This Baked Buffalo Chicken is a crowd pleaser. You get tender, juicy meat and crispy skin without the hassle of deep frying. And with only 5 basic ingredients, it’s an easy keto meal for the whole fam. With only 1.2g carbs per serving!
We are a family of Buffalo chicken addicts. My son loves it so much that he orders it any chance he can get. I can’t even fathom how many Buffalo wings he’s eaten in his short life so far. It numbers in the thousands, easily.
Knowing how much he loves them, I have racked my brains to find a way to make a Keto friendly version at home. And I am delighted to say that this easy Baked Buffalo Chicken lives up to the promise.
It has crispy skin and succulent, tender meat, with plenty of that tangy, buttery flavor. And there’s no need to drag out the deep fryer and make your house smell like fried food for days!
There are so many wonderful ways to make Keto Buffalo Chicken. If you love it like we love it, check out Buffalo Chicken Soup as well!
Why you must try this recipe
When it comes to cooking chicken, baking often can’t hold a candle to frying. You just can’t get the skin crispy enough. Unless, of course, you know the baking powder trick.
I would love to tell you that this amazing hack was my own discovery, but it was not. I came across it on another blog called RecipeTin Eats. And I could hardly believe that a simple pantry staple was the magic ingredient for crispy Keto Buffalo Chicken.
I know that dusting chicken with baking powder seems mighty strange. But it really works, believe me. And I’ve used this same hack on Keto Chicken Wings too.
How does it work? Well, baking powder is mostly sodium bicarbonate and the salt helps draw moisture out of the chicken skin as it bakes. The baking powder also becomes a gas during the baking process, which leaves tiny bubbles on the chicken skin, creating a crunchy texture.
My kids adore drumsticks (or “chicken on the bone”, as they like to call them), and they provide an easy and inexpensive meal for my hungry family. So I often use drumsticks for my baked Buffalo chicken. But thighs work nicely as well.
Simple, easy, and seriously crispy. This is my favorite way to make Baked Buffalo Chicken and I think you will love it too.
Reader Reviews
“My family absolutely LOVES this recipe! I never dreamed that a baked chicken recipe could be this crispy, but also falling off the bone at the same time. I don’t even typically like drumsticks but these are so dang good that I ate 6 of them all by myself.” — Erin
“I am originally from upstate NY (aka Buffalo, NY- home of the first chicken wings) and am admittedly a bit of a chicken wing snob, so I was skeptical. Baking powder? Really? Well,i made them last night for New Years Eve and they were a hit! I’ll be making them again!” – Liz
“I made these tonight and just had to tell you how good they were! My husband and I both loved them! I had never heard of the baking powder tip and I was amazed by how crispy the skin got! Thanks so much for the great recipes!” – Bethany
Ingredients you need
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- Chicken pieces: This crispy baked method works best on skin-on, bone-in chicken like drumsticks and thighs. My kids love the drummies but I prefer the thighs. They take about the same time to cook. You can also do this with chicken wings, but they don’t need as much time in the oven.
- Baking powder: Make sure you use baking POWDER, rather than soda. I also recommend aluminum free baking powder, to avoid that strange metallic taste.
- Butter: Classic Buffalo wings take butter in the sauce, so I use that here as well. For a dairy free version, you can use coconut oil or avocado oil.
- Buffalo sauce: The original Frank’s Hot Sauce is keto friendly, but make sure you don’t purchase the wing sauce, which has some additives like canola oil and butter flavor. For super clean ingredients, check out the sauce from The New Primal. It’s my absolute favorite!
- Salt and pepper: Go lightly with the added seasoning until you taste the chicken, since baking powder adds salt as well.
Step-by-step directions
1. Pat the chicken dry and place half of it in a large ziploc bag. Add half of the baking powder, salt, and pepper and shake vigorously to coat. Lay the chicken on the prepared rack and repeat with the remaining chicken, baking powder, salt, and pepper
2. Place the rack in the lower third of the oven and bake at 250ºF for 30 minutes.
3. Increase temperature to 425ºF and move the tray to the upper middle rack of the oven. Bake another 30 to 40 minutes, flipping the chicken partway through, until the skin is crisp.
4. In a small bowl, whisk the Buffalo sauce and melted butter together. Brush over the chicken. At this point, you can return them to the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes, if you like the sauce to be baked on.
Expert tips
Make sure you pat the chicken very dry. Any amount of surface moisture will make the baking powder clump in that spot, instead of dusting the chicken lightly. I also recommend tossing the chicken with the baking powder in batches, to ensure more even coverage.
The first stage of baking at a lower temperature helps render some of the fat from the chicken, allowing it to crisp up more easily.
Air fryer method: This Keto Buffalo Chicken recipe can easily be made in an air fryer and you don’t need the baking powder at all. Just air fry with some salt and pepper on about 400ºF for 25 to 30 minutes. I recommend starting them skin side down and flipping them at the half way point. Then brush them with sauce after they are done.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, many buffalo sauces and hot sauces are keto friendly. Just be sure to read the labels and use the regular hot sauce that has no carbs, rather than a pre-mixed wing sauce. The wing sauces often contain additives that raise the carb count. The New Primal makes a fabulous keto and paleo Buffalo sauce that comes in mild, medium, and hot.
As long as they aren’t breaded in high carb coating, deep fried foods are generally keto friendly. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they are healthy, however. Much depends on the oils used for frying. Steer clear of inflammatory canola and soybean oil, and choose high heat oils such as lard or light olive oil.
There really is no shame in deep-frying, as far as I am concerned. The only reason I don’t do it much myself is that it’s a lot of work and uses huge amounts of oil. And it makes your house smelled like fried food for at least 24 hours!
This recipe for crispy baked Buffalo chicken has only 1.2g of carbs per serving.
Popular Keto Chicken Recipes
Baked Buffalo Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 ½ lbs chicken drumsticks or a mix of thighs and drumsticks
- 2 tablespoon baking powder not baking soda!
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ⅓ cup Buffalo sauce
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250ºF and set a wire cooling rack over a large baking sheet. Spray the rack with cooking oil.
- Pat the chicken dry and place half of it in a large ziploc bag. Add half of the baking powder, salt, and pepper and shake vigorously to coat.
- Lay the chicken on the prepared rack and repeat with the remaining chicken, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Place the rack in the lower third of the oven and bake 30 minutes.
- Increase temperature to 425ºF and move the tray to the upper middle rack of the oven. Bake another 30 to 40 minutes, until the skin is crisp. You can flip the chicken halfway through, if desired.
- In a small bowl, combine the Buffalo sauce and melted butter. Brush over the chicken on both sides. At this point, you can return them to the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes, if you like the sauce baked on.
Tolice Nichole says
Fabulous!
This recipe is AMAZING! We just finished enjoying this crispy delight! The only thing is that I might use unsalted butter next time… I used Louisiana hot sauce…Delicious!!! Crispy!!!
We are newbies to the KETO lifestyle…3 weeks in…This recipe has made the top 10 list for sure. The Baking Powder is BRILLIANT!!!!
Carolyn says
Yay, glad you like it!
libby says
recipe for sauce please
Carolyn says
It’s not a recipe. It’s Frank’s Buffalo Sauce.
libby says
I live in France so no hope of buying it! Any clues as to what he uses pls?
Carolyn says
Google Franks Hot Sauce, I am pretty sure the ingredient list will be on the bottle. As to the amounts, I honestly have no idea. Or try goggling “Homemade Buffalo Sauce”…I bet you will find some good home versions!
libby says
ok will have a look. I served it up last night with mango chutney but we could taste the baking powder. not too keen on that!
Carolyn says
You do need a sauce here to cover the baking powder flavour.
Cassie says
LIbby, buffalo sauce is reg hot sauce and melted butter mixed together. 🙂
patti says
We made our own sauce because we always have the regular hot sauce at home anyway. Very easy to find recipe and easy to make!
Marta Johnston says
I commented earlier but my computer crashed so I’m sorry if this is a duplicate. I made this recipe tonight and LOVE it! I took the skin off half the legs because I’m really watching calories and they came out great! I left the skin on the other half for my husband and they came out great as well, of course! I used Frank’s buffalo sauce and the heat level was perfect! Will keep this in the rotation!
Kimberly says
First: I was nervous at the initial low 250° cooking temp. Second: I was concerned there would be an after taste from the baking powder. BOTH of my concerns were wiped away with the first bite, Delicious, Juicy, Fully Cooked and Easy chicken recipe. I also have a Three-nager (my very picky eater) and a toddler, they both grabbed a drumstick and chowed into them! I had just over 4 pounds of chicken (14 drums,) followed the cooking directions until it came to sauce them, I used a Teriyaki and BBQ sauce, and then broiled them on low for a few minutes. I may be making this weekly, THANK YOU!!!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Sandra says
Fabulous recipe! I bought chicken thighs to use in your Chicken Adobo recipe. But I saw the Crispy Baked Buffalo Drumsticks in your top posts side bar and decided to try it on a whim. I am so glad I did. The skin was crispy and delicious; the meat was juicy and tender. I served it with a salad topped with blue cheese crumbles and Blue Cheese dressing. Fabulous meal! My husband just walked in the room and said I really like that chicken! I still really love your Chicken Adobo but will have it another day. Thanks for another great recipe.
Cook’s note: I baked the chicken 10 minutes with the buffalo sauce on it. Since thighs seem to be thicker than drumsticks I thought they might need the full 10 minutes. The thighs came out cooked to perfection.
Sandra says
Just wanted to add 1 more cook’s note: I forgot to spray the rack before putting the thighs on it. After baking the Buffalo Chicken thighs and putting them on the serving plate I put the rack in the sink with hot soapy water. The rack wiped clean with no scrubbing. The tin foil on the tray made clean up easy too. – – So if you don’t have oil spray on hand or forget it, all is not lost if cooking thighs. They generate plenty of “non-sticky” oil for the rack as they cook.
Carolyn says
Thanks! I’ve done this with thighs to get the crispy skin on those. So good!
t m m says
i’ve tried the tineats wings and was just doing a search to see if it worked with bigger pieces of chicken such as thighs and drumsticks. So this post was perfect! thanks.
Carolyn says
Yay, so glad!
Karen says
Thank you!, just thank you!
Julie says
I made these and they tasted like baking soda. It is one of the ingredients in my baking powder. I want to like these but needed sauce to cover up the taste.
Diane says
make that “dry” and tough, please.
Diane says
Second time was much better. Used regular baking powder and lemon pepper seasoning and did not add any other salt. Do you turn the legs over half way through the baking or not? Thought they might turn out just a little more crispy than they were. The bottom side was a bit soggy and the top almost crispy. I was very happy because the salt balance was just right. Will be making these again. Thanks!!
Carolyn says
Did you use a baking rack for them? If you put them on a regular roasting pan, the bottom does get soggy. But if you put them on a metal cooling rack, the sort you put cookies on after baking, enough heat gets to the bottoms that you don’t have to turn them.
Diane says
Sure did. Just wondering if turning them halfway throught the cooking process might help. Did you turn yours?
Carolyn says
No, I didn’t turn mine at all. The bottom got crisp because there was enough air flowing in on my very open cooling rack.
Lisa says
I tried these as well (on the rack) and the bottoms were soggy. I turned mine too because I wanted the whole thing to be crispy. 🙁 I foiled the baking pan before placing the rack on top (for easy clean up).
Carolyn, is your oven gas or electric? Do you think that matters? I have gas and the heat comes from the bottom unless I’m broiling and then there’s an element at the top.
Oh, also, even though the tray was easy to clean – the grease spatter in the oven caused my house to look like a smoke stack! LOL
The flavor was great, but I think for the time invested and the smokiness of the house, I’d just rather fry outside and be done with it!
Carolyn says
My oven is gas and I have no issues with the bottoms getting soggy, nor do I have issues with my oven being smoky. The splattering is concerning, these bake slowly so there should be minimal splatter. I really don’t know why yours would do that!
Diane says
Going to make these tonight but will be using just small chicken drummetts. Would I still cook them just as long for these little things? Don’t want to over cook and make them try and tough. Thanks much!!
Carolyn says
Ooooooh! Haha, I saw your second comment first and thought you were saying that my recipe should be called “dry and tough”. I was a little surprised by that. Okay, this makes more sense. Yes, cook them less but they actually stand up to quite a bit of cooking. Try 20 to 25 minutes for the second stage.
Diane says
Well, I made them, adding the lemon-pepper to the dry ingredients but I must have done something wrong. They turned out waaaay too salty and did not crisp up. I cooked them for 30 minutes for the second stage and they were done. I even used low sodium baking powder. Followed directions. Maybe adding salt when using lemon pepper wasn’t wise, as the first ingredient in it is salt. I will try again bcause I want to experience crispy baked chicken. Just reporting back. Thanks again, Carolyn.
Carolyn says
You know what I think the problem is? The low sodium baking powder. You need regular. The skin gets crispy because the sodium bicarbonate draws moisture out of the skin during baking. Now, I have a very high tolerance for salt, but if you are very sensitive to saltiness, this may not quite be the recipe for you. But if you want another go, try regular baking powder and then leave out any additional salt. Does your lemon pepper also contain salt?
Diane says
Yup, first ingredient in the lemon pepper is salt. I definitely will try again using regular baking powder and omit any other salt since the lemon pepper has plenty. I really want this to work cause they look sooooo good and others have had success making them and I’m a healthy low carb junkie!! Thanks again!
Carolyn says
Okay, give that a go and let me know!
patti says
I am grateful for reading through comments because our family has changed over to low sodium baking powder and this problem would not have occurred to me on my own. Since we normally don’t use the regular, it will be probably be somewhat wasted but that’s ok since it’s not too expensive.
By the way, family loved this. One member is afraid of too spicy and it pleased even that person as not simply “hot” but good flavor. We are fairly new to cooking our own wings/drumsticks instead of getting from a restaurant so this is very helpful.
Jackie says
I was afraid they’d be too hot so used “Guy’s Award Winning BBQ sauce” it’s sugar free and pretty good!
Beth says
So so so so good! Best wings I have ever made! Hubby agreed! Thank you!
Carolyn says
Yay!
Myra says
Awesome tip!!! I found that cornstarch or arrowroot powder works for crisping up sweet potato fries since mine are always soggy!! I’ll have to try this trick for chicken though 😉
Joshua Hampton says
I can almost see my boys fighting over the last piece of this chicken. It looks amazing.
linda says
This recipe looks great & I look forward to eating delicious!
Thanks.
Carol says
I’ve given up baking powder because of the cornstarch in it. Do you think cornstarch is the magic ingredient, or would my homemade baking powder (baking soda + cream of tartar) work?
kathy says
I found a recipe for baked sweet potato fries and it says to sprinkle them with cornstarch to keep them from getting soggy, so maybe it is the cornstarch.
Carolyn says
It’s primarily the sodium, actually, which draws moisture out of the skin. Otherwise, we’d just be dousing them in cornstarch!
Jackie says
Are these really HOT? If so, any suggestions on toning them down – I so want to give them a try!
Becky Gardiner says
These look so good! I’m wondering if other cuts of chicken, like thighs, would work in this recipe. Would one just bake them longer at the 250 degree stage to ensure they are thoroughly cooked through?
Teresa says
Yes it works on other pieces of chicken. I used it for thighs the other night. Truly amazing and crispy! Yum!
Carolyn says
Good to know!
Sue says
I found this trick on another site just last week and tried it and they were fabulous!! I live in a town in Upstate New York where every establishment sells wings (some great, some not so) and these oven baked ones are as good or better than any I’ve eaten anywhere! The other blogger noted that the tip was from Cooks Illustrated, and they know their stuff!
Only problem is that your serving size is 2 pieces-but who can eat only 2!?!?!?
Love your blog Carolyn!
Carolyn says
You’re free to eat more if you like. they are pretty low carb!
Wendy says
I think they’re using drumsticks, not drumettes..That’s what it looks like in the pic at least
Diane says
I never knew this! What a great tip! I love chicken and have it at least four times a week and I’m always looking for interesting ways to prepare it and this one sounds great – to be able to make the skin crispy!! I enjoy lemon-pepper seasoning, without sugar of course, and usually just sprinkle it on my chicken and then bake it. Do you think this would work if I put the lemon-pepper into the baking powder bag? Or would it be better to wait and sprinkle after the butter? Thanks for your many, many interesting recipes and doing the hard work for us!! Keep on keeping on!
Carolyn says
Yes, I think adding the lemon pepper into the bag would work fine.
Julius Minor says
I eat chicken almost everyday and drumsticks are my favorite part… Since I “intermittent fast”, on any giving day I can knock back 10 -15 pieces of chicken and a pound of broccoli and still look for more… I’m a huge fan of buffalo chicken but I can’t stand them when they’re soggy…lol… I will give these a go tonight with baking soda and report back… Great idea… Thanks always!
estelle says
Wow, baking powder?? Who would ever think that … thanks for sharing your discovery! Will definitely try it out next time when I make wings/drumsticks.
Sharon says
I’ve used this recipe numerous times on chicken wings and drumsticks. Awesome and crispy chicken everytime.
Courtney Scott says
Are they supposed to be white from baking powder while cooking? I’m starting to get worried????
Carolyn says
Yes, they are! Just wait…
Sue says
Don’t use baking SODA-its baking powder
Jennifer says
Definitely don’t use baking soda. In baking you may be able to substitute. For this…absolutely not. I ended up tossing all of the chicken as it was inedible.
Carolyn says
Yup, as another person said…don’t use baking soda. That won’t work. Baking POWDER only. 🙂
Julius Minor says
Oops, I did say baking “soda”…lol Thanks for the correction…
Julius Minor says
“Update”… I made this last night with drumsticks and again tonight with wings… I lost count on how many wings I’ve eaten so far…lol… Yesterday I put down 12 drumsticks! What a great recipe…
Carolyn says
Yay! So glad it worked for you and you like them. Clearly you like them!
Miranda says
Did you follow the recipe exactly or did you change anything about it? I’m making them in a bit and I’m not sure how they’re gonna turn out :/ any advice?
Barnita says
Not baking soda, baking powder. Big difference, lol.
Good luck, I’m making them as well !!!!