Name: Easy Sweet Thai Chili Wings
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 23 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds chicken wings, whole or split (tips cut off and discarded or saved); salt, black pepper, oil spray; Optional garnish: chopped green onions or fresh herbs (thyme, oregano), sesame seeds, squeeze of lime juice; 6 tablespoon sweet Thai chili sauce ((just over 1/3 cup/78 ml)); 2 tablespoon soy sauce, low sodium; 1 tablespoon prepared mustard (Dijon is OK instead); 1 teaspoon minced garlic (1 clove (or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder)); optional: 1/2 tsp dried oregano or thyme

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Make these easy, spicy, sweet Thai chili chicken wings on the grill when the craving hits and nothing else but chicken wings will do. Just 5 ingredients plus salt and pepper.

This is not a gourmet recipe. It’s simple. It’s quick (under 30 minutes). And it hits the spot.

pile of grilled wings on plate garnished with fresh oregano

The flavors

The glaze is really simple with only 4 ingredients. You just mix together sweet Thai chili sauce, mustard, soy sauce and garlic. No cooking needed.

These chicken wings are really Thai-style (we’re not using fish sauce for example). You can certainly add lime and cilantro as garnish to make the recipe a bit more authentic.

We’re using a bottled sweet Thai sweet chili sauce that you can find in the Asian section at most grocery stores. It’s a sweet sauce with a spicy flavor.

I don’t bother marinating the wings because the bold glaze covers so much surface, giving the wings plenty of flavor.

If you don’t have a grill, we included instructions for baked chicken wings in the recipe card.

Best sides for chicken wings

Almost any side dish goes with this chicken wing recipe. Here are a few of my faves:

Tips for cooking chicken wings

If you buy whole wings and want to split them into the drumette portion and wing portion, here’s a video on how to cut chicken wings. I often leave my wings whole because it’s less work to turn on the grill. Whole wings will take a bit longer to cook though.

Other than that, just three tips will get you to success.

Oil your grill with vegetable oil (or oil spray) before heating your grill. This will prevent sticking. To be even safer, I spray my wings with oil as well before putting them on the grill.
Add the sauce in the last 5-6 minutes of grilling at a higher heat. This will prevent burning and sticking from the sugar content in the sauce. But still allow for nicely glazed wings with some char.
Don’t overcook the wings if you like the meat moist, not dry. The temperature should be 160-165F/71-74C. The total time to cook wings will be about 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of the wings and how hot the grill is. Large or whole wings will take a few minutes longer.

How to make sweet chili chicken wings

split chicken wings in bowl, salt, pepper, Thai sweet chili sauce, mustard, garlic, oregano, soy — Split chicken wings, salt, pepper, Thai sweet chili sauce, mustard, soy sauce, garlic, oregano

season wings on grill — Season chicken wings and begin grilling wings on one side of the grill at a low temperature for about 5 minutes.

partially cooked wings on grill — Turn wings and grill another 3-5 minutes until crispy.

glaze in measuring cup — Stir the glaze ingredients in a small cup or bowl to make a sweet and spicy glaze.

glazed wings cooked on grill — Brush glaze on wings and move them to hotter side of the grill. Finish grilling – glazing and turning – for another 5 minutes.

pile of chicken wings on plate side view — Add a garnish on the Thai chicken wings if you like before serving: chopped fresh oregano, cilantro or thyme, lime juice, sesame seeds

inside of a chicken wing showing tender meat

pile of grilled wings on plate garnished with fresh oregano 1

How many chicken wings in a serving

Main meal, figure 4-6 whole wings per person (or 8-12 split wing pieces), depending on the size of the wings
Appetizer or party wings (when serving other appetizers as well), figure 2-3 whole wings or 4-6 pieces. Best to split the wings though – easier to eat.
Big eaters, you will need about 1 to 1 1/4 lbs (450-570 grams) per person which is about 5-6 whole wings.
Small eaters, count on about 3/4 lbs/340 grams per person
Here’s a calculator for how many wings you will need.

Shortcuts

Use any good bottled sauce you like. BBQ, teriyaki. buffalo and honey garlic are a few examples that will work well.
Buy the wings already split (if you prefer split wings) or ask your butcher to do it.

Tailor To Your Taste

Here are a coupe of variations and substitutions you can try.

Chicken options

Feel free to use whole wings or split wings. Either way, cut off the tips at the joint and discard or use for making soup.
You can also replace the chicken wings with chicken pieces or even boneless chicken thighs or breasts. Just remember to adjust the cooking time accordingly.

Glaze variations

Try Dijon instead of prepared mustard in the glaze.
Add dried herbs to the glaze such as oregano or thyme.
If you don’t like spicy, skip the Thai sweet chili sauce and use a combination of honey and ketchup (or balsamic vinegar) instead. To add just a bit of heat, add some red pepper flakes or a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Make ahead

I prefer these sticky chicken wings fresh off the grill, but when it’s not practical:

Grill the wings – with no glaze – until almost, but not quite cooked, over lower heat.
Set aside or refrigerate.
Finish on grill with glaze for the last 6-8 minutes.

How to reheat chicken wings

Make the grilled sweet chili wings ahead (don’t overcook them) and warm the wings in a 350F/177C oven for 5 -7 minutes or in the microwave for a minute or two.

Love chicken wings?

Try our grilled chili lime chicken wings or our crispy oven baked chicken wings.

If you love grilled Thai food, check out our Thai grilled chicken.

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