# Oven-Baked Chicken Wings in Coca-Cola Glaze

Chicken wings boiled for 8 minutes to render the fat, patted dry and baked on a rack at 230 °C / 450 °F for 25 minutes, then coated in a glaze of Coca-Cola cooked down with onion, garlic, soy sauce, chili flakes, smoked paprika and apple cider vinegar and returned to the oven for 5 minutes until sticky. Sweet first, then smoke, then a little heat. Serves 4.

- **Prep:** 15 min · **Cook:** 40 min · **Total:** 55 min
- **Servings:** 4
- **Difficulty:** Easy
- **Cuisine:** American
- **Category:** Oven Recipes, Appetizers, Main Courses
- **Video:** [Five Chicken Wing Recipes: Crispy Oven Wings, Sticky Tray Wings, Coca-Cola Glazed Wings, Spicy Ranch Wings and Cola-Marinated Air Fryer Wings](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTKSz6TsYa0&t=478s) (recipe starts at 7:58)
- **Recipe page:** https://webspoon.world/recipes/oven-baked-chicken-wings-in-coca-cola-glaze/

## Ingredients

### Wings

- 1 kg chicken wings (2 lb, cut into drumettes and flats)

### Glaze

- 350 ml Coca-Cola (1½ cups, regular, not diet)
- 1 onion (finely diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (pressed)
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp chili flakes
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp cornstarch

## Instructions

1. Drop the wings into a large pot of boiling water and boil for 8 minutes. This melts the extra fat out from under the skin. _(timer: 8 min)_
2. Lift the wings out and pat them bone dry with paper towels. Dry skin browns, wet skin steams.
3. Set a wire rack on a sheet pan and lay the wings on it in a single layer.
4. Bake at 230 °C / 450 °F for 25 minutes until golden. _(timer: 25 min)_
5. Meanwhile pour the cola into a saucepan, add the diced onion and the pressed garlic and bring to a boil.
6. Add the soy sauce, chili flakes, smoked paprika and apple cider vinegar. Simmer until the glaze reduces to a thin syrup.
7. Stir the cornstarch into a spoonful of cold water, whisk it into the glaze and cook a minute more until it coats a spoon.
8. Turn the baked wings in the glaze until coated, set them back on the rack and bake 5 more minutes. The sugar caramelizes and the glaze turns dark and glossy. _(timer: 5 min)_
9. Serve hot. Napkins are not optional.

## Notes from our kitchen

Use regular cola: the sugar is the glaze, and diet cola does not reduce to a syrup. Boiling first renders fat and keeps the meat juicy, so the wings can take the high oven heat. A rack lets the heat reach the underside. The cornstarch keeps the glaze on the wings instead of running onto the pan. Watch the last 5 minutes: once the sugar starts to darken it goes from glossy to burnt quickly.

## Variations

- **Hotter:** Double the chili flakes or add a pinch of chipotle powder to the glaze.
- **Air fryer:** After boiling and drying, air-fry at 200 °C / 400 °F for about 18 minutes, glaze, and give them 3 more minutes.
- **To serve:** Scatter sliced green onion over the finished wings.

## Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

- Calories: 480
- Protein: 36g
- Fat: 28g
- Carbs: 22g
- Fiber: 1g
- Sugar: 18g
- Sodium: 900mg

## FAQ

### Can I use Diet Coke or Coke Zero?

No. The glaze works because the sugar in regular cola cooks down into a syrup and caramelizes in the oven. Sugar-free cola stays thin and never turns sticky.

### Why boil the wings before baking?

Eight minutes in boiling water melts out much of the fat under the skin, so the wings crisp faster at 230 °C and the meat stays juicy instead of drying out while you wait for the skin.

### Does the glaze taste like cola?

Not once it is reduced. It tastes of caramel and soy with smoke from the paprika and a little heat from the chili; the vinegar keeps it from being only sweet. Onion and garlic give it body.

### Can I make the glaze ahead?

Yes. Reduce it, cool it and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days. Warm it before coating the wings, as it thickens when cold.

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Source: [Oven-Baked Chicken Wings in Coca-Cola Glaze — Webspoon World](https://webspoon.world/recipes/oven-baked-chicken-wings-in-coca-cola-glaze/)