Baked Brown Sugar Chicken Wings with Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
Amazingly crisp wings baked to perfection served alongside an incredibly creamy dipping sauce that everyone will love!
Having a day off of a 5-day workweek sounds like a mini-vacation but I actually spent the entire day cooking and doing some major cleaning around the house. Ever since I started working, there is just no time to clean! But seeing that I had some down time, I busted out the vacuum, the swifter, and the 409. It’s seriously baffling as to how dust accumulates so quickly! No matter how often I clean, there’s just so much dust that piles up on every thing around the house! Ugh.
In addition to being annoyed by the unknown origins of dust around the house, I also spent the latter half of my day being completely angry/upset/frustrated/irritated after paying off my $360 speeding ticket. Well, actually it was $370 since they charged me $10 for paying online. Ridiculous, right? I just can’t help to think how much crap I could buy with $370! I could finally get the pasta attachment for my KitchenAid and the red Le Creuset round Dutch oven.
I could go on and on about how I could spend the $370 but it would just make me more angry so let’s move on to something more pleasant, like these awesome wings. When Jackie from Domestic Fits first posted this, I knew that I immediately had to make them. Her wings were so wonderfully crusted, and that creamy roasted red pepper dipping sauce just tipped it to absolute perfection. I followed the recipe exactly as is and it was just as I had imagined it – crisp on the outside and completely succelent in every bite. And once you dunk them (yes I said dunk and not dip) in this amazing sauce, it’ll serve as a wonderful complement of flavors.
Baked Brown Sugar Chicken Wings with Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken wings
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce
- â…“ cup roasted red pepper, chopped
- 2 ounces goat cheese
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil.
- To make the dipping sauce, combine roasted red pepper, goat cheese, sour cream and salt in the bowl of a food processor until emulsified; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine wings, olive oil, brown sugar, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, onion powder, salt and pepper, to taste.
- Place wings onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, using metal tongs to turn at halftime.
- Serve wings immediately with dipping sauce.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
This is now my go-to wings recipe. So easy and so good! Consider them for your Super Bowl party.Â
Definitely a hit for tonight’s dinner! I can’t eat spicy food so I substituted the chili powder with Cumin and I made it in my Instant Pot Air Fryer. 25 Minutes then turn the wings over and 8 more minutes. Served.
I would like to make these ahead of time for a party…Have you ever tried freezing wings after baking and then reheating the day of the party? I thought I would take a dip on the day of the party.
These wings were great! I will pass on the sauce next time. Was just OK and I added red pepper flakes to try and give it some flavour. I used legs in place of wings and the chicken was moist and delicious. I cooked the extra 3 min. to get them done and crispy a couple were plump and so I did them an extra extra 3 min. and the crust was to the burnt side. Definitely a keeper. Thanks for the recipe.
Made tonight use whole wings, used honey in place of brown sugar, none on hand. The wings are so crispy and delicious. Definitely will be making again.
Absolutely delicious !! Another go-to recipe ! Â
Sounds delicious, but first I am going to try it with chicken strips I cut from boneless breasts. Then the wings or maybe all at the same time. Just got an air fryer, so I am going to try some in that, some in the oven, and some in a deep fryer for comparison.
Let us know how it goes!
Mary did these work in the air fryer? Would love to make some tomorrow night in there!
WOW! This was the first time I ever made chicken wings and I was afraid it wouldn’t come out right. Boy was I wrong. Made for Superbowl Party and they were great. My go to recipe. I didn’t have time to make the dipping sauce so I used blue cheese dressing instead. Baked the wings on 425 for 50+ minutes on a rack.
I love your blog!
Wings vary. Â Best bet is to precook thawed wings on parchment at 400 for 20 minutes. Â Drain and cool. Â Then proceed with this fabulous recipe and dipping sauce.
I bought frozen wings. Do I thaw them first or marinate them frozen then bake?
Yes, they should be thawed first.
Wow! You are a culinary genius. Made these tonight and they are fantastic — everything works, the spices, the dip. The whole family thought this recipe was fantastic. Thank you! Another home run from DamnDelicious. If you want crispy wings, just cook them longer or at higher temperature (I did both — keep an eye on them).
Thanks for this delicious recipe. The only thing I change was that, I cooked them in my Ronco rotisserie oven for 50 minutes, I can’t wait to make them again.
Made these and was surprised that they were bland and they did not cook up crispy. Had to drain off the grease/juice after 25min, they were just sitting there steaming in it and most of the sauce had melted into it. I then put them under the broiler to brown. I will make them again, but I will add some crushed chili flakes and cook on a rack so they don’t steam in their own juices. And I will use a higher heat.
I always roast wings on a wire rack so they don’t sit in the drippings.Â
I did not make the wings according to this recipe; just made the dip. Â It is absolutely fabulous! Â Instant favorite.
I love to browse Pinterest for recipes and I can’t tell you how often I choose a recipe that sends me to your site. Yum love all your recipes. However, I’m always counting calories. Would you consider adding the nutritional information to your recipes or at least indicating which ones are low fat? Thanks for all the time and inspiration you share on your blog!
Nutritional information is provided only for select and new recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, it is best that you use free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”) to obtain such information.
Your Chicken Wings are sweet or savory!
Brown sugar works like magic secret ingredient. I will try delicious spicy sweet wings.
A food processor makes this recipe Quick & Easy.
WOW – these are amazing, especially with the dipping sauce. Had then with stir fried green beans. Used the dipping sauce for the beans also. Yum. This is now my favorite wing recipe. I have moved the pin to my Favorites Folder, along with many other of your recipes. Keep up the great work.Â
Could this work for whole chicken?
Will it turn out as crispy?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
I saw this on Pinterest and tried this last night. Loved it! Wonderful blend of smoky and sweet!Â
Do you aluminum foil or parchment paper?
You can use either – it’s really up to you and your personal preferences.
I would like to make these ahead of time for a party…Have you ever tried freezing wings after baking and then reheat the day of party? I thought I would make dip the day of party.
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
How do I get that crisp/ dark color? I’ve tried scrolling through the comments.
Bri, you can broil these at the end of baking time for 2-3 minutes until the desired crispness is reached.
I made these last week and they were sooooooo delicious!!! It was just hubby and me but he was freaked out by the sauce so he had his with BBQ sauce instead. I saved the leftover sauce and had it with a turkey burger the other night…delish! I’m doing the chicken legs again tonight:)
Is there a way to make the dipping sauce dairy free? I am making this for a group of friends and one of them is allergic to dairy products?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot advise an appropriate substitute(s) that will not drastically alter the overall taste/texture of the dish. Please use your best judgment to suit your dietary restrictions.
This recipe sounds amazing, I love that you can find almost all of these ingredients already in your kitchen. I do want to ask two questions. If I want to use chicken legs (my local supermarket doesn’t always have what i want) will doubling the recipe help? I also want to ask if I can substitute greek yogurt for the sour cream, I don’t want to buy the sour cream if I can use greek yogurt since I plan on making another dish using greek yogurt. otherwise the sour cream will just sit in the fridge.
Thanks!!
Yes, doubling the recipe may be a good idea. Greek yogurt will also be a great, healthy substitute!
Tonight’s dinner thanks
Do you have the nutritional info for the recipe? I can’t wait to try these.
Nutritional information is provided only for select and new recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, it is best that you use free online resources at your discretion (you can gooogle “nutritional calculator”) to obtain such information.
Thanks for your help!!!
I tried this recipe and my parents loved it! Though I used chopped onions since I didn’t have onion powder. Thanks for this great recipe 🙂
Hey,
I’m a very new person to the cooking world so I just want to make sure. I’musing raw wings and they will cook fine if I just bake them?
Yes, the chicken will cook just fine.
I noticed you stated to use foil on the cookie sheet but you yourself used parchment paper, does that make a difference? which do you prefer?
You can use either – it’s really up to you and your personal preferences.
Can I put the spice mixture together and coat the wings a day in advance before baking the following day?
Unfortunately I cannot answer this with certainty as I have not tried making this ahead of time myself. Please use your best judgment to make this in advance if you choose to do so.
I love your site I have made a bunch of your delicious recipes. I made these wings before and really liked them but I was wondering if you had any suggestions about cooking them in a slow cooker then baking them to get the crispy texture. I want to make them for a party and have limited oven space. THANKS!
Unfortunately the wings will not have that oven-crispness if made in the slow cooker. However, you can give this slow cooker recipe a try – https://damndelicious.net/2014/10/01/slow-cooker-sticky-chicken-wings/. These wings literally fall off the bone, and you can always broil them at the very end to help crisp them up!
Hi. I would also like to make for a party but don’t have much time. Can I use frozen uncooked wings. Also I just realized in dont have chili powder. What is a good substitute?
Anita, it is best to use thawed wings. As for the chili powder, you can certainly substitute something else but without further recipe testing, I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish. It is always best to use the ingredients listed in the recipe to obtain the best results possible.
Hi Chungah. Thank you. I’m making these right now. I used Cheyenne since my crowd likes spice. I sampled one and I must say I hope they make it to the party.
I think you are going to be my key to FINALLY learning how to cook (at age 45). You are making my new year’s resolution much easier to attain. Thank you! 🙂
It’s ironic that you’re in L.A.– my sister is a pretty accomplished chef and has a restaurant there. Unfortunately, none of her culinary skills got passed along to me. 🙂
Hi, this recipe sounds delicious! Have you ever tried this with frozen wings, or would you recommend thawing them first? Frozen is all I have on hand but I’m not sure I’ll have time to defrost them. Thanks.
It is best to thaw the wings first.
Can I make a day ahead of time and serve cold??? Will they still taste good??
These are actually really best when served immediately.
I have made this twice now. I used drumsticks the first time, and chicken breast the second time and they both came out kind of flavorless. Am I missing something?
Yes, Kara, this recipe is really optimal for chicken wings, not drumsticks or chicken breasts.
I’m featuring these on my food truck next week at a tailgate event! Super excited to make them!
This has become our favorite chicken wing recipe. I tend to make this in bulk for many people. It’s a fantastic meal to take to others as a casserole alternative. 🙂
Having made this wonderful recipe so many times now, I have learned a short cut for just a slight difference. If foregoing the dip is more convenient, I have simply used fresh garlic, onion, and puréed them w/ seasonings w/ jarred roasted red pepper. I usually marinade the wings for a day or so in the fridge.
Making a ziplock gallon baggie’s worth for a single parent friend, so that all they have to do is bake or grill is a nice gesture. Everyone has loved these! Thank you for sharing your recipe treasures! 🙂
I don’t have a food processor to make the sauce can i use a blender instead?
Yes, absolutely.
Will grilling work for these?
Yes, absolutely!
What do you mean by roasted red pepper? Is that something you can find at a grocery store? I made your wings and they were very good!
By “roasted red pepper” – I mean red bell peppers that are roasted. You can roast them yourself or find roasted red peppers jarred at the grocery store.
Actually, I just realized it says foil, but I followed the pictures and grabbed parchment paper. Could that be the problem?
Not at all. They should still crisp up with the use of parchment paper.
Mine did not turn out crispy and I followed the instructions. Any tips?
Dana, you can broil these at the end of baking time for 2-3 minutes until the desired crispness is reached.
Can’t WAIT to try this recipe! Perfect for upcoming football season!
I made this for my family. My daughter loves it and my son continues to rave about it! My son is not partial to any meat with bones, but he said this is the only recipe where he did not mind bone-in. I added a bit more brown sugar, used chopped onions (did not have any onion powder on hand), and simply crushed the chopped onions a bit. I also added a bit of white pepper, and did not use any smoked paprika. I did not have any on hand, but I am sure it would really make the sauce even the better. I made extra sauce in a separate bowl and used this to coat the chicken after I turned it. I did not make the dipping sauce. (As a note, I am a pescatarian, so I did not taste it after prepared. But, after following the recipe precisely, it came out perfect – per my children.) My husband is on his way home. I can not wait for him to taste it!
Hi Chung-Ah:
I can’t wait to make this! I bought all of the ingredients from the grocery store!
I just have a question in regards to the measurements of each ingredient. It seems like it’s not enough. Or am I just underestimating the measurements? The measurements for the dip also seem like it’s for one person. I know you’re the expert, so please correct me if I am wrong.
I’ve made this recipe several times using the listed out measurements and have always been successful. But please feel free to adjust them as needed to suit your preferences.
Do you mix all the ingredients together first then mix the chicken wings in the bowl?
Fallon, please refer to the directions:
“In a large bowl, combine wings, olive oil, brown sugar, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, onion powder, salt and pepper, to taste.“
i have the same sour cream question…is it necessary because i dont have any on hand :/
Sour cream is a crucial ingredient in this recipe. I do not recommend omitting.
Do you think leaving out the onion powder will ruin the recipe?
Brandi, feel free to use or omit the onion powder but I cannot speak for how much this will change the taste of the overall dish.
Where do I purchase goat cheese?
Roxie, you can find goat cheese at your local grocery store.
What can I sub the sour cream for?
What is your reason for substitution? Do you have a dairy allergy? Do you not have sour cream on hand? I need a little more information to answer appropriately.
I made the chicken tonight (using boneless, skinless thighs-since that’s what I had on hand) and it was SO AMAZING. We absolutely loved it. Thanks for a great recipe!
Lauren – how many minutes did you bake the thighs for? I foresee it being more than 25 minutes as the case with the wings. Thanks!
Do you leave the skin on or take it off ?
Jamie, I recommend leaving the skin on.
Made these last week and they were really delish! Next time, I’ll convert these flavors to a grilled chicken pasta dish.
Any suggestions of a substitute for goat cheese? How about cream cheese? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Karen, there really is no true substitute. I’ve honestly never tried using cream cheese. My readers have suggested feta but the results were not optimal. I suggest using the ingredients on hand to obtain the best results.
Hi Chung-Ha – I included your recipe on a Chicken Wings round up that I posted yesterday. Here’s the link if you’d like to share: http://www.familybalancesheet.org/2014/01/20-chicken-wing-recipes.html
Your wings look delicious!
I do not have goat cheese and saw the question above about substituting the cheese…will Feta work…I would think that roasted red pepper and Feta might be nice…I’ll let you know…
I tried these wings last night and they were great…I did sub the Feta for Goat and while I am a Feta Fan it was to tart and over powered the flavor of the wing…will make again but will try the goat cheese…thanks for a new “wing ding”
You can also substitute cream cheese and use the same amount it called for the goat cheese.
Do I rub the olive on the wings prior using the spices?
Not necessarily. You can rub it in together with the spices.
Can I use chicken tenders / chicken breast instead? If so, do I need to adjust the oven temp and / or time baked?
Thanks!
Julie
Julie, you can use chicken tenders/breasts but you will have to adjust cooking time as needed.
This looks like something my fiance would love!
#humblebrag
I do not care for goat cheese. Can I omit it altogether? Is there an alternative to it. I also do not care for feta so that would not be an option for me either. I guess you could say I am rather picky! Thanks!
You can feel free to omit but you won’t get that creaminess in the dipping sauce.
Cream cheese is a good substitute for goat cheese. You won’t get the tartness but the texture will be similar.
If I don’t have smoked paprika, do you think will regular paprika work? Should I adjust the amounts at all?
Yes, regular paprika in the same amount will work just fine.
These were so delicious! Chicken wings are my weakness. Every Wednesday, we eat wings in my house. 🙂 I loved these so much I shared the recipe on my blog! I also made sure to mention how awesome your blog is. I love it! I have Pinned so many of your delicious recipes! You go girl. 🙂
I think I need to have chicken wings Wednesday at my house too!
Hi! I just wanted to let you know I ALSO featured this dish on my What to Make for Dinner Tonight blog! Yay! Your photos make me.. starving.
http://whattomakefordinnertonight.com/baked-brown-sugar-chicken-wings-with-roasted-red-pepper-cream-sauce/
Made these today for the Iowa game! I somewhat doubled the recipe and used 2 packages of wings (8 in each) & 2 packaged of drumsticks (8 in each). Quadrupling the spices, the flavor was fantastic! I roasted a red bell pepper over an open flame (would work on grill too) myself since I could not find any jarred. Worked out perfectly & Everyone raved about the dipping sauce! Thanks for the awesome recipe; we don’t even have any left over! I am going to make your hot cheesy corn dip for the football games on Thanksgiving. Can’t wait!
I’m so glad you had a chance to make this. This is one of my absolute favorite wings recipe! Let me know how the cheesy corn dip turns out!
Pingback: Baked Brown Sugar Chicken Wings with Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce - What To Make For Dinner Tonight
Hi Chung-Ah! My boyfriend and I made this recipe for dinner last night for a football game watch– it was absolutely amazing! This is the best baked wings recipe I’ve ever tried, without a doubt. I loved it so much that I decided to feature it on my blog’s Facebook page today! Thanks for the killer recipe =)
Just tried this the other night and it was fabulous! Thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad you had a chance to make it! This is my absolute favorite wings recipe.
Looks delicious, and I’m sure my grown sons will love to try it too. Printing and passing on the recipe, thank you.