Hot honey lemon pepper wings! Crispy chicken wings tossed in hot honey lemon pepper sauce with a subtle hint of heat and plenty of sweetness, these wings are sure to be the star of your next gathering. Delicious and packed full of zesty flavors you can't resist.
Serve them up as an appetizer or main course and enjoy the delicious combination of flavors. They’re easy to make, so you can whip up a batch in no time! In fact, to make this recipe half the time required, cook the wings in the air fryer.
Delicious fresh chicken wings served at any gathering or party are always a hit. And these hot honey lemon pepper chicken wings will definitely satisfy your family or guests.
The combination of the tangy lemon pepper and sweet honey is a classic, and it’s sure to be a winner for everyone. Not forgetting the little heat that will be hitting the back of your throat with every bite.
These hot honey lemon pepper wings are perfect appetizers for game day, game night, or any other gathering you have planned. You may even want to double the recipe because they’ll be gone in no time! Serve them up with some celery sticks and a creamy dip, and you’ve got yourself a tasty treat that everyone will love.
Related recipes: how to brine chicken wings and air fryer frozen chicken wings.
Why you will this recipe
- Made with simple ingredients
- Versatile ways of cooking the wings. I cooked these chicken wings in the fryer as it is quicker. You can also use the oven if cooking a large batch or when time is not of the essence
- Economical
What you will need
You only need a handful of ingredients to make this delicious saucy wing recipe.
Chicken wings: obviously right, that said, you can make this recipe with boneless chicken wings. You can buy party wings from any grocery store or buy whole wings and separate them yourself into wingette and drumette.
Lemon pepper seasoning: Any brand of lemon pepper seasoning will work here. I used Walmart great value brand and I love it as it is not salty as other brands and contains some spices and herbs to give the seasoning additional flavor. So it is important to read the labels when buying this item from the store.
Hot sauce: For this recipe, I used Tabasco but you can use any hot sauce of choice, if using Frank’s red hot sauce, you will need to reduce the amount of salt needed for this recipe and also use unsalted butter to avoid making the sauce too salty.
Honey: I used runny honey for convenience. You can substitute honey with maple syrup
Lemon zest and fresh lemon juice
Unsalted butter: this cannot be substituted with salted butter
Baking powder: for the best result, look for aluminum-free baking powder. Please note that this is not the same as Bicarb or baking soda and it can't be substituted
Olive oil: substitute with any cooking oil of choice.
How to make hot honey lemon pepper wings
Preheat the air fryer to 300F/150C
Cook the chicken wings: wash the chicken wings if you want but make sure to do so safely. Alternately brine the chicken. Pat the wings completely dry kitchen paper towel and if time is not of the essence, place it in the fridge uncovered to air dry.
Transfer the wings to a large bowl, add lemon pepper seasoning, baking powder, salt, and black pepper and toss or mix to combine.
Lightly brush the air fryer basket with cooking oil
Arrange the wings in a single layer in the air fryer basket, it is ok if they are snugged together but make sure they don't overlap.
Cook the wings for 15 minutes, flip the wings and increase the air fryer settings to 400F/200C.
Continue to cook for 30 minutes flipping it halfway through the cooking time or until the wings are crispy and golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 165F.
Transfer the wings to a large bowl and make the glaze.
Make the hot honey lemon pepper glaze: to a microwavable safe bowl, add butter and honey and melt it for 30 seconds.
Add hot sauce, 1 Tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning, lemon zest, lemon juice (if desired) and mix to combine all the ingredients.
Pour the sauce over the chicken wings and toss or mix to coat the wings in the sauce. Serve and enjoy!
Crispy chicken wings oven instructions
Preheat the oven to 250F/120C.
Wash the chicken wings if desired and pat it dry completely with a kitchen towel or a clean towel.
Transfer the wings to a large mixing bowl and add baking powder, lemon pepper seasoning salt, and black pepper. Toss or mix until the wings are well coated.
Place a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush the baking rack lightly with oil or spray with oil spray and arrange the wings on the wire rack in a single layer
Place the wings in the lower middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Flip the chicken wings and place it in the upper rack of the oven continue to bake for 30-40 minutes at 425F/220C flipping halfway through or until the internal temperature registers 165F/73C when checked with a meat thermometer.
Remove the tray from the oven and transfer the wings to a bowl.
Make the hot honey lemon sauce, pour it over the chicken and toss to combine. Serve and enjoy!
Tips
- Pat the chicken wings dry to remove any excess moisture, this step will ensure that the wings get extra crispy skin when air fried or baked.
- Love extra heat, add cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes to the hot honey sauce according to preference.
- You can brine the chicken wings if you desired for extra tender and moist meat.
- Some of the hot honey lemon pepper sauce will run to the bottom of the bowl, once you remove the wings to a serving plate, use the remaining glaze as a dipping sauce. It's so good!. Alternatively, serve the chicken wings with ranch or blue cheese dressing for added flavor or any other favorite dipping sauce of choice!
- If you like cooking in the microwave the glaze can be made on the stovetop. Simply add the butter and honey to a small saucepan and place on medium heat stirring until the butter melts. Take it off the heat and follow the rest of the instructions.
How to store
These wings are best served when fresh, nonetheless, leftover wings can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Ensure it is cooled completely before storing.
More delicious chicken recipes you should try next
Air fryer shake and bake chicken
Air fryer frozen chicken strips
Air fryer frozen breaded chicken breast
Hot Honey Lemon Pepper Wings
Ingredients
- 2.2 lb Chicken wings separated into drumettes or wingettes
- 1 ½ Tablespoon Lemon pepper seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon hot sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- Zest one lemon
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice optional
- ½ stick unsalted butter about 60g
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Olive oil
Instructions
Hot honey lemon pepper wings (Air fryer instructions)
- Preheat the air fryer to 300F/150C
- Cook the chicken wings: wash the chicken wings if you want but make sure to do so safely. Alternately brine the chicken. Pat the wings completely dry kitchen paper towel and if time is not of the essence, place it in the fridge uncovered to air dry.
- Transfer the wings to a large bowl, add lemon pepper seasoning, baking powder, salt, and black pepper and toss or mix to combine.
- Lightly brush the air fryer basket with cooking oil
- Arrange the wings in a single layer in the air fryer basket, it is ok if they are snugged together but make sure they don't overlap.
- Cook the wings for 15 minutes, flip the wings and increase the air fryer settings to 400F/200C.
- Continue to cook for 30 minutes flipping it halfway through the cooking time or until the wings are crispy and golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 165F.
- Transfer the wings to a large bowl and make the glaze.
- Make the hot honey lemon pepper glaze: to a microwavable safe bowl, add butter and honey and melt it for 30 seconds.
- Add hot sauce, 1 Tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning, lemon zest, lemon juice (if desired) and mix to combine all the ingredients.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken wings and toss or mix to coat the wings in the sauce. Serve and enjoy!
Oven instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250F/120C.
- Wash the chicken wings if desired and pat it dry completely with kitchen towels or a clean towel.
- Transfer the wings to a large mixing bowl and add baking powder, lemon pepper seasoning salt and black pepper. Toss or mix until the wings are well coated.
- Place a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. Brush the baking rack lightly with oil or spray with oil spray and arrange the wings on the baking rack in a single layer
- Place the wings in the lower middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- Flip the chicken wings and place in the upper rack of the oven continue to bake for 30-40 minutes at 425F/220C flipping halfway through or until the internal temperature registers 165F/73C when checked with a meat thermometer.
- Remove the tray from the oven and transfer the wings to a bowl.
- Make the hot honey lemon sauce, pour it over the chicken, and toss to combine. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
And there you have it! A simple and delicious air fryer hot honey lemon pepper chicken wings recipe you can make at home in 10 minutes. As always, if you made this recipe, I would love to hear from you! Kindly rate the recipe 5 star and leave me feedback in the comment section below. Tag me @cheapchickenrecipes on Instagram and save it away to your Pinterest or make it on Tiktok. Please subscribe to the blog if you haven’t for free new recipes in your inbox every week.
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