Lemon Pepper Turkey Wings
Published Nov 22, 2022
Updated Aug 25, 2023
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These Lemon Pepper Turkey Wings are juicy on the inside, crispy on the outside, lemony, garlicky, and the perfect dinner whether for everyday dinner or for the holidays! They are easy to prep with only 15 minutes of prep time and are so flavorful!
These turkey wings are a great alternative to roasting a whole turkey! When the CTO (Chief Tasting Officer) also known as my husband inhaled 3 of these turkey wings, I knew they were the real deal!
Serve these Lemon Pepper Turkey Wings alongside Fried Carrots and Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes.
I find that roasting different parts of turkey is a really easy way to make a tasty turkey dinner to feed a few people.
So check out my Baked Turkey Drumsticks and Baked Turkey Wings,. If you love white meat, you’ll totally love this Baked Turkey Breast!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Bright and lemony. You can’t miss the lemon pepper in this recipe. The turkey wings have a delicious tang to them. They taste like sunshine!
- Only 15 minutes of prep time! You only need 10 minutes to prep the turkey plus 5 minutes to make the insanely good lemon pepper butter sauce that ties this dish together. Talk about easy!
- Flavor bomb! Attention, no bland turkey wing in sight! From the dry rub that goes on the turkey wings before they are baked to the lemon pepper butter sauce that gloriously coats the wings, these turkey wings are super tasty!
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you need to make the best Lemon Pepper Turkey Wings:
Some notes on key ingredients:
- Lemon Pepper Seasoning: Get salt-free lemon seasoning if you can to avoid over-salting the turkey wings. If you only have lemon pepper seasoning with salt, use it and carefully reduce the amount of salt in the dish.
- Butter: To control the amount of salt, use unsalted butter and add salt to taste. I used Kerrygold salted butter here and it worked fine.
- Spices and herbs: The blend of spices and herbs used here results in really tasty turkey. Please follow the recipe as stated for best results.
See the recipe card below for quantities of each ingredient.
Variations
Try these variations with your lemon pepper turkey wings.
- Honey lemon pepper turkey wings – add honey according to your taste to the lemon pepper butter sauce and toss the sauce with the baked lemon pepper turkey wings. Honey lemon pepper turkey wings are a nice blend of sweet, salty, and tangy.
- Spicy – add some chili pepper flakes or cayenne pepper to the seasoning to add some heat.
- One pan meal – add potatoes and carrots to the same sheet pan as the turkey wings and roast them together to make a sheet pan meal of turkey wings, potatoes, and carrots.
How To Make Lemon Pepper Turkey Wings
Here is how to make Lemon Pepper Turkey Wings in 4 easy steps!
1. Pat turkey wings dry with paper towels. Season with salt, pepper, lemon pepper seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, dried parsley, and dried thyme. Place the seasoned turkey wings on a baking sheet.
2. Bake the turkey wings until done.
3. Meanwhile, melt butter, add minced garlic, and lemon pepper seasoning to make the lemon pepper sauce.
4. Toss the turkey wings with the lemon pepper sauce and serve.
Hint: To ensure the turkey wings are fully cooked, insert an instant-read meat thermometer into the thickest part of a turkey wing, not letting the thermometer touch the bone. If it reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit or 74 degrees Celsius or above, then the turkey wings are done.
Frequently Asked Questions
First, note that turkey wings are a tougher cut of meat than chicken wings. If you want your turkey wings soft, roast them low and slow. Try roasting them at 350 degrees F for 1 hour and 30 minutes, with chicken stock underneath the wings on the roasting pan or sheet. However, note that turkey wings will mostly have a bite to them. Don’t expect them to have the same texture as chicken wings. Undercooking or overcooking your turkey wings will make them tough though. To ensure turkey wings are fully cooked, insert an instant read meat thermometer into the thickest part of a wing. If it reads 165 degrees F or up to 180 degrees F then it is done. Anything above or below that may result in tough turkey wings.
Are lemon pepper wings good?
Yes, lemon pepper wings have a bright and lemony flavor which makes them so good! They can be cooked in the air fryer, the oven, and they can even be fried.
How long does it take turkey wings to cook?
It takes about one hour for turkey wings to cook at 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees celsius. Always insert an instant read meat thermometer into the meat and ensure that it reads at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit or 74 degrees Celsius to ensure that the turkey wings are thoroughly cooked.
What To Serve It With
Serve these delicious Turkey Wings with:
- Easy Coconut Rice
- Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
- Sauteed Vegetables
- Baked Jollof Rice
- Sweet Fried Plantains
- Garlic Butter Rolls
- 3 Cheese Mac and Cheese
- Roasted Baby Potatoes
More Turkey Recipes You’ll Love
Lemon Pepper Turkey Wings
Ingredients
Turkey Wings
- 4 pounds turkey wings 4 large turkey wings
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning (salt-free) *See Note 1
Lemon Pepper Butter Sauce
- 6 Tablespoons salted butter I use Kerrygold *See Note 2
- 2 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
Serving
- Lemon wedges or slices optional
- Minced parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven and prepare pan: Preheat oven to 400° F or 200° C. Line a 9 by 13 inch sheet pan with aluminum foil for easy clean up.
- Prep and season turkey wings: If using full turkey wings, cut them at the joints then discard the tips or save them for making homemade stock. Rinse the turkey wings and pat them dry thoroughly with paper towels. Place the turkey wings in a large bowl. Add the salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, dried parsley, and lemon pepper seasoning. (Save the ingredients for the Lemon Pepper Butter Sauce for later). Toss the turkey wings well with the seasoning to combine, ensuring that the seasoning coats every inch of the meat.
- Bake turkey wings: Place the seasoned turkey wings on the prepared baking sheet, place the baking sheet into the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour. After 30 minutes, remove the pan, flip the wings to the other side and continue baking until the turkey wings are done. The turkey wings are done when an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a wing without touching the bone reads 165°F or 74°C.
- Make lemon pepper butter sauce: While the turkey wings bake, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and add the lemon pepper seasoning and stir to combine.
- Toss turkey wings with lemon pepper butter sauce: Place the baked turkey wings into a large bowl. Add the lemon pepper butter sauce then toss well to combine ensuring that all the wings are coated in the sauce. Another way to coat the turkey with sauce would be to brush both sides of each turkey wing with the sauce using a basting brush.
- Garnish and serve: Garnish the turkey wings with more lemon pepper seasoning, lemon slices or wedges, and minced parsley.
Wings came out tough even when cooked through. I was hoping for something a bit more tender. I wanted to like this recipe because of how simple it seemed but I probably won’t be using it again. Sorry.
Hi Doc, I’m sorry the recipe didn’t meet your expectations. Turkey wings tend to have a bite to them when baked like this. For more tender turkey wings you could try baking the turkey wings in chicken stock or broth. Thank you for taking the time to give me feedback.
This is an excellent base recipe. I say “base”, since I always tweak recipes to my liking. This was my first time making lemon pepper turkey wings, and my meat was juicy and flavorful using this recipe. The only change I made was to add cornstarch to the seasoning mix, which made the skin extra crispy. Loved it!
That’s a wonderful addition! Thank you for sharing.
Awesome!!!
Thank you, Azure!