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These sweet and sour wings are the perfect appetizer to serve for your next party, game day, or after-school snack. They are baked to crispy perfection and then doused in a sticky, sweet, and sour sauce.
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- Flavor Combo: You are going to love the sweet and sour flavor combination in these wings.
- Game Day: These are a great appetizer to bring to the next big game. For the perfect snack table, serve them next to onion rings, veggie dip, and little smokies.
- Yummy Glaze: The sweet and sour sauce perfectly coats the wings and gives them the most delicious glaze! It’s the perfect combo with the tender chicken wings.
Ingredients Needed for Sweet and Sour Wings
There are only a few simple ingredients for this tasty dish. The wings and the sauce! You can follow the recipe for my sauce or buy premade sauce in a bottle to save yourself time.
Wings
- Chicken Wings and Drumettes: You can buy party wings already portioned or grab whole wings and break them down yourself. For each wing, cut through two joints, toss the tip, and use the drumette and wingette.
- Baking Powder: Helps the wings get crispy and crunchy on the outside while sealing the moisture on the inside.
- Kosher Salt: Brings out the flavors in the chicken and the sauce.
How to Make Wings Crispy
Pat those wings really dry—don’t skimp on paper towels! It takes a bit of work, but dry wings mean crispy wings. Totally worth it!
Sauce
In a rush? You can use bottled sweet and sour sauce. My recipe makes about 16 ounces, so look for a similar-sized bottle.
- Pineapple Juice: Adds a tangy sweetness to the sauce, enhancing the tropical feel.
- Rice Vinegar: Gives the sauce a nice acidity that balances out the sweetness.
- Brown Sugar: Provides a depth of sweetness and helps the sauce stick to the wings.
- Ketchup: Gives the sauce its red color and adds an acidic sweetness.
- Soy Sauce: Adds a salty, savory flavor that balances the sweet.
- Cornstarch: Thickens the sauce.
- Water: Combined with the cornstarch, creates a paste that thickens the sauce.
How to Make Sweet and Sour Chicken Wings?
This sweet and sour chicken wing recipe comes together easily, especially if you use already portioned party wings. Simply bake your wings, heat up some sauce and you are ready to eat these yummy wings!
Wings
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Place a baking rack on top of the baking sheet and spray lightly with pan spray. Set aside. Pat the wings dry with paper towels before adding them to a large bowl. Add the baking powder and salt and toss until they are evenly coated.
- Separate: Arrange the wings on the prepared baking rack, making sure they don’t touch each other. No baking rack, no problem! Flip the wings halfway through baking and make sure they’re nice and dry. You’ll still get crispy wings.
- Bake: Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the outside is crispy and golden and the inside reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Other Ways to Cook Wings
- Oil Fried Wings: Heat oil to 375°F and cook wings for 10-12 minutes until they’re crispy and reach 165°F inside.
- Air Fryer Wings: After adding them to your air fryer, cook the wings in 2-3 batches at 400°F for 18-20 minutes, flipping halfway for extra crispiness.
Sauce
- Simmer: While the sweet and sour wings bake, add the pineapple juice, vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup, and soy sauce to a small saucepan and whisk to combine. Heat over medium-high heat until simmering.
- Make a slurry: In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Whisk into the sauce. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Turn off the heat.
- Toss: Once the wings are done baking, transfer them to a large, heat-safe bowl and pour over about ⅔ of the sauce. TIP: Wait until the last minute to toss the wings in the sauce. If you add it too soon, they’ll get soggy after all your work to make them crispy. Toss to combine. Serve the wings immediately with the extra sauce on the side for dipping
Sweet and Sour Wings Tips and Variations
I want your wings to turn out crispy and delicious, just how you like them! Here are some of my tips for getting crispy wings!
- Room Temperature: Let your wings sit at room temperature for about an hour before cooking. This helps them cook more evenly.
- Make it Spicy: Want to turn up the heat? Just add ½-1 teaspoon of red chili flakes to the sauce.
- Garnish: Optional garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.
Can You Make Wings Ahead of Time?
Yes! You can do a few things to make this process simpler for the day you plan on serving them.
- Prep and Refrigerate: Prepare the wings and then arrange them on the baking rack, then store them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. **You don’t need to cover them; letting them sit in the open air will help remove any residual moisture from the skin. **
- Come to Room Temperature: Remove them from the refrigerator about an hour before baking to allow them to come to room temperature, which will help them bake evenly.
How to Store Leftover Sweet and Sour Wings
- Refrigerator: Store leftover wings in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Reheating: Reheat your wings in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes or in the air fryer at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 6-8 minutes, flipping halfway through.
More Delicious Wing Recipes You’ll Love
Wings are some of my favorite appetizers. They just always hit the spot! My boys and my husband love them for game day, and my girls and I love them for after-school snacks or when I can’t think of anything else to eat! Here are a few of my go-to recipes for the best wings!
Pin this now to find it later
Wings
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Place a baking rack on top of the baking sheet and spray lightly with pan spray. Set aside.
Pat the wings dry with paper towels before adding them to a large bowl. Add the baking powder and salt and toss until they are evenly coated.
Arrange the wings on the prepared baking rack, making sure they don’t touch each other. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the outside is crispy and golden and the inside reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Sauce
While the wings bake, add the pineapple juice, vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup, and soy sauce to a small saucepan and whisk to combine. Heat over medium-high heat until simmering.
In a small bowl combine the cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Whisk into the sauce. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Turn off the heat.
Once the wings are done baking, transfer them to a large, heat-safe bowl and pour over about ⅔ of the sauce. Toss to combine.
Serve the wings immediately with the extra sauce on the side for dipping.
Fry: Instead of baking your wings, you can fry them in fry oil that is 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook for 10-12 minutes, until the skin is crisp and the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Air Fry: Spray the basket of your air fryer with pay spray and arrange your wings so they are not touching. You may need to cook the wings in 2-3 batches. Cook at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 18-20 minutes, flipping them halfway.
Calories: 408kcalCarbohydrates: 33gProtein: 24gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 94mgSodium: 1275mgPotassium: 443mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 27gVitamin A: 243IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 95mgIron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
About Alyssa Rivers
Alyssa Rivers is the author of 'The Tried and True Cookbook', a professional food photographer and experienced recipe-developer. Having a passion for cooking, her tried and true recipes have been featured on Good Morning America, Today Food, Buzzfeed and more.
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