Recipe: Garlic Parm Chicken Wings

Why complicate game day with a low-fat table and a separate full-flavored spread? These Garlic Parm Chicken Wings are super easy to prepare, amazingly delicious and already low in carbs and calories. And one little last minute trick can make most of the fat calories disappear. The trick? Hint: most of the fat is in the skin.

This recipe is the third in our September series adapted to cut the fat and calories from your favorites (see our Faux Potato Salad here and our Low Cal Mock Potato Skins here. ). As always, feel free to skip directly to the recipe below or just keep reading to see how easy these chicken wings really are.

First, the ingredients. You’re likely to already have all of the ingredients in your fridge or cabinet, but it’s important to choose the right chicken wings.

Pro Tip: Fresh is best when it comes to chicken wings, and the meatier the better. I’ve tried frozen wings but they haven’t delivered the tenderness I expect from a really good wing. Shop accordingly.

I could complicate the preparation process with a lot of extra words, but everybody hates that, right? And it’s really so simple. Just pour your olive oil into a large bowl and then add your minced garlic, garlic powder, salt & pepper. Mix well, because nobody wants to bite into a clump of garlic powder (I speak from experience). Toss the wings with your olive oil mix, lay the wings out on a foil-lined pan and bake at 375 degrees for one hour.

As soon as the wings are hot and crisply browned, toss them with Parmesan to evenly coat. Then eat them up while they’re hot! But here’s where the low-fat trick comes in:

Pro Tip: Remove the skin from the wings on your plate. The garlic already adds so much flavor to the meat and there will be enough of the Parmesan flavor remaining that you’ll barely miss the skin. And the hearty eaters won’t feel cheated because they get to eat the wings skin and all. It’s win-win!