These Oven-Baked Keto Garlic Parmesan Wings are the perfect snack or dinner for football season. They are crispy, rich, and zesty with garlic, parmesan, and red pepper. Celebrating? I love this appetizer recipe for a game day, party, or even tailgating! This easy recipe is low carb, keto, gluten free, grain free, sugar free, and Trim Healthy Mama friendly.
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I'm not a football fan but if I had a plate of these Keto Garlic Parmesan Wings on my lap every week I might be won over.
My husband, however, is a huge Giants fan. He loves participating in sports pools and is in more than I can count this football season. It's a given that if the Giants are on he wants to hang out on the couch and watch his favorite team.
When the restaurant Buffalo Wild Wings opened locally he started raving about it. I am not a fan of buffalo sauce so I'd never tried other flavors of wings. And then he brought home take-out. They were amazing! I'm a bit of a wuss when it comes to spicy things but I love most of the mild and medium varieties. My favorites are Lemon Pepper, Chipotle Barbecue, and Parmesan Garlic.
We get takeout from there every couple of months on Wing Tuesday because all the traditional wings are half off. But it can still get a little pricey to feed our family. I decided to try making my own baked Keto Garlic Parmesan Wings. I think they will be great when I want wings and it's not a Tuesday or we don't have money for take-out in our budget. It takes a little while of babysitting the wings under the broiler to get the skin crispy but I think it's worth it. Just don't leave them unattended or the skin can burn.
Ingredients
Chicken Wings - You can use fresh or frozen chicken wings. Sometimes they combine in one piece and you will need to separate them into smaller pieces. I have tips on this further down this page.
Melted Butter - Use salted butter for the most flavor. If you have unsalted butter just add an extra pinch of kosher salt or sea salt.
Italian Seasoning - Any herb blend will work here but we prefer Italian seasoning blends (normally a mix of oregano, basil, parsley, and a couple other herbs).
Parmesan Cheese - For the sauce, you want finely grated cheese. The kind in the shaker can in the pantry section is fine. It's nice to top the wings with fresh grated parm as well.
Garlic Powder - I like garlic powder in this recipe. If you love garlic you can sub in a fresh garlic clove pressed through a garlic press or very finely minced.
Crushed Red Pepper - We like these with a bit of zing but not overly spicy. For extra heat just add more.
Egg - Adding egg helps the sauce adhere to the hot chicken wings.
Salt - A bit of salt brings out the other flavors of the wings.
How to Make Keto Garlic Parmesan Wings
I like my wings extra crispy. Or any skin-on chicken, actually. If you are the same the broiler of your oven should be your best friend. Just crank to high, put the chicken on the top rack skin side up, and watch it carefully.
Oven Method
Step One: Put the wings on a rimmed baking sheet with a metal cooling rack on top. Make sure your cooling rack is oven safe before you try this. Cook for 15 minutes.
Step Two: After 15 minutes remove the wings and flip them over. At this point, they are almost fully cooked. Turn on the broiler. Put the wings under the broiler for 5 min. Keep an eye on them so they don't burn. Remove them and flip again. Keep flipping and broiling until they are the desired crispness. They should definitely be 165 degrees by now but I always recommend checking with a meat thermometer.
Air Fryer Method
If you have frozen chicken wings I recommend using the air fryer method! Cooking the oven from frozen can take a long time but in the air fryer, they only take 30 minutes.
Step One: Preheat the air fryer to 400 and spray the basket with nonstick cooking spray.
Step Two: Place the wings in a single layer on the basket. Cook for 20 min. Flip the wings over. Cook an additional 10 min.
Garlic Parmesan Sauce Instructions
Once the chicken wings are cooked and crispy the instructions to make the garlic parmesan chicken wings recipe is the same for either method.
Step One: Combine the ingredients for the sauce. It will be thick.
Step Two: Toss the hot wings in the sauce in a large bowl until they are well coated.
Variations
Spices - Boost up the flavor by adding black pepper, onion powder, and paprika to the sauce.
Garnish - Garnish the wings with grated cheese and some parsley.
Common Questions
Raw Egg in Keto Garlic Parmesan Sauce?
The wings are hot enough that you shouldn't need to worry about using a raw egg in the sauce. It's similar to a classic carbonara in which you crack a raw egg over hot spaghetti. Garnish with extra cheese.
I use raw eggs in my ice cream recipes all the time and will get some concerned comments. You are always welcome to buy eggs that already pasteurized if you are worried about using raw eggs in a recipe.
How to Cut Chicken Wings into Sections
I like to buy chicken wings already cut into the little drumstick section and the 'doubler' section (or so my kids call it). But when I don't I put my hubby to work cutting them for me. Here is a good link on how to cut the wings into sections: http://thecookful.com/how-to-cut-chicken-wings/
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Ingredients
- 4-5 lbs whole chicken wings cut into sections
- 1 stick of butter melted
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/16 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425. Cut the wings into sections. Here is a good link on how to do that: http://thecookful.com/how-to-cut-chicken-wings/
- Put the wings on a rimmed baking sheet with a metal cooling rack on top. Make sure your cooling rack is oven safe before you try this. Cook for 15 minutes.
- Make the sauce. Blend the butter, cheese, and seasonings in a small blender until combined. Add the egg and process until combined. The sauce is about the thickness of ketchup.
- After 15 minutes remove the wings and flip them over. At this point, they are almost fully cooked. Turn on the broiler. Put the wings under the broiler for 5 min. Keep an eye on them so they don't burn. Remove them and flip again. Keep flipping and broiling until they are the desired crispness. They should definitely be 165 degrees by now but I always recommend checking with a meat thermometer.
- Toss immediately in the sauce. The wings are hot enough that you shouldn't need to worry about using a raw egg in the sauce. It's similar to spaghetti carbonara in which you crack a raw egg over hot spaghetti. Garnish with extra cheese.
Notes
Nutrition
More Keto Chicken Wing Recipes
I like to make a few flavors along with some keto ranch dressing or ranch dip and keto blue cheese dressing and have a little chicken wing buffet.
Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings
Originally Published on September 13, 2016. Revised and Republished May 6, 2022.
Deanna says
How would these be for THM?
Taryn says
Basically, anything labeled keto or low carb is an S.
McDonna says
These work well in am Instant Pot, too. I season them with garlic, salt and pepper and put them frozen in the IP. They pressure cook for 20 minutes with quick release. Then dredge them in the sauce and finish them under the broiler. From frozen-to-table usually takes about 35-ish minutes. Love your recipes, Taryn!
Danielle says
Holy chicken!! These were sooo good!! I’ve been doing Keto for a month now and craving a good wing sauce! This hit the spot!!!
Frankie J says
Hi - I'm excited to try this but how do you handle the wings when it comes to the cooling rack? Do you put the wings on the rack to start? Do they stay on the rack during the whole cooking process? Thanks!
Taryn says
Yes and yes. I bake them on the rack the whole time. It helps to spray it with cooking spray because they can stick to it.
Ronda says
We love the wings. If I did tenders would I need to change the recipe in any way? I'm not sure on the wire rack or the temperature and time. Thank you for all your hard work and for sharing your recipes.
Patty Schieler says
Taryn...these sound absolutely fabulous....I'm also temped to use regular drumsticks and maybe bone in chicken thighs because the sauce is yummo!!!! Have you (or anyone else reading these comments) ever tried cooking them in an air fryer instead of the oven??? If so, I would love to know how they came out and what temp/time was used. I may try it this way and I will report back! Thank you so much for all your hard work creating all these recipes...They all really rock!
Amy says
Just made this for dinner tonight and it was to die for!! Definitely a keeper! 😊😊😊
Jessica Burgett says
You list nutritional info, but don't include carbs/fiber, which is crucial to Keto. Can you provide a guesstimate on the carb/fiber count?
Taryn says
Carbs and fiber don't show up on the nutrition table because this has 0 carbs. Enjoy!
Sarah says
Hi, I noticed you said these have zero carbs per wing…. But the reality is no one is going to eat just 1 wing so that’s not really an accurate reading… I’d love to try these wings but I’d like to know how many before it hits one carb? It could be 2, it could be 10? But not knowing and then possibly eating 10 wings which is a standard serving to some people could account for hidden carbs which is kind of false advertising to claim it’s a zero carb dish.
I’m sure they’re delicious and I will still try them but I go out of ketosis easily so I’m just trying to be cautious and others should be aware of this also
Taryn says
My nutrition calculator has gotten more advanced. I will edit this tomorrow now that it allows decimals. There are 0.1 net carbs per wing. I understand your point. It was just that my prior nutrition table rounded down and didn't allow decimals.
Robin Gagnon says
This will be great when guests are over... they won't even realize they are being fed Keto...YUM!
Linda says
You can't go wrong with parmesan and garlic! These sound extra delicious & finger lickin' good as they say. I usually bake my wings too and love that these aren't doused in oil. They will work great on our fall football weekends watching our college team play.
Linda Modlin says
Do you think shredded Parmesan would work? It’s what I have on hand...
Taryn says
Yes, I think so.
Trisa says
How far in advance can I make the sauce?
Taryn says
A few days would be fine.
Tamara Hatch says
Is the cooling rack necessary? I dont' have one. And also, can I use a mixer since I don't own a blender??
Taryn says
A mixer is fine and you don't need the cooling rack but you should drain the cooking liquid frequently to help the wings get crispy.
Jessica vargas says
Is the Italian seasoning the dressing and seasoning mix packet or the bottle of mixed Italian herbs?
Taryn says
The mixed herbs.
Becky says
Melted or softened butter?
Taryn says
Melted
Megan says
hi! what do you mean "the sauce is all about the thickness of the ketchup"
Also--Parmesan from the green can or actually cheese from the dairy section?
Thank you!!
Taryn says
Typo. Sorry! It should just say "the sauce is about the thickness of ketchup". I used grated parmesan from the refrigerator section. It's the finely shredded kind. But I think the green shaker kind would work too.
TS says
Can you cook these in an air fryer?
Taryn says
Yup!