25 Favorite Chicken Wings for the Big Game

By Vanessa Greaves

January 27, 2020

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Credit: bd.weld

If you can't watch sports without gnawing on a big pile of chicken wings, you'll want to check out our hand-picked list of favorite chicken wing recipes. You'll find crowd-pleasing chicken wings prepared any way you want: fried, air-fried, baked, grilled, smoked, slow-cooked, and in the Instant Pot. And the sauces? Whether you like your wings hot and spicy, sweet and sticky, or super simple, you'll find a whole range of finger lickin' flavors to choose from. You're definitely going to need more napkins.

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Restaurant-Style Buffalo Chicken Wings

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Say "chicken wings" and the first word that comes to mind for most wing-loving sports fan is "Buffalo." And with more than three thousand 5-star reviews, this is our top-rated Buffalo-style chicken wing recipe.

Before you purists go raving at me that the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, N.Y. — home of the original Buffalo wings — prepares their wings a little differently (they don't dredge them in flour before frying), just know that we know, and it's all good. There are many, many ways to make Buffalo-style chicken wings. In fact, we have an entire recipe collection devoted to Buffalo wings.

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Baked Buffalo Wings

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This super-popular recipe delivers all that Buffalo-style flavor without frying. Top tips: Dry your wings thoroughly before coating them in flour and let them rest in the fridge, uncovered, for at least one hour before baking. That way the coating stays on and the wings crisp up.

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Japanese Chicken Wings

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These highly-rated sweet, sticky wings are made using a two-step method of frying followed by coating with sauce and baking. Some reviewers skipped the frying step and simply coated and baked the wings, but you do you.

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Baked Chicken Wings

Credit: Kim's Cooking Now

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For this simple but flavorful recipe, chicken wings are seasoned with olive oil, garlic, and chili powder, and baked until crispy. You can bump up the spices to suit your taste and serve them with your choice of dipping sauce on the side.

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Grill Master Chicken Wings

Credit: Margo Rodriguez

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Just so you know, you don't have to stand over a hot grill cooking these wings while everyone else is inside watching the game. Recipe creator PartyFil-Grillmaster says, " I grill them up before a party and keep them hot in a low oven."

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Detroit Hot Honey Wings

Credit: LashGal

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These grilled wings are coated with honey butter spiked with hot sauce to deliver all the sweet and hot and spicy flavor you can handle. "YES!! I had these wings years ago at a Detroit restaurant when I visited there and, I wanted this recipe so bad I couldn't stand it (the restaurant owners wouldn't give it to me...family secret and all.) — LOVE2COOK4U

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Mahogany Chicken Wings

Credit: Allrecipes Magazine

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Chicken wings are marinated and baked in a flavorful mix of soy sauce, honey, molasses, chile sauce, ginger, and garlic for wings that are sticky-sweet and mildly spicy. You can turn up the heat if you wish with a few shakes of hot sauce in the marinade.

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Garlic and Parmesan Chicken Wings

Credit: Jocelyn Aguda Luis

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"The trick to keeping these oven-baked chicken wings crispy, is parboiling the wings in a flavorful liquid, which helps season the chicken and produce a surface texture in the oven that your guests will swear came straight out of a deep fryer." — Chef John. Watch the video to see how to make them.

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Garlic-Ginger Chicken Wings

Credit: Soni Correia

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Oven-baked wings get coated with a hot, sweet, sticky garlic and ginger glaze. Some reviewers added more garlic, and some added more ginger. You can adjust the amounts to suit your own taste with great results.

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Awesome Slow Cooker Buffalo Wings

Credit: Meg

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Here's our best slow-cooker method for Buffalo wings. You'll slow-cook the wings in buttery hot sauce, then bake them to crisp 'em up. "These wings are fabulous but I recommend cutting way back on the cooking time. I do one hour in the crock pot on high and one hour on low then put them in the oven for 30 minutes. Friends tell me they are the best wings they have ever eaten!" — Kristin

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Easy Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings

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"My family and I love chicken wings, especially during football season. I just got tired of spending so much money on wings for our party that I decided to whip up my own version of Wing Stop's lemon pepper chicken wings. The ending result was an empty platter and pleased bellies." — FleurSweetLoves

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Jerk Chicken Wings

Credit: Cynthia Brown

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Another 5-star winner from our own Chef John. "This marinade is the closest thing I've found to match the taste of authentic Caribbean jerk chicken." — lawhog11

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Awesome Crispy Baked Chicken Wings

Credit: Soup Loving Nicole

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Sometimes you just want simple, crispy baked chicken wings without needing a whole lot of spices and sauces to turn up the taste. Well, here you go. Some reviewers left out or reduced the salt because the Parmesan cheese coating adds just the right amount of salty flavor for them.

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Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings

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"These were the best wings I've ever made," says reviewer teechurkids. "We devoured the whole 3 pounds I made. I didn't make the sauce but used bottled wing sauce and BBQ sauce. Next time I'll at least double if not triple it. The were delicious and a lot less greasy then regular wings either fried or baked."

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Amazing and Easy Chicken Wings

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Chicken wings are marinated overnight and baked in a simple brown sugar/mustard/soy sauce mixture. "As the name says, it was easy and yes they were delicious! Following the direction of many other reviewers, I did half Dijon and half prepared yellow mustard." — Brookexox

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Korean Hot Wings

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"Finger-licking good, Korean-style hot wings made easy and simple. The sauce can be made up to two weeks ahead of time; flavor will intensify." — G Chef

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Air-Fried Korean Chicken Wings

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Recipe creator Yoly says, "These Korean-style air-fried wings are crispy, sticky and spicy. Cooked in an air fryer they are ready in less than 30 minutes." Calvin Kortz adds, "Absolutely delicious! Cleanup is a bit of a hassle from the hot honey but totally worth it."

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Teriyaki Chicken Wings

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"You cannot go wrong with this recipe," says LorenWSmith. "Although I love deep fried wings and drumettes I try to stay away not being that healthy and all. This recipe rocked! Easy and unbelievable flavor. I followed the same process of cutting the water and using more pineapple juice. I am not a fan of using marinade that has had raw chicken soaking in it so I just made some more to sauce the chicken when done cooking and wowza. Really great."

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Spicy Chinese Chicken Wings

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"These easy, spicy chicken wings are an excellent alternative to regular hot wings! I learned this recipe from my mother, who is from Taiwan, and it was always a childhood favorite! Almost all seasonings can be adjusted according to taste. (The Vietnamese chili garlic sauce can be found at any oriental grocery or even most regular groceries.)" — lin_honeybear

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Honey-Sriracha Air Fryer Wings

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"This was delicious as is. I seasoned the chicken wings and let them set for approximately 15 minutes then proceeded with air frying. I doubled the honey sriracha sauce since I doubled the amount of wings." — Mary

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Malaysian Barbecue Chicken Wings

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"These were delicious full of flavor! I added fresh garlic to the marinade as well. My kids loved them too! The most work was cutting up the chicken wings but if you buy them pre-cut then it's not too much work at all." — LCJACK

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Half Time Hoisin Chicken Wings

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"These are wonderfully delicious, spicy, sweet, salty, sticky Asian-style chicken wings," says recipe creator Occasional Cooker. "The garlic and ginger-spiced hoisin and teriyaki sauces, combined with the brown sugar and hot garlic chili sauce, make these wings fly off the platter! They make a great appetizer or light meal for watching the big game. They are excellent served with extra sauce as a dipping sauce or with an Asian slaw."

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Baked Maple and Chipotle Wings

Credit: Chef Mo

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"I made these following the recipe for a Super Bowl party. 10 lbs. of wings and they were gone! I will say they were very hot so if I increase the recipe again I will reduce the chipotle powder a bit although the heat didn't stop anyone!" — Susie

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Smoked Chicken Wings

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"This easy-to-prepare recipe is a surefire winner for your next party. Perfect for watching the game with friends! I use an offset smoker for this recipe, but indirect heat in a 22 1/2 kettle grill works fine too." — Jacob Larson

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Instant Pot Buffalo Wings

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Here's how to get 5-star wings from your Instant Pot. "Buffalo wings made simple in an Instant Pot and without the fry," says Soup Loving Nicole. "The Instant Pot cooks these to perfection. They hold together for easy handling but as soon as you sink your teeth into them, they are fall-off-the-bone tender. Serve with carrot sticks, celery, and ranch if desired."

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By Vanessa Greaves