Wingstop-Style Nashville Hot Wings

Fiery, crispy wings coated in a brick-red Nashville hot sauce with organic cayenne, smoked paprika, and clean honey — Wingstop's Nashville Hot flavor rebuilt with avocado oil frying and a sauce free of soybean oil and corn syrup.

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Ingredients

  • 3 lbs pasture-raised chicken wings, split into flats and drums, tips removed
  • Avocado oil, for frying (about 3–4 cups for deep frying)
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • FOR NASHVILLE HOT SAUCE:
  • 1/2 cup avocado oil (or melted grass-fed lard for authenticity)
  • 3 tbsp organic cayenne pepper
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tbsp organic raw honey
  • 1 tsp organic brown sugar or coconut sugar
  • 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • FOR SERVING:
  • Organic dill pickle slices
  • Sliced white bread or organic rolls

Clean swaps

How we upgrade the restaurant version with better ingredients.

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Reorder the shelf-stable staples for this recipe.

What you'll need

Instructions

  1. Pat wings completely dry with paper towels — this is essential for maximum crispiness. Season with sea salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
  2. For the crispiest wings, let them air-dry uncovered on a wire rack in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (or overnight). This removes surface moisture.
  3. Make the Nashville hot sauce: Whisk together avocado oil, cayenne, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, honey, coconut sugar, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. The sauce will look orange-red and oily — that's correct. Set aside.
  4. Pour avocado oil into a large Dutch oven to a depth of 3 inches. Heat over medium-high heat to 350°F on a deep-fry thermometer.
  5. Fry wings in batches of 8–10 for 10–12 minutes, turning once, until deeply golden and cooked through to 165°F internal. Do not crowd the pan.
  6. Transfer fried wings to a paper-towel-lined wire rack briefly to drain.
  7. While wings are still hot, toss them in the Nashville hot sauce until thoroughly coated — the sauce should sizzle slightly when it hits the hot wings.
  8. Serve immediately with organic dill pickle slices and soft bread for the classic Nashville presentation.

FAQ

How hot is this compared to actual Nashville Hot?

This recipe is medium-hot using 3 tablespoons of cayenne. For milder heat, reduce to 1.5 tablespoons. For incendiary heat that rivals Prince's Hot Chicken, increase to 4–5 tablespoons and add a pinch of ghost pepper powder.

Can I bake these instead of frying?

Yes — toss the dried wings with 1 tablespoon baking powder and a pinch of salt (the baking powder is the crispiness secret), arrange on a wire rack over a foil-lined baking sheet, and bake at 450°F for 45–50 minutes, flipping halfway. Toss in Nashville hot sauce immediately out of the oven.

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