Change Up Chicken Wings With Your Favorite Pasta Sauce

Making delicious chicken wings doesn't have to be complicated. Although you can whip up a simple coating from scratch, a ready-to-use wing sauce makes dressing drums and flats all the more effortless. However, if you've forgotten to pick up a bottle during your last grocery haul, there's no need to fret or postpone your wing enjoyment. Instead, reach for a jar of pasta sauce and get ready to wow everybody's tastebuds.

Much like how you can use salad dressing in a cinch, working with pasta sauce is an equally creative means of revamping wings with ease. Super accessible and affordable, jarred pasta varieties pack an incredible amount of flavor without the work of having to chop ingredients and simmer for extended periods of time. Given how amazingly it can elevate bland boiled noodles, why not give pasta sauce the opportunity to do the same for lackluster chicken wings? That said, there are a few rules you'll want to keep in mind.

Despite the fact that you can use any variety from a zesty arrabbiata to herbal pesto or even a creamy squash sauce, we'd caution against overly chunky options with bits of bacon or huge pieces of tomatoes. These varieties won't adhere to wings as effectively, and might even run the risk of burning should you plan to coat your wings before they hit the grill, oven, or fryer.

While you can definitely sauce wings prior to cooking, we recommend adding sauce afterward. Doing this ensures that wings will form an ultra-crisp coating and maintain all the fresh and zesty flavors of the pasta sauce without weighing down the wings. Once perfectly cooked, the chicken pieces can then be added to a large bowl and tossed in a velvety alfredo, roasted red pepper ragù, or whatever else your go-to type is. Just remember to add it in sparingly, with less than half a cup at a time. 

Likewise, it's essential that you work with heated pasta sauce as it will stick to warm wings better, in addition to preventing the drumettes from becoming too cold. Not to mention that warming sauce will also contribute to better flavors and aromas, taking your chicken to the next level. After they've been coated, give wings a final pasta-inspired garnish with a dusting of Parmigiano or chopped parsley and dig in.