Buffalo Chicken Wings (Whole30 and Delicious!)

Crispy, tangy, salty, crunchy. My mouth is watering just remembering these indulgent bites of buffalo chicken wings. If I hadn’t made them myself, I wouldn’t believe they were Whole30 compliant.

Buffalo chicken wings are truly a three ingredient recipe: ghee, hot sauce and wings. Feel free to substitute avocado oil or grapeseed oil for the ghee, but don’t be tempted to use butter which will smoke in the oven. You could also make a spicy version by adding 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne, depending how much you want your lips to fall off.

Buffalo chicken wings are typically served with bleu cheese dressing, but they’re just as good dipped in Whole30 ranch such as Tessemae’s or a homemade version.

It’s best to cook the wings on a wire rack set over a baking sheet to help them get nice and crispy. I suggest covering the baking sheet in foil for easy cleanup. If you have a convection setting on your oven, use it. Convection creates an even heat that crisps and cooks the chicken wings all around. If you’re using two pans, rotate them halfway through cooking, top to bottom and back to front.

Superbowl Sunday is just around the corner, and I can tell you one thing that will be couch side at our house: Buffalo chicken wings. At this point, I have enough tasty Whole30 snacks up my sleeve that no one will be the wiser if I keep our entire menu clean. The only problem with these bad boys is portion control. And no, I didn’t cheat and have any of the frothy beer in the photo!

Print Recipe

Buffalo Chicken Wings

Made with ghee and Whole30 complaint hot sauce, these wings are super tasty and hard to resist. As long as you serve them with Whole30 ranch for dipping, they are a sugar-free, dairy-free and gluten-free treat.

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Author: Marcia W. Smart

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup ghee or avocado oil
• 3/4 cup Frank's Red Hot
• 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper optional for a super spicy version
• 3 pounds chicken wings

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. If you have convection, use it to keep the heat moving around in the oven.
• In a small sauce pan over medium heat, warm the ghee and the hot sauce. Add the cayenne if you're using it. Stir until the the ghee melts.
• Place the chicken wings on a wire rack set over a sheetpan, you will most likely need two sheetpans. Make sure the chicken wings aren't touching. For easy cleanup, cover the sheetpan in foil or parchment paper.
• Baste the chicken wings with the melted ghee and hot sauce. I like to use a silicone basting brush, it doesn't leave strands of brush hair on whatever you're basting.
• Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and baste again with remaining sauce. Return to the oven, rotating so the pan that was on the top is now on the bottom rack. Cook for 15-20 more minutes, until the wings are golden brown with crispy edges.
• Serve with carrot and celery sticks and ranch dressing on the side.