Sweet, tangy, crispy, juicy, and easy-- all the things you want in a homemade chicken wing recipe and everything you're going to enjoy about these simple and wonderful honey lemon pepper wings!
Honey lemon chicken wings are almost always gone as fast as they are made. These delicious and crispy lemon pepper wings are the perfect appetizer for tailgating or simple celebrations. Perfectly sweet and tangy with a little kick of spice, these wings are too good to resist.
I've made these wings several times over the years and introduced them to several people, only to hear them request them again and again. Take a warning. You may need to double the recipe to make sure everyone gets their fill.
If you love chicken wings, make sure to try my Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Wings, Soy Garlic Chicken Wings, and Honey Buffalo Wings.
Why This Recipe Works
- The leftovers taste great too! They taste fantastic right after being made, but the leftovers the next day are even better! So make them a day in advance or stash some aside and enjoy them all over again.
- We use basic ingredients. With just a few pantry ingredients and some chicken wings, you can have a batch of sweet and tangy chicken wings in the oven in no time flat.
- Minimal effort. Unlike other chicken wing recipes where a sauce is made or process steps are added, this one is very simple and easy. Mix ingredients together, toss with wings, and bake until golden. The lack of physical effort makes these wings more memorable.
Jump to:
🥘 Ingredients
Thawed Chicken Wings- You'll need some chicken wings for this recipe, but for the best texture and crispness, you'll need them to be thawed before use. Frozen wings will cause too much moisture on the pan and practically "steam" the wings.
Honey- This is the base of the sauce recipe. I recommend using local unpasteurized honey but feel free to use what you have on hand.
Lemon Pepper Seasoning Mix- Adding lemon pepper seasoning will give us a wonderful flavor with minimal effort.
Lemon Juice- For added freshness and lemon flavor, you'll need some lemon juice. You can use freshly squeezed or concentrate.
Back Pepper- This will give us a nicer kick of spice to the wings.
Olive Oil- To help evenly distribute the flavors on the wings and to help the skin crisp up as they bake, you'll need some olive oil.
For the exact amounts needed, please see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
BeeyondCereal is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.
🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make honey lemon pepper wings with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with foil. Set the pan aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon pepper, honey, and black pepper.
Stir with a whisk until well-mixed.
Add in your thawed chicken wings.
Toss well to coat.
Lay the coated chicken wings on the prepared baking sheet in a nice and even layer (or as best as you can).
Bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until the internal temperature is at least 160 degrees F and the skin looks crisp.
Serve warm.
🍴 Recipe Tips
What I truly love most about this honey lemon pepper chicken wings recipe is that it's just tossing everything together in a bowl and tossing it in the oven. No complicated steps, no flour, no patting the chicken dry or brining it for several hours... just simple steps and simple ingredients.
That said if you truly wanted to enjoy a brined chicken wing recipe, my beer brined wings are really good too. I'd say that these lemon pepper wings and the beer brine are our top 2 favorites around here.
If you do want the skin a little crisper, just turn on the broil after they've cooked and let them sit there for about 1 minute or 2. Keep a close eye, though because burnt isn't always a good flavor.
Chicken safety
You will know that your chicken has finished cooking properly when you can insert an instant read food thermometer into the meat hand have it register as 165 degrees F. The meat and juices may still have a slight pink coloration to them but it should not look raw.
🍳 Reheating
Microwave- I recommend laying chicken wings on a microwave-safe plate between two sheets of slightly dampened paper towels. Heat for 2 minutes or until warmed through. The paper towels will keep the chicken from drying out.
Oven- Preheat your oven to 350F and lay your chicken wings onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-20 minutes or until fully heated through and crispy.
Air fryer- Reheat chicken wings in the air fryer by laying them in an even layer in the basket and cooking at 360F for 5 minutes. You may wish to flip them over halfway so that they can cook evenly
💭 FAQs
You can store your leftover chicken wings in the fridge in an airtight container for about 3-5 days. Just reheat and eat when you're ready.
More great appetizer recipes to try
- Maple Bacon Dip
- Peanut Butter Yogurt Fruit Dip
- Chicken Cream Cheese Crescent Bombs
- Loaded Totchos (Tater Tot Nachos)
📖 Recipe
Honey Lemon Pepper Wings
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Chicken wings, thawed ($4.97)
- ½ cup Honey ($1.12)
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon pepper seasoning ($0.30)
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon juice ($0.12)
- ½ teaspoon Black pepper ($0.05)
- 1 Tablespoon Olive oil ($0.13)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with foil. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the honey, lemon pepper, lemon juice, black pepper, and olive oil until well mixed.
- Toss the chicken wings in the mixture until well coated and then spread them out in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake in the oven for 45 minutes until the internal temperature reaches at least 160 degrees F and the skin is looking crisp and caramelized.
- Serve warm.
Leave a Reply