There was this one time in college when I went out on a date with a guy. Well, it wasn’t really a date… My roommates and I called him “Bad Matt” because he was the kind of guy who got into trouble all the time — and quite frankly, I was way out of his league. Anyway! I got weaseled into going out with him for hot wings after class one day because it was cold, he had a jeep, and I didn’t want to walk up hill, both ways, in the snow, to get back to my JMU dorm room. Of course he didn’t pay. He was too “bad” for that.
After that “date” I swore off hot wings forever. When I got back to my dorm I was 50 shades of red - and not just out of embarrassment. I had hot sauce all over my face. SERIOUSLY?! I’m really lucky I ever found a man who would marry this hot mess.
I went home for Easter that same year. My dearest friend Cait invited me to her house for wings. I explained why I swore them off and she said “Oh girl, I will teach you how to eat them with one hand and not get a drop of sauce on you!”
Challenge accepted.
Hot wings soon became “our thing.” Whenever I was home, Cait and I would meet at her house for a bucket of Great Bridge’s famous Mr. Jim’s hot wings. I ate the drums. She ate the wings. {For the record, I still hate the wings and prefer the drums - hands down, any day of the week.}
I’m not sure why, but I have been beyond craving hot wings for the last few months. I had no clue that {prior to the whole30} I could get them at B-Dubs {aka Buffalo Wild Wings - we abbrev everything at JMU} and they were gluten free! {They are not whole30 approved though because of the sauces!} My spirits were crushed when Michael told me we couldn’t eat at B-Dubs due to their gun policies. I pondered sneaking in there without him - since “Thou shall not dine in an anti-gun establishment” was not in our wedding vows… but then my Whole30 started. {Actually a Whole60, but who’s really counting anyway. 52 more days. Wink wink!}
With football season upon us {I could really care less about football, I just love wings} I figured it was about time for me to create a Paleo, Whole30 Hot Wing recipe that would hit the spot and stop the cravings.
With that, I bring you my Whole30 Hot Wings:
- 15-20 Chicken Wings/Drums
- ½ cup of Franks Original Hot Sauce (make sure it is the original without sugar!)
- ¾ cup of heavy coconut cream
- ½ tsp Roasted Granulated Garlic Powder
- ½ tsp Smoked Paprika
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F - cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil - place a greased cooling rack on the cookie sheet so that the wings cook up on the rack.
- Rinse and pat dry chicken wings
- In a skillet, blend hot sauce, heavy coconut cream, garlic powder and smoked paprika - allow the coconut cream to melt into the hot sauce, making the hot sauce look creamier.
- Set aside ¼-ish cup of the sauce for later
- Lay a few wings at a time in the hot sauce, covering them thoroughly with the sauce. When they are covered in the sauce, place them on the cooling rack (that is on top of the cookie sheet.) Cover all wings with sauce and lay all of them on the cooling rack with a little bit of space between each.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes - flipping the wings half way through. Before you put them back in the oven drizzle the remaining hot sauce on the wings.
- I wanted to crisp my wings up just a tad so when they were done baking, I flipped the oven to broil for 2 minutes.
- These pair well with the Whole30 Homemade Ranch and Celery!
As I said in the recipe section - be sure to cover the hot wings completely in the creamy hot sauce. You then want to lay them out on a rack for baking. I simply put a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet for this. Be sure to put aluminum foil down on the cookie sheet for easy cleanup.
To make these Whole30 Approved Hot Wings here are some things you may need:
Cookie Sheets // Cooling Rack (these are the ones I have and LOVE them) // Aluminum Foil // Chicken Wings // Frank’s Original Hot Sauce (it’s sugar free and can be found in almost all grocery stores) // Granulated Garlic Powder // Smoked Paprika // Heavy Coconut Cream (SO much less expensive in the store!)
But seriously - what are hot wings without ranch and celery?! Rubbish and nonsense! That’s what!
No really - ranch goes with wings like peanut butter goes with jelly. So I decided to try my luck at the recipe the Whole30 folks have given us for DIY Homemade Ranch Dressing. You can find their recipe {and tons of other sauces} here! You want to scroll down about midway for their “Basic Ranch” recipe. I used the hand blender that Santa brought me for Christmas - if you don’t have one, you could use a food processor or regular blender and just pulse it very, very slowly. This ranch was AMAZING. I don’t know why I waited for my fifth whole30 to make it!
So what do you think? Does it sound easy enough? Personally - I don’t think I will ever go out for wings again. These are clean, paleo, sugar free and gluten free {i.e. Whole30 Approved!} and I found them to be really easy. Something I could totally do for a potluck or my parent’s Super Bowl Party!
Since Michael doesn’t like spicy things, I promised him that I would try these with an Asian flavored base next time… so stay tuned!
YES YES YES!
I CANNOT WAIT TO MAKE THESE!
Susan @ 2catsandchloe says
Let me know what you think! I created this recipe with you and I in mind… I’m thinking we need to schedule a wing eating challenge. We can skype each other and let the borders keep track of the time! HA!
These look yummy. It is kind of sad how they “sneak” sugar into everything. Have to read every single ingredient.
Susan @ 2catsandchloe says
It’s CRAZY how they sneak sugar into everything. One of my Whole30 friends was just saying the same thing. It’s really unnecessary!
Wow! Those look so good! I’m not a hot wings fan, but those look delicious and aren’t dripping in sauce! Yum! I had no idea that you could eat bar food while doing the Whole30, but I guess you can! Thanks for sharing!
Susan @ 2catsandchloe says
As long as it’s clean, it will work for the whole30. Obviously I don’t think a bar would sell them this clean… so making them at home is the next best option! 🙂
Stephanie Kastelan says
Susan, these look amazing and so glad to see they are healthy! My husband and daughters love hot wings, so this will be my new recipe! Also thanks for the ranch recipe too!
Stephanie
Susan @ 2catsandchloe says
YES! Stephanie please let me know what your family thinks! I love these - not only delicious but have all clean ingredients!
Thanks for this, always looking for ideas that help stay with my eating plan. TFS.
Susan @ 2catsandchloe says
YES! These are delicious and have all clean ingredients in them! 🙂
Linda Manns says
These look so good. We love hot wings at our house. We will try this out. Thank you for sharing
Susan @ 2catsandchloe says
No problem! Let me know what you and your family think! They were delicious! I think I am going to make them again this week! 🙂
Tracy H says
AWESOME!! I can not wait to make these for my family!! Thanks so much for sharing!!
Susan @ 2catsandchloe says
No problem! I hope you enjoy them!
frugalwifeblog says
Those look yum!!! Will have to try that myself!! 🙂
And what kind of a guy doesn’t pay for their date’s meal?
Susan @ 2catsandchloe says
Not a good guy! That’s for sure! 🙂 Let me know what you think of the wings! 🙂
These looks so good! My boyfriend and I have been tossing around the idea of Whole 30, but weren’t sure if we could actually stick with it considering our love for food. This post changes my mind!
Susan @ 2catsandchloe says
We are starting another group Whole30 on April 15 if you want to join us! 🙂 These chicken wings will be on the menu!
Lisa says
Oh my goodness - these wings were pretty great, but the sauce has a lot of merit on its own! I ended up with a good amount of extra sauce - creamy, spicy, delicious sauce, so I cut a carrot into thin coins and used the sauce as dip - Whole30 chips and dip! Perfect when you want something crunchy with a meal.
THEN - I still had some extra sauce, so I made spicy smashed potatoes! Since white potatoes are now Whole30 approved, I just boiled some, smashed them up with just some of this sauce, and they are delicious. Possibly my new favorite side dish, so I’ll have to be careful not to eat too much 🙂 I don’t crave hot wings very often, but I can see the sauce becoming a staple condiment in my house!
InspectorJon says
Not so smart eating uncooked sauce that raw chicken has been dipped in.
Susan @ 2catsandchloe says
Agreed Inspector Jon - That’s why I recommend in the recipe that you set aside some sauce in the beginning before you put the chicken in it! It is a great sauce (sans the raw chicken) for other things like Lisa did!
Lisa says
no worries, I set some aside before dipping the chicken in it!
I don’t have any coconut cream, but I have coconut milk - could I get away with just scooping the cream off the top of the milk and using that? Thanks in advance!
Christina says
is heavy coconut cream whole30 approved?
MAS Sucks says
Yep! Enjoy.
Sheri says
Made this for Super Bowl Sunday and it was a huge, delicious hit! Making the marinade again tonight for grilled chicken thighs. Thank you!