Pineapple chicken wings, sticky, golden, and built entirely from real ingredients

These wings lean on pineapple, onion, garlic, ginger, and a little coconut aminos, simmered down into a sauce that is thick, tangy, and golden, no hot sauce and no nightshades anywhere. You coat the wings in half the sauce, keep the rest as a dip, and bake until the skin turns deep and glossy: the kind of dish that makes the table feel like a celebration.

Pineapple carries bromelain, an enzyme studied for supporting digestion, and it brings vitamin C, linked to the collagen-building your body relies on while it heals. The chicken gives grounding protein and, from the wings themselves, a little natural gelatin.

These wings take a little over an hour, most of it hands-off while the sauce reduces and the oven does its work. Make a double batch of sauce while you are at it; it doubles beautifully as a salad dressing or stir-fry sauce later in the week. Source a clean bird, cook the wings with attention, and enjoy them fully.

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cup pineapple, chopped
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 tbsp onion powder
• 4 tsp coconut aminos
• 1 tsp sea salt
• black pepper omitted for AIP
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1.5 lb chicken wings

The original includes 1/2 tsp black pepper, which is left out for AIP. The pineapple, ginger, and aminos carry the flavor.

Method

Heat the oven to 375 F.

Put everything except the chicken into a saucepan: the pineapple, water, onion powder, coconut aminos, salt, ginger, and garlic powder. Bring to a simmer and let it cook until the liquid reduces by about half, roughly 10 minutes. Then puree it smooth, in a blender or with an immersion blender.

Toss the wings in about half the sauce until well coated. Set the rest aside as a dip.

Spread the wings on a baking sheet and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden and cooked through.

Serve hot with the reserved sauce on the side.

Air fryer variation

For crisper skin in less time, arrange the sauced wings in a single layer in the air fryer basket, not crowded. Air fry at about 380 F for roughly 18 to 22 minutes, turning them halfway through, until golden and cooked through. These times are an untested estimate, so check one wing at the thickest part before serving and adjust for your machine. Keep the reserved sauce as a dip.

*Adapted from acleanplate.com*