Baked Sesame Chicken Wings (Whole 30)

These Asian-inspired sesame chicken wings bake up extra crispy in the oven before getting tossed in a flavorful sauce. Perfect for game day snacking, or pair them with roast potato wedges and a salad for a fun dinner!

We take chicken chicken wings pretty seriously around here, and we usually seek out the hottest ones we can find (see: the sauce on these maple-adobo “chicken” tostadas.) But occasionally, we branch out and try something completely different.  That was the case with these sesame chicken wings, which have earned a spot on out dinner table on a pretty regular basis over the last year. The sauce on them isn’t spicy at all, but it’s full of robust, aromatic flavor that I can never get enough of.

I take advantage of the already hot oven to bake a tray of seasoned potato wedges and mix up a simple green salad for a (mostly) hands-off dinner that leaves everyone happy. (My favorite salad lately is leaf lettuce with a little olive oil, balsamic reduction, and cracked black pepper – it’s simple, but it’s so good!)

These baked chicken wings take longer than I usually like to spend on a weeknight recipe, but since it’s mostly inactive time I don’t mind making them after work.

The technique is adapted from one developed at America’s Test Kitchen, and the results are amazing. Instead of baking the wings naked, you toss them with a very thin coat of baking powder and salt. This changes their pH and helps the skin get amazingly crisp while keeping the meat inside tender and juicy. You bake them at a low temperature to help dry them out (I also like to use air chilled chicken, but conventional comes out 95% as good), then crank the heat to finish things off. There’s nothing chewy or rubbery about these baked wings at all!

Baked Sesame Chicken Wings (Whole 30)

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 generous pinch sea salt
• 1 1/2 pounds of chicken wings
• 1/4 cup coconut aminos
• 2 Tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, frated
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 Tablespoon sesame seeds

Instructions

Heat your oven to 250ºF. Set a wire rack on a baking sheet; spray with nonstick spray.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the baking powder and salt. Add the chicken wings and toss to coat. Arrange the wings on the rack in a single layer.

Bake for 30 minutes – the wings should look dry and begin to crisp, but they won't be fully cooked. Raise the oven temperature to 450ºF and cook bake the wings for another 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the coconut aminos, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, green onions, and sesame seeds. Add the wings and toss to coat; let the wings in the sauce for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

Adapted from this recipe 

Nutrition Information

Amount Per Serving Calories 422 Total Fat 30g Saturated Fat 8g Cholesterol 189mg Sodium 684mg Fiber 0g Sugar 3g Protein 31g