Chicken wings and ranch - AIP Chicken Wings - Amy Myers MD®

AIP Chicken Wings with Protein Ranch Dip

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Written by Amy Myers, MD

If you’re looking for a fun dish to bring to your next summer gathering, you’re in the right place! These AIP chicken wings are crispy, flavorful, and finger-licking good! They’re baked, not fried, and brushed with the tastiest homemade AIP friendly mango BBQ sauce. You also get a delicious boost of protein with an AIP friendly, dairy free protein ranch dip. These baked chicken wings are a great recipe to feed a crowd for holiday picnics, graduation parties, and bashes!

White Meat vs Dark Meat Chicken

Raw chicken wings - AIP Chicken Wings - Amy Myers MD®

When selecting your chicken wings, make sure to get organic, free-range chicken wing pieces to make these wings. Organic chicken has more vitamins and minerals, such as Vitamin D, Vitamin A, and iron. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium. Vitamin A helps our eyesight and to keep the immune system healthy. Iron is essential for preventing anemia. 

Dark chicken meat, such as wings, contains more healthy unsaturated fat than light meat. It also contains more iron, zinc, riboflavin, thiamine, and vitamins B6 and B12. Eating a combination of chicken wings and chicken breasts is a great way to get a balance of healthy protein in your body.

Nightshade Free BBQ Sauce

BBQ sauce in a jar - AIP Chicken Wings - Amy Myers MD®

For this recipe I make a nightshade-free BBQ sauce from carrots, beets, and mangoes. The carrots and the beets give the sauce a familiar reddish color and thick smooth texture, and the mango adds a tropical sweetness to the BBQ sauce. 

The sauce is flavored with sauteed fresh onion and garlic and blended with ginger powder for some spice, honey for sweetness, and raw apple cider vinegar for a touch of tang that makes BBQ sauce so delicious and irresistible!

The carrots in this AIP BBQ sauce add beta carotene, which converts to vitamin A in the body. The beets add folate and manganese to the BBQ sauce, which are important for heart health, brain function, and metabolism. Honey is a great sweetener to use that doesn’t have refined sugar and balances out the tartness of the apple cider vinegar and mango.

If you’re looking for a more traditional AIP BBQ sauce without mango, you can leave out the mango, like I did for this AIP BBQ Chicken Pizza recipe.

This recipe makes extra BBQ sauce, enough that you can make a few batches of wings or use the sauce for other dishes. 

Protein Ranch

Ranch and chicken wings go together like popsicles on a hot summer day. Unlike traditional recipes, this protein ranch dip gives you all the flavor without the inflammatory dangers of dairy. That’s right, it’s dairy free and oh so delicious! 

You can put it together in a matter of minutes. Simply combine the coconut yogurt and apple cider vinegar together. Add your herbs and spices, and blend until smooth. The dill weed and parsley give it that classic ranch flavor, plus you get the gut nourishing benefits of coconut. 

This recipe also incorporates my unflavored Paleo Protein powder. Sourced from grass-fed, non-GMO beef, this protein powder contains high quality collagen that supports healthy joints, hair and skin. It’s hydrolyzed formulation ensures easy mixing and maximized nutrient absorption! 

AIP Chicken Wings

I brush the BBQ sauce on the chicken wings once the wings are cooked, then continue cooking for about seven minutes to let the BBQ sauce caramelize in the oven. Then I flip the wings over, brush them on the other side to get more flavor on the wings, and let them cook for another seven minutes.

If you want to add a little more crispness and char on your wings, you can brush them with BBQ sauce again and broil them for about two minutes.

The wings are best served hot—I let them rest for a minute or two after baking. Serve these wings with creamy, wholesome protein ranch dip. Your friends will thank you for it!

How To Make AIP Chicken Wings

bbq chicken wings on paper towel - AIP Chicken Wings - Amy Myers MD®

Making delicious crispy chicken wings is incredibly easy. All you need is an oven, olive oil, and a few seasonings: sea salt, garlic powder, and onion powder.

Combine the chicken wings with the olive oil and seasonings, place them with the skin side facing up on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake them at 375F for about 40 minutes. Cooking wings for a long time will make the skin nice and crispy and will make the meat tender and tasty on the inside.

Once the chicken wings are fully baked and crispy, I brush them with a delicious nightshade free BBQ sauce and dip it in my protein ranch! 

How To Serve AIP Chicken Wings

Chicken wings with bbq sauce and ranch - AIP Chicken Wings - Amy Myers MD®

Like I mentioned, if you’re making AIP wings for a party you’ll want to serve them fresh and hot! Once the wings are done, remove from the oven and place on a serving platter. Brush with the nightshade free BBQ sauce, and if you have extra you can include it in a small dish off to the side. Pour the protein ranch dip into another separate dipping bowl, and serve to your guests. 

I like to serve these baked chicken wings with more party food. Some of my favorites include AIP slow cooker chili or paleo nachos with plantain chips for the chips. If you’re making wings for dinner or a summer cookout, you can serve them with AIP bacon ranch “pasta” salad and AIP coleslaw.

However you decide to serve these wings, this recipe adds a healthy and flavorful spin to your summer!

AIP Chicken Wings with Protein Ranch Dip

Course:

Main Dish

Protocol:

Autoimmune Solution (AIP), Paleo, Thyroid Connection

Servings:

4 servings

Prep Time:

15 minutes

Cook Time:

1 hour, 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 yellow onion diced
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 3 small beets peeled and chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
  • 8 fl oz carrots peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 mango peeled and diced
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
For the chicken wings
  • 3 lbs Chicken wings thawed if frozen
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 cup AIP BBQ Sauce plus extra for serving
Protein Ranch Dip
  • 1 1/2 cups plain coconut yogurt
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp dill
  • 1 tsp parsley
  • 3/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 scoop The Myers Way® Paleo Protein Powder

Instructions

For the BBQ sauce
  1. Saute diced onion and garlic in olive oil in a medium saucepan for 5-8 minutes.
  2. Add the chopped carrot, beets, sea salt, ground ginger, and water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the beets and carrots are fully cooked.
  3. Carefully transfer to a blender (or use an immersion blender). Add the chopped mango, honey (optional), apple cider vinegar, and puree until smooth. Adjust to taste with salt, honey, and/or vinegar. Use immediately, or transfer to a glass jar and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.
For the wings
  1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and brush with olive oil.
  2. Combine the wings with the olive oil, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder. Arrange the wings on the baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes.
  3. Brush generously with BBQ sauce, then bake for 7 minutes.
  4. Flip the wings, brush with BBQ sauce, then bake for 7 more minutes.
  5. Flip the wings again, brush with BBQ sauce, then broil for 1-2 minutes, taking care not to burn the wings.
Protein Ranch Dip
  1. Combine all ingredients together and whisk until smooth and creamy consistency.
  2. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.