Who doesn’t love Buffalo Wings? They go perfectly with watching football.
Baked Buffalo Wings
But they are something that usually are enjoyed at a restaurant because most people don’t have a deep fryer in their home kitchen.
Breaded and deep fried Buffalo Wings are super high in fat, so they are not something you should eat everyday.
But what if there a way to enjoy Buffalo Wings in your own home? And what if they had far less fat than the traditional sports bar appetizer, yet had all the great flavor?
That was the challenge I came up with for myself. The result were these delicious baked Buffalo Wings.
While chicken wings are still higher in fat than low-fat diet staples like boneless skinless chicken breast or ground turkey, because these Buffalo Wings are baked instead of submersed in hot cooking oil they have less fat and fewer calories than those found at Hooter’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, or your favorite watering hole.
Chicken wings are also some of the least expensive proteins you can buy. Usually, you can find them for $.99/lb or less.
Only a few decades ago, chicken wings were either thrown away or used to make chicken stock.
But back in the 1970s, a woman named Teressa Bellisimo – owner of the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York — invented them on the spot to feed a bunch of hungry college students her son Domonic brought home unexpectedly. She threw a bunch of wings in a deep fryer then tossed them in a mixture of cayenne pepper sauce and butter, then served them up with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.
They quickly became a fixture on sports bar appetizer menus everywhere.
Franks Wing Sauce
My reduced fat recipe uses the same sauce — melted butter and Frank’s Buffalo Wing Sauce — but the wings are baked instead of fried, then tossed with bread crumbs and baked again.
The result is a delicious, reduced fat version of this classic appetizer. And just in time for the NFL playoffs!
Baked Buffalo Wings
1 lb. Chicken Wings (about 8 to 10 wings)
Sea Salt
Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, melted
1/2 cup Franks Buffalo Wing Sauce
1 cup Bread Crumbs (I used Panko, Japanese-style breadcrumbs that are larger than traditional breadcrumbs)
Celery Stalks
Blue Cheese or Ranch Dressing
1/4 cup Blue Cheese Crumbles
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Separate wings at the joint. If the wing tip is included, you can either save it for stock or discard it because it doesn’t have enough meat on it to make it worth keeping. Spray a baking sheet with pan spray and lay out the chicken wings. Season with S&P, flip over and season the other side. Bake for 20 minutes and remove from oven.
2. Combine melted butter and wing sauce in a mixing bowl. Add chicken wings and toss so that all are thoroughly coated. Add bread crumbs and toss again. Return wings to sheet pan and return to oven for another 10 minutes.
3. Remove from oven. Combine dressing and blue cheese crumbles. Serve on the side with celery stalks.
A question for my foreign readers: Are Buffalo Wings strictly an American phenomenon or are they popular elsewhere as well? I’m just curious!
Budget Cooking Blog 
We love making our own wings at home, and we always bake. Frying is just way too messy (and unhealthy, to boot). We’ll definitely give your recipe a go next time. Thanks for posting!
We don’t have them here in the UK! I did eat them when visiting my brother in Atlanta some years ago and they are good! Strange name for a chicken dish! 🙂
I wish that I could say that I enjoy eating chicken wings, but alas, I cannot. It’s not the flavor of this recipe – which I hope to try in the days ahead – but rather that chicken wings are, in my estimation, the most worthless and commonly sold part of the bird stateside. That is because they have so little meat. I have, however, made little “drumlets” (miniature drumsticks) of the wings. But because that is so much work, I’ve either given the wings to my dog (when I had one), or used them to make stock. The feet, of course, are sold to Chinese and Mexican marketers, whose customers in turn make soup of them. That, I would find interesting, having had it once while in Mexico. I think I should prefer to try this recipe using breast meat… which is rather bland, anyway. That’d surely liven up the flavor!
Nice recipe, Dan. Simple and tasty, my favorite kind!
Something I found in my restaurant days – coating the wings with sauce, then frying really did strengthen the flavor.
Of course, it also made anything fried taste buffalo. And trash the oil that much faster.
But a small price to pay for delicious!
Looks good! 🙂
Looks good! 🙂
As for Buffalo wings existing in other countries, as far as I know it’s just an American thing. You might be able to find them in American-themed restaurants or chains overseas… but nothing like you get here (especially in WNY).
I never tried baked buffalo wings before & they are baked chicken thighs?? Yum!
EVERYONE seems to be using Frank’s hot sauce for everything!
Hi Dan, Going to try these out for Super Bowl weekend! Hope you’ve been doing well… C
Mmm looks super delicious.
These look great! It is nice to see a recipe that is not your typical full of fat deep fried wing! Hoping to try these soon 🙂