All right, y’all, it’s not officially fall just yet, but football season is here. Woohoo. Even though I don’t really understand the full concept of the game, I thoroughly enjoy the festivities. I enjoy tailgating, wearing cute football shirts and eating party food.

When the hubs and I throw a football bash, I usually make my famous Jalapeño Gameday Sliders, but this time I wanted to do something a little different — I wanted to make hot wings. I know what you’re thinking: What’s so special about hot wings?

Well, I’m not a huge chicken eater, so any time I prepare wings it’s always a special treat.

I love chicken, but my protein of choice is fish. Whenever I cook chicken, it’s usually baked or grilled. My husband really wanted some hot wings for the game, but I didn’t want to fry them. I really don’t like frying food.

Crispy Oven Baked Lime Ranch Hot Wings. (Andrea Mathis / Beautiful Eats & Things)

It’s not because of the fat and grease, but because it gives my house a horrid smell, and you have to stand over the stovetop and monitor it or you’ll burn your meat. I mean, who has that kind of time? Don’t get me wrong; I will fry food occasionally, but it’s very rare. I’d much rather use my air fryer.

For these Crispy Oven Baked Lime Ranch Hot Wings, I wanted to experiment with a few different flavors. I knew that I wanted to use a hot sauce, but I also wanted them to have a few surprise elements too. I decided to make a marinade and let the chicken soak up the flavors for about 15 minutes.

Then I arranged them on a baking sheet and baked them for about 25 minutes. Yep, that’s right, I was able to get these wings crispy and golden right in the oven. The secret to getting them crispy is to broil them for a few minutes after they are almost done. The taste was amazing. These Crispy Oven Baked Lime Ranch Hot Wings were spicy, tangy, crispy and flavorful all in one bite. Touchdown.

Crispy Oven Baked Lime Ranch Hot Wings. (Andrea Mathis / Beautiful Eats & Things)

Crispy Oven Baked Lime Ranch Hot Wings

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Ingredients

• 3 lbs. chicken wings ‘flats and drumsticks’ (about 36 pieces; thawed if frozen, then drained and patted dry)
• ⅓ cup Tabasco sauce
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 1 packet of ranch seasoning
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• Juice of 1 lime
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with foil and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine Tabasco sauce, oil, ranch seasoning, garlic powder, lime juice, salt and pepper to taste. Whisk until all ingredients are combined.
4. Place chicken wings in the bowl with the marinade and toss until all chicken wings are coated evenly.
5. Let sit for about 15 minutes.
6. Arrange chicken on the baking sheet, making sure that pieces are not touching one another.
7. Place pan in oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until chicken is cooked throughout.
8. After 30 minutes, change oven settings to broil and broil on high for about 5-10 minutes, or until crispy and golden brown. Serve and enjoy.

Recipe notes

Nutritional information: (1 serving — about 6 wings): calories, 379; carbohydrates, 28 grams; fat, 23 grams; protein, 15 grams; saturated fat, 4 grams; sugars, 9 grams.

Andrea Mathis is a registered dietitian and owner of Beautiful Eats & Things. For more great recipes, visit beautifuleatsandthings.com.