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Lemon Pepper Wings with Lemon Pepper Sauce

Lemon Pepper Wings – This super tasty, crispy Wings recipe is super easy to make and needs just a couple of ingredients! They are made in the air fryer, giving you juicy tender wings that are crisp on the outside.

Lemon Pepper Wings in a plate garnished with lemon wedges

Lemon Pepper wings

Wings are the ultimate indulgence. They’re crisp, they’re juicy, they’re packed with flavor, and they’re one of the most crowd-pleasing appetizers you could possibly serve.

These air fryer lemon pepper wings are the perfect snack for game day, movie night, or any time you want a snack that you can feel good about eating and they’re easy to make.

I used my Cosori Air Fryer to whip up this recipe in no time. The best part?—The leftovers are great reheated in a skillet or back in the air fryer.

A sticky, sweet, and tasty lemon pepper sauce.

The sauce is simple, but it packs so much flavor into each wing. This sauce gives the chicken a tangy, sweet, spicy, and savory flavor.

The lemon pepper sauce is made with butter, lemon pepper seasoning, lemon (juice and zest), honey, and hot sauce. Then you toss the sauce with your air-fried chicken wings—it takes less than five minutes to whip up this sauce!

Ingredients for making lemon pepper chicken

Ingredients for making lemon Pepper wings

1. Chicken Wings: It is best to get drumettes and flats to make your cooking easier. Before seasoning with other ingredients, ensure that you gently dry the chicken skin to avoid sogginess. You need to pat dry to get a crispy outcome.

2. Cornstarch/baking powder: One of the things I like to make chicken is this ingredient. Cornstarch is the secret ingredient to use if you want perfect crunchy and crispy wings. Crispy chicken is irresistible because it has the perfect crispy bite. Cornstarch creates an outside crust that turns golden brown and helps the inside of the chicken remain super juicy. Whether you air-fry or bake, ensure that you coat the wings properly. You can also use baking powder when baking the wings instead of corn starch.

3. Lemon Pepper Sauce: To make the sauce, you need the following:

  • Hot sauce: For spicy effect and taste in your chicken wing, just add a dash of hot sauce. You will love it.
  • Lemon juice and Lemon zest are the kings of all ingredients that give it that customized lemon flavor and distinctive taste. Lemon is versatile; I also use it for turkey.
  • Melted butter – you can trust the melted butter to bring out the rich taste of your chicken wings.
  • Lemon pepper seasoning – you need this seasoning to get that delicious taste.
  • Honey – Honey will bring out the natural sweetness in the recipe. It glues the spice to the chicken wings and creates a balance with the lemon acidity.
Lemon Pepper Wings in a plate garnished with lemon wedges

How to make Lemon Pepper Wings

There are different methods of making Lemon pepper wings. Like most chicken wings recipes, you can use the air-fryer method or the oven-baked method. I love Lemon pepper wings because of the little prep time it requires. Both methods are safe, healthy alternatives to deep-frying and very easy.

Air fryer method:

How to make Lemon Pepper Wings in the Air fryer:

  • Pat Chicken wings dry with a paper towel and place them inside a large Ziplock bag.
  • Add the lemon pepper seasoning and cornstarch. Give the wings a good coating.
  •  Spray the air fryer with cooking spray and carefully arrange them inside the air fryer.
  • Cook at 400F for 10 minutes on the first side. Flip to the other side and cook for another 10 minutes.
Air fried lemon pepper chicken

Oven method:

How to make Lemon Pepper Wings in the oven:

  • Pat Chicken wings dry with a paper towel and place them inside a large Ziplock bag.
  • Add the lemon pepper seasoning and cornstarch. Give the wings a good coating.
  • Preheat the oven at about 450F with the racks inside.
  • Bake for 45-50 minutes or until they turn a light golden color, turning the wings over halfway through. You bake one side and flip to the other side at half cooking time.

Tips

  • Even coating is important to achieve a crunchy outcome.
  • Drain the wings and pat dry the skin with a paper towel to ensure that seasoning rubs sticks.
  • Avoid using excess oil to coat the wings. Coating gently with just enough oil will help you get that golden brown color with a crispy outside.
  • Ensure that you pre-heat the oven and air-fryer before placing your chicken wings.
  • Halfway through cooking, check and flip the wing to ensure that all sides are thoroughly done.
  • Avoid putting the wings too close or putting too much in the baking tray at the same time. Well-spaced wings allow for air circulation in the oven for proper cooking.

How to make lemon pepper sauce

While the wings are frying in the air-fryer or baking in the oven, you can start preparing the lemon pepper sauce. You can prepare it by following these steps:

  •  Melt the butter in a saucepan
  • Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, honey, hot sauce, honey, and black pepper.
  • Lower the heat and let the sauce simmer
  • Use immediately while still warm

More Chicken wings recipe

Lemon Pepper Wings in a plate garnished with lemon wedges

Crispy Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Wings with Lemon Pepper Sauce

This super tasty, crispy Lemon Pepper Wings recipe is super easy to make and needs just a couple of ingredients! They are made in the air fryer, giving you juicy tender wings that are crisp on the outside. Try it with family and friends, and you will have them begging for more. 
5 from 6 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken, Chicken wings, Wings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories: 336kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 Pounds Wings, Flats and Drumettes
  • 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
  • tablespoon lemon pepper salt

Lemon Pepper Sauce:

  • 1 stick butter melted
  • 2 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
  • 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
  • lemon zest
  • 2 Tablespoons Honey
  • hot sauce or cayenne to taste

Instructions

Air fryer Instructions for the wings

  • Pat Chicken wings dry with a paper towel and place them inside a large ziplock bag.
  • Add the lemon pepper seasoning and cornstarch. Give the wings a good mix.
  • Spray the air fryer with cooking spray and carefully arrange them inside the air fryer.
  • Cook at 400F for 10 minutes on the first side. Flip to the other side and cook for another 10 minutes.

Oven Instructions for the wings

  • Bake for 45-50 minutes or until they turn a light golden color, turning the wings over halfway through.
  • Note; For oven method, skip the cornstarch and use 2 teaspoons of baking powder instead.

Instructions for the sauce:

  • Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and use immediately while still warm. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 336kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 94mg | Sodium: 93mg | Potassium: 320mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 231IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 2mg

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5 from 6 votes (5 ratings without comment)
Recipe Rating




P.

Thursday 25th of August 2022

I tried this recipe but added a little more corn starch that in the recipe and it turned out great. Adjust the honey and hot sauce to your liking

Chef Lola's Kitchen

Sunday 4th of September 2022

Patrick, I am glad you made this recipe to your taste. I advocate for this every time; it is fulfilling to know it came out well.