Easy Baked Parmesan Chicken Wings

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These Easy Baked Parmesan Chicken Wings are not only super-simple to make and bake, but they also make a perfect family-friendly dish. No bells and whistles necessary: Parmesan cheese, together with a couple of pantry staple seasonings, make these wings incredibly yummy. And their texture is great too: baking Parmesan-coated chicken wings at a high temperature yields crisp skin and a juicy interior. Serve them with Fruity Curried Mayo Dip for ultimate satisfaction.

Tips for preparing the Easy Baked Parmesan Chicken Wings

I’ve intentionally kept this recipe mild — yet flavorful! — so that it’s suitable for kids’ palates. But to maximize flavor, be sure to use freshly grated Parmesan here. Store-bought grated Parmesan is usually as tasteless as sawdust.

If you like spicier wings, serve these wings with hot sauce (like this Sugar-Free Sweet Chili Sauce), or season them with piquant seasonings. At the end of this post you’ll find lots of suggestions for variations, as usual.

Feel free to add some unrefined sea salt or Himalayan salt if you think Parmesan doesn’t provide enough saltiness. You can also add freshly ground black or white pepper for an extra (subtle) kick.

And for the crispiest-ever wings, try this well-known trick: Add 1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder to the Parmesan mixture.

Let’s take a look at how to make these mouth-watering wings:

First of all, preheat the oven to 475 °F (250 °C). Then take a small bowl. Pour the cream into the bowl. Set aside.

Take a larger bowl. Add the Parmesan…

…paprika…

…onion powder…

…and the salt and pepper, if using.

Mix well with a spoon…

…until well combined.

Have the chicken wings, a large baking dish, the bowl of cream, and the Parmesan mixture at hand.

Take a chicken wing…

…dip it first in the heavy cream…

…and then roll it in the Parmesan mixture.

Place the coated wing into the baking dish.

Repeat with the rest of the wings and place them in the baking dish in a single layer.

If you have leftover Parmesan, sprinkle it on top of the wings.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes…

…or until the juices run clear.

Remove from the oven, let cool a couple of minutes and transfer carefully to a serving bowl.

Serve warm, preferably with Fruity Curried Mayo Dip.

My Parmesan chicken wings experiments

I got the idea for this recipe from one of my readers (thanks, Gladys!). She loves to dip her chicken wings in heavy cream before rolling them in seasoned grated Parmesan and baking in the oven. I originally wanted to try out the method and post this recipe during the summer, when we spent several weeks in our summer house, but I had other tasks to do and I ended up developing other recipes (like this Healthy Sugar-Free “Sprite”, Rich Cream Cheese Garlic Spread with Feta, 4-Ingredient Baked Keto Broccoli Cheese Balls, and this Easy Dairy-Free Keto Bread) among dozens of other recipe experiments).

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I finally had time to try this method. I didn’t know which seasonings Gladys had used, but naturally I wanted to use my favorite ones. Plus, I was planning to make the wings as dinner for my 7-year-old son, so really hot spices were out of the question.

First, I thought of curry, but since I was planning to serve the wings with the Fruity Curried Mayo Dip, I was afraid of a curry overload. I bet it would have been delicious, but I decided to experiment with it another time.

But now I scanned my pantry, pondering which kid-friendly seasonings to try. I’d been planning to make a 4-ingredient version and select just one seasoning, but I ended up grabbing big jars of paprika and onion powder from my pantry. Onion powder alone might have been enough, but paprika gives such a nice, warm color—and extra flavor, too.

So, for my first experiment, I took 2 lbs (900 g) chicken wings, 1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream, 1 1/2 cups (350 ml) freshly grated Parmesan, 1 tablespoon paprika, and 1 teaspoon onion powder. I dipped the wings first in heavy cream and then rolled them in the seasoned Parmesan. I placed the wings into a baking dish — which was too small, as I soon noticed. I had lots of leftover wings and had to use a separate dish for them.

Moreover, I was running out of Parmesan when rolling the wings. 1 1/2 cups (350 ml) clearly wasn’t enough for 2 lbs (900 g) chicken. I thought I would need at least 2 cups (480 ml).

I baked the wings at 350 °F (175 °C) for 40 minutes. The result wasn’t very crispy, but it was okay. The flavor was a bit too bland for my taste — though I liked the flavors — so I definitely needed to increase the amounts of paprika and onion powder. I might add a pinch of salt as well.

For my next experiment, I bought a 7-oz (200 g) piece of Parmesan and grated the whole thing. It yielded 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) grated, and I planned to reserve all of it for rolling the chicken wings.

I mixed 1 1/2 tablespoons paprika and 2 teaspoons onion powder into the Parmesan and also threw in a scant 1/2 teaspoon unrefined sea salt. I stirred everything into a nice, red-hued blend.

In my first experiment, 1/2 cup (120 ml) cream wasn’t quite enough, so now I increased the amount to 2/3 cup (160 ml). Again, I took 2 lbs (900 g) wings and dipped them in the cream, then rolled them in the Parmesan mixture. Now I had the right amounts for both the cream and the Parmesan. And this time I had used a baking dish that was large enough: the coated wings fit perfectly.

In hopes of achieving crispier wings, I used a higher oven temperature and baked the chicken for just 20 minutes. Bingo! The result – both texture- and taste-wise – was really good.

I was very happy with the wings — and so was my son, who chomped down one wing after another. Alongside the Fruity Curried Mayo Dip, these wings were beyond divine!

Here’s the recipe:
 

 

Nutrition information:	Protein	Fat	Net carbs	kcal
In total:	221.9 g	192.2 g	3.4 g	2677 kcal
Per serving if 4 servings in total:	55.5 g	48.1 g	0.9 g	669 kcal

 

Tips for variation

These wings are flavorful but mild, so if you want a more piquant taste, you can add red pepper flakes, crushed red pepper, cayenne pepper, or chipotle to the Parmesan. If you’re a garlic friend, garlic powder is a great option.

Different spice mixes are an easy choice when you don’t feel like experimenting with flavors or don’t want to add dozens of spices. You can replace the paprika and onion powder with, for example, curry powder (my personal favorite!), Cajun seasoning, poultry seasoning, jerk seasoning – or, if you want something a little more exotic, try dukkah or garam masala. That way you can prepare this easy dish often, creating fun variations just by changing up the seasoning.