Lemon Pepper Wings With The Best Easy Wing Sauce

These chicken wings are crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside. The moment they hit your table, everyone in the room is guaranteed a good time. Unless you are at our house, in which case the wings never make it to the table—we eat them right off the sheet pan (adios, Black Pepper Garlic Chicken Wings!). The last few times I’ve made homemade chicken wings (Korean Air Fryer Chicken Wings were the most recent), Ben has quietly devoured the entire batch right in the middle of our kitchen. Chicken wings give off the vibe that in order to taste great, they need to be ordered at a restaurant or bar. You’d think they would be too fussy or indulgent to make a decent batch at home. Not true (especially Air Fryer Chicken Wings… wow!). With all due respect to the establishments (ahem Buffalo Wild Wings I am looking at you), forget the restaurant lemon pepper wings. Just like my easy baked Lemon Pepper Salmon (another great recipe if you love that flavor combo!) these easy wings come together with just 10 minutes of prep, will be on your table in 30, and bake up surprisingly crisp and juicy, no deep fry required. The best part of all? These lemon pepper wings are G-O-O-D.

How to Make Restaurant-Worthy Wings at Home

You have three basic options to cook chicken wings at home: deep fry, bake, or grill.

Deep Fry. This is how most restaurants cook their wings. Honestly, I think it is a mess to do yourself (the vat of leftover oil! the splatters!), and you can get excellent results without deep frying.Air Fryer. I have not yet experimented with air fryer lemon pepper wings, but think this would work well. My best suggestion is to prep the wings as directed, then place them in a single layer in an air fryer basket. Cook at 400 degrees F for about 8 minutes per side. Make sure you spray the basket with nonstick spray before adding the wings. Remove the wings, and add the honey mixture. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Finish with the lemon pepper sauce. Grill. I haven’t tried making grilled lemon pepper wings yet but think it could be a worthwhile experiment! It would still be tidy and reasonably healthy, and the grill will give you a nice crispy skin too.Bake. Like my Honey Garlic Chicken Wings, they’re EASY, delicious, and what we’re doing for this wings recipe. You’ll be so pleased with the results, especially once you’ve tossed the wings in a dynamite lemon pepper wing sauce.

For ultimate, year-round ease, baked chicken wings like these are the way to go.

How to Make Lemon Pepper Wings from Scratch

For the best flavor, we’re hitting these wings with the lemon pepper combo not once, but twice. First, the wings are baked in a mix of canola oil (great for crisping), lemon pepper seasoning (duh), and honey (for caramelization and because honey is delicious, especially with lemon). Second, after baking, the wings are tossed with a wet lemon pepper sauce. It’s easy, and the results produce spectacular flavor without the need for a lemon pepper wings marinade.

The Ingredients

Chicken Wings. Juicy, tender, and easy to coat in crowd-pleasing flavors. They make an ideal appetizer, main dish, or game day party snack. Lemon Pepper Seasoning. Widely available in most grocery stores, lemon pepper seasoning is made of salt, pepper, dried lemon zest, and a few other additions like garlic, onion powder, and sometimes sugar. A few brands may add a celery salt too.Butter. Part of what makes restaurant wings so darn delicious is that they are often tossed in a melted butter wet sauce after cooking. We’ll be doing the same in a more moderate, though still super satisfying, amount.Honey. Prior to baking, I tossed the wings in a bit of honey. It caramelized in the oven and makes the wings extra sticky and delicious.Fresh Lemon Juice + Black Pepper. Because this recipe should live up to its name!

The Directions

Recipe Adaptations

As written, these are brightly but not overtly lemony, and the black pepper kick is present but not overpowering.

For Extra Lemon Flavor. To up the lemon factor, top the wings with an extra squeeze of fresh lemon juice or add an extra lemon’s worth of zest to the wing sauce.Hot Lemon Pepper Wings. Add additional black pepper and/or a pinch of cayenne pepper. You can also sprinkle on more black pepper to taste prior to serving.

Serving Lemon Pepper Wings

For an Appetizer. I like to serve these wings with a simple sprinkle of green onions for color and a bit of extra bite.For a Main. These wings pair wonderfully alongside a big green salad like this easy Arugula Salad.For a Party. Try complementing them with a grain-based salad that can stand at room temperature, such as this Sweet Potato Quinoa Black Bean Salad, or this Mediterranean Chickpea Salad.Dipping Sauce. For any course, I love to make a lemon pepper wings dipping sauce by stirring together Greek yogurt, honey, and Dijon mustard, with a sprinkle of salt and pepper to taste.

Storage Tips

To Store. Refrigerate leftover wings in an airtight storage container for up to 1 day.To Reheat. Let the wings come to room temperature, then arrange them, skin-side up, on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Warm in a 350 degree F oven until heated through, about 5 to 7 minutes. To perk their flavor back up, squeeze additional fresh lemon juice over the top just before serving.To Freeze. Freeze wings in an airtight freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe

Baking Sheet. Perfect for making these keto lemon pepper wings.Citrus Juicer. I’ll never juice a lemon or lime without this tool.Mixing Bowls. These bowls are microwave-safe, so they’re ideal for melting the butter.