Gameday just got a little bit better! Whip up a batch (or two) of these crispy lemon pepper wings!
Chicken wings with extra crispy skin (don’t worry, no deep fryer needed) are tossed in zesty buttery lemon sauce and seasoned with freshly cracked pepper. Wing perfection.
Take a detour from the usual buffalo wings (perfect for those who can’t eat the heat) and cook them up in the air fryer or in the oven!
Crispy Lemon Pepper Wings
We love this take on a popular snack staple made with simple ingredients. These are nice and tangy, lip-smacking good!
- Cook these in the air fryer or in the oven.
- Lemon pepper and lemon zest add lots of great flavor to these.
- They require very little prep and are easy to make.
- Sprinkle on some parmesan cheese if desired.
What’s in Lemon Pepper Wings?
CHICKEN WINGS Purchase split wings (little drumsticks and the flat parts) to save time from splitting whole chicken wings yourself. These can be made with fresh or frozen wings. Frozen wings will need more time to cook.
SEASONING These are seasoned with lemon pepper seasoning. If using store-bought, taste it before adding (we prefer homemade lemon pepper seasoning). Some brands can be incredibly salty so you might need to reduce the amount you add to the wings.
LEMON PEPPER BUTTER SAUCE Once cooked these are tossed with lemon butter and then generously sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper. SO good! If you have a pepper grinder, now is the time to use it!
How to Make Lemon Pepper Wings
Below are a few methods, we love cooking air fryer wings but we also have the secret to making wings that are actually crispy skin in the oven! If you love to deep fry, of course you can fry these wings too!
Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings in the Oven
- Toss with flour & baking powder.
- Place a rack on a foil-lined baking sheet and add wings.
- Bake according to recipe instructions below.
- Remove the wings from the oven and toss with lemon and butter. Generously season with fresh black pepper. Serve hot.
To Cook Lemon Pepper Wings in the Air Fryer
- Preheat the air fryer according to the recipe below and place wings in a single layer.
- Cook until crisp.
- Remove the wings from the air fryer and toss them with lemon and butter. Generously season with fresh black pepper. Serve hot.
For Perfect Wings…
- Preheat the air fryer (or the oven) so the wings crisp well.
- Regardless of cooking method, flip about half way through cooking so both sides crisp nicely.
- Freshly cracked pepper is best in this recipe.
While they’re not spicy, we still like to serve these wings with ranch or blue cheese dressing (or dip!).
Our Fave Chicken Wing Recipes
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings – perfect crispy
- Honey Garlic Chicken Wings Recipe (Oven Baked)
- Everything Air Fryer Wings
- Garlic Parmesan Wings
- Baked Buffalo Wings
- Crock Pot Chicken Wings
- Sticky Hot Chicken Wings Recipe
Did you love these Lemon Pepper Wings? We’d love to hear from you with a rating and comment below!
Lemon Pepper Wings
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds chicken wings
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning *see note
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 clove garlic minced, or half teaspoon garlic powder
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- chopped fresh parsley for garnish, optional
For Oven Method Only
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Pat chicken wings dry with paper towels.
Oven Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Toss wings with flour and baking powder. Refrigerate at least 15 minutes.
- Toss wings with olive oil, lemon pepper, lemon zest, and garlic.
- Line a pan with foil and top with a baking rack. Spray the rack with cooking spray.
- Bake wings 20 minutes, flip and bake an additional 15 minutes or until crisp. Broil 1 minute each side if desired.
- Combine butter and lemon juice and toss with wings. Generously season with extra pepper, salt to taste, and fresh thyme if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
Air Fryer Instructions
-
Preheat air fryer to 400°F.
-
Toss wings with olive oil, lemon pepper, lemon zest, and garlic.
-
Place wings in a single layer in the air fryer basket and cook 10 minutes.
-
Flip wings and cook an additional 10 minutes or until crispy.
-
Combine butter and lemon juice and toss with wings. Generously season with extra pepper, salt to taste, and fresh thyme if desired. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer, Chicken, Party Food
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
This recipe was bussin’ as the young people say. lol. I made a batch in the air fryer and one in the oven. They were both good but I preferred the oven ones better. With the flour and the baking powder, it gave it a nice crisp. I also felt like it held more flavor. I marinated both batches overnight in the seasonings. I use both fresh parsley and fresh thyme. I didn’t want him too salty, So I used Mrs. Dash Lemon pepper seasoning and I added reduced salt and at the end lightly sprinkled with regular lemon pepper seasoning.
I’m making these tonight using the lemon pepper recipe from the link in this stream. I’ll try to save the zests of the lemons I use on a regular basis for recipes. You are so right that the lemon pepper seasonings in the store can be salty. Love the recipe , thanks so much.
Do you think I could use this recipe for turkey wings? Obviously I’d have to cook them longer but do you think the recipe will work with the same results just a linger cooking time?
I have not tried so I can’t say for sure but I think it would work well!
So I used the turkey wings and they came out excellent….decided to just serve with lemon wedge because I made them for my husband for work and I was afraid the butter would make them greasy sitting in the container for a couple hours and I think it was definitely the right choice he said they were crispy and
So happy to hear that, Molly!
Put the wings in a pellet grill smoker with a chicken seasoning on high smoke at 210 for 45 minutes before following the rest of the recipe. Best wings ever. They were moist and had multiple flavor levels. Ranch dressing dip. Awesome.
That sounds delicious, Tim! Thank you for sharing.
What kind of recipe for lemon pepper wings is like “Go buy lemon pepper sauce. Tell me your american, without telling me you’re american
Hey Daniel, you can definitely purchase lemon pepper sauce if you prefer but there is a recipe to make your own at the bottom of this post. You can find it by scrolling down to the recipe or using the jump to recipe button at the top of the page.
absolutely one of the best tasting recipes for wings I have tried, my husband agrees. thanks for sharing
Thank you so much, Sheila! Glad you and your husband enjoyed them.
Very very tasty….. Thank You for recipe
So happy you enjoyed it, Olivette!
These were so delicious, I ate them in one go, but instead of thyme we used Italian seasoning
Wonderful recipe. Love the Lemon Pepper for a change from an Old Bay Dry Rub which is good too. I used the oven recipe this time. Oven times were perfect. Only change I made was that I used lemon oil instead of olive oil and lemon salt that had on hand plus extra lemon zest at the end. Wanted a real punch of lemon. Used a small package of Costco Kirkland Brand Party Wings. Served with corn on the cob, sliced heirloom tomato, red mashed potatoes with skins on and some leftover roasted asparagus. Truly comfort food. I will make this again and again.
Love the punch of lemon, Kim. That would be delicious. Thanks for sharing your substitutions!
Made these tonight in the air fryer. They were absolutely perfect! I did cut the lemon pepper in half, only because I didn’t want them too salty. I also lightly sprayed the air fryer basket w olive oil and the top of the wings lightly with spray olive oil before placing them in the preheated air fryer. Crispy and Delicious!!
I am so glad you enjoyed these wings Shelly!
Fantastic and perfectly cooked! Crispy and flavorful. I even added lemon pepper seasoning for another extra kick to it.
I am so glad you enjoyed this wings recipe V!
Do you have a reccomended keto option the the flour?
I have not tried a keto option in this recipe so I can’t say for sure John.
Sounds great! Planning to try. Any recommendations for lemon pepper spice brand that isn’t too salty tasting?
I love to make my own using this recipe so I can control how much salt is added! Enjoy Mary!
This is an awesome recipe. I’m cooking it again tonight for the third time. I strongly recommend making the homemade lemon pepper linked in the recipe. This lemon pepper makes the recipe really special, and so does the fresh thyme listed as optional garnish. I really think I could eat these every day if I let myself.
Thank you, Frederick! So happy to hear you are loving this recipe ❤️
I love lemon pepper wings but found myself wanting to find a recipe that wasn’t too complicated to make at home for myself, my daughter and some of her friends. This was it! The wings were gone almost instantly. I was secretly frustrated that the kids took so many because I wanted more. I also doubled the recipe which was pretty easy.
So glad you loved these Shenequa!
Made these in the air fryer and man were they tasty! My 15 yr old daughter devoured them. Thanks for sharing!
So happy to hear that, Wendy!
I made lemon pepper wings for the Super Bowl yesterday and the wings came out delicious and crispy.
My Husband and kids devoured these.
Thank you for the recipe Holly.
So happy to hear that! We love these wings too.
You have some of the most awesome recipes I’ve ever had a chance to do I love it! You’re awesome
Thank you so much, Rod! We really appreciate you cooking along with us!
I haven’t tried yet but will. Thanks
We love these wings Dale, sure hope you do too!