Chili Lime Chicken Wings & Dipping Sauce

Glazed with a sweet and tangy sauce, oven baked chili lime chicken wings are crispy and sticky, just the way they’re supposed to be! This recipe comes with its own sour cream dipping sauce, too!

While crispy chicken wings are pretty irresistible, the sauce on these wings makes them really special. Butter, honey, lime, garlic, and chili powder simmer while the wings bake; then this incredible glaze is slathered on the wings, and wow! Wait til you try them!

Serve chili lime chicken wings as an appetizer at your next big shindig or enjoy them for dinner time. They’re easy to make (you can even make them ahead) and everyone loves them. 

Looking for a dipping sauce to serve with the wings? This recipe includes a great sour cream dip that’s perfect for dipping these wings. (Psst…the dip is great! You’ll want to use it for everything!)

About these chili lime chicken wings:

Oven baked chicken wings are prepared in a two step process. First, the wings are coated with seasoned flour and baked until they are crispy and thoroughly cooked.

You’ll notice that the recipe includes baking powder. The baking powder aids in the crisping process, drawing out excess moisture. Don’t, don’t, don’t substitute baking soda. It will give your wings a bitter nasty taste. If you don’t happen to have baking powder, just skip it. Your wings will still turn out fine. 

Once the wings are baked, they get coated with a super good glaze. This is totally the best part! Either brush the sauce on or dump the wings and sauce in a big bowl and toss them around until each wing is coated. 

Here’s where you have a choice: Either serve the wings freshly glazed, stick them back into the oven for 5 minutes, or run them under the broiler for a few minutes to set the glaze. This one’s totally up to you.

Broiling caramelizes the glaze ensuring that the wings are finger lickin’ good. If you choose to broil the wings, reserve a fourth cup of the glaze so you can brush just a little more on the wings after they come out of the broiler. We like them good and sticky!

Watch these tasty chili lime wings fly off the platter! Serve them garnished with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro, green onions, or parsley. And don’t forget  the sour cream dipping sauce! And LOTS of napkins!

What’s in this recipe?

Wings

• Wings! We recommend either chicken wings or wing portions. You could also substitute chicken drumsticks if you prefer, keeping in mind cook time may change slightly.
• Coating for the wings: You’ll use a flour coating for the wings, with baking powder and seasonings including garlic powder, chili powder, lime zest, salt.

Glaze

• Glaze: For the glaze, you’ll need butter, honey, lime juice, lime zest, chili powder, garlic powder, and salt.
• If you like spicy wings: Try adding a little cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes.

Dip

• For the dip you’ll need: Sour cream, lime juice, green onions, garlic powder, paprika, and lime zest.

TIP! You’ll notice that the flour mixture for the wings, the glaze, and the dip have many of the same ingredients. I recommend making them all at once. Get out a large bowl for the seasoned flour, a small saucepan for the glaze, and a small bowl for the dip. Measure out ingredients for each. It takes a little focus but it’s nice to get it all done at once. Refrigerate the dip until you’re ready to use it.

How to make these chicken wings your own:

• Some like ’em hot! If you like spicy wings, add cayenne pepper or hot pepper flakes to the sauce. How much you add depends on how hot you like them. I’d start with a pinch and work up from there. 
• Make them in your air fryer. Preheat the air fryer to 400°F. Arrange wings in a single layer on the rack. You’ll have to do them in batches. Fry for 9-10 minutes, flipping once. Keep cooked wings warm in a low oven (200°F), arranged on a wire rack in a sheet pan so they stay crispy.
• Prefer drumsticks to wings? Drummies are fine in this recipe but bake them a bit longer, about forty minutes.

Make-Ahead Ideas/Storage Tips

While they won’t be quite as crispy, you can make a bunch of chicken wings ahead. Buy a big package, bake the wings, cover them with the sauce , as directed, but don’t broil them. Cool the wings down, wrap, and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to a month. 

The sour cream dip can be made up to three days in advance. Refrigerate in a tightly covered container. Stir well before serving.

Reheating Suggestions

For refrigerated leftover wings: Reheat in the microwave, or see method below, reducing baking time slightly.

For frozen cooked wings: Line a large baking pan with foil for easy cleanup. Arrange the frozen wings in a single layer and bake, uncovered, in a preheated oven (400°F) for  13-16 minutes or until heated through (140-145°F).  

Fingers required

Forget the forks, some foods are just made to eat with your fingers! I mean, can you imagine eating wings with a fork? Try:

• Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
• The Best Cauliflower Nachos
• BBQ Chicken Sweet Potato Nachos
• Pickle Roll Ups with Ham (Pinwheels)
• Candied Bacon
• Crostini — find out how to make crostini and what to top them with
• Bacon Wrapped Dates or Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts
• Cool Ranch Popcorn Recipe (like the Doritos!)
• Popcorn Snack Mix {full of surprise ingredients}
• Air Fryer Chickpeas