Grilled Chicken Wings
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Make the best Grilled Chicken Wings with this easy recipe! The wings are juicy and tender inside, with a perfectly seasoned sear on the outside from an amazing dry rub. They’re delicious right off the grill, or tossed with your favorite wing sauce! Enjoy these wings at a summer bbq, game day party or for a mouthwatering weeknight dinner. They’re easy to make in just 20 minutes!
Table of contents
I’m a big fan of chicken wings. Mostly because I can toss them in lots of sauce, and I’m a saucy girl that loves any reason to use lots of sauce!
Over the years I’ve made Air Fryer Chicken Wings, Sous Vide Chicken Wings and Grilled Chicken Wings, but it wasn’t until recently that I realized I had never shared my recipe for grilled chicken wings on the blog. Today, that changes!
I love grilling wings because they stay juicy and tender on the inside, while the outside gets a delicious seared crust from the grill. Then you can come inside and toss them with your favorite sauce. I’m a big fan of buffalo sauce, but also have recently become obsessed with this Garlic Parmesan Sauce. It’s a Buffalo Wild Wings copycat recipe, and if you’re looking for a mild sauce to toss with your wings, this is your sauce!
If you think of grilling and immediately think of bbq sauce, you can also toss the wings in your favorite store-bought bbq sauce. Or try this Whole30 BBQ Sauce recipe to make sugar-free, low-carb saucy wings!
The wings can either be seasoned with my delicious chicken seasoning, which pairs well with mild sauces, like garlic parmesan sauce or lemon pepper sauce. Or try my famous chicken wing seasoning, it’s perfect if you’re going to toss the wings in buffalo sauce, hot sauce or bbq sauce. It’s the perfect dry rub for wings and I know you’ll love the flavor!
Now it’s time to pick your dry rub and sauce, and get grilling!
Ingredients
- Chicken wings – I recommend purchasing “party wings” which contain both the drumettes and the wingettes or “flats”, already separated. Otherwise, if you purchase whole chicken wings, you’ll have to separate the drummette, wingette and tips yourself. The wing tips are mostly cartilage, bone and skin, so you can either discard them, or toss them in the freezer to use for chicken stock at a later date.
- Olive oil – or another neutral flavored oil, like canola, avocado or vegetable oil.
- Chicken wing seasoning – the real star of the show is this seasoning blend. It’s made up of 6 simple spices that you probably already have in your pantry, including salt, chili powder, smoked paprika, onion powder and garlic powder. To make mild wings, you can also use this chicken seasoning recipe instead.
- Buffalo wing sauce – this ingredient is optional. Once the grilled chicken wings are cooked, you can toss them in the sauce, or eat them straight off the grill. The rub adds so much flavor, these wings are delicious dry or sauced. You can also serve the sauce on the side for dipping, instead of tossing the wings in the sauce, or try another sauce like bbq sauce, hot sauce, or this Garlic Parmesan Sauce.
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Season the wings. Choose from either the chicken wing seasoning for a wing with more spice, or the chicken seasoning for a mild wing. Make sure the wings are fully defrosted, if they were frozen, and pat the wings dry with a paper towel. This will help them achieve a delicious crust on the outside. Toss the wings in olive oil, then in the seasoning.
- Add the wings to the grill. Preheat a grill over medium heat, around 350°F. Make sure the grill is hot before adding the wings, or they won’t get a nice sear on the outside. Once the grill is hot arrange the wings in an even layer on the grill grates.
- Grill the wings. Cook the wings for 6-7 minutes, flip and grill for an additional 6-7 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken wings reach 165°F using an instant-read meat thermometer. You may need to remove the flats before the drums, since they tend to be smaller, they might cook slightly quicker.
- Sauce the wings (optional). Remove the wings from the grill, add them to a large bowl, and immediately toss them with sauce that’s warm or room temperature. Tossing the wings in cold sauce will immediately cool down the temperature of the wings. I recommend 1/4 cup sauce for 1 pound of wings. Alternatively, you can serve the sauce on the side for dipping the wings, instead of tossing it with the wings.
Pro tips
- Always make sure to pat the wings completely dry before tossing them with the olive oil and seasoning. This will ensure the crust grills up nicely and you don’t end up with soggy wings.
- If using frozen wings, make sure they’re fully defrosted before starting this recipe. I recommend defrosting them in the fridge for 24 hours. If you’re short on time, you can place the chicken wings in a sealed bag and into a bowl of cold water. And for the quickest method, defrost the chicken using the “defrost” method on your microwave.
- Make sure the grill is hot before adding the wings. This is a pretty good rule for adding anything to the grill. Adding food to a hot grill will give it a wonderful sear on the outside, while keeping it perfectly juicy in the center. It will prevent food from sticking to the grill, and it’s important for cooking safety.
- On the other hand, make sure the grill is not too hot. When grilling wings, it’s important that the grill is at a medium heat, around 350 degrees fahrenheit. Any hotter and the wings will burn on the outside before they’re fully cooked inside.
- Make sure the wings are not touching. If they wings are too close on the grill, they won’t cook evenly.
- The flats may cook quicker than the drums. Use an instant-read thermometer in the smallest wing flat to check the temperature. Because the flats tend to be smaller than the drums, they may cook faster and need to be removed from the grill 1-2 minutes before the drums.
- Never toss wings with cold sauce. It will immediately cool down the wings. Either heat a sauce for 30 seconds in the microwave before tossing it with the wings, or let the sauce set out at room temperature for 30 minutes while grilling the wings.
Dietary options
This recipe is dairy free and gluten free, when tossed with buffalo sauce and seasoned with the chicken seasoning, or chicken wing seasoning linked above. Dip the wings in buffalo sauce or dairy-free avocado ranch to keep them dairy free.
This recipe is also low carb and keto-friendly. Each wing contains only .2 net carbs, when tossed with buffalo sauce, making it the perfect keto snack or appetizer! If you’re watching your carbs and tossing the wings with a different sauce, be sure to check the carbs on the sauce.
What to serve with them
Grilled chicken wings are delicious served with carrots and celery sticks for a tasty snack, or party appetizer. Serve them with blue cheese or ranch dressing as a dipping sauce. Or switch things up and try dipping them in this Garlic Parmesan Sauce, White BBQ Sauce, Roasted Garlic Dip or Avocado Ranch Dressing.
You can also make them part of an epic game day spread. Try serving them with any of these recipes!
- Buffalo Chicken Dip
- 7 Layer Dip
- Pepperoni Pizza Rolls
- Slow Cooker Queso Blanco
- Deviled Eggs
- Taco Crescent Rolls
- Jalapeno Poppers
More recipes for the grill
Want to become the master of the grill? Check out my Top 10 Grilling Tips, then put them to use making these delicious recipes on the grill!
Grilled Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken wings, party wings – separated drums and flats
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons chicken wing seasoning, or chicken seasoning (see notes below)
- ½ cup buffalo sauce, or garlic parmesan sauce (see notes below)
Instructions
- If the wings were frozen, make sure that they're fully defrosted and pat them completely dry. This will help them get a crispy skin on the outside.
- Drizzle the olive oil evenly over the wings and rub the oil into the wings.
- Sprinkle the chicken wing seasoning evenly over the wings, then rub it onto all sides of the wings.
- Preheat a grill over medium heat, around 350°F.
- Once the grill is hot, place the wings on the grill in an even layer (not touching) for 6-7 minutes.
- Flip the wings and continue cooking for an additional 6-7 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
- Remove the wings from the grill and immediately toss with sauce, if you'd like.
- You can also serve the sauce on the side for dipping, or serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing for dipping.
Notes
- To make a medium or hot spicy wing, use this chicken wing seasoning and adjust the cayenne pepper to your taste level. To make mild wings, use this chicken seasoning recipe. Click the links for either of these easy recipes.
- The wings can be tossed in your favorite buffalo sauce, Garlic Parmesan Sauce, BBQ sauce, or hot sauce. Or the sauces can be served on the side for dipping the wings.
- Always make sure to pat the wings completely dry before tossing them with the olive oil and seasoning. This will ensure the crust grills up nicely and you don’t end up with soggy wings.
- If using frozen wings, make sure they’re fully defrosted before starting this recipe. I recommend defrosting them in the fridge for 24 hours. If you’re short on time, you can place the chicken wings in a sealed bag and into a bowl of cold water. And for the quickest method, defrost the chicken using the “defrost” method on your microwave.
- Make sure the grill is hot before adding the wings. This is a pretty good rule for adding anything to the grill. Adding food to a hot grill will give it a wonderful sear on the outside, while keeping it perfectly juicy in the center. It will prevent food from sticking to the grill, and it’s important for cooking safety.
- On the other hand, make sure the grill is not too hot. When grilling wings, it’s important that the grill is at a medium heat, around 350 degrees fahrenheit. Any hotter and the wings will burn on the outside before they’re fully cooked inside.
- Make sure the wings are not touching. If they wings are too close on the grill, they won’t cook evenly.
- The flats may cook quicker than the drums. Use an instant-read thermometer in the smallest wing flat to check the temperature. Because the flats tend to be smaller than the drums, they may cook faster and need to be removed from the grill 1-2 minutes before the drums.
- Never toss wings with cold sauce. It will immediately cool down the wings. Either heat a sauce for 30 seconds in the microwave before tossing it with the wings, or let the sauce set out at room temperature for 30 minutes while grilling the wings.
Nutrition Facts
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