Sweet and Spicy Baked Chicken Wings

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What’s better than chicken wings? Sweet and Spicy Baked Chicken Wings!

Honey and habanero hot sauce combine to smother baked chicken wings creating a delicious sweet and spicy baked chicken wings.

Why baked instead of fried? Good question! I LOVE chicken wings, but all the deep fried goodness of traditional wings does not sit well with me anymore. Plus, most wings are breaded which means loaded with gluten and I don’t like that either.

We leave our wings naked instead of breaded. Smothered in my sweet and spicy sauce and baked in the oven makes for a delicious dinner that is lighter (and lower calorie) than traditional wings.

You can use any hot sauce on these wings, but I always use Tijuana Flats’ Hot Sauce. For those of you not familiar with Tijuana Flats, it is a locally-started (Orlando, FL represent!) Tex-Mex chain that has some colorful names for their sauces. 😉 For this recipe I used Tijuana Flats’ “Smack My Ass and Call Me Sally” Habanero Sauce.

I love the flavor of the habanero sauce on the wings. The sweet and spicy sauce gives a nice, slow burn thanks to the combination of the honey and habanero hot sauce.

Sweet and Spicy Baked Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

• 3 oz habanero hot sauce (or more if you like)
• 1/4 cup honey (agave would work also)
• 3 tbsp butter melted
• 3 lbs chicken wings, thawed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
3. Arrange chicken wings in a single layer on sheet.
4. Bake for 25 minutes flip wings over.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 180 degrees.
6. While chicken wings are baking combine hot sauce, honey, and melted butter in a large bowl.
7. Working in batches, place chicken wings in bowl with the sauce.
8. Toss or stir gently until coated.
9. Remove wings and place on a serving platter. Repeat with remaining wings.
10. Pour remaining sauce over wings, if desired.

Tips:

• If you have an air fryer, try frying them in there. My toaster oven has an air fry setting and I like to pop them in there for about 10 minutes to give them an extra crunch.
• Wrap leftover wings and store in the fridge.
• Reheat leftover wings in the toaster oven.

These wings are perfect when dunked in ranch dressing or smothered in my personal favorite: blue cheese dressing. I like to serve my sweet and spicy baked chicken wings with carrot and celery sticks. The wings are great for lunch, dinner, snacks, or appetizers!

How do you like your chicken wings? Do you enjoy a nice, slow burn of sweet and spicy wings? Or do you prefer a non-spicy taste like honey-butter, bbq, or teriyaki?

Have a great day!

Brandi

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