These grilled lemon pepper wings are perfect for a weeknight family meal or to serve a crowd on game day or at a fun summer barbecue. The wings are layered with a simple lemon pepper marinade sauce and a lemon pepper dry rub. Serve it with the best homemade lemon aioli sauce and your taste buds will truly thank you!
Looking for more tasty chicken wing recipes? Try my Baked Jerk Wings, Hot Honey Lemon Wings, or Buffalo Wings.
Why these wings are just so good....
- Extra lemon flavor- If you love lemon, this recipe is for you. With a simple lemon herb marinade and a lemon zest dry rub, these wings are crispy and zesty on their own. Then dip them in a lemon aioli sauce and you will have all the lemon flavor you could want.
- Simple Ingredients- You can make these wings super easy if you use grocery store seasoning. Or make your own lemon pepper seasoning using lemon zest and a few other ingredients.
- Easy clean up- Who doesn't love the quick clean up when grilling an easy dinner? No pots, frying pan, or baking sheet.
Ingredients
These are the ingredients to make this zesty lemon pepper chicken recipe:
(not shown granular sugar or sugar substitute)
Ingredient Notes
You can buy whole wings or cut up into pieces. If you buy them whole, the wing has a flat, a drum and a tip. I prefer the drums since they have more meat on them.
When I have bought them whole, I took a short cut and did not cut and separate them. But you can if you choose. Just cut between the drum and the wing part. Try to cut the sections apart at the joints, where the cartilage is softer. The wing tips are pretty small and not worth grilling. But you can freeze them for soup stock.
How to make homemade lemon pepper seasoning
For this recipe, I am using bottled lemon pepper seasoning.
My homemade version for a dry rub for the lemon pepper wings is also simple: 1 tablespoon lemon zest (lemon peel), 2 teaspoons black pepper, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar. (if not using the all-purpose seasoning in this recipe, add ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder. This is enough for 1 chicken wing recipe.
How to make Grilled Lemon Pepper Wings
Below are some basic instructions for this recipe. You will find complete step by step directions in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Stir together the marinade ingredients in a large glass or plastic bowl.
Step 2: Put the large bowl, covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator and marinate for at least 20 minutes.
Step 3: Preheat grill to medium high heat, about 425°f. Lightly pat the wings dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the dry rub mixture over wings.
Place wings on the lower grill grates. Cook the wings, turning every 5 minutes. Lower the heat and move wings to the upper grill.
Step 4: The chicken wings are done when a meat thermometer register an internal temperature of at least 170°F.
How to make lemon aioli
Step 1: Stir together the ingredients for aioli. Whisk well until smooth.
Step 2: For the smoothest sauce, use a mini food processor.
Recipe Tips for Success
- *There are so many all purpose seasonings available in the spice aisle at the grocery store. No need for a fancy, expensive one. Just pick one that basically has garlic, onion, celery salt, black pepper, paprika or something close to that.
- As per Eatright.org, Marinate the wings in a plastic, ceramic or glass bowl. Or use a large food-safe plastic bag. Don't use a metal bowl since the acid in the marinade (lemon juice) will interact with the metal.
- Use a paper towel with some canola or vegetable oil on it to lightly rub the grill grates to prevent sticking. All the wings may not be done at the same time due to the heat of the grill and size of the wings. Check for browning and also the internal temperature. You can move the wings that are too browned to the upper grill. They will continue to cook but won't get too charred.
- If you are looking to lessen the fat and/or calories in these grilled lemon pepper wings, the best way would be to change up the aioli. You can choose to use a "lite" mayo or a low fat plain or greek yogurt. Or instead of the aioli,
- use a low fat version of a salad dressing such as Ranch or Creamy Italian.
Frequently Asked Questions
Both methods will add flavor to the wings. I like to do both. When you marinate chicken, the acid (lemon juice) slightly breaks down the fiber in the meat and will help tenderize it. As long as you lightly dry off the chicken before grilling, you should still get a nice crispy chicken wing.
Make sure your gas grill grates are lightly oiled Use a paper towel with some oil and rub over grates. Don't turn the wings for at least 5 minutes. To avoid flareups and burning the wings, trim off any hanging chicken skin before cooking. Watch the wings carefully after 10 minutes or so. If they are beginning to brown or get charred, lower the temperature of the grill and move the wings to the upper grates.
I think a side dish that can cook on it's own while the chicken is grilling would be a great idea. My Marinated Asparagus can be cooked in the oven or on the grill. Roasted green beans and carrots or Asparagus and carrots would be delicious!
If you tried these delicious lemon pepper wings and enjoyed them, I'd love if you gave it a 5 star rating. This tells me what you like and want to see more of. Thank you.
Here are MORE of some of our favorite grilled recipes you may want to try:
Grilled Lemon Pepper Wings
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Marinate: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 5 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Grill
- Cuisine: American
Description
These grilled lemon pepper wings are perfect for a weeknight family meal or to serve a crowd on game day or at a fun summer barbecue. The wings are layered with a simple lemon pepper marinade sauce and a lemon pepper dry rub. Serve it with the best homemade lemon aioli sauce and your taste buds will truly thank you!
Ingredients
Wings and marinade
- 3 pounds of chicken wings (drums only)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon all-purpose regular or chicken seasoning*
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons sugar or sugar substitute
- ¼ cup olive oil or avocado oil
Dry Rub
- 1 tablespoon lemon pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Lemon Aioli
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 garlic clove, finely minced or grated
- 2 teaspoon all-purpose seasoning*
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Lemon Aioli
- Whisk together all ingredients in a small cup or bowl. Make sure everything is well combined and smooth. Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Marinade
- Stir together the marinade ingredients in a large glass or plastic bowl.
- Put the bowl, covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator and marinate for at least 20 minutes.
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat, about 425°f - 450°f.
- Lightly pat the wings dry with paper towels. No need to rub off all the marinade, just so the wings aren't dripping with excess marinade. Sprinkle the dry rub mixture over wings.
- Place wings on the lower grill grates. Cook the wings, turning every 5 minutes or so. If the flame is too high or the wings are beginning to burn, lower the heat and move wings to the upper grill for indirect heat.
- The chicken wings are done when they are golden brown and a meat thermometer registers an internal temperature of at least 170°F.
- Serve with lemon aioli sauce.
Notes
*There are so many all purpose seasoning mixtures available in the spice aisle at the grocery store. No need for a fancy, expensive one. Just pick one that basically has garlic, onion, celery salt, black pepper, paprika or something close to that.
**Before heating the grill, dab a paper towel with oil and rub over grill grates to avoid the wings sticking.
*To avoid cross contamination, do not reuse the leftover marinade that the chicken was in.
* If flareups occur, turn down the heat of the grill and move the wings to the upper grill grate. If yours doesn't have one, turn down one side of your grill to lowest setting and move the wings to the cooler side.
*Leftover wings will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days or in the freezer in airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator and reheat on low on the stovetop or in the microwave until hot.
*This recipe allows about 5 drum wings per serving. *Nutrition is an estimate based on Nutrifox Calculator
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5 wings
- Calories: 222
- Sugar: 0.5 g
- Sodium: 741 g
- Fat: 26 g
- Carbohydrates: 2.2 g
- Fiber: 0.3 G
- Protein: 19 G
deb says
We usually do a honey BBQ sauce on our wings but this lemon pepper flavor was so good!