Lemon Pepper Wings

Name: Baked Lemon Pepper Wings
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds chicken wing drumettes (thawed); 1½ tablespoons cornstarch; ½ cup unsalted butter; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from half a lemon); 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest; 1½ teaspoons lemon pepper spice blend; ½ teaspoon salt; ¾ teaspoon garlic powder

Quick and tasty lemon pepper wings, baked to perfection - ideal for gatherings or a family meal.

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Oven baked Lemon Pepper Wings are coated in cornstarch and baked until crispy, basted with lemon pepper sauce, and broiled until golden brown

Crispy, yet juicy Lemon Pepper Wings Recipe

Our crispy Baked Lemon Pepper Wings recipe takes only 10 minutes to prepare and makes the juiciest, crispiest oven-cooked chicken using a fraction of the oil required for deep frying.

These crispy chicken wings are so full of flavor thanks to my homemade lemon pepper sauce – a simple simmer on the stove using butter, olive oil, fresh lemon, and seasoning can turn any bland oven-baked chicken wings into the best-tasting dinner.

Coating my chicken wings in cornstarch first before bathing them in lemon pepper sauce is my best-kept secret to the moistest meat with the crispiest skin; then I broil the baked wings for a few extra minutes to let the skin become golden before giving them one last spread of sauce.

Looking for low-carb, keto-friendly chicken wing recipes? My Air Fryer Chicken Wings are suitable for most meal plans and are guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser.

Why We Love This Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings Recipe

Quick and easy to make.
Uses a handful of simple, gluten free ingredients.
It tastes just like fried chicken wings but better because they’re baked.
Oven baked crispy wings are healthier than deep frying in oil.
Perfect for Super Bowl snacks, game day gatherings, party appetizers, or simply eating for dinner.

What you’ll need for Lemon Pepper Wings

Chicken wing drumettes
Cornstarch
Unsalted butter
Olive oil
Fresh lemon juice
Fresh lemon zest
Lemon pepper spice blend
Salt
Garlic powder

Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings Recipe Substitutions

Choose Your Chicken: If you can find a package of mixed pieces that have been broken down into drumettes (the ones that look like mini chicken legs) and wingettes (the flat wing pieces), then you can use that for this recipe. You want a total of 2 pounds to yield approximately 10-18 pieces. Be careful that if the bag is labeled “chicken wings,” they are already split in half (in 2 parts) for you. My grocery store packages them as one solid piece that I must separate.
Serve With Sauce: You can serve the wings with bbq sauce, ranch dressing, Caesar dressing, hot sauce, Buffalo sauce, or blue cheese dressing on the side for dipping.

Recommended Tools

Rimmed baking sheet
Aluminum foil
Mixing bowl
Saucepan

How to make Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings

Prepare The Poultry: Coat the thawed chicken pieces with cornstarch.
Bake: Bake the chicken at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes without any lemon pepper sauce.
Pro Tip: Leave space between each piece so the hot air can circulate each piece. This helps get even heating and crispy skin.
Simmer The Sauce: Add the butter, olive oil, fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, lemon pepper spice blend, salt, and garlic powder to a saucepan and simmer.
Baste And Bake: After the chicken wings have been baked for the first 20 minutes, baste with the lemon pepper sauce. Bake for 10 minutes, flip the chicken wing drumettes over, and baste the other side of the chicken. Bake for another 10 minutes or until the wings reach 165*F and the juices clear.
Broil: Broil the wings for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown. Coat in lemon pepper sauce before serving.
Serve: Serve hot and enjoy!

Tips for making Baked Lemon Pepper Wings

For the crispiest possible wings, pat your chicken completely dry with paper towels before coating.
You can easily double, or triple, this recipe. You will need to increase the amount of lemon pepper sauce accordingly and you will need to use a second prepared rimmed baking sheet so that you do not crowd your chicken wings when baking.
Taste your lemon pepper seasoning blend to know if it is good with the amount of salt it will add to this recipe. Depending on your brand, you may find that different brands are saltier than others. You may want to add more or less, salt or lemon pepper seasoning to your butter and oil. You will need to adjust according to taste.
These lemon pepper chicken wings are best served hot and fresh from the oven.
You can garnish your wings with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a couple grinds of fresh black pepper.

What To Serve With Baked Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings

Serve With Sauce: You can serve the wings with bbq sauce, ranch dressing, Caesar dressing, hot sauce, Buffalo sauce, or blue cheese dressing on the side for dipping.

Planning a party and need some easy appetizers or sides to serve with your wings? These baked chicken wings pair perfectly with:

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese, KFC coleslaw (copycat)
instant pot mashed potatoes
Mexican Corn Salad

Storing leftover Lemon Pepper Wings

To Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
To Freeze: You can freeze the cooked wings in a freezer safe container for up to 1 month.
To Reheat: Allow the wings to thaw overnight before reheating in the oven or air fryer to re-crisp the wings.

More Easy Chicken Recipes

Best Grilled Chicken Breasts

Easy Chicken Pot Pie Casserole

Easy Chicken Lo Mein

Crack Chicken Chili

Lemon Pepper Wings Recipe FAQs

How do I cook frozen mixed chicken pieces?

If you buy a large bag of frozen mixed pieces, you can either thaw them completely and follow my recipe or bake them from frozen. Follow the package directions for bake time and temperature if cooking from frozen.

Is fresh chicken better than frozen chicken?

The bags of frozen mixed pieces tend to have much smaller pieces than what you find in the fresh meat section of your grocery store (thus giving the large difference in serving size). Therefore, I like to buy fresh chicken wings because I can see the size of the pieces. This matters when baking because you want all chicken wing pieces to bake at the same rate. If your pieces are smaller, you will need to decrease the bake time accordingly.

Can I reheat Chicken wings in the microwave?

I do not recommend reheating wings in the microwave. I find that they turn soggy and the texture becomes a bit rubbery. It only takes a few fast minutes to re-crisp the chicken in the oven or air fryer, so there’s no need to microwave!

Other Easy Dinner Recipes

5 from 1 vote

Baked Lemon Pepper Wings

Author — Jennifer Fishkind

Serves —

Quick and tasty lemon pepper wings, baked to perfection – ideal for gatherings or a family meal.

Print Rate PinSave

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Total Time 50

Ingredients

▢ 2 pounds chicken wing drumettes thawed
▢ 1½ tablespoons cornstarch
▢ ½ cup unsalted butter
▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
▢ 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice from half a lemon
▢ 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
▢ 1½ teaspoons lemon pepper spice blend
▢ ½ teaspoon salt
▢ ¾ teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and an oven-safe wire rack. You can spray your wire rack with cooking spray to prevent sticking.
In a large bowl, add the thawed chicken wing drumettes and cornstarch. Toss to completely coat the chicken pieces with the cornstarch.
Arrange the chicken wing pieces on the prepared baking sheet, making sure to leave space between each piece so the hot air can circulate around. This helps get even heating and crispy skin.
Bake the chicken for 20 minutes without any lemon pepper sauce.
While your chicken is baking, you can make your lemon pepper sauce in a small saucepan, over low heat, by adding the unsalted butter, olive oil, fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, lemon pepper spice blend, salt, and garlic powder. Simmer on low heat just until the butter has melted and the spices have infused into the butter and oil. Turn off the heat to the saucepan.
After the chicken wings have baked for the first 20 minutes, remove the baking sheet from the oven and baste each chicken wing drumette with the lemon pepper sauce. Return the chicken wings to the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Once the chicken wings have baked for 10 minutes, then you will remove the baking sheet from the oven, carefully flip the chicken wing drumettes over, and baste the other side of the chicken. Return the chicken wings back to the oven to bake for another 10 minutes or until the wings reach 165°F, and the juices run clear.
Once your chicken wings are baked through, you can broil them for 1-2 minutes on each side to get the skin golden and crispy. After they have been broiled to a beautiful golden brown, you will want to give them one last coat of lemon pepper sauce before serving them.

Jenn’s Notes

Yields: 10-18 wings (This will differ greatly between brands)

Storage:

To Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
To Freeze: You can freeze the cooked wings in a freezer safe container for up to 1 month.
To Reheat: Allow the wings to thaw overnight before reheating in the oven or air fryer to re-crisp the wings.

Tips:

For the crispiest possible wings, pat your chicken completely dry with paper towels before coating.
You can easily double, or triple, this recipe. You will need to increase the amount of lemon pepper sauce accordingly and you will need to use a second prepared rimmed baking sheet so that you do not crowd your chicken wings when baking.
Taste your lemon pepper seasoning blend to know if it is good with the amount of salt that it will add to this recipe. You may find, depending on the brand you use, that different brands are saltier than others. You may want to add more, or less, salt or lemon pepper seasoning to your butter and oil. You will just need to adjust according to taste.
These lemon pepper chicken wings are best served hot and fresh from the oven.
You can garnish your wings with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a couple grinds of fresh black pepper.

Nutrition Info

Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings Recipe