These Sticky Honey Lemon Pepper Wings are sweet, citrusy, garlicky, and SO irresistible. Crispy baked chicken wings get tossed in a garlic honey butter glaze loaded with fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, and lemon pepper seasoning. Make them in the oven or air fryer for game day, weeknight dinners, or honestly any excuse to eat wings! 🍯🔥

Close up shot of honey lemon pepper wings on a parchment lined tray with slices of lemon surrounding it, and a honey dripper pouring honey onto a wing.

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These Lemon Pepper Honey Wings Are the Best of Both Worlds 🍗

Wings are serious business in our house - Chamere could eat them every single day and never get tired of them! We've made a LOT of wings over the years, and these sticky honey lemon pepper wings came from our love for two recipes we already had: our crispy air fryer lemon pepper wings and our sticky hot honey chicken wings. We kinda thought... what if we combined them? 🤤

The result is the best of both - that bright, citrusy lemon pepper flavor we love, but with a sticky, garlicky honey butter glaze that coats every wing. The sauce comes together on the stovetop in minutes while the wings get crispy, and it's honestly so good you'll want to drizzle it on everything.

Serve them up with our Wingstop ranch for dipping, and you've got the ultimate game day spread!

🍯 Ingredients for Honey Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings

Simple pantry staples and fresh lemons are all you need here. The garlic honey butter glaze practically makes itself!

Ingredients to make honey lemon pepper wings laid out on a table in small bowls and labeled to denote each ingredient.

How to Make Honey Garlic Lemon Pepper Wings ✨

These come together in two parts. Crispy wings in the oven or air fryer, and a quick stovetop garlic honey butter sauce. We'll show ya how easy it is!

Raw chicken wings in a bowl tossed with seasonings, with tongs in the bowl.

Step 1: Pat your chicken wing sections completely dry with paper towels - this is the most important step for crispy skin! Toss them in a large bowl with avocado oil (or any neutral oil), lemon pepper seasoning, kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper. Make sure every wing is evenly coated.

🧂 We use about 1 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt per pound of wings, which makes for perfectly seasoned wings every time. If your lemon pepper seasoning already has salt in it, scale back - you can always add more later! If you're using Morton's or table salt, use about half as much.

💡 Choose a salt-free lemon pepper seasoning if you can find one. It gives you way more control over the overall salt level, especially since the garlic honey butter sauce has butter and salt in it, too.

Seasoned chicken wings on air fryer trays.

Step 2: Spread the wings in a single layer on air fryer trays or a parchment-lined baking sheet. Don't crowd them! If wings overlap, they'll steam instead of getting crispy.

Cooked and crispy chicken wings on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake or air fry until golden brown and crispy, flipping halfway through.

⏱️ Cooking times vary depending on your method:

Air fryer (400°F): 20-25 minutes
Oven (425°F): 45-60 minutes

No matter which method you use, make sure the wings reach an internal temperature of at least 165°F. We personally love the air fryer for wings - it gets them incredibly crispy with minimal effort!

💡 Want extra crispy wings in the oven? Toss them with 1 teaspoon of baking powder per pound of wings, along with the seasonings. The baking powder helps the skin get that shatteringly crispy texture.

Melted butter in a pan with garlic, honey and hot sauce.

Step 3: While the wings cook, make the sauce! Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add minced garlic - yes, 10 cloves, and we mean it! 😂 Gently cooking garlic in butter like this mellows it out completely, so instead of a sharp raw garlic bite, you get this sweet, rich garlic flavor all through the sauce. Stir constantly for 5-7 minutes to infuse the butter without burning it.

💡 Use unsalted butter, so you have full control over the salt level. If you only have salted, just skip the pinch of salt in the sauce.

Red garlic butter honey sauce in a saucepan with a small rubber spatula in the pan.

Step 4: Add the honey, hot sauce, and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine and let it simmer gently for a couple of minutes - don't let it boil, or the honey can burn.

Lemon zest and juice added to a hot honey butter sauce in a saucepan.

Step 5: Take the sauce off the heat, then stir in the fresh lemon zest, lemon juice, and black pepper. Taste and adjust - want it sweeter? More honey. More citrusy? Extra lemon juice. Spicier? More hot sauce. This is YOUR sauce! 🍯

🌶️ Adjust the heat to your taste! We use 2-4 tablespoons of hot sauce depending on our mood. Start with less and add more - you can always go hotter, but you can't take it back!

Toss the wings in the garlic honey butter sauce until every wing is coated. Serve immediately with the remaining sauce for drizzling, and an extra drizzle of honey over top if you're feeling it. Serve with a side of our homemade Wingstop ranch!

Close up shot of sticky chicken wings with garlic, lemon, and honey.

🔥 For a crispier, caramelized finish: Pop the sauced wings back under the broiler or into the air fryer for 2-3 minutes. The honey caramelizes and gets a little crunchy on the edges - SO good.

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If you make these Honey Lemon Chicken Wings with Garlic Butter Glaze, we'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment below and rate the recipe. Share with us by tagging us on Instagram! We love seeing your creations! 📸

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