This is the best honey lemon pepper wings recipe. With a perfectly sweet yet tangy flavour, these chicken wings are sticky yet crispy on the outside, and melt in your mouth tender on the inside. You will love how easy these chicken wings are to make, using just a few simple ingredients.
Why you will love this recipe:
- The taste! The honey lemon pepper glaze on these chicken wings is to die for. It takes these wings to the next level. It's sweet, sticky, tangy, with a little bit of spice - it's the perfect flavour combination.
- Move over Wingstop! These are the best honey lemon pepper chicken wings!
- They are so easy to make and use just a few simple pantry staple ingredients like honey, lemons, pepper and garlic.
- I have included both oven and air fryer directions for making these delicious chicken wings so you can either make oven baked wings or air fryer wings.
- These honey lemon wings are a great main dish for weeknight dinners or lunches but also make a great easy appetizer and would be perfect to serve at a tailgate or Super Bowl party! They make the perfect party food.
- Not only do these wings taste amazing, but they are healthy and are naturally gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free and paleo too.
Taste and texture:
These wings are sticky, sweet and slightly tangy. The honey lemon pepper glaze has the most amazing flavour and these wings have the best melt in your mouth inner meat layer with the perfectly crispy chicken wings skin.
Key ingredients and substitutions:
You should be able to find all of these basic ingredients at any local grocery store. For the exact measurements refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Fresh chicken wings - you will need one pound of cut up chicken wings to make this recipe. If you have frozen chicken wings be sure to let them thaw first so that you get the most crispy wings when you cook them.
- Spices - You will use a few spices to give the chicken wings a dry rub. I went with sea salt, black pepper and paprika, but you could also add other spices such as garlic powder or onion powder to kick up the flavour even more.
- Oil - I use avocado oil but you could also use olive oil too.
- Honey - the base of the delicious honey lemon pepper sauce that coats these delicious wings.
- Fresh lemon juice - freshly squeezed lemon juice adds just the perfect amount of citrus flavour to the glaze on these wings giving the sauce the perfect balance of flavours.
- Garlic - to give the zesty honey sauce on these wings just a bit more aromatic flavour.
How to make in the oven:
To make the wings:
Step one:
First you will preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step two:
Next you will dry the chicken wings with a paper towel and transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Add the oil and the spices to the bowl with the wings and toss everything well until the chicken wings are coated.
Step three:
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and transfer the seasoned chicken wings to the baking sheet. Bake the chicken wings in the oven for ~40 minutes, until the wings have crispy skin and are golden brown.
Step four:
To make the honey lemon pepper sauce, when the wings are almost done, place all the glaze ingredients into a small saucepan on the stove and heat for a few minutes over medium heat, until the glaze thickens.
Step five:
Once the chicken wings are done cooking, transfer them to a bowl and pour the sticky sauce over them. Toss the wings until they are evenly coated in the honey lemon pepper glaze. Then serve and enjoy!
How to make in an air fryer:
Step one:
Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step two:
Dry the chicken wings with a paper towel and transfer them to a bowl. Add the oil and spices to the bowl and toss everything well until the chicken wings are coated.
Step three:
Transfer the chicken wings to the air fryer rack or air fryer basket and cook at 400F for ~20 minutes. Be sure the wings are in a single layer and not overlapping or they won't cook properly.
Step four:
While the chicken wings are cooking, make the honey lemon pepper glaze according to the directions in the recipe card.
Step five:
Once the wings have finished cooking, coat them in the lemon pepper sauce and then serve!
Chef's tips:
- For the best result be sure to dry the chicken wings before you coat them in the oil and spices to help them crisp up when they bake.
- Cooking time may vary depending on the size of your chicken wings. For larger wings you might need to add 2-3 minutes more to the cook time.
- You could easily double or triple this recipe if you are serving a crowd. I recommend this if you are serving them as a delicious appetizer at a party.
- You can freeze these wings for up to 6 months.
Variations and add ins:
- If you are serving a crowd feel free to double or triple this recipe.
- If you want a bit more lemon flavour, add some lemon zest to the glaze.
- To turn these into hot honey lemon pepper wings add a bit of hot sauce such as Frank's red hot sauce to the honey sauce.
- And if you want a stronger lemon pepper flavour, add some lemon pepper seasoning to the wings before cooking them.
- Instead of honey you can use maple syrup or date syrup for the sticky honey lemon pepper sauce.
- To turn these into hot honey lemon pepper wings add a bit of hot sauce to the honey lemon pepper glaze ingredients.
- To make them spicier add some cayenne pepper to the spice rub.
How to serve:
These wings are delicious served for lunch, as a main course for dinner, or as an appetizer. They are the perfect appetizer to serve on game day or for Super Bowl parties.
These juicy chicken wings are great served alone but you could also serve them with a dipping sauce such as ranch dressing, caesar dressing or aioli.
How to store:
Store any leftover wings in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
How to reheat:
To reheat these wings: let the chicken wings come to room temperature. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and then bake for 10-20 minutes.
Frequently asked questions:
Lemon pepper wings can be made either way. If you cook chicken wings and then season them with lemon pepper seasoning, those would be dry lemon pepper wings. If you toss the cooked chicken wings in a lemon pepper sauce, that would make them wet lemon pepper wings.
Atlanta has become famous for their lemon pepper wings, and thus the state of Georgia is also know for their chicken wings.
Chicken wings pair well with so many dishes, but some of my favourites are:
Healthy Coleslaw
Asian Coleslaw
Kale and Apple Slaw
French Fries
Sweet Potato Fries
Potato Wedges
Other delicious chicken recipes you will love:
- Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings
- Instant Pot Chicken Drumsticks
- Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Chicken with Spinach
- Chicken Meatloaf
- Mexican Chicken Marinade
- Cranberry Maple Chicken
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Recipe
Honey Lemon Pepper Wings
Ingredients
For the chicken wings
- 1 lb chicken wings
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the glaze
- 3 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F.
- Dry the chicken wings with a paper towel and transfer them to a bowl. Add the oil and spices to the bowl and toss everything well until the chicken wings are coated.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and transfer the wings to the baking sheet. Bake the chicken wings for ~40 minutes, until nice and crispy.
How to make the glaze
- When there is about 5 minutes left of cooking time for the wings, you can make the glaze. Place all the glaze ingredients into a small saucepan and heat for a few minutes over medium heat, until the glaze thickens.
Final assembly
- Once the chicken wings are done baking, transfer them to a large bowl and pour the glaze over them. Toss the wings until they are evenly coated in the glaze. Then serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Nutritional values are estimates and will vary depending on the specific ingredients you use.
- Store these chicken wings in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 3 days.
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