Don’t miss these crispy Coca-Cola baked chicken wings smothered in a sweet and tangy sauce… Oven baked chicken wings are PERFECT for game day and beyond!
To say that my husband loves wings would be an understatement… If we’re dining out, nine times out of ten, he orders wings with his meal.
So when I was flipping through a cookbook at Walmart recently and ran across a recipe for baked chicken wings made with Coca-Cola, I just knew I had to put it on the menu for Father’s Day! Of course I had to do a trial run first — you know, just to make sure they tasted as good as they sounded…
And it’s a good thing I did. Don’t get me wrong, the first batch of baked chicken wings was good. But they weren’t the out-of-this-world good that I really wanted to achieve. While I give the baked chicken wings recipe high marks for ease of preparation as written, it called for baking the wings in the sauce, which left the wings a little overcooked and gummy. Blah..
Make the Best Coca-Cola Baked Chicken Wings
With a little research, I learned that parboiling the wings first makes them extra crispy, so I figured I’d give that a try. I also baked them on a wire rack placed over a baking sheet for good measure, waiting to coat them with the Coca-Cola BBQ sauce until the last five minutes.
Finally, I prepared the Coca-Cola BBQ sauce entirely on the stovetop (instead of just finishing it on the stovetop) while the chicken wings were baking. All in all, my method is a little more hands-on, but the total preparation and cooking time is actually much shorter. And the results are worth it!
The Coca-Cola in the baked chicken wings sauce gives it a sweet, tangy flavor, similar to a teriyaki. I added about a teaspoon of chipotle powder because my husband likes some heat, but if you prefer a milder, less spicy flavor, feel free to omit it. Either way, it’s a fantastic combination!
Coca-Cola Baked Chicken Wings
Ingredients
For the wings:
- 2-3 lbs. chicken wings or wingettes
- salt
For the sauce:
- 1 can Coca-Cola (12-oz.)
- 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 medium vidalia onion, chopped into small pcs.
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon chipotle powder
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons water
Instructions
For the wings:
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Bring a large pot of water to boiling on the stovetop, and season it with salt as if you were cooking pasta. Add the chicken wings to the boiling water, and parboil for 7-8 minutes.
- Remove the chicken wings from the water and place them on a wire cooling rack to drip dry. Pat them completely dry with some paper towels, and place the wire rack with the wings on top of a baking sheet.
- Bake the wings for 25 minutes at 450 degrees. Baste the wings with the Coca-Cola sauce, and place them back in the oven to bake for an additional 5 minutes.
- Place the wings on a platter and pour the rest of the sauce over top. Serve warm.
For the sauce:
- In a medium saucepan, combine the Coca-Cola, brown sugar, onion, garlic, soy sauce, and chipotle powder, and bring to a boil over medium heat.
- In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water. Add the cornstarch mixture to the sauce, and simmer until the sauce thickens.
adapted from The Coca-Cola Cookbook
Looking for another recipe that uses Coca-Cola as an ingredient? You will adore this Coca-Cola baked chocolate donut recipe!
Ashley says
I really liked the sauce in this recipe but not the texture of the parboiled chicken. For those who prefer a crispier skin on your wings, I suggest skipping that step, turn the temperature down to 425, cooking the wings a little longer to crisp the skin, and then pick the recipe up at step 4.