Honey Lemon Pepper Wings – crispy golden brown chicken wings tossed with a flavor-packed honey lemon pepper glaze.
Honey Lemon Pepper Wings Recipe
Crispy golden brown chicken wings tossed in a warm honey lemon pepper pepper sauce. Perfect for game day! These party wings are so easy to make and absolutely loaded with flavor. I’ve included instructions here to bake, fry, or air fry the wings so you can make the recipe in your preferred style. I usually bake my wings in the oven, especially when serving a crowd. It’s so easy and mess free and you get super crispy skin without added olive oil! Plus it’s easy to double the recipe by using two sheets pans and rotating them halfway through baking. Before cooking, I season the wings with just Kosher Salt. This keeps the spices and flour from burning in the oven or when frying. Then the honey lemon pepper sauce is loaded with plenty of seasoning and flavor. This method of cooking the wings also allows you to easily add different sauces for a variety of flavors. Tip: To make these wings gluten-free use a lemon-pepper seasoning that is gluten-free.
Honey Lemon Pepper Wings Ingredients
- Party Wings – a mix of drumettes and wingettes, also called flats.
- Butter
- Garlic – freshly minced, or substitute 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder.
- Honey
- Lemon Pepper Seasoning – I tested this recipe with both Kinder’s Lemon Pepper Seasoning and McCormick Lemon & Pepper Seasoning. Both are great coarse lemon pepper seasonings. If using a fine lemon pepper seasoning mix, reduce the amount of seasoning by half.
- Kosher Salt and Coarsely Ground Black Pepper
- Lemon Zest – I use lemon zest instead of lemon juice for a more concentrated lemon flavor without watering the sauce down.
- Parmesan – freshly grated
- Fresh Parsley – for garnish
How to Cook the Chicken Wings
Oven Method – Pat the wings dry with a paper towel. Season with kosher salt. Place on wire rack on baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. Wings will be crispy and golden brown. Immediately toss with lemon pepper glaze. As noted above, this is my preferred method for servings wings for a crowd.
Air Fryer Method – Pat the wings dry with a paper towel. Season with kosher salt. Preheat Air Fryer to 380 degrees. Place in Air Fryer Basket and air fry for 20 minutes or until wings are golden brown and crispy. Batch size and cooking time will vary depending on size of Air Fryer. Cook in single layer to ensure even cooking. I like this method for small batches.
Deep Fry Method – Heat peanut oil or vegetable oil to 350 degrees in a large dutch oven. Pat the wings dry with a paper towel. Season with kosher salt. Fry wings in small batches for about 10 minutes, or until wings are golden brown and crispy. This method makes the skin super crispy, and since we aren’t adding flour or spices to the wings prior to frying, there is less chance of getting burned pieces in the bottom of the oil. For best results use a deep fry thermometer to make sure the oil stays at 350 degrees. Drain wings on paper towel before tossing with honey lemon pepper glaze.
Honey Lemon Pepper Sauce
In a small saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter. Saute fresh garlic, then stir in honey, lemon pepper seasoning, salt, pepper, and lemon zest. Keep warm until wings are ready. In a large mixing bowl, toss hot wings together with Honey Lemon Pepper Glaze. Top with Parmesan and Fresh Parsley. Serve with additional lemon pepper seasoning for sprinkling and ranch dressing to dip.
Hot Honey Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings
To make Hot Honey Lemon Pepper Wings create a hot honey sauce buy substituting store bought hot honey for regular honey. Alternatively, you can add a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce to the glaze to make your own hot honey. I think this is an epic variation and you can’t go wrong with hot honey!
How to Store Leftover Wings
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
- 2.5 pounds Party Wings
- 4 tablespoons Butter
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons Honey
- 2 tablespoon Coarse Lemon Pepper Seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon Coarsely Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Zest
- 2 Tablespoon Grated Parmesan
- Fresh Parsley Chopped for Garnish
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Move oven rack to upper third of oven and preheat oven to 400℉. Place baking rack on sheet pan. Place party wings on baking rack and pat dry. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake for about 40 minutes, until skin is crispy and golden brown.
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While wings are cooking, melt butter in small sauce pan over medium heat. Add garlic to melted butter and cook 1-2 minutes. Stir in honey, lemon pepper seasoning, black pepper, salt, and lemon zest.
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In a large bowl, toss hot wings with warm honey lemon pepper mixture. Sprinkle with grated parmesan and fresh parsley. Serve with ranch dressing and additional lemon pepper seasoning for sprinkling.
More Game Day Favorites
- Pigs in a Blanket
- Crispy Oven Roasted Buffalo Wings
- Cheddar Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball
- Crispy Buffalo Drumsticks
- Buckeye Peanut Butter Balls
- M&M’s Cookie Bars
- Chocolate Chip S’Mores Cookies
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- Quick to make
- Light on your budget
- Easy to clean-up
- and...most important...absolutely DELICIOUS
Gina
We are ALL about the wings – I always make a double batch of these so I don’t have to share.
Beth
I love the bright flavor of these wings. The sauce is absolutely amazing.
Amanda
The flavor on these wings is enough to make your mouth water. They were amazing!
Sandra
These are really good appetizer! So much flavor and really juicy! I should make a big batch next time!
Erin | Dinners, Dishes and Dessert
This is so delish! One of the best I’ve ever made!
April
The flavor on these was phenomenal! I don’t make wings often, but when I do this is now my new go to.