Chicken Wing Seasoning

This Chicken Wing Seasoning is the perfect dry rub for wings prepared in a variety of ways. Whether you’re making smoked or grilled wings, baked wings or juicy air fryer chicken wings, this rub will add a delicious amount of flavor to any chicken wing recipe! It’s easy to mix up in just 5 minutes, with 6 simple ingredients!

Say hello to the new secret ingredient that will help you make the best wings ever! This dry rub is flavorful, smoky and spicy. It combines 6 spices that you probably already have in your pantry, to make an incredible chicken wing seasoning that’s delicious on wings, but can also be added to several other recipes!

Want to spice up your favorite mac and cheese recipe, add this seasoning blend! How about adding even more flavor to my famous Buffalo Chicken Dip? This spice blend will do it!

You can even season other cuts of chicken with this seasoning. Instant Pot chicken breasts or grilled chicken thighs are even more delicious when rubbed in this seasoning blend.

Mix some up and store it in the pantry for up to 6 months to add flavor and spice to chicken wings and other recipes!

Ingredients

• Chili powder
• Smoked paprika – this adds the smoky flavor to the seasoning mix. If you’re not a fan of smoky flavors, you can use traditional paprika.
• Garlic powder (or granulated garlic) – the only difference between granulated garlic and garlic powder is that the powder has been ground finer, than the granulated garlic. I prefer to use granulated garlic because it’s less likely to clump over time, than garlic powder.
• Onion powder (or granulated onion) – the only difference between granulated onion and onion powder is that the powder has been ground finer, than the granulated onion. I prefer to use granulated onion because it’s less likely to clump over time, than onion powder.
• Sea salt (or kosher salt) – both sea salt and kosher salt can be used interchangeably when cooking. I prefer either kosher or sea salt, over table salt, in this seasoning mix because of their coarse texture and superior flavor.
• Cayenne pepper – this adds most of the spice to the seasoning mix. Feel free to add more or less, depending on your spice preference.

Instructions

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Store in an airtight container in the pantry for up to 6 months.

Easy as that, in 5 minutes or less, you have a flavorful chicken wing seasoning, ready to spice up all your favorite wing recipes!

Tips and tricks

• This recipe makes 8 tablespoons of seasoning mix. If you’d like to make a double batch of the seasoning, simply hover over the servings in the recipe card below and change it from 8 tablespoons, to 16 tablespoons. The ingredient amounts in the recipe card will automatically update to accommodate the new serving size.
• I recommend using 1 tablespoon of seasoning per pound of chicken wings.
• The chicken wing seasoning will stay good, stored in an airtight container in the pantry, for up to 6 months. After that the spice blend will not “go bad” but as spices sit longer, they begin to lose their flavor.
• I recommend storing the seasoning mix in an 8 ounce mason jar. If doubling the recipe, use a pint size or 16 ounce mason jar. I recommend labeling the chicken wing seasoning with a date and using the seasoning mix within 6 months. In my house, we double this recipe and it’s easily gone in a month, so I don’t think you’ll have a problem using it all up!
• To make the chicken wing seasoning spicy, use 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper. To make it medium, use 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and to make it mild, use no cayenne pepper in the rub.
• This recipe is gluten free, and contains no added sugar, making it perfect for a whole30 or keto diet.

Ways to use it

The possibilities really are endless when it comes to this chicken wing seasoning recipe. Use it to season a whole chicken, chicken breasts, wings or thighs.

Use it on grilled chicken wings, rotisserie chicken, baked chicken breasts, smoked chicken wings or air fryer chicken wings.

You can also use the spice mix in other recipes to add flavor, smokiness and spice. Check out the list below for all of my favorite ways to use this seasoning mix.

• Grilled chicken wings (breasts or thighs) – lightly coat one pound of chicken wings, breasts, or thighs with olive oil, then toss with 1 tablespoon seasoning mix. Heat a grill over medium-high heat. Grill the chicken on all sides until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F for wings or breasts and 170°F for chicken thighs.
• Baked chicken wings – lightly coat one pound of chicken wings with olive oil, then toss with 1 tablespoon seasoning mix. Place the wings on a wire rack on top of a sheet pan. Bake in the oven at 425°F for 40 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Remove from the oven and eat them as is, for perfect dry rub chicken wings, or toss them with bbq sauce, buffalo sauce or your favorite hot sauce.
• Baked chicken breasts – pound 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts until they’re 1 inch thick. Lightly coat the chicken breasts with olive oil, then toss with 1 tablespoon seasoning mix. Place the chicken on an aluminum foil lined rimmed baking sheet and roast in the oven at 425°F for 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the breast reaches 165°F.
• Instant pot chicken – the easiest way to make shredded chicken for salads, tacos, dips and wraps, is to make it in the Instant Pot, or an electric pressure cooker. Replace the traditional chicken seasoning in this Instant Pot Shredded Chicken recipe with this chicken wing seasoning to add tons of flavor, spice and smokiness to basic shredded chicken breasts. Use the seasoned shredded chicken in this Buffalo Chicken Dip or Buffalo Chicken Cheesy Pasta.
• Rotisserie chicken – coat a whole chicken with olive oil, then with the seasoning mix. Place in a roasting pan and into a 425°F oven for 70-80 minutes. Baste the chicken every 15-20 minutes with juices from the bottom of the pan. If you have a grill with a rotisserie, or own a rotisserie oven, you can use that to cook the whole chicken and skip the step of basting the chicken.
• Slow cooker chicken – add 2 pounds of chicken breasts or thighs, or a combination of both, to a slow cooker. Coat the chicken with 2 tablespoons of the seasoning mix. Add 1 cup of chicken broth and slow cook on low for 7-8 hours, or on high for 4-5 hours. Serve the chicken whole, or shredded, to use in salads, wraps or pasta recipes.
• Fried chicken – instead of simply seasoning the flour for fried chicken with salt and pepper, add 2-3 teaspoons of this seasoning mix to the flour. Soak chicken wings, breasts or drumsticks in milk, then dip in the seasoned flour. Dip in an egg wash, then back in the seasoned flour, before frying the coated chicken.
• Air fryer chicken wings – probably my favorite way to use this seasoning mix is to dry rub wings before cooking them in an air fryer! Grab my recipe for the best Air Fryer Chicken Wings here. Guaranteed to be a new game day favorite! Serve the wings with your favorite dipping sauce, like ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing.
• Sous vide chicken wings – an easy way to make a lot of wings, these Sous Vide Chicken Wings are even more delicious when tossed with this seasoning and finished in an air fryer, or in the oven!
• Season recipes with buffalo sauce – chicken wing seasoning and buffalo sauce pair perfectly together with wings, but they also make a great pair in other recipes! Try them in these Pull Apart Buffalo Chicken Rolls. Replace the spices in this Buffalo Cheeseburger Dip with 1 tablespoon of this seasoning mix. Replace the spices in my famous Buffalo Chicken Chili recipe with 2 tablespoons of this seasoning mix. Check out over 65 recipes with buffalo sauce that would be delicious seasoned with this spice blend!

More homemade seasoning recipes

Stock your pantry with all of my homemade seasoning mixes to add flavor to every meal!

• Taco Seasoning
• Fajita Seasoning
• Steak Seasoning
• Cajun Seasoning
• Chili Seasoning
• Italian Seasoning
• French Onion Dip Mix
• Pork Chop Seasoning

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