Salt and Pepper Wings

These Salt and Pepper Wings are crispy, flavorful, finger-licking good appetizers that are perfect for Game Day snacking! They also make a delicious dinner the whole family will love.

Crispy wings are the ultimate Game Day appetizer. There's nothing like a huge plate or bucket of wings while cheering on your favorite team.

We love making air fryer crispy chicken wings, baked teriyaki wings, and bourbon honey garlic chicken wings. So many wing possibilities!

But this Chinese style salt and pepper chicken wings recipe is like the popular take away dish from your favorite Chinese restaurants. It can be served as a delicious main meal as well as a yummy appetizer!

🌟 Why this recipe works

Of all of the many, MANY chicken wing recipes we have on the blog, these Salt and Pepper Wings are one of my favorites.

• Versatile - I love that we can serve them as appetizers or as a hearty main course.
• Easy - These couldn't be easier to make at home!
• Simple - You can whip up these wings with just a few simple ingredients that you probably already have at home or are super easy to find at any local grocery store.
• Healthier - These wings are healthier since they you bake them instead of deep frying them in a lot of hot oil.
• Tastier than Take-Out - While salt and pepper wings are a popular Chinese food, wings often end up being soggy and not as crispy by the time you get them home. Making these wings from scratch ensures you've got super crispy wings to enjoy!

🛒 Ingredient notes

• Chicken wings - You'll need 2-½ to 3 pounds of party wings for this salt and pepper wings recipe. I use both drums and flats
• Olive oil - Use an olive oil that has great flavor, like an extra virgin olive oil.
• Baking powder - This is what helps make these salt and pepper wings extra crispy!
• Garlic - If you love garlic like I do, feel free to add one more clove than what the recipe calls for. Finely mince the garlic so that nobody bites into big chunks of it.
• Sea Salt - You can use course sea salt or fine sea salt. I prefer to use fine sea salt. Since the salt is a major part of the flavoring to this dish, be sure to use the best salt you have.
• Pepper - You'll be using more ground black pepper in this wings recipe than normal since they are, after all, salt and pepper wings.
• Parsley - I prefer to use flat leaf parsley over curly parsley, but you can use either in this recipe. Make sure you chop the fresh parsley finely.

Optional: feel free to garnish with sliced spring onions (green onions), sesame seeds, and serve with lemon wedges. Add some red pepper flakes if you want a spicy kick to them.

✅ Step-by-step instructions

You'll find the full list of ingredients and detailed instructions in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. But for you visual learners, here's a photo step-by-step guide of making this popular Chinese food and Game Day dish.

Start by preheating your oven to 400°F and lining a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.

1. Pat chicken wings dry with paper towels. Wet wings won't turn out as crispy so the drier the wings, the crispier they will be!
2. Coat the wings in olive oil.

3. Toss the coated wings with the baking powder, garlic, sea salt, and black pepper. If you want, you can also sprinkle a little bit of the chopped parsley over the wings; or, you can sprinkle all of the parsley over the cooked wings at the end. It's up to you.

4. Add the chicken wings coated in the salt and black pepper mixture to the prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes.

5. After 20 minutes, use kitchen tongs to flip the chicken wings over.

6. Bake for an additional 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

👩🏻‍🍳 Recipe FAQs

🍽 Serving ideas

As mentioned earlier, you can serve these salt and pepper wings as an appetizer or as a main course.

If serving as part of a game day menu, these wings are great with a side of BBQ sauce or soy sauce. Serve it along with other tasty appetizers and air fried food, such as Air Fryer Potato Skins, Buffalo Chicken Bites, Air Fryer Popcorn Chicken, chips and Taco Dip with Ground Beef, and Soft Pretzel Bites.

It's also great to serve alongside Game Day dips, like Vegan Buffalo Sauce, Dairy Free Creamy Queso Dip, and Dairy Free Spinach Dip.

Plan to serve this as a main course for dinner? It's delicious along with side dishes like Asian Carrot Cucumber Salad, Instant Pot Basmati Rice, and Air Fryer Corn Ribs.

🍷 🥂 Wine pairings

These salt and pepper chicken wings are full of big flavors from the heavy seasoning. So they'd go well with a light bodied red wine, such as a Pinot Noir, Gamay, or a Rosé of Pinot Noir or Rosé of Gamay Noir.

I also enjoy these wings with a crisp, slightly off-dry Riesling.

🍳 Kitchen tools and equipment

Ready to make this recipe? Here are the kitchen tools and equipment you'll need:

• Large mixing bowl - Season the wings in a large bowl.
• Tongs - You'll need kitchen tongs to flip the chicken wings.
• Baking sheet - A large baking sheet is needed to bake the wings.
• Meat thermometer - A meat thermometer is the best way to determine if the chicken is done.

More chicken wing recipes

Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you really loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!