These crispy, baked salt & vinegar chicken wings have all the flavors found in your favorite chips! Salty, tangy and finger lickin’ good, these wings are craveworthy and impossible to resist!
Updated: This post was originally published in January 2015. I took new photos and updated the post below to include more information about crispy chicken wings. I also tweaked the recipe to perfection, and added step by step photos plus a recipe video to show you how quick and easy these potato chip inspired wings are to make!
Growing up I had a serious obsession with salt and vinegar chips. What’s not to love about those salty, tangy, lip-puckeringly delicious crispy chips? Kettle cooked, baked, fried, with ridges, without ridges, wavy-cut, thick cut, thin cut, stacked nice and neat, broken and strewn about – it didn’t matter to me, I loved them all. Basically, I was the Bubba Gump of salt and vinegar chips.
Now that I’m older, I try my hardest to practice a little self-restraint, but I will always have a special place in my heart for salt and vinegar chips.
Recently I have been craving the favorite snack of my youth and I’ve been dying to make a salt and vinegar flavored treat for you guys! Luckily, divine culinary intervention happened during my last trip to the local grocery store. While I was there one of their managers (and one of the nicest people you could ever meet) asked if I knew how to make salt n’ vinegar chicken wings. She said some of the other employees and herself were absolutely obsessed with the ones in their deli department where they were made fresh daily.
Right then and there I knew I had to try and recreate those craveworthy chicken wings at home. So I did just that! And, Amber, this recipe goes out to you.
Crispy Salt and Vinegar Chicken Wings
Chicken wings with roasted, tender, incredibly juicy meat, impossibly crispy skin, and all the robust flavor.
These salt and vinegar wings have the perfect combination of salty and tangy flavor found in the chips! These wings have a nice flavorful, bold bite and tang from the duo of vinegars and are balanced out by the fleeting salty flavor. With an extremely subtle hint of sweetness and zip from the touch of sugar and dry ranch mix, these wings are highly addictive!
Perfectly crispy, juicy and bold in flavor, if you like salt and vinegar chips, I can absolutely guarantee you will fall head over heels in love with these wings!
And, since these wings are oven baked and not deep fried, you can indulge without all the guilt! Hello winning at life!
What is salt and vinegar?
Salt and vinegar is a robust seasoning used to flavor a variety of foods, from chips and French fries to popcorn and chicken wings! Salt and vinegar seasoning provides a harmonious balance of zesty salt and bold vinegar flavors.
How to make salt and vinegar seasoning?
Salt and vinegar seasoning can be made various ways.
Some methods are more complex and involve a bit of chemistry by using an acid-based reaction between vinegar and baking soda neutralized with salt.
An extremely easy way to make salt and vinegar seasoning is to simply mix distilled white vinegar with malt vinegar and plenty of flaky sea salt.
However, if you like the classic salt and vinegar flavor found in potato chips, there are a couple extra secret ingredients!
To make classic salt and vinegar seasoning:
- Combine white distilled vinegar, malt vinegar, flaky sea salt, dry ranch mix, granulated sugar and garlic powder in a small jar or airtight container.
- Seal the jar or container and shake vigorously until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.
- Use as a marinade or wet seasoning mix.
Marinated baked salt & vinegar chicken wings?
If you want a truly salt and vinegar flavored wing, I highly suggest you marinate the wings first. The salt and vinegar sauce doubles as a marinade, so there are no extra ingredients needed to marinate the wings!
After marinating the wings make sure you discard the marinade! Since you will not be actually cooking the marinade, it is unsafe to eat since it has been in contact with raw chicken.
If you want a more subtle, very mildly flavored salt and vinegar wing, you can cut disregard the step for marinating the wings and start with step 3 of the recipe.
How to get baked chicken wings crispy?
These Baked Salt & Vinegar Chicken Wings have an extremely crisp, golden exterior with incredibly tender and juicy meat! They taste like they were deep fried without all the hot oil and messy grease!!
The secret to crispy baked chicken wings:
- Pat dry: Make sure you pat your chicken wings thoroughly dry to remove all excess moisture.
- Baking powder: Tossing the dried chicken wings in baking powder helps draw the moisture out of the chicken wing and to the surface of the skin which aids in evaporation.
- Bake at low heat and finish at high heat: Baking chicken wings at low heat helps dry out the chicken wing and melt the fat. Switching the oven to high heat helps crisp up the skin.
How to make salt and vinegar wings?
These chicken wings are truly crispy and bursting with delicious salt and vinegar flavor, and yet they are also so easy to make! With just a few minutes of preparation you can make crispy, better than restaurant-quality wings in your very kitchen!!
- Make the salt and vinegar sauce: Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small jar or container with a tight fitting lid. Vigorously shake to thoroughly combine all the ingredients, making sure the salt and sugar are dissolved.
- Marinate Chicken Wings: Place the chicken wings in a large zip-closure bag. Pour HALF the salt and vinegar sauce over the wings. Seal the bag and shake to coat the wings. Transfer to the refrigerator and allow to marinate for at least 3 hours, or up to overnight.
- Preheat oven: Arrange one oven rack in the lower third position and one in the top third position in the oven. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean up. Place a wire rack insert on top of the baking sheet. Spray the rack with non-stick cooking spray to prevent the wings from sticking.
- Dry wings and toss with baking powder: Remove chicken wings from the marinade, gently shaking excess marinade off the wings. Discard marinade. Transfer wings to a clean work surface lined with paper towels. Pat the wings thoroughly dry. Transfer the dried wings to a large zip-closure bag. Add the baking powder and kosher salt to the bag. Seal and shake the bag vigorously to evenly coat the wings. Transfer the wings SKIN SIDE UP to the wire rack baking sheet in a single layer.
- Cook Chicken Wings at Low heat: Bake the chicken wings on the LOWER shelf in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Cook Chicken Wings at High heat: Move the wings to the UPPER shelf and increase the oven temperature to 425 F. Bake for an additional 20 minutes. Remove the wings from the oven and flip them over. Return to the oven and continue to bake for 20 minutes, or until the wings are golden brown, the skin is crispy and the chicken is cooked through.
- Toss wings and serve: Remove wings from the oven and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Pour the remaining salt and vinegar sauce over the wings. Toss well to coat. Serve immediately and enjoy!
How to make salt and vinegar baked chicken wings step by step photos:
Dipping sauce for salt and vinegar chicken wings?
If you are like me, and absolutely must have some sort of sauce for dipping, I have a couple suggestions.
I tried these baked salt & vinegar chicken wings with some chipotle ranch and they were good. Then, I dipped some in a plain Sriracha, a few in Sriracha mayo, and gobbled them up. But, I’m biased because I can eat Sriracha off my fingertips and be happy.
However, my favorite was simply to make a little extra salt and vinegar sauce. Using the sauce as a dip results in the ultimate explosion of salt and vinegar taste!
Alternatively, you can use your favorite variety of dressing as a dip!
What to serve with salt and vinegar wings?
Baked wings make a great appetizer, lunch, snack or dinner! Whether you are looking to include these salt and vinegar chicken wings on a football party spread, or enjoy them for dinner, the below dishes pair well with wings!
Appetizers to serve with chicken wings:
- Crudite Platter
- Chips and Dip
- Jalapeno Poppers
- Potato Skins
- Onion Rings
- Nachos
- Avocado Fries
Sides that pair well with chicken wings:
- Soup
- Sandwich or Grilled Cheese
- Green Salad
- Coleslaw
- Pasta Salad
- Macaroni and Cheese
- Baked Beans
- Cheesy Broccoli
- Cauliflower Rice
- Mashed Potatoes
- Grilled Corn
Are salt and vinegar chicken wings healthy?
Chicken wings themselves are made up of skin and fat, so they are not classified as healthy. Also, chicken wings are traditionally deep fried which add extra fat. However, these chicken wings are baked to produce a slightly healthier wing! They have the same crispy, crunchy texture minus all the oil, grease and added fat!
Are salt and vinegar wings keto-friendly?
This chicken wing recipe is keto-friendly and low in carbs! (See below for nutritional information)
Are salt and vinegar wings gluten free?
This recipe as written is not gluten-free. To make gluten-free salt and vinegar chicken wings, replace the malt vinegar with apple cider vinegar.
How many calories in salt vinegar wings?
The exact number of calories in chicken wings will depend upon the exact recipe and ingredients used. This salt and vinegar wings recipe serves 4 and has approximately 293 calories and 3 grams of carbohydrates per serving.
So, what are you waiting for? Get into the kitchen (or into your car, if you have to go to the grocery store first) and make these Baked Salt & Vinegar Wings!
Until next time, friends, cheers and happy eating!
XOXO
Cheyanne
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The best Salt & Vinegar Chicken Wings recipe plus step by step video👇
These crispy, oven baked Salt and Vinegar Wings have all the flavors of your favorite chips! Salty, tangy and finger lickin' good, these chicken wings are the ultimate snack or game day appetizer!
- 2 pounds Chicken Wings - separated into drumettes and flats (SEE NOTES)
- 2 ½ tsp Baking Powder - DO NOT use baking soda!
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 Cup White Distilled Vinegar
- 6 TBS Malt Vinegar - (or Apple Cider Vinegar)
- 2 TBS Flaky Sea Salt (Maldon) - plus more for garnishing
- 2 1/4 tsp Dry Ranch Mix
- 1 tsp Granulated Sugar
- ¼ tsp Garlic Powder
Make the salt and vinegar sauce: Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small jar or container with a tight fitting lid. Vigorously shake to thoroughly combine all the ingredients, making sure the salt and sugar are dissolved.
Marinate Chicken Wings: Place the chicken wings in a large zip-closure bag. Pour HALF the salt and vinegar sauce over the wings. Seal the bag and shake to coat the wings. Transfer to the refrigerator and allow to marinate for at least 3 hours, or up to overnight.
Preheat oven: Arrange one oven rack in the lower third position and one in the top third position in the oven. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean up. Place a wire rack insert on top of the baking sheet. Spray the rack with non-stick cooking spray to prevent the wings from sticking.
Dry wings and toss with baking powder: Remove chicken wings from the marinade, gently shaking excess marinade off the wings. Discard marinade. Transfer wings to a clean work surface lined with paper towels. Pat the wings thoroughly dry. Transfer the dried wings to a large zip-closure bag. Add the baking powder and kosher salt to the bag. Seal and shake the bag vigorously to evenly coat the wings. Transfer the wings SKIN SIDE UP to the wire rack baking sheet in a single layer.
Cook Chicken Wings at Low heat: Bake the chicken wings on the LOWER shelf in the oven for 30 minutes.
Cook Chicken Wings at High heat: Move the wings to the UPPER shelf and increase the oven temperature to 425 F. Bake for an additional 20 minutes. Remove the wings from the oven and flip them over. Return to the oven and continue to bake for 20 minutes, or until the wings are golden brown, the skin is crispy and the chicken is cooked through.
Toss wings and serve: Remove wings from the oven and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Pour the remaining salt and vinegar sauce over the wings. Toss well to coat. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Recipe Video
- To separate chicken wings into drumettes and flats: Remove wing tips from chicken wings with a sharp chef’s knife, or kitchen shears, at the joint. (save tips for making stock or discard) Separate chicken drumettes from flats by cutting through the joint between the two. The joint is easy to find, bend the flat from the wing backwards, exposing joint.
- The recipe for the cooking method of these wings adapted from Cook’s Illustrated and Recipetineats.com
Nutritional information is a rough estimate and based upon 4 servings.
©No Spoon Necessary. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use any images without prior permission. If you want to reference this recipe, please do so by linking directly to this post.
hazel says
February 5, 2020 at 2:50 pmI want to try this recipe but I need to cut back on SODIUM. Where does the sodium come from in the nutrition list? (I’m assuming the vinegar?) If vinegar, does anyone know of a low sodium vinegar substitute?
Cheyanne says
February 5, 2020 at 3:20 pmHi Hazel,
The sodium is coming from the salt, the baking powder and the dry ranch mix, not the vinegar. Vinegar contains no sodium whatsoever. I’m not sure if a sodium-free salt substitute would produce the same flavor, but I’d assume it will not. As well, if you eliminate the baking powder the wings will not get crispy. Let me know if you have any other questions. Cheers!
Debra says
March 25, 2020 at 7:57 pmVinegar does not have sodium. The sodium in the recipe comes from salt. There is a salt substitute called No Salt. That might be worth a try.
Cheyanne says
March 26, 2020 at 12:56 pmPlease see my comment above.
The sodium in the dish is also coming from the dry ranch packet and baking powder. I have not made the wings with a salt substitute (‘No Salt’ or any other substitute) so I cannot attest to how the wings would turn out. I’d love to hear how they turn out if you try it though! Cheers!
Sue says
February 3, 2020 at 6:24 pmI’ve left three reviews WAYYY downthread for these fabulous wings. We make them at least four times a year. When I saw the recipe was UPDATED and it looked even easier to make these things, I couldn’t wait to try them out. I was kind of skeptical they could be improved because they were already perfect in my opinion. BUT lo and behold – they mystifyingly ARE even better than the original recipe. You will eat every one and cry that there aren’t more! I can’t recommend these wings enough (obviously)! Thank you for the best chicken wing recipe ever!
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
January 14, 2020 at 10:48 amTom LOVES salt and vinegar chips too Chey! And how perfect would it be if I surprised him for the Super Bowl this year with these?! Pinning and so excited to try! Love the video too, as usual!
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen says
January 12, 2020 at 8:19 pmSalt and vinegar chips are my favorite! They’re one of those things I can’t bring into the house because I’ll just eat every single one. So I’m loving this spin on wings! They’re perfect for March Madness (yes, I’m thinking about March bball already, haha!).
wicked says
January 15, 2019 at 8:20 pmhi how many per serving for nutritional value?
Cheyanne Bany says
January 15, 2019 at 9:18 pmThe nutritional information is based on 2 pounds of chicken wings and serves 4. I can’t tell you exactly how many chicken wings per serving, because it will depend on the number of wings in your 2 pounds (i.e. Some pounds of chicken wings have more, smaller wings and others less, larger wings). For the exact number of wings in a serving, you will need to take your 2 pounds of chicken wings and divide by 4. Hope that helps. Cheers!
Colleen says
December 24, 2018 at 9:07 amHi. Quick question: It’s 6 a.m. Christmas Eve and I’ve had these drying between clean thin towels in the fridge for 12 hours. It turns out I’ll be going out of town in 4 hours till midnight and so they’ll be Christmas day snacks ….
What would YOU do? Bake them fully this morning? Partially? Have someone bake them for me later while I’m away? Keep them in the fridge for ANOTHER 24 hours and cook before serving Christmas day? Something else??
Oh boy. I have 9 pounds of them in there … any suggestions will be happily embraced … And by the way: a berry Merry Christmas to all of you and yours.
Cheyanne Bany says
December 24, 2018 at 10:15 amHi Colleen! Merry Christmas eve!
I’m sorry to hear a monkey wrench got thrown into your Christmas plans!!
As for what I would do if I were in your shoes, I would go ahead and bake them FULLY today and then allow them to cool completely UNCOVERED (to prevent moisture). Then, cover the wings and refrigerate them until you are ready to have them as your Christmas day snack. To reheat them, spread the wings out on a baking sheet (skin side up), and bake at 400 F degrees (or 385 F if your oven runs hot) for 5-10 minutes, or until the skin is puffy and the wings are reheated. Then, toss them with the sauce and serve. Obviously there will be a slight difference in crispness as opposed to if you baked them fresh, but the difference should only be noticeable to a chicken wing aficionado.
I will try to be around today to answer any more questions you should have! Travel safely and have a wonderful holiday!!
Kielo says
October 11, 2018 at 3:42 pmThis recipe looks very good. We do a family wing contest every year and I may use part of your recipe for my wings. I’m not sure if I’m not reading it correctly or not, but for the marinade and sauce they both start off by saying
1/4 Cup + 1 TBS White Vinegar. Am I assuming the 1/4 cup is of water?
Cheyanne Bany says
October 11, 2018 at 3:52 pmHi Kielo!
I’m not sure where you are getting water from in the recipe? The 1/4 Cup + 1 TBS is the actual measurement of the vinegar, which is the equivalent of 5 tablespoons if that makes it simpler for you? Let me know if you have any other questions! I’m always here to help! Cheers! 🙂
kielo says
October 16, 2018 at 9:59 amOk, got it. That makes sense, I was reading it completely wrong. I read it as 1/4 cup of something else, plus 1 tbs of vinegar, instead of as you put it, 5 tablespoons of vinegar.
Turned out amazing, I did end up deep frying mine, pulled a close second place in our wing tournament! Will definitely make again, was perfect with some cold beers 🙂 .
Thanks
Bobby says
September 17, 2018 at 5:28 pmIm getting ready to grill these on my Traeger Smoker, wish me luck!
Cheyanne Bany says
September 17, 2018 at 5:59 pmGood luck!!!
Kourtney says
August 5, 2018 at 7:30 pmMy wings are steaming right now. I was wondering if it would affect the recipe too much to let them cool to room temp after riding and then baking them without the overnight part? Since the marinade is already completed I’m just unsure why there is a second wait step
Cheyanne Bany says
August 5, 2018 at 8:09 pmHi Kourtney! Honestly, I’ve only ever made them as specified in the recipe (or as specified in the notes section skipping the steaming completely). Since you are already mid-steam, I would make sure you completely dry the chicken wings before tossing them with baking powder. Again, in full disclosure, I have never made them that way, but that would probably be your best bet. Good luck!
Kourtney says
August 13, 2018 at 7:45 pmIt worked wonderfully! They were a bit dry but I blame myself for using all the max times, but it does work.
Amy says
March 28, 2018 at 1:13 amQuick question: making these right now and wondering if you (or other respondents) save the water left over from steaming and use it for a soup base? I like to not waste and I think it’d be a good base for a hot and sour soup. Any thoughts? Just want to make sure it’s safe…
Cheyanne Bany says
March 28, 2018 at 8:43 amHi Amy,
The reason for steaming the chicken wings in this recipe is to render some of the fat. So, the liquid after steaming the wings will basically just be water flavored with chicken wing fat, which is much different from a poaching liquid… meaning there are no aromatics, vegetables or anything of real flavor in the water. I would not save the water as it won’t make a good base for anything. Let me know if you have any other questions! Cheers!
Amy says
March 28, 2018 at 2:01 pmOh yes- I would if course be using it combined with chicken fat and pieces I keep in the freezer for stock…adding to the water with spices and salt, then adding vegetables and chicken.