Garlic Butter Wings | Precious Core

August 21, 2023 Stan

It doesn’t take much to make insanely good chicken wings at home and this Garlic Butter Wings recipe proves that!

With only a few ingredients you’ll be rewarded with well-seasoned wings all made in the comfort of your kitchen.

These wings are possibly the tastiest you will ever have! First, the chicken is seasoned and baked to perfection then coated in a to-die-for garlic butter sauce.

After several trials, I am glad to present to you this polished version of garlic butter chicken wings.

Each time I order wings from a restaurant, I am unimpressed by how expensive they are. Wings are way easier and cheaper to make at home!

Serve these incredible wings on their own as an appetizer or as a quick dinner alongside Corn Avocado Salad, Mango Avocado Salsa, or Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes.

Why This Recipe Works

It is versatile: You can cook the chicken in the oven, air fryer, or outside grill.
It is loaded with flavor: The chicken is garlicky, buttery, and well-seasoned. A flavor explosion and finger-licking good!
It can be served in different ways: You can serve these Garlic Butter Wings as an appetizer or as a quick dinner. It’s also a great recipe for entertaining.
No need for additional dipping sauces: The garlic butter is enough to coat the chicken wings with enough left for dipping the chicken in. So good!

For another appetizer recipe that could serve as a main dish, also check out this Salmon Bites Recipe.

Bowl of chicken wings with garlic butter at the bottom.

Ingredients Needed

Here are the simple ingredients you need to make impressive and well-seasoned Garlic Butter Wings!

Ingredients for garlic butter chicken wings with labels to explain each ingredient.

Chicken wings: Drumettes and flats will work here but if you have only drumettes, those will work as well. If your chicken wings come whole, cut them into sections and save the wing tips for making chicken stock.
Chicken Bouillon Powder: This adds extra flavor to the chicken, something you won’t find in other recipes. The bouillon powder I use and recommend is Knorr Chicken Bouillon Powder. I highly recommend you use it unless you are allergic to MSG, which it contains.
Onion Powder and Garlic Powder: My secret for adding flavor to most proteins whether pan-seared, grilled, or cooked in the oven.
Minced garlic: For the best flavor, mince your garlic. You could finely mince the garlic on a chopping board with a knife or you could grate the garlic using a microplane zester, or press the garlic using a garlic press.

See the recipe card below with a detailed list of ingredients and instructions.

How To Make Garlic Butter Wings

Here is how to make Garlic Butter Wings in 5 easy steps.

Prepare and season chicken. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels to remove extra moisture then season the chicken with salt, pepper, chicken bouillon powder, garlic powder, and onion powder.

Chicken wings in a white bowl with powdered seasoning on top.

Bake, low-broil, grill, or air fry the chicken. Transfer the chicken onto a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and top with a rack or a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and spray with oil. Then cook the chicken using the method of choice. If baking, bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for about 25 to 30 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking.

Make the garlic butter sauce: Melt butter in a skillet on medium heat then add minced garlic and stir. Turn off heat then add lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Garlic butter sauce in a stainless steel skillet.

Toss chicken and sauce: Add the garlic butter sauce to the cooked chicken wings then toss together to combine.

Garlic butter sauce pouring into chicken.

Garnish and serve. Garnish with fresh minced parsley or chives and serve warm.

Easily mince garlic by grating it using a microplane zester or by pressing the garlic with a sturdy garlic press.

Recipe Variations

Spicy: Add some cayenne pepper or crushed pepper flakes for a spicy kick.

Different seasoning: Seasoning the chicken with other seasoning blends like cajun seasoning, Italian seasoning, or all-purpose seasoning.

Teriyaki chicken wings: Toss the cooked chicken wings in teriyaki sauce to make teriyaki chicken wings.

Parmesan chicken wings: Sprinkly grated parmesan cheese over the chicken wings for parmesan chicken wings.

Also, check out these recipes Lemon Butter Salmon, Pan Seared Chicken Tenders, and Chicken Macaroni Salad.

Expert Tips

Always pat chicken wings dry before seasoning them so they bake up crispy.
When sauteeing minced garlic in butter, ensure that the heat is on medium and turn off the heat 15 seconds after the garlic enters the pan to prevent the garlic from burning. Sauteeing the garlic a little bit removes the rawness and helps the flavors bloom.
For more flavorful Garlic Butter Wings, consider using more flavorful butter like European butter. Irish butter and president butter are two favorite brands of European butter we use when we can find them.
To make the wings ahead, bake the wings the day before and store in the fridge then the next day, bake to reheat and toss with the garlic butter sauce.
To test the chicken for doneness, insert an instant-read meat thermometer into the thickest part of the meat. It should read 165 degrees Fahrenheit for the chicken to be considered done.

Equipment Used

This recipe requires standard equipment but here are some items that make this recipe easier for me:

Recipe FAQs

Do I sauce my wings before or after I bake them?

Sauce wings after baking them. As soon as the wings are baked, toss them with the sauce.

How do you get seasoning to stick to chicken wings?

Always pat chicken wings dry before seasoning to ensure that the seasoning sticks to the chicken wings.

How do you make sauce stick on wings?

To make the sauce stick on the wings, add honey to the sauce as an emulsifier so the sauce won’t slide off the wings.

Serving

Serve these Garlic Butter Wings with the following side dishes:

How About Dipping Sauces?

You can also serve these Garlic Butter Wings as an appetizer, with your favorite dipping sauces. Classic ranch or Chipotle ranch are dipping sauces to consider.

If you make this recipe please leave a star rating below. Your rating helps others find the recipe plus I love hearing from you! Thank you!

Preheat oven to low broil. Broil uses the upper heating element of the oven. If your oven doesn’t have this function, then preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit instead.
Prepare and season chicken: Pat chicken dry using paper towels. To the chicken, add ½ teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon of black pepper, chicken bouillon powder, onion powder, and garlic powder. Toss the wings together with the seasoning well, ensuring that the seasoning evenly coats the chicken.
Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil then place a rack on the baking sheet. Add the seasoned chicken wings on the rack in a single layer. If you don’t have a rack, you could bake the chicken directly on aluminum foil brushed or sprayed with oil.
Bake or low-broil the chicken in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes to 30 minutes, flipping the chicken to the other side after 15 minutes.
Make the garlic butter sauce: Place a medium or large skillet on medium heat on the stovetop. Add the butter and let it melt. Add the minced garlic and stir for 15 to 30 seconds. Turn off the heat so the garlic doesn’t burn. Stir in the lemon juice then season with a pinch of salt and black pepper. For a little spicy kick, you could also season with a little crushed pepper flakes.
Toss chicken and sauce: Place the cooked chicken in a large mixing bowl, add the garlic butter sauce then toss to combine, ensuring that the garlic butter sauce coats every chicken wing.
Garnish: Garnish with chopped chives or minced parsley.
Serve: Serve as is because the garlic butter sauce underneath the chicken also makes a great dipping sauce or serve with a dipping sauce of your choice.

Chicken wings: A combination of both chicken drumettes and flats will work but if you have only chicken drumettes, those will work as well. Buy either plain fresh or frozen wings from the grocery store. Frozen wings will take a while to thaw but they are as good and sometimes even fresher than fresh wings.
Minced Garlic: For the best flavor, mince your garlic. You could finely mince the garlic on a chopping board with a knife or you could grate the garlic using a microplane zester, or press the garlic using a garlic press.
Grilling: You could also cook the chicken wings on the outside grill. Cook on medium heat, flipping as needed. It takes about 15 minutes for the chicken to be done.
Sectioning Wings: If your chicken wings come whole, cut them into sections and save the tips for making chicken stock.