Baked Teriyaki Chicken Wings

By baking instead of frying, these baked teriyaki chicken wings are a little healthier but just as tasty and more importantly, crispy.

January is all about being healthy! But there is also this really big event that happens early in February. You might have heard of it - rhymes with blooper roll. Did you know in 2017, 1.33 billion chicken wings were eaten on Super Bowl Sunday?

That's just crazy to me. Americans love their chicken wings I guess. And these teriyaki chicken wings are about as healthy as you can make them since they're baked instead of fried.

But how to bake chicken wings and still have them crispy? Well luckily there is a little trick that can give you crispy wings without having to fry them. It's something you use in baking all of the time... baking powder! You can see my more in-depth explanation here, but by tossing the chicken in baking powder and then baking in the oven, you can get a crispy wing.

But today is about these chicken wings. It's funny to me that I'm sharing a teriyaki chicken wings recipe because as a kid I wasn't the biggest fan of teriyaki chicken. I almost always just order garlic or Parmesan garlic wings.

But as I've talked about multiple times, taste buds change and while I still love me some garlic wings, there really isn't much better than these. So if you're starting to meal plan for the Super Bowl and want something a little healthier, I'd give these baked chicken wings a try!

Jump to:

• Recipe Ingredients
• Step-by-Step Instructions
• What is Teriyaki Sauce?
• How Does Baking Powder Make Chicken Crispy?
• Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
• Other Appetizer Recipes
• Baked Teriyaki Chicken Wings

Recipe Ingredients

• Chicken wings - use wings and drumettes.
• Baking powder - helps crisp the chicken wings as they bake.
• Salt - enhances the flavor.
• Soy sauce - adds a saltiness to the wings.
• Light brown sugar - offsets the saltiness with a slight sweetness.
• Honey - additional sweetness.
• Rice vinegar - adds some acidity.
• Garlic and ginger - enhances the flavor.
• Green onions and sesame seeds - adds texture and flavor.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 250°F. Take chicken wings out and pat dry. Place wings in large bowl and add baking powder and salt, then toss to coat evenly.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil, then place a cooling rack on the foil. Spray the rack with oil spray. Place wings on rack in a single layer with skin side up. Bake for 30 minutes at 250°F. Increase the oven temperature to 425°F and bake for an additional 50 minutes to 1 hour, rotating the tray halfway through. Remove from tray and let stand for 5 minutes.
3. While wings are baking, heat large pan or skillet over medium heat. Add the sauce ingredients and bring to boil. In a small bowl, whisk together the tbsp of water and cornstarch until smooth and add to sauce.
4. Reduce heat to low and cook until sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat and toss chicken wings until coated.

What is Teriyaki Sauce?

In simple terms, teriyaki is a sauce that is made of soy sauce, sugar varied ingredients like pineapple and garlic. While teriyaki is considered Japanese, its history can actually be traced to Hawaii, making it more American.

How Does Baking Powder Make Chicken Crispy?

Baking powder is alkaline. It raises the skin's pH, which helps break down the proteins more efficiently and making for a browner, crispier skin for these baked chicken wings.

Pro Tips/Recipe Notes

• Use baking powder that is less than a year old since it has been opened. If you use older baking powder, it won’t be powerful enough to help leaven the donuts. You can test it by stirring half a teaspoon of baking powder into a cup of hot water. It will immediately start to fizz and release carbon dioxide gas if it’s still fresh enough to use.
• Bake chicken on a cooling rack which allows the air to circulate and cook all parts of the chicken wings.
• If you don't have fresh ginger, replace with ½ tsp of dried ginger.
• Wait until teriyaki sauce has thickened before adding chicken wings to toss and coat so they are sticky.

Other Appetizer Recipes

• Vietnamese Chicken Wings
• Crispy Baked Chicken Nuggets
• Homemade Pizza Rolls
• Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders
• Baked Mac and Cheese Bites

If you’ve tried these teriyaki chicken wings or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I'm up to.