Our Thai sweet chili chicken wings are out of this world delicious and so simple to make. You’ll bake the wings to sticky perfection and then toss them with even more delicious sticky Asian sweet chili glaze. So good!
Our sweet chili wings are sticky, sweet, and spicy, with a bit of crunch, thanks to a handful of chopped peanuts and sliced green onion sprinkled on top. They are easy, too. The sweet chili glaze only needs three ingredients!
It’s no secret that we love our chicken wings. For more recipes like this, see our baked buffalo hot wings, BBQ chicken wings, or these Vietnamese wings made with fish sauce!
Key Ingredients
- Chicken Wings: You can usually find them whole or already separated into drumsticks and wingettes. If you can only find whole chicken wings, hop over to our tutorial for separating a chicken wing.
- Thai Sweet Chili Sauce: This is the main ingredient of our glaze. It’s a delicious blend of sweet, spicy, and tangy flavors. I love Mae Ploy Sweet Chili Sauce, but feel free to use your favorite brand.
- Light Soy Sauce or Tamari: This adds a savory balance and seasons the sticky glaze.
- Chili Paste: Sambal Oelek is my go-to for its pure chili heat, but you can also use Sriracha or Gochujang. Just remember to adjust the amount to your desired level of spice. I also use Sambal Oelek in our spicy garlic ginger edamame.
- Peanuts and Green Onions (Optional): These add a lovely crunch to the finished wings. Toasted sesame seeds are also a great option! I use the same topping for our hoisin sticky ribs.
How to Make Sweet Chili Chicken Wings
These sweet and spicy Thai chili chicken wings are incredibly easy to make! You’ll whisk together Thai sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, and chili paste to create the sticky glaze. You can easily adjust the heat by adding more or less chili paste.
Next, toss the wings with half of the glaze and arrange them on a baking sheet fitted with a rack. Baking the wings on a rack allows hot air to circulate, resulting in crispy skin. If you don’t have a rack, no worries! Just bake them directly on the sheet, and remember to flip and rotate them a few times during cooking.
Once the wings are out of the oven, toss them with the remaining glaze and finish with a sprinkle of chopped peanuts and sliced green onions. These wings are so simple yet incredibly delicious! I love them.
Easy Sweet Chili Chicken Wings
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
These Thai sweet chili chicken wings are out of this world delicious and so simple to make. You can adjust the spice level of the sticky glaze by reducing or increasing the chile paste. I love Sambal Oelek for its fresh, clean heat, but Sriracha or Gochujang are good substitutes (you will need to adjust to your taste, though).
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 ½ pounds (680g) chicken wings, separated at joints, tips discarded
3/4 cup (177ml) Thai sweet chili sauce, I use Mae Ploy Brand
2 teaspoons light soy sauce or tamari
1 to 3 teaspoons Sambal Oelek
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
2 green onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
Directions
1Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Set a wire rack inside a large-rimmed baking sheet.
2Whisk the Thai sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, and Sambal Oelek together, adjusting the chili paste according to how spicy you’d like the glaze. Transfer 1/2 cup of the glaze to another bowl to toss the baked wings later.
3Pat the wings dry, and then add them to the remaining glaze. Toss well, then spread out in one layer on the wire rack.
4Bake until cooked through and crispy, 35 to 45 minutes.
5Toss the baked chicken wings in the reserved glaze, pile them onto a plate, and sprinkle them with sliced green onions and chopped peanuts.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- No wire rack: If you do not have a wire rack that will fit inside a baking sheet, you can still bake hot wings. Arrange them on the baking sheet without the rack and rotate a few times during baking.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
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Excellent!!
Thanks!
Hi again, Joanne and Adam, Just watched your video and recipe for the wings and YUMM!!! I have to say, though, seeing the package of wings, what the heck is up with the price? I am currently in Scotland, but OMG! The price for wings is so high back in the US, wow! Here, they usually (Tesco, Asda – two largest supermarkets) about £2.19 (or $3.75) per KILO! Right now I am off to a store where they have them on sale for $2.57 (yes, US dollars) per kilo, so I will buy about 4 kilos (at least) to stock up and freeze them. Also, the tip to safe the wings tips is great, I do that as well and make great chicken stock when I have plenty ( as well as chicken bones from the wings or roasted chicken after dinner). Again, super recipe and thanks for the great website and GREAT recipes. Have a wonderful day, you two! 😉
Thanks for all the kind words 🙂
probably because wings in the US are popular party food, especially in football season — when originally and in other parts of the world they are less popular, thrown away or considered “trash” parts of chicken.
So glad you found us. Happy Cooking! 🙂
Alright you two, gonna try this with chicken thighs for tomorrow’s superbowl. I was hoping this kind of recipe existed, and lo and behold you guys did it with a simple combination of 3 tasty ingredients. I will definitely let you know how they turn out. I’m going to assume an overnight marinade since thighs are dark meat…
I am drooling thinking about it…great video, btw.
Here’s my feedback (a year late): if you follow the recipe above exactly, and use chicken thighs instead, you will get some fine tasting thighs! They went over quite well at last year’s Super Bowl, and were great as leftovers for the next few days. I tried them as wings following the directions above, and they were alright, but not as flavorful as the thighs. Going to try the wings again this year, but I’m to lightly bread and fry them first, the pour thr sauce over them (heated) then toss and serve. We’ll see what happens.
Your videos are really well made and these chicken wings look fantastic. 🙂
Thank you!
Did you broil the chicken wings after you did the second sauce application and cooking? They look a lot crisper in the next shot when you’re adding the green onion. I just wonder why you don’t say. They almost look like they’ve been fried in deep oil in that last shot, which is not the way they were when you called them finished.
Not at all — All photos on this site are of the actual recipe.
do you think broiling instead of baking would work? We like ’em crispy around here…
Hi Al, Broiling should work. Our only concern is that the wings with the sauce will char before cooking all the way through. We recommend baking first (about 15 – 20 minutes). Then broil about 5 inches from heat, turning once, until cooked through, another 8 to 10 minutes. Keep an eye on the wings under the broiler so they don’t char. Enjoy!
Hi, This looks very yummy and mouth watering. definitely i will try and let u know. you have described it really good anyone can follow it . thanks for a wonderful recipe.