KFC Honey BBQ Wings

KFC Honey BBQ Wings are great for an appetizer, dinner, or game day snack. Chicken wings are breaded, deep fried, coated with honey barbecue sauce, and baked to perfection. They are the ultimate wings for barbecue lovers!

Copycat KFC honey bbq chicken wings in a parchment lined basket.


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What Makes These KFC Honey BBQ Wings So Good? 

Chicken wings have a reputation for being spicy. But that isn’t true for these KFC BBQ Honey Wings. If you are not a fan of scorching your tongue, you’ll definitely want to dig into a pile of these Kentucky fried chicken wings to enjoy their sweet taste with just a wisp of smoky flavor.

Serve them at your next tailgate, or just make a batch for dinner.

Why Should You Try This Recipe?

Have you fallen in love with these wings at your local KFC restaurant? Well, I have some bad news for you. They’re available for a limited time only! That may be disappointing, but once you master this KFC chicken wings recipe, you can make them at home whenever you want!

Enjoy your favorite Honey BBQ Wings KFC style at home for a fraction of the cost of buying them at the restaurant. 

KFC Wings Recipe Ingredients

To prepare the wings, you’ll need:

  • Chicken wings
  • All-purpose flour
  • Salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Buttermilk
  • Vegetable oil 

To mix up the BBQ Honey sauce, you’ll need:

  • Hickory smoke BBQ sauce, Heinz brand recommended
  • Water
  • Honey
  • Ketchup
  • Liquid smoke
Copycat KFC honey bbq wings ingredients on a tray.

To prep the wings:

  1. Use a sharp, heavy knife or poultry shears to break the chicken wings into drumettes and wingettes. Remove and discard the wing tips or freeze them for stock.
Raw chicken wing drumettes and flats on a tray.
  1. Set up a breading station for the wings with two wide, shallow bowls and a wire rack over a baking tray in a row.
  2. Use a fork to mix the flour, salt, and freshly ground black pepper in the first bowl.
  3. Pour the buttermilk into the second bowl. 
  4. To bread the chicken wings, coat chicken wings one at a time in the flour mixture and then dunk them in the buttermilk. Give them an extra coating of the flour mixture and put them on the wire rack
  5. Once you have breaded all the chicken wings, place the uncovered baking tray in the fridge for about an hour. Resting the wings will help the breading stick to the chicken while frying. 
Breaded chicken wings on a tray.

To make the honey BBQ wing sauce:

  1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the BBQ sauce, water, honey, ketchup, and liquid smoke
  2. Bring the honey BBQ sauce mixture to a simmer while stirring, and then immediately reduce the heat to low. Cook the sauce while stirring from time to time for about 20 minutes or until it thickens up. 
  3. Remove the saucepan from the heat, cover it, and reserve the sauce for later. 
Honey bbq sauce in a pan.

To fry the chicken. 

  1. Fill a heavy-bottomed pot with at least four inches of vegetable oil. If you have a deep-fryer, it will make frying much easier.
  2. Attach a deep-fat thermometer to the side of the pot and heat the oil over medium-high heat to 375°F. 
  3. Carefully add about a third of the chicken wings to the hot oil. Ensure the oil temperature remains about 375°F and fry the wings until golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. 
  4. Use a kitchen spider to remove the wings from the oil and place them on the wire rack to drain. 
  5. Repeat with the remaining wings. 
  6. You can cool the chicken wings on the wire rack and store the fried wings and Honey BBQ sauce in separate airtight containers in the fridge for up three days or finish the wings in the oven immediately. 
Deep fried chicken wings on a tray.

To finish the wings in the oven:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Lightly grease a baking tray.
  3. Dunk the wings in the Honey BBQ sauce and spread them out on the prepared baking tray. 
  4. Bake the until the wings are hot and the sauce browns slightly.
  5. Serve hot.
Copycat KFC honey bbq wings on checkered parchment paper.

What to Serve Them With? 

Ranch or blue cheese dressing are great options for dipping. But to turn these wings into a full meal, serve the wings with a side of french fries, onion rings, or fried pickles

How to Store Them 

Throw away any extra KFC wings that have been sitting out for a while, but you can keep those you haven’t served in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. 

What Is the Best Way to Reheat KFC Honey BBQ Wings?

To reheat the chicken wings in the oven:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Lightly grease a baking tray.
  3. Spread out the chicken wing on the tray. 
  4. Let the chicken wings come up to room temperature while the oven preheats. 
  5. Drizzle a little water on top of the chicken wings before putting them in the oven. The water will turn to steam and prevent the chicken wings from drying out. 
  6. Bake the chicken wings for six minutes and then flip the wings and cook until hot, about five to six more minutes. 
Overhead view of copycat KFC honey bbq chicken wings.

More KFC Copycat Recipes

Favorite Chicken Wing Recipes

Check out more of my easy appetizer recipes and the best copycat fast food recipes on CopyKat!

Copycat KFC honey bbq chicken wings in a parchment lined basket.

KFC Honey BBQ Wings

You can make KFC Honey BBQ chicken wings at home with this easy copycat recipe.
5 from 8 votes
Print Pin Rate Add to Collection
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Keyword: KFC Recipes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 875kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds chicken wings
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • vegetable oil for frying

Honey BBQ Sauce

  • 1 cup hickory smoke BBQ sauce Heinz
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon liquid smoke

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
  • Cut the chicken wings to separate the drumette and wingette by cutting through the joint section between the two parts.
  • Heat the oil in a deep fryer or a large, heavy bottom pan to 375°F.
  • Mix flour, salt, and pepper in a bowl and set aside.
  • Place buttermilk in a separate bowl.
  • Dip chicken wing pieces in flour then in buttermilk and then again in flour.
  • Place the breaded wings in the hot oil; the temperature of the oil should be 375. Do this in batches so you never overcrowd chicken. Fry until lightly golden brown. This should take about 15 minutes.
  • Place hickory smoke BBQ sauce, water, honey, ketchup, and liquid smoke in a small saucepan, mix thoroughly, and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
  • Let the sauce cool slightly, then dip one fried wing in the sauce at a time, and place it on the prepared baking sheet.
  • Bake the BBQ coated wings for 10 minutes. This will give the sauce a chance to caramelize and thicken.

Nutrition

Calories: 875kcal | Carbohydrates: 108g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 101mg | Sodium: 1510mg | Potassium: 553mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 36g | Vitamin A: 461IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 124mg | Iron: 6mg

About Stephanie Manley

I recreate your favorite restaurant recipes, so you can prepare these dishes at home. I help you cook dinner, and serve up dishes you know your family will love. You can find most of the ingredients for all of the recipes in your local grocery store.

Stephanie is the author of CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home, and CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home 2.

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Comments

    • Kim

      You can do either but buying the breast’s skinless and boneless will give you more chicken. They charge extra per pound to cut it for you.

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