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Appetizer Recipes

Cranberry Pomegranate Sticky Chicken Wings for a weeknight

Fall means holiday entertaining AND tailgating parties. Here's a cranberry pomegranate sticky chicken wings recipe that is elegant, tasty, and satisfying…

Cranberry Pomegranate Sticky Chicken Wings with herbs and a sliced open pomegranate.
Cranberry Pomegranate Sticky Chicken Wings with herbs and a sliced open pomegranate.

Fall means holiday entertaining AND tailgating parties. Here's a cranberry pomegranate sticky chicken wings recipe that is elegant, tasty, and satisfying enough for all fall/winter occasions!

large platter of cranberry pomegranate sticky wings with a pomegranate halved on the side and herbs.

These Cranberry Pomegranate Sticky Wings are definitely Next Level chicken wings! Who knew chicken wings could be so elevated?

With a sexy glaze of tart cranberries, pomegranate, and balsamic vinegar, these wings are simple enough for Game Day appetizers. But also fancy enough to impress guests at your holiday meal.

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🌟 Why you'll love these sticky wings

closeup of cranberry pomegranate sticky wings.

You and your guests will LOVE these sticky wings!

  • The cranberry and pomegranate add a festive, tart touch to the wings, making them perfect to serve at the holidays.
  • They're simple to make — most of the time is hands-off time in the oven.
  • You can easily double the glaze to double the batch of chicken wings.

🍗 Ingredients

For the chicken, you need:

  • chicken wings
  • all-purpose flour
  • garlic powder
  • salt
  • ground black pepper
  • paprika

For the glaze

  • pomegranate juice
  • cranberries – fresh or frozen
  • honey
  •  balsamic vinegar
  • onion
  • garlic cloves
  • teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

For garnish, you can use pomegranate seeds, sliced green onions, and other green herbs.

✅ Step-by-step instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F degrees. Grease a roasting rack over a shallow baking pan; set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and paprika.
  3. Add the chicken to the bowl and coat with the flour mixture. Shake off excess flour mixture and place chicken skin-side up on the rack.
  4. Bake for about 45-55 minutes, simply until the chicken is cooked and skin should be slightly crispy.

While the chicken is baking up to a crisp in the oven, make the glaze.

To make the glaze

  1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together pomegranate juice, honey, balsamic vinegar, then add the cranberries, onion, and garlic. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes or until sauce is slightly thickened into a nice glaze.
  2. Strain the liquid out into a bowl; discard the onion, garlic, and cranberries.

Assemble the wings

  1. Toss the cooked chicken into the glaze, coating each chicken wing completely. We usually do 2-3 coats of glaze; We allow one "coat" to set for a minute before adding another layer of glaze. This helps add richness to the flavor of the sticky chicken wings and also adds a richer color.
  2. Plate chicken and sprinkle a garnish of pomegranate seeds and sliced green onions.

Serve and enjoy immediately, or keep warm in a 225 degree oven until ready to serve.

Doesn't it make such a gorgeous presentation? It LOOKS so fancy, but you'll know how simple it was to make!

🍽 Serving ideas

You can serve this at any Game Day party, at Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, Christmas, or any weeknight family meal.

Serve these sticky wings along side dishes like Air Fryer Broccoli, Garlic Rosemary Focaccia bread, or Garlic Lemon Asparagus.

👩🏻‍🍳 Recipe Substitutions and FAQs

What can We use instead of cranberry pomegranate juice?

You can substitute regular cranberry juice.

Can We make this without a roasting rack?

Yes! Cover a sheet pan with aluminum foil and coat the foil with cooking spray.

Have you made sticky chicken wings before? What flavors did you use?

More dinner recipes to try

Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you truly loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!

Cranberry Pomegranate Sticky Chicken Wings

By Marlynn Schotland Prep Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 20 mins Total Time: 1 hr 40 mins Servings: 8 servings Elevate chicken wings with this tasty, tangy cranberry pomegranate twist.

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds chicken wings
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 3 teaspoons salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon paprika

For the glaze

  • 3 cups pomegranate juice
  • ½ cup cranberries
  • 1 ½ cups honey
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • ½ onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
  • Garnish: pomegranate seeds, thinly sliced green onions

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • Grease a roasting rack over a shallow baking pan; set aside.
  • In a large bowl, sift together flour, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and paprika.
  • Add chicken and coat with the flour mixture. Shake off excess flour mixture and place chicken skin-side up on the rack.
  • Bake for about 45-55 minutes, simply until the chicken is cooked and skin should be slightly crispy.

To make the glaze

  • In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together pomegranate juice, honey, balsamic vinegar, then add the cranberries, onion, and garlic. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes or until sauce is slightly thickened into a nice glaze.
  • Strain the liquid out into a bowl; discard the onion, garlic, and cranberries. Toss the cooked chicken into the glaze, coating each chicken wing completely.
  • Plate chicken and sprinkle a garnish of pomegranate seeds and sliced green onions.
  • Serve and enjoy immediately, or keep warm in a 225 degree oven until ready to serve.

Notes

Makes approximately 8 servings. Storage: store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 or 5 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 640 kcal, Carbohydrates: 91 g, Protein: 26 g, Fat: 20 g, Saturated Fat: 6 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8 g, Trans Fat: 0.2 g, Cholesterol: 94 mg, Sodium: 974 mg, Potassium: 485 mg, Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 65 g, Vitamin A: 200 IU, Vitamin C: 3 mg, Calcium: 39 mg, Iron: 3 mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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