Classic Buffalo Wings with Creamy Buttermilk Blue Cheese Sauce
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Get ready to make the quintessential game-day snack! These classic buffalo wings are crispy, spicy, and perfectly paired with a creamy, tangy homemade buttermilk blue cheese sauce. These wings are lightly fried until crispy, then tossed in a homemade buffalo sauce before being served to guests. Perfect for game day, parties, or anytime you’re craving a spicy, crunchy appetizer, these wings strike the ideal balance of heat, tang, and richness. If you’re planning a spread (and love all things buffalo!), try pairing these wings with cheesy buffalo chicken dip or crispy buffalo cauliflower next.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Crispy Without Heavy Breading – A light cornstarch coating delivers crunch without a thick crust.
- Homemade Sauces – Both the buffalo sauce and blue cheese dressing are easy and full of classic flavor.
- Perfect for Game Day – A crowd-pleasing appetizer that’s easy to scale up for parties.
What is Buffalo Sauce?
Buffalo sauce is extremely easy to make and you may have all the ingredients already in your pantry. It just takes a combination of butter, hot sauce, white vinegar, Worcestershire and a little garlic powder for a kick. And FYI: hot sauce and buffalo wing sauce are not the same thing. Buffalo sauce is the toned down version of hot sauce that keeps the flavor along with of butter and the other seasonings. For a shortcut use store-bought sauce and dressing, although nothing beats making it yourself!
Key Ingredients in This Recipe
- Chicken wings – You can serve a lot of people cheaply with chicken wings. They are such an inexpensive cut of meat. While there isn’t much meat on chicken wings, the flavor of the skin more than makes up for the small amount of meat! I recommend planning about 4 wings per person as an appetizer.
- Hot sauce – The recipe for the sauce is at a mild spice level (which I guess is relative) – it comes with a kick without being too spicy. If you like it on the spicier side, add additional hot sauce. While you can use any favorite hot sauce of choice I recommend using a vinegar-based hot sauce like Franks.
- Worcestershire – This fermented condiment adds a lot of concentrated flavor – a little goes a long way. The flavor of Worcestershire comes from a mix of vinegar, molasses, anchovies, garlic, tamarind extract and chili pepper.
- White vinegar – Vinegar adds the tangy, acidic quality to the buffalo sauce in this recipe.
- Blue cheese – Blue veined cheese have a characteristic sharp, salty flavor. If you aren’t a big fan of blue cheeses try this recipe with Gorgonzola dolce, which is a young, milder and creamy variety of the cheese.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Pro Tip
For extra-crispy wings, toss them in sauce just before serving or serve the buffalo sauce on the side for dipping.
Swaps and Substitutions
- Chicken wings: Swap with chicken drumsticks or boneless crispy chicken nuggets for a kid-friendly option.
- Buffalo sauce: Use store-bought buffalo sauce for a shortcut.
- Blue cheese: Substitute with Gorgonzola dolce for a milder, creamier flavor.
- Cornstarch: Can be swapped with all-purpose flour, though cornstarch gives a crispier finish.
How to Make Classic Buffalo Wings (Step-by-Step)
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, buttermilk, garlic and pepper until thoroughly combined. Gently stir in the blue cheese and refrigerate until ready to use.
Add butter to a medium saucepan over medium heat and allow to melt. Whisk in the hot sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire, garlic, sugar, salt and chili until combined. Remove from heat and set aside. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Heat through and whisk to combine before tossing with wings.
Preheat oven to 250ºF (130ºC). Let the wings stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, so that the wings cook evenly. Fill a large heavy-bottomed pot with enough oil to reach 2-inches up the side of the pot. Heat oil to 375°F (190ºC). Add the cornstarch to a shallow mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper.
When the oil is hot, work in batches and dredge the wings in cornstarch shaking off the excess. Lower the wings into the oil and fry, turning occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and the outside is golden brown, about 10 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack set over a baking sheet to drain. Place the rack in the oven to keep warm and repeat with the remaining wings.
Once all wings have been fried add to a large bowl and toss with the sauce. Serve immediately with the blue cheese sauce and carrots and celery sticks on the side.
How to Serve Classic Buffalo Wings
- Serve immediately with celery and carrot sticks.
- Pair with the homemade buttermilk blue cheese sauce for dipping.
- Add to a game-day spread with other buffalo-style dishes.
- Serve family-style for parties and gatherings.
How to Store Classic Buffalo Wings
- Refrigerate: Store leftover wings in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Store sauces separately: Keep the buffalo sauce and blue cheese dressing in separate airtight containers to maintain texture.
- Reheat: Warm wings on a baking sheet in a 375°F (190ºF) oven until heated through and crispy.
- Avoid microwaving: Microwaving can make the wings soggy.
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The wings can be fried in advance and reheated in the oven just before serving. Toss with the buffalo sauce right before serving to keep them crispy.
Absolutely. The wings can be baked on a wire rack at 400°F until crispy or air fried at 380–400°F, though frying yields the crispiest texture.
No, but it’s extremely easy and they are more flavorful than using store-bought buffalo sauce! You can also customize the flavor much more. You can also toss the wings in another favorite sauce.
These wings are moderately spicy. Adjust the heat level by adding more or less hot sauce, or by serving extra sauce on the side.
Stored in an airtight container, leftover wings will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Other Recipes to Try
If you enjoy these classic buffalo wings, I recommend checking out these recipes:
Thanks for cooking with me! If you made this recipe, leave a 🌟 rating and share your thoughts or tips below. I’d love to hear from you!
Classic Buffalo Wings with Homemade Buttermilk Blue Cheese Sauce
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Ingredients:
For the buttermilk blue cheese sauce:
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 3 tablespoons buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ cup crumbled blue cheese
For the buffalo sauce:
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup hot sauce of choice (I use Frank's RedHot® Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce)
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
For the chicken wings:
- 3 pounds chicken wings, tips removed, drumettes and flats separated
- ½ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Vegetable oil, for frying, as needed
- Sliced celery, for serving
- Julienned carrots, for serving
Instructions:
For the buttermilk blue cheese sauce:
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, buttermilk, garlic and pepper until thoroughly combined. Gently stir in the blue cheese and refrigerate until ready to use. Sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks. The
For the buffalo sauce:
- Add the butter to a medium saucepan over medium heat and allow to melt. Whisk in the hot sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire, garlic, sugar, salt and chili until combined.
- Remove from heat and set aside. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Heat through and whisk to combine before tossing with wings.
For the chicken wings:
- Preheat oven to 250ºF (130ºC). Let the wings stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, so that the wings cook evenly.
- Fill a large heavy-bottomed pot with enough oil to reach 2-inches up the side of the pot. Heat oil to 375°F (190ºC). Add the cornstarch to a shallow mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper.
- When the oil is hot, work in batches and dredge the wings in cornstarch shaking off the excess. Lower the wings into the oil and fry, turning occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and the outside is golden brown, about 10 minutes.
- Transfer to a wire rack set over a baking sheet to drain. Place the rack in the oven to keep warm and repeat with the remaining wings.
- Once all wings have been fried add to a large bowl and toss with the sauce. Serve immediately with the blue cheese sauce and carrots and celery sticks on the side.
Notes:
Nutrition:
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What’s your favorite way to enjoy buffalo wings? Share in the comments below!
I was thinking of making this for Super Bowl Sunday. Does this recipe still hold up or have you developed a new one? Just wanna make sure I get the best version. Thanks!!!
This still holds up!! My favorite buffalo sauce and wings!! Hope you enjoy as much as I do
I love perfectly cooked crispy wings! These are perfection