Garlic Parmesan Wings - Dinner at the Zoo

These garlic parmesan wings are crispy golden brown chicken wings coated in garlic, butter, herbs and cheese. A quick and easy appetizer that is sure to satisfy!

I love to serve an assortment of snacks when I’m entertaining, including options such as smoky chipotle salsa, elegant bacon wrapped water chestnuts, and these delectable garlic parmesan wings.

In my opinion, you can never go wrong with chicken wings. They’re the perfect handheld snack that are fun to eat, and the flavors can be customized in endless ways. These garlic parmesan wing are packed with bold flavors, and require minimal work.

Garlic Parmesan Wings Ingredients

The ingredients for this recipe are minimal, and you probably already have many of the items in your fridge and pantry!

• Chicken Wings: I use party style wings, which is where the drumette and flats are separated. If you have full sized wings, you’ll want to cut them in half crosswise to achieve the same effect.
• Baking Powder: This may sound like a strange ingredient to use on chicken wings, but the baking powder makes the wings get extra crispy in the oven without all the hassle of frying. Do NOT use baking soda, it’s important to just stick with baking powder.
• Seasonings: Add flavor to your wings with a blend of salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder.
• Butter: The butter is the basis for the sauce. I prefer to use salted butter so that I don’t need to add any extra seasoning to the sauce.
• Garlic: Freshly minced garlic will have the best flavor here, avoid the jarred garlic if possible.
• Parsley: You can use either flat leaf or curly parsley with a similar result.
• Parmesan: Since the sauce just has a few ingredients, it’s important to use a high quality cheese. Skip the shelf stable can of parmesan and choose a tub of grated cheese from the deli section, or grate it yourself!

How to make garlic parmesan wings

Start by coating your wings in a mixture of baking powder and seasonings. Place the wings on a rack in the oven, then bake until they are crispy and golden brown. Add butter and garlic to a bowl, then microwave until the butter is melted. Let it cool for a few minutes, then stir in parsley and parmesan cheese. Drizzle the garlic butter mixture over the baked wings, then serve and enjoy.

Tips for the perfect wings

• These wings are best when served hot from the oven. Leftovers will stay fresh in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
• You can serve your wings as-is, or offer a dipping sauce such as marinara, ranch or chipotle mayo.
• Baking the wings on a rack helps to ensure that they get crispy on all sides. If you don’t have a rack, you can simply place the wings on the foil, but be sure to coat the foil with cooking spray first.

Recipe FAQs

Flavor Variations

This recipe is great as-is, but you can add other flavors to the mix to customize the wings to your tastes.

• Cheese: Instead of parmesan, try another grated hard cheese such as romano, asiago or even an aged white cheddar.
• Herbs: Swap out the parsley in the sauce for a different herb such as thyme, basil, chives or even dill. If you’re an herb lover, you can even add a teaspoon or two of dried Italian herb seasoning to the wings before they go into the oven.
• Spice: If you’re a fan of hot and spicy food, feel free to add hot sauce to the butter mixture, or alternatively you can add a pinch of crushed red chili flakes.
• Chicken: While this recipe works best with party style wings, you can also use the same technique on whole wings or even chicken drumsticks, although drumsticks may take longer to bake.

I serve these wings for parties, potlucks, or even as a light dinner, and there are never any leftovers!

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