These buffalo wings are the best I’ve ever had. The sauce has the perfect balance of heat, acidity, and depth. Paired with a tangy smoked blue cheese dip that completes the whole dish! These wings make the perfect Game-Day recipe that everyone will love.

Buffalo chicken wings on a metal tray with blue cheese dip

A few years ago, I shared my crispy chicken wings that I thought were the best wings I ever had, and I didn’t think they could be topped. However, I decided to make a buffalo-inspired wing recipe, and it turns out… this is THE wings-of-all-wings recipe. I actually was blown away the first time I tasted the finished recipe.

A typical buffalo wing sauce has a flavor profile that is quite acidic and very vinegar-forward. I wanted to make this sauce a little more balanced with more sweetness (but not too sweet), and more depth of flavor by using Dijon mustard and gochujang. AND the wings are so crispy, but require zero frying!

I can’t tell you how much my family loved these wings. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do! 🙂

The Wing Ingredients

Full instructions and ingredients in the recipe card at the end of the post.

Ingredients for buffalo wings recipe on a wooden board, including chicken wings, Franks hot sauce and more.

For the dry rub: The wings are baked first in the oven with a dry rub so they can crisp up in the oven. A combination of baking powder (to dry out the skin), paprika, and garlic powder are used.

The buffalo sauce: Frank’s RedHot sauce is ideal for getting a classic buffalo taste, then gochujang (Korean Chili Paste) for more depth of flavor, along with Dijon mustard, garlic powder, honey for sweetness, and butter.

The Blue Cheese Dip

Blue cheese dip for wings in a bowl on a wooden cutting board surrounded by the ingredients

Dip ingredients – To make the dip, you’ll need sour cream (or Greek yogurt), mayonnaise, sherry vinegar (or apple cider vinegar), garlic powder, chives, and a smoked blue cheese (this is the brand that I used).

How to Make Buffalo Wings

Here’s the step-by-step method for making these wings. You can find full instructions and details in the recipe card.

1

Dry the wings and season with dry rub. Pat the chicken wings dry with paper towels and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle the rub of baking powder, paprika, and garlic powder over the wings and mix everything together with a spoon or your hands to get the wings coated.
2

Set up wings on a rack. On a baking sheet, place a sheet of aluminum foil with a wire rack on top. Lay the wings out evenly spaced and bake for 1 hour, turning the wings every 20 minutes.
Note: if you don’t have a wire rack, you can just use a baking sheet, but you’ll need to use a good bit of oil to keep the wings from sticking to the pan.

3

Make the wing sauce. In a sauce pan, heat up the butter, Franks RedHot sauce, dijon mustard, gochujang, honey, and garlic powder. Once the sauce starts to bubble, let it cook for about 15 seconds then remove from heat. Sauce should be slightly thickened and a little reduced. Note: if you’re not ready to serve the wings, you can heat the sauce once you’re about to serve them so everything is hot.
4

Remove the wings from the oven.

5

Coat the wings in the sauce. Toss the wings and the sauce together until the wings are evenly coated.
6

Serve the wings with the blue cheese dip and enjoy!

Tips for Success

Use a wire rack for baking. I highly recommend using a wire rack fitted to a sheet pan to bake the wings. This improves airflow and distributes heat evenly as the wings cook, resulting in the perfect crispy texture! If you don’t have a rack, you can cook them on a greased sheet pan – they will still be crispy, but I found the results to be far better with a rack.

Pat the wings dry. Before baking the wings or adding any seasoning, pat them dry with paper towels – this will help them get crispy in the oven. Any extra moisture will cause the wings to steam in the oven.