Chicken wings are very popular in my family and I’m preparing them VERY often. It’s the perfect appetizer or even main dish, when served with a side of potatoes, for example.

There are so many different ways of making chicken wings, you can keep it totally simple and just toss a bit of oil, salt & pepper on those and bake them… or opt in for a more complicated way of preparation and make breaded chicken wings. But my favorite way is to marinate the chicken wings first and then either bake them in my oven or on the grill.

I have a grilled chicken wings recipe here on the blog already, so let’s use the oven today. And since I love to keep things simple, let me show you how to cook chicken wings and a side of potatoes at the same time, using just one sheet pan. I have a little trick to make this possible, read on to find out what it is 🙂

How To Marinate Chicken Wings

It’s a very simple process and the key is to give the meat enough time to absorb all the flavors. Chicken wings are quite small, so you do not need to wait for too long, but definitely give it at least an hour. 3 hours would be perfect, but if you have the time to plan ahead, overnight marinating will deliver the best results.

The thickness of the marinade is also quite important. The thicker it is, the more it will actually stick to the chicken wings, which will create an extra layer of flavor to bite into. On the other hand, we are not trying to create a breading or batter layer here, so keep the marinate thinner than a batter.

But probably the most important part about making a marinade, is to make sure there is enough salt in it. I have this habit of tasting my marinades before adding the meat, while it’s still safe. A proper marinade must be a little bit over-salted, keep that in mind. Most of the marinade will stay on the skin side and not penetrate the chicken wings, that’s why we need to make it more salty.

How To Cut Chicken Wings

Some people use the whole chicken wings in their cooking, but I prefer to cut them into pieces. First of all, the tip of the chicken wing contains basically no meat so I cut those off and either discard them or save them for later to make a broth or soup. Then I divide the remaining piece in two parts.

This way, the wings are easier to eat, they bake better from all sides, they marinate better and you can fit more on a baking sheet. When cutting the chicken wings, make sure you always hit the center of the joint, it goes very easily this way. Just use a sharp knife and a bit of pressure.

NOTE: Looking for more chicken recipes? Try this Sheet pan chicken recipe, or my Sauerkraut chicken legs, or maybe this easy Chicken thighs with gravy.

Marinated Chicken Wings Ingredients

Meat & Sides:

15 chicken wings (3-4 servings)
1kg (2lbs) yellow potatoes
2 large onions
5 stalks of rosemary
Tartar sauce (optional)
olive oil
salt & pepper

Chicken Wings Marinade:

4 tablespoons of olive oil
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of ketchup
1 tablespoon of mustard
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
2 teaspoons of red paprika
1 teaspoon of crushed caraway
1 ½ teaspoons of salt
2-3 tablespoons of water

How To Make Marinated Chicken Wings

Watch the video or scroll down for step by step instructions:

This recipe uses quite a bit of spices and seasonings, but most of them will be used for the marinade, so don’t get scared, the whole process is extremely simple.

Obviously, we need to start with the marinade. Olive oil comes first, about 4 tablespoons of extra virgin. Go on with 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of ketchup, 2 tablespoons of mustard, 1 teaspoon of black pepper, 1 teaspoon of onion powder, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 2 teaspoons of red paprika (smoked is great too), 1 teaspoon of crushed caraway seeds and 1 and a half teaspoon of salt. Mix properly and add 2 or 3 tablespoons of water in case the marinade looks too thick. And that’s it, the marinade for our chicken wings is ready.

TIP: As mentioned in the introduction, the marinade MUST be a little bit over salted so it’s a good idea to give it a taste before you add the meat. I have tested the amounts in this recipe, but every type of salt is a bit different, so you never know 🙂

Let’s proceed with the chicken wings now. Cut the tips off and then divide the remaining pieces in 2 parts. It goes easily, you just have to hit the center of the joint with a sharp knife.

Transfer the pieces into the bowl with our chicken wings marinade and use your hands to mix it up properly. Make sure every single piece is coated well from all sides. By the way, I’m working with 15 wings today, which is just about right for this amount of marinade. Let the wings marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Chicken wings don’t need that long marinating time, but really, the longer the better. And don’t forget to wash your hands now!

Now for the side dish. We need about 1 kilo or 2 pounds of smallish yellow potatoes. Simply cut them into quarters or larger wedges. I like to pre-boil my potatoes before baking them, so let’s do that. Pour in enough water so that the potatoes are fully submerged and add a tablespoon of salt. About 15 minutes of simmer is all we need, the potatoes should not cook fully.

Now lay the potatoes evenly on a baking sheet skin side down. Cut two larger onions into halves like this, they should be the same in height and you will see why in a few seconds. Place the onion halves into the corners and proceed with the seasonings. Good amount of olive oil… salt to taste… and black pepper to round it up. Add a bit of water, just enough to cover the whole bottom of the baking sheet… and finish it up with a few stalks of rosemary.

Now grab a cooling wire rack and place it over the potatoes. The onion halves will serve as extra legs to prevent it from touching the potatoes. It will also allow for the heat to circulate better and bake the chicken wings from the bottom nicely. This way, the wings won’t become soggy and on top of that, whatever drips from the meat (including the marinade), will just make the potatoes taste better.

Place the wings on the rack now and make sure to use the whole area we have available. The more space there is between the chicken wings the better. This way, the wings will not block the heat from reaching the potatoes that sit underneath and that is exactly what we aim for with this method of preparation.

Pre-heat the oven to 200C or 400F and let’s start baking. How long to bake chicken wings for? It all depends on their size and how much browned you want them to be. Chicken wings usually need about 40 or 50 minutes to bake at this temperature.

The baking time also depends on a particular way of preparation. You can cut the time down by using higher temperature, but this is not the option in our case. The reason is we are baking the potatoes along with the chicken wings and they need their time too. On top of that, the higher temperature might burn the marinade.

My marinated chicken wings look like this after 50 minutes of baking. Are we ready to serve? Yes and no 🙂 Everything is fully cooked and ready to go, but the potatoes are not crispy just yet, because they did not get enough direct heat. So the call is yours, are you ok with that?

Truth to be told, I like my potatoes a bit crispy so I removed the wire rack and returned the sheet with potatoes into the oven. I placed the baking sheet closer to the top burner and set the oven to maximum temperature, broiling mode, for 7 or so minutes… and this is how they turned out. 7-10 minutes is just about right for the potatoes to catch some golden brown and for the wings to still remain hot.

I think it looks absolutely fantastic and I can’t wait to bite into some. But let’s keep it civilized and plate them first. I love to serve these wings with a good amount of tartar sauce and by the way, don’t discard the onion “legs”, they taste just great too.

And that’s all for today, thanks for watching and see you next time.

Optional Tip For This Recipe

• You can use the same recipe for chicken drumsticks, the marinade works well for that too. The only change would be to increase the baking time by 10-15 minutes.
• Do you like spicy chicken wings? Add chili flakes or your favorite hot sauce into the chicken wings marinade.
• I’m using yellow potatoes in this recipe, but basically any type can be used, even sweet potatoes.
• The marinade can be adjusted to your likings, I’m often modifying it too. Some great additions would be honey, brown sugar, herbs of choice, minced garlic, vinegar or lemon juice, beer… your fantasy is the only limit.
• Looking for more chicken wings recipes? Try my Breaded chicken wings or Grilled chicken wings.

Have Questions About Chicken Wings?

• Are chicken wings healthy? Absolutely! Especially when prepared in the oven with a minimum amount of oil and served with a healthy side dish.
• Can you reheat chicken wings? Yes, but let’s keep it honest here, reheated chicken wings will never taste as good as freshly baked ones.
• What to serve chicken wings with? I like baked potatoes the most, but mashed potatoes, French fries or rice would work great too. Alternatively, some salad or just a slice of bread are good options too.
• Can you freeze cooked chicken wings? Yes, but again, fresh taste the best. I wouldn’t say that wings make the best make-ahead dish. What I would suggest instead, would be to freeze the raw marinated chicken wings, that’s a great option.
• How long are cooked chicken wings good for? Cooked wings are safe to eat within 3 days, when stored in the fridge. Keep in mind you need to refrigerate any excess wings within 2 hours after cooking.
• Not a fan of tartar sauce? Try to serve these wings with a honey sriracha sauce instead.