These Baked Cajun Chicken Wings are crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and bursting with robust Louisianna flavor. Featuring cajun spice rubbed chicken wings baked in the oven and tossed with a sweet spicy glaze, this is the only recipe you need for cajun wings!Recipe can be scaled up or down by using the slider if you hover your mouse over the number of Servings.
Prepare the chicken wings: Place the chicken wings on a clean work surface and use paper towels to pat the wings completely dry. Then transfer wings to a large mixing bowl or into a resealable bag. Sprinkle the cajun spice rub, baking powder, and kosher salt all over the chicken wings. Toss or seal the bag and shake to evenly coat the wings in the seasonings. Then, set the cajun rubbed wings aside.
Preheat oven: Adjust your oven racks to the upper and lower third positions. Then preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
Arrange wings on baking pan: Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and lay a wire rack directly on top. Lightly spray the rack with non-stick cooking spray to prevent the wings from sticking. Next, place the chicken wings on the wire rack, arranging them so they are skin-side-up and in a single, non-overlapping layer.
Bake TWICE: Place the wings into the oven on the LOWER third rack and bake for 30 minutes. Quickly open the oven door and move the chicken wings to the upper third rack. Close the door to the oven and increase the temperature to 425-degrees Fahrenheit. Continue to bake the wings for 40-50 minutes, rotating the wings halfway through baking.
While wings are baking, make the chicken wing glaze: Add all the ingredients for the sauce to a medium saucepan and season with ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper. Place the pan over medium-high heat and bring the glaze to a slow boil while whisking frequently. Once slow boiling, immediately reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, for 10-12 minutes, or until the glaze is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove the glaze from the heat. Use an immersion blender to puree the sauce; or carefully transfer the sauce to a high powered blender and puree. Taste and adjust the glaze for seasoning. Set aside until ready to use.
Glaze the cajun wings: When the wings are done baking, place the baking sheet onto a cooling rack and let the wings cool for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes are up, transfer the wings from the baking rack to a large mixing bowl. Pour some or all of the glaze over the wings and toss to coat.
Serve: Top the crispy glazed cajun chicken wings with your favorite garnishes and serve with the remaining glaze on the side for dipping. Enjoy immediately.
Notes
1. You can purchase your wings already cut into drumettes and flats, or you can cut them yourself. It’s really easy! Check out the picture at the beginning of this post to see exactly where to cut (you will discard the wing tip). OR you can make these leaving the wings completely intact – drumette, flat and wing tip all connected.2. To ensure CRISPY wings, there are THREE steps you should NOT skip – drying the wings THOROUGHLY, coating them EVENLY in the seasoning/baking powder mixture, and baking them on a RACK insert. Do those three things and you are golden.3. When baking the wings, do not be alarmed if there is a bit of smoke in the oven. Wings have a good amount of fat, and as these bake, the fat will be rendered out and create smoke. Don’t freak out.4. You can either purchase Cajun seasoning or make your own. I highly recommend making your own spice mix. Not only is it incredibly quick and easy, you also probably already have all the spices in your cabinet. AND since you are controlling the amount of salt, you can skip adding salt to the wings in the first step. If you choose to buy your Cajun seasoning, taste it! And, please use your discretion as to how much salt to add to the wings.5. There are a few ways you can make the glaze. If you don’t have an immersion blender, but do have a food processor, I recommend you puree all the ingredients together in the processor first, and then cook the glaze. This way you can avoid transferring the glaze to a stand blender after it is cooked. If you do have an immersion blender, just follow the recipe as instructed. The same goes if you don’t have an immersion blender or a food processor, as you will just puree the glaze using a stand blender.6. The glaze can be made up to 3 days in advance. Be sure to let it sit at room temperature to remove the chill while the wings are baking. You can substitute the below dried seasonings for some of the fresh ingredients: *You can substitute ½ cup of pineapple juice if desired for the pineapple. *You can substitute 1 ½ tsp Onion Powder for chopped onion. *You can substitute ½ tsp Garlic Powder for cloves of garlic.Nutritional information is an estimate based upon 6 servings. Exact information will depend upon the brands of ingredients and precise measurements used.