Lemon-Pepper Baked Chicken Wings – An Awesome Game Day Appetizer!
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If you’re looking for a healthier appetizer to enjoy on game days, these Baked Chicken Wings seasoned with lemon and pepper are a must-make. Serve up with your favorite dip and enjoy!
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Baked Chicken Wings
The full ingredients list and instructions are found in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. I highly recommend reading the blog post all the way through so that you don’t miss any tips or substitution suggestions; to ensure that you have all the ingredients and equipment required, and to understand the steps and timings involved.
Do you love appetizers? I know I do! Sometimes when we [could still actually] go out to eat I would rather just order a bunch of appetizers than the main meal.
Being able to have a variety of different foods and pick and choose different things is fun for the taste buds!
Appetizers are great for parties and gatherings, or for when just sitting with the fam watching a movie or a big sporting event.
While the wings are cooking, why not make a delicious Homemade Dip for them like this cooling Greek Tzatziki, our lower fat but refreshing Lemon & Parsley Dip, or Buffalo Ranch Sauce which is perfect if you want a spicy kick!
Chicken wing appetizers are always a safe bet as they’re easy to prepare and pretty much everyone loves to nosh on chicken wings right? And if you’re following a low-carb lifestyle, they’re bang on the money!
Because the chicken is baked and not fried, they are a healthier appetizer. And if you want to reduce the fat content, you could remove the skin before cooking.
The chicken wings are seasoned with lemon and black pepper and can be served with cool ranch, or blue cheese dip. For a spicy kick, why not make a batch of Jalapeño Ranch?
Whatever your preference is, along with celery, carrots, or other raw veggies.
Making your own homemade flavored seasonings is easy. However, finding the perfect balance of flavors is more of an art than a science, because individual tastes vary so widely.
The proportions shared in our recipe offer a safe starting point. The whole black peppercorns impart a BOLD flavor to this seasoning, so it’s best to start with a small amount and adjust upwards until you find the level of heat you prefer.
Once you do, you can create larger batches of this seasoning and store the remaining amounts in an airtight container for several months.
Ingredients & Equipment Used In This Recipe
You may already have some of the basic ingredients for this recipe – the full list with measurements is found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
For your convenience, any specialized or notable ingredients and equipment needed for this recipe have been listed below and linked to Amazon or other stores if available online.
- Lemons – the lemons are zested and dried in a low oven to make the seasoning.
- Kosher Salt – not as common in the UK, but you can use sea salt flakes instead – see my notes below.
- Black Peppercorns
- Chicken Wings – you can use whatever part of the chicken wing you prefer – whether that is the whole wing, the drumette (the bit that is like a mini drumstick), or the wingette (the other bit with the two bones). It all depends on what your supermarket or butcher sells. If you buy the whole wing, you could cut it down into pieces.
- Spice Grinder – you will need this to grind down the dried lemon zest, salt, and peppercorns, or if you have a pestle and mortar you could use that instead.
- Microplane – a handheld, fine grater, used for grating the zest from citrus fruits – as in this recipe, but also for other ingredients like whole spices (nutmeg for example), hard cheeses, garlic, ginger, chocolate, and more. Sure you could use the fine side of a box grater, but a Microplane does the job so much better – and easier too.
Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog use both cup measurements and/or weighted measurements. American cups and kitchen food scales are handy pieces of equipment to have in your kitchen as it means you’ll be able to make all of the different recipes on my blog! I try to give American, imperial, and metric measurements in my recipes. You can mix cup measurements with weighted measurements, but never imperial (pounds, ounces, pints, etc.,) with metric (kilograms, grams, litres, etc.,).
What is Kosher Salt?
Kosher salt (outside the US called kitchen salt, cooking salt, flake salt, rock salt) is coarse edible salt without common additives such as iodine. It is used in cooking rather than at the table.
The term kosher salt gained common usage in North America because of its use in the Jewish koshering process as the salt draws moisture from meat very well. The salt itself isn’t manufactured under any religious guidelines – although there are brands that are also kosher-certified.
The grains of kosher salt are larger than table salt, but smaller than sea salt. If you can’t source kosher salt then you could use a regular salt, but bear in mind the size of the salt crystals which may take up more or less space on a spoon when measuring by volume.
In the UK a good alternative for kosher salt is Maldon Sea Salt flakes, but you can buy kosher salt online if you would like to try using it in your cooking.
More Recipes Using Chicken
Of course, one of the hero ingredients in this recipe is chicken, so here are some more recipes using the same:
- Spicy Chicken Satay Recipe with a Peanut Dipping Sauce
- Hawaiian Barbecue Chicken
- Chicken Caesar Salad with Homemade Dressing
More Appetizer Recipes
Looking for more appetizer inspo? Check these recipes out next:
- Black Bean Salsa Cups Appetizer
- Cheese-Stuffed Taco Meatballs Party Appetizer
- Savory Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
How Do I Make Baked Chicken Wings?
Just check out the recipe card below with full ingredients, instructions, and demonstration photos. You can print the card out too (don’t worry, the pics don’t print to save your ink).
Lemon Pepper Baked Chicken Wings
These baked chicken wings are a low carb and healthier game day appetizer!
Ingredients
For the Seasoning
- 4-5 large organic lemons, zested
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt (sea salt flakes)
- 1 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
For the Wings
- 4 lbs (1.8kg) chicken wings, tips removed and patted dry
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to its lowest setting. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- To make the lemon-pepper seasoning, wash the lemons and pat dry. Remove zest from each lemon with a Microplane. While doing so, collect as much of the flavorful yellow outer layer as possible, while avoiding the more bitter white layer below.
- Spread the zest in a thin layer on the lined baking sheet and place in the oven. After 20 minutes, remove the sheet from the oven and shake to make sure zest is drying evenly. Return the baking sheet to the oven until thoroughly dried, approximately 25-30 minutes.
- Remove dried lemon zest from the oven and increase oven temperature to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add the dried lemon zest to a spice grinder or food processor along with salt and black peppercorns. Grind ingredients until desired consistency is reached. Taste and adjust the ratio of salt and pepper as desired.
- Place the chicken wings in a large bowl and pour over the olive oil and 1 - 2 tablespoons of lemon-pepper seasoning. Toss until evenly coated.
- Arrange seasoned chicken wings in a single layer on the second prepared baking sheet. Do not overcrowd. Place baking sheet on center rack of the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Remove baking sheet from oven and turn each wing to ensure they cook evenly on all sides. Return to oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes, or until wings are browned and crispy.
- Remove from oven and serve immediately with sliced celery and blue cheese or ranch dressing, if desired.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 209Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 1852mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 3gSugar: 3gProtein: 6g
This site uses Nutritionix to provide estimated nutrition. Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
Make It A Meal!
You could serve these chicken wings as an appetizer starter for a main meal, but what about the rest of the courses?
Here are additional recipes to make a full meal!
- Main Dish: Beef Tenderloin with Roasted Vegetables
- Side Dish: Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Beverage: Frozen Mango Margaritas
- Dessert: No-Bake Mini Cannoli Pies
There are 500+ Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog for you to enjoy – please feel free to check them out too!