Honey Lemon Pepper Wings

These honey lemon pepper wings are spicy, tangy, super crispy and delicious! Perfect for game day, family night or pretty much any time. This hot honey lemon pepper sauce is the perfect star for these perfectly crispy wings.

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If you love chicken wings, you are in the right place! These honey lemon pepper chicken wings are so delicious, you will be making them night after night.

You can also add some extra spice to this recipe to make hot honey lemon pepper chicken wings if you like it hot! Yes, yes please.

As a fellow chicken wings lover, I would be remiss if I didn’t also recommend this sweet and spicy Wing Sauce, Chicken Wing Brine, Chicken Wing Dry Rub, Cajun Wings and Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings – all game changers!

Any of these recipes is a perfect appetizer or dinner, great for game day or any day of the year. You can also learn how to reheat wings in air fryer for perfect crispy wings the second time around!

And no chicken wing recipe is complete with the perfect sides to go with! Check out these Air Fryer Frozen French Fries, Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Tenders and Frozen Sweet Potato Fries in Air Fryer. Plus, if you are entertaining a crowd, don’t forget about the viral sensation, the TikTok Butter Board!

Why this recipe works

You can make these honey lemon pepper chicken wings using the deep fryer, air fryer or oven. The hot honey lemon pepper sauce is the key to perfection and works with any type of wing preparation.
This wing recipe is super delicious and great as an appetizer or main course. Game day winner for sure.
Depending on your choice of wing preparation, you can make these honey lemon pepper wings in as little as 15 minutes!

Ingredients

Chicken Wings

Chicken Wings: I recommend using Chicken Wingettes and Drumettes to make these honey lemon pepper wings. They are a smaller version and cook up crispy and delicious.

Hot Honey Lemon Pepper Sauce Recipe

Butter: Use salted butter for this recipe. If you use unsalted butter, add extra salt to taste.

Fresh Lemon Zest

Garlic: I highly recommend using a garlic press for this recipe. It makes life so much easier!

Lemon Pepper Seasoning

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Brown Sugar: Light or dark. Dark will add a richer molasses flavor.

Honey

Hot Sauce: Frank’s Red Hot Sauce or similar hot sauce of choice.

Fresh Lemon Juice

Crushed Red Pepper or Chili Garlic Oil: Optional.

Instructions

honey garlic lemon pepper sauce wings on a plate with celery, carrots and blue cheese dipping sauce

Important Note on Cook Times

The size of chicken wings, cooking method and brand of deep fryer, oven and air fryer, etc. will vary cook times.
For safety: FDA recommends cooking to internal temperature of 165^oF.
Cook times will vary with drumettes/wingettes (smaller) vs. larger drumstick style wings you will find in many grocery stores.

Deep Fryer Chicken Wings

375°F for 8 minutes. Check internal temperature and cook for additional 1-2 minutes or more, as needed.

Air Fryer Chicken Wings

Preheat air fryer to 400°F.
Cook on 400°F for 7-9 minutes. This may be enough time for small wings (drumettes/wingettes). However, be sure to check internal temperature.
Flip and cook for additional 1-2 minutes or more, as needed (may be up to 6-8 minutes additional for larger wings).

Oven Baked Chicken Wings

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Cook on 400°F for 40 minutes. For smaller wings, check internal temperature around 20 minutes.
For extra crispy, cook for an additional 30 minutes at 175°F.

Hot Honey Lemon Pepper Sauce Recipe

Melt butter in microwave or saucepan until hot.
Add garlic, lemon zest, fresh ground pepper, lemon pepper seasoning and crushed red pepper (optional) or chili garlic oil (optional). Stir thoroughly.
Add brown sugar and honey and stir thoroughly.
Add hot sauce and fresh lemon juice and stir thoroughly.

Prepare Honey Lemon Pepper Wings

Coat wings with hot honey lemon pepper wing sauce and enjoy!

FAQ and expert tips

hot honey lemon pepper wings on a plate with celery, carrots and blue cheese dipping sauce

Are lemon pepper wet wings?

Wet wings typically refers to a sauce being added to your cooked wings. Lemon pepper is often a dry rubbed wing but can be a wet wing if the lemon pepper sauce is turned into a glaze such as hot honey lemon pepper wings.

How to make hot honey lemon pepper sauce?

Hot honey lemon pepper sauce is a mix of lemon zest, lemon juice, seasonings, honey, brown sugar and hot sauce. It can be used as a glaze or a sauce when cooking chicken wings.

What is the secret to crispy chicken wings?

The secret to crispy chicken wings is the deep fryer. Although there are other ways to get crispy wings, such as the air fryer or oven baked, nothing quite beats the crispy crunch of a deep fried chicken wing.

honey garlic lemon pepper wings on a plate with celery, carrots and blue cheese dipping sauce

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Honey Lemon Pepper Wings

Why this recipe works