauce after cooking the wings.
recipe walk-through
Ingredient Notes
- Split Chicken Wings – It’s easiest to buy wings that are already split into the flats and drummies at the store. If you can not find already split wings, you can purchase whole wings and split them through the joint to create your own split wings. Split wings cook more evenly than whole wings.
- Soy Sauce – I recommend low-sodium soy sauce to help control the salt level in the marinade. You can also swap in gluten free tamari.
- Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice – Freshly squeezed is best for flavor, but you can use the kind in a bottle too. Lemon juice or apple cider vinegar can also be used in place of the lime juice.
- All Purpose Flour – The flour can be omitted to make them gluten free (you’ll also want to swap out the soy sauce for gluten free tamari), but the skin will not crisp up as much. The flour pulls the fat in the marinade and the skin to the surface.Â
How To Make the Best Chicken Wing Marinade
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
Mix Marinade – In a large bowl, mix together the soy sauce, olive oil, brown sugar, lime juice, garlic and 1 teaspoon each of the cumin, salt, paprika, and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Remove â…“ cup of marinade and set aside.
Marinate Chicken Wings – Place the wings in a resealable plastic bag or container and pour the marinade over to coat – giving the wings a good toss. Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour or even overnight.
Prep Wings for Cooking – Remove the wings from the marinade and pat dry with a paper towel – all of the flavor is soaked into the wings! Let the wings sit at room temperature to dry the surface for 20 minutes. Mix together the flour, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, and the remaining spices. Add the dried wings to the flour mixture and toss to coat. Shake off any excess flour.
Preheat Oven – Preheat the oven and line a large baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top. Liberally spray the wire rack with cooking spray to keep the wings from sticking to it.
Bake Wings – Place the wings on the wire rack in a single layer. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn them over and bake for another 15-20 minutes until cooked through and browned.
Thicken Sauce – While the wings are baking, put the reserved marinade (not the marinade that touched the raw wings) into a small saucepan. Whisk in the remaining ½ teaspoon of cornstarch until smooth. Bring to a boil for 1 minute until thickened (it will coat the back of a spoon).
Toss Wings – Add the hot wings to a large bowl and pour over the thickened marinade then toss to coat evenly. Garnish with chopped parsley and enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
I prefer to use fresh chicken wings, but you can use frozen chicken wings if you thaw them first before marinating and cooking.
There are a few key tips to make sure your chicken wings get nice and crispy! First is being sure to fully dry the wings as extra moisture can limit crispiness. Second is to use a dry dredge (like flour) to get a crispy crust and finally to bake them at a high heat on a wire rack so the heat can fully circulate.
If you’re serving chicken wings as an appetizer, then plan for 3-4 wings per person. For a main course, I like to plan on 8-10 chicken wings per person.
Serving Suggestions and Variations
- Serving Ideas: These supremely flavorful wings are a great addition to your appetizer spread, and they pair nicely with other appetizer favorites like Garlic Knots, Baked Garlic Dip, and Cheesy Garlic Bread.
- Variation – Grill: To cook these on the grill, preheat the grill to medium heat and grill on indirect heat for 15-20 minutes (not over the flame), flip, then cook for another 15-20 minutes. For crispy results, move to direct heat (right over the flame) for the last 5 minutes.
- Variation – Slow Cooker: To make them in the slow cooker, skip the flour step and add the marinated wings to the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for about 2.5 hours, or until fully cooked. You then can place them on a rack on a baking sheet and broil for a few minutes to crisp them up.
- Variation – Air Fryer: To make them in the air fryer, spray your air fryer basket with cooking spray and add the marinated and floured wings to the air fryer. Air Fry at 375℉ for 10 minutes, flip, and cook for 10 more minutes. Check out this recipe for Air Fryer Chicken Wings for more tips.
Storage Tips
How to Store and Reheat Chicken Wings
Store leftover wings in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Wings are best reheated in an oven, toaster oven, or air fryer to re-crisp the skin. Air fry at 400℉ for 5-7 minutes for best results.
Recipe Tips
- Evenly Cook the Wings – Split wings have 2 portions: a drumette and a flat. When I bake my chicken wings, I like to arrange the drumette portions on the outer edge of the baking sheet and then line the flat portions in the center. This way the thicker, meatier drummettes get more heat exposure.
- Crispy Skin – For crispy skin, it is super important to dry the wings as best as possible when you take them out of the marinade and before they go into the dredge. You’re looking for just a light coating of the flour mixture, you don’t want a thick breading like fried chicken.
- Spicy Wings – For an added kick, add a pinch of red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper.
More Chicken Wing Recipes
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings
- Garlic Chicken Wings
- Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings
- Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
- BBQ Chicken Wings
Chicken Wing Marinade
Ingredients
Marinade
- 2 ½ pounds Split chicken wings
- 1/3 cup Soy sauce
- 1/4 cup Olive oil
- 3 tablespoons Light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons Freshly squeezed lime juice
- 3 Garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon Cumin divided
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt divided
- 1 teaspoon Smoked paprika divided
- 1/2 teaspoon Black pepper divided
- 2 tablespoons Cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon Cornstarch for thickening marinade
Chicken Seasoning
- 1/4 cup All-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together soy sauce, olive oil, brown sugar, lime juice, garlic, 1 teaspoon each of cumin, salt and paprika, and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Remove ⅓ cup of marinade and set aside.
- Place wings in a gallon size resealable plastic bag or large airtight container. Pour marinade over chicken wings and toss to coat. Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- When ready to cook the wings, preheat the oven to 450℉. Line a large baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top. Liberally spray the wire rack with cooking spray.
- Remove from the marinade and liberally pat dry with paper towels. Let the wings sit at room temperature to dry the surface for 20 minutes. This is very important for crispy wings.
- While the wings are coming up to room temperature, whisk together flour, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, and ½ teaspoon each of cumin, paprika, kosher salt and black pepper in a large bowl or resealable plastic bag. Add the dried wings to the flour mixture and toss to coat. Shake off any excess flour.
- Place the wings on the wire rack in a single layer, making sure there is a little space between them so they cook and brown evenly. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn them over and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until cooked through and browned.
- While the wings are baking, heat the reserved marinade in a small saucepan. Whisk in the remaining ½ teaspoon of cornstarch until smooth. Bring to a boil for 1 minute until thickened.
- Add the hot wings to a large bowl. Pour the thickened marinade over the wings and toss to coat evenly. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately with your choice of dipping sauces.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
