Nothing beats these sweet & saucy Root Beer Chicken Wings. They’ll be the crowd-pleasing highlight of your game day party!
Our Root Beer Chicken Wings are so irresistibly epic, they’ll leave you satisfied and yet…YOU WILL STILL WANT MORE! Root beer, combined with brown sugar, smoked paprika, and chipotle powder, creates a sweet, sticky sauce that’s nothing short of spectacular! You may want to double this recipe!
Root Beer is a Recipe Rock Star!
Chicken wings are such an awesome finger food – easy, economical, enjoyable – they deserve more than just Buffalo sauce, don’t you think? That’s where this root beer recipe steps up and shines!
Even if you don’t drink root beer, you’re still going to love the rich, tangy-sweet taste of this sauce! The carbonation helps tenderize the meat, and the caramel flavor of the soda adds a crave-worthy level of taste to the chicken wings that hits the spot!
Other Recipes to Serve with Recipe Title
- Slow Cooker Crispy Carnitas are marinated in Dr. Pepper for a moist, delicious Mexican dinner!
- A sweet soft drink is the secret to this Slow Cooker Cherry Cola Pulled Pork – so tender and delicious!
Ingredients
Chicken: Wings, wings, wings! The most inexpensive chicken purchase, but they’re meaty and munchable – just what you want in a great appetizer!
Soft Drink: Root beer (like Barq’s or A&W) adds a luscious layer of sweet flavor!
Sauce: In addition to the root beer, the sauce consists of brown sugar, corn starch, smoked paprika, and chiptle powder. Sweet, spicy, smoky, spectacular!
Seasoning: We’re seasoning the chicken with salt and pepper.
How to Make Root Beer Wings
STEP ONE: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray. In a large bowl, season the wings with salt & pepper, tossing to evenly coat. Place the wings on the baking sheet in a single layer, leaving some space between each one. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip each wing over and bake for 10 additional minutes.
STEP TWO: While the wings are baking, combine the root beer, brown sugar, smoked paprika, and chipotle powder in a small saucepan. Expect this to fizz. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring as you go.
STEP THREE: When it begins to boil, pour about a 1/2 cup of the mixture into a small Mason jar and combine with the cornstarch. Shake until smooth to make a slurry. Add this slurry back into the saucepan and whisk continually until the sauce becomes thick and sticky. Remove from the heat.
STEP FOUR: Remove the wings from the oven and toss them into a mixing bowl with about half the root beer sauce. Coat the wings completely. Set aside the remainder of the sauce for dipping.
STEP FIVE: Place the wings back onto the baking sheet, again leaving room between each one. Return to the oven for about 10 minutes, give or take a couple. When they reach your desired crispiness, remove from the oven and serve with the rest of the sauce on the side.
Tips for Success
- For a crispy skin, pat the uncooked wings dry with a paper towel before seasoning.
- Dr. Pepper makes an excellent substitute for Root Beer.
- For easy clean-up, line the baking pan with foil.
- Fully preheat the oven before putting in the wings.
- Don’t overcrowd the wings on the baking sheet – work in batches if needed.
- Use the extra sauce for dipping, or toss the fully cooked wings in the sauce a second time if you like them moist and sticky!
How Do You Get Crispy Skin on Chicken Wings?
Regardless of how you cook wings (oven, grill, air fryer, instant pot, etc.), the first key to a crispy skin is to pat the raw chicken wings dry with a paper towel. Removing the excess moisture helps the skin crisp up. The second trick is to run them under the broiler for a couple of minutes at the very end of the cooking process – not long enough to dry out the meat, just long enough to add a nice crispy crunch!
What’s the Best Way to Reheat Chicken Wings?
Let me just say, the microwave is NOT the way to go for reheating chicken. To get juicy inside/crispy outside wings that taste freshly-made, pop them back into a 350°F oven on a foil-lined pan for about 4 minutes, then flip and warm 3-4 minutes more. This will heat them up nicely, and the wings will taste fantastic (especially if you saved some root beer sauce to dip them in!)
Other Tantalizing Tailgating Recipes
- Pepperoni Pizza Potato Skins
- Game Day Bacon Cheese Balls
- Buffalo Chicken Nachos
- Sweet and Spicy Slow Cooker Kielbasa Bites
- Chicken Club Sliders
- Homemade Corn Dog Bites
*This post originally posted on 02/15/2017.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken wings separated into drumettes and flats
- Salt and pepper
- 1 cup root beer (I used Barq's)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle powder
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Place the wings in a large mixing bowl. Generously season the chicken with salt and pepper, and toss until evenly coated. Arrange the wings in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet, leaving some space between each wing.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Flip the wings over and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Once you've flipped the wings, start the sauce. Add the root beer, brown sugar, smoked paprika, and chipotle powder to a small saucepan and whisk to combine. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking often. Once it's boiling, transfer 1/2 cup of the sauce to a bowl. Add the cornstarch and whisk to make a slurry. (see note) Pour the slurry into the pot and whisk to combine. Continue to cook, stirring often, until thickened. Remove from the heat.
- Transfer the wings to a large mixing bowl and pour half of the root beer sauce over the wings. (Save the rest for dipping later.) Toss the wings until evenly coated and then arrange them on the same baking sheet. Pour any sauce in the bowl over the wings.
- Bake for another 8 to 12 minutes, depending on how crispy you like your wings. You can flip them halfway through cooking to get both sides nice and crisp and help the sugars caramelize. Remove from oven.
- Transfer the wings to a platter. Serve warm with extra root beer sauce and blue cheese or ranch for dipping.
Notes
- If you prefer, you can use a mason jar to make the slurry. Add the sauce and cornstarch, seal with the lid, and shake until combined.
- Nutritional information includes 1/4 cup of sauce per 1/2 pound of wings.
Sandy says
Also Added about 1/4 cup of honey as well delish!!
This will ne a go to recipe when i need a delicious glaze
Sia says
Super excited to try this recipe out going to make for dinner tonight except on chicken legs not wings. I love soda when cooking well when not cooking as well. Try Coca Cola next time you caramelize your onions thank me later ?
Aubrey Cota says
Hey thanks for the tip!
Linda says
the root beer wings look great I’m going to try it am also a wing lover