Football season without a famous brand name is back! That only means one thing: fried chicken wings! Good wings take a lot of work to make, and you’re probably busy cheering for {Athlete Embroiled in Scandal} to lead {Problematic Team Name} to [Unlicensed Big Game Name Redacted], so I ate chicken wings at take-out places across the country to save you time. This guide guarantees youll get wings worth your time and dollar so you can focus on the fandom.
The rules for this pre-season championship: If your favorite fried chicken chain doesnt sell wings, its disqualified. For even footing, I tried the wings plain, even if theyre typically sold sauced. Pro tip: Dont make it weird by asking the cashier, “Can I have my wings naked?” Got it? Game on.
Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.
Although Little Caesars makes one of the better big-chain pizzas, they serve the most disappointing wings. As far as I can tell, theyre not freshly made but kept in a heat chamber. This gives them a dark Maillard brown color, which looks richer than they taste.
Despite low heat, theyre not soft. Perhaps theyve been seasoned with something that makes them look darker than they are, or my batch never had time for tougher tissue breakdown. While the flavor wasnt horrible, their appealing color belied tough meat and skin like chewing gum. On top of that, these were the coldest wings I ate, despite not even being the first batch bought on that weeknights chicken run. They were room temperature, while the Dominos Id bought 15 minutes earlier remained hot. To be honest these were gross through and through.
And Im not counting sauces against a brand, but the buffalo ranch at Little Caesars was bottom-rung. Ugh. Its pizza may be Augustus, but these wings are pure Nero.
Chicken wings are an iconic American food. These tasty morsels of fried or baked chicken are served up at bars restaurants and fast food chains across the country. But with so many options to choose from, it can be hard to know who actually has the best wings.
In this article, we’ll break down some of the top chicken wing chains and rank them by quality We’ll look at factors like crispiness, juiciness, flavor, sauce options, and overall taste to determine who does wings best. Whether you like your wings naked, sauced, or dry rubbed, this guide will point you to the chains that will satisfy your wing craving.
Methodology
To create this wing ranking, we consulted reviews from food critics and everyday wing lovers. We also conducted our own taste tests of the top national wing chains. Factors we considered included:
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How crispy the batter or breading is—The outside of the best wings should be crunchy without being greasy.
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Tenderness and juiciness of the meat – Wings shouldn’t be dry or stringy inside.
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Flavorful sauces and seasonings that enhance (not mask) the chicken flavor.
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Variety of sauce and seasoning options – The best chains offer diverse flavors.
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Quality and freshness – High-quality wings just taste better.
Following these rules, these chicken wing chains were chosen as the best:
1. Wingstop
Wingstop’s always-fresh, hand-sauced wings put them at the top of our list. The name of this chain, “the wing experts,” says it all: they’re all about flavor. Wingstop fries wings when you order them, so they’re always crispy. You can’t go wrong with their 11 signature sauces and dry rubs. Louisiana Rub, Atomic, and Mango Habanero are just a few of the many popular ones. We love that you can mix flavors and change the level of spice. The wings are crunchy, and the sauces never take away from the juicy chicken taste. Wingstop hits every mark for fantastic wings.
2. Buffalo Wild Wings
With sauces ranging from no heat to “burn your face off” spicy, BWW offers extreme versatility. Their bone-in and boneless wings achieve that perfect crispy outside and tender inside balance. With more than 20 signature sauces and dry rubs, plus the option to customize your own, you can find a flavor for every palate. We especially love their unique sauces like Mango Habanero, Jammin’ Jalapeño, and Caribbean Jerk. The wings have a nice spice kick and tangy flavor. Buffalo Wild Wings is a solid choice for excellent wings in many styles.
3. Hooters
The original “breastaurant” may be known for its waitresses, but Hooters also makes some legit good wings. They fry their wings to order so they come out hot and crispy. Hooters offers seven wing styles including smoked, roasted, naked, and the classic original recipe. The Daytona sauce wings are a favorite—the sweet and tangy flavor complements the chicken nicely. Hooters strikes that ideal balance of crunchy exterior and juicy interior. Their wings are consistently tasty.
4. Zaxby’s
This southern chicken chain knows how to fry up some mouthwatering wings. Zaxby’s wings are always exceptionally crispy with a thicker breading that holds up well to sauces. The chicken is juicy and flavors like Hot Honey Mustard and Spicy Garlic are standouts. Their extensive range of heat levels from Wimpy to Nuclear means you can get mild or extra spicy. Zaxby’s wings are simply delicious.
5. Bonchon
Korean fried chicken is a unique type of food, and Bonchon does it right. Their wings are double-fried and very crispy, and the sticky-sweet sauce is very addicting. We love the soy garlic and spicy options. The craggy batter helps the sauce cling to every nook. Bonchon’s wings pack some serious crunch and burst with flavor. Definitely give them a try for something different.
6. Dave & Buster’s
In addition to games and entertainment, Dave & Buster’s takes their wings seriously. The jumbo wings are juicy inside a seasoned batter and they stay crispy throughout your meal. Great sauce options like Sweet Sriracha and Nashville Hot complement the wings nicely. We appreciate that you can customize spice levels too. Dave & Buster’s knows how to keep their wings top quality.
7. Atomic Wings
This New York-based chain stays true to their buffalo wing roots. Their classic nuclear sauce strikes that perfect balance of vinegary tang and spicy heat. The wings fry up with a solid crunch factor. We love their creative flavors like Bleu Cheese Ranch and Pineapple Teriyaki. Overall, Atomic Wings does traditional buffalo-style wings right.
8. Wings Over
Wings Over keeps it simple—their wings come in three heat levels: mild, hot, and “suicidal.” We appreciate the straightforward approach. The jumbo wings from this Northeastern chain achieve an admirable level of crispiness. Their classic buffalo sauce has a nice butteriness. Wings Over doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, they just focus on executing delicious wings.
9. Wingstop
Yet another pizza chain attempting wings, Pizza Hut unexpectedly impressed us with their crispy fried wings. Their flavors like Sweet Chili and Cajun are bolder and more complex than typical fast food wings. The batter gets ultra crunchy without tasting greasy. Pizza Hut just does basic wings really well—a pleasant surprise.
10. Applebee’s
Applebee’s offers both boneless and “double crunch” bone-in wings. The double crunch are fried twice for an extra crispy coating. While not mind-blowing, Applebee’s wings are consistent and reliable. Classic flavors like Garlic Parmesan and Spicy Buffalo are done right. It’s tough to mess up wings too badly, and Applebee’s hits all the basics.
Which Chain Truly Has the Best Wings?
After extensive tasting and analysis, Wingstop stands out as the clear winner for best chain restaurant wings. Their freshness, crunch factor, juiciness, and variety of bold, craveable flavors earn them the top spot. But whether you prefer dry rubs or dripping wet sauces, this guide points you toward the chains that get wings right. The next time that wing craving strikes, visit one of these spots to get your fix!
1 Checkers / Rally’s
Your local Checkers may be called Rallys in a Hardees/Carls Jr. situation, but theyre essentially the same. Now, heres some real nice crispiness for fast-food wings. Dominos could learn a thing or two about texture from this batch of bird limbs. But so, too, could Checkers learn from Dominos and put a little more flavor into these. Combined, theyd produce a real contender. Still, crispy basic wings beat mushy, flavorful ones. And remember, Im eating these plain. Youre probably going to have some sauce on them to help the chicken shine. I dont mean to say theres no flavor here. Its just not rippling through the meat. You get a nice taste of the chicken itself, supplemented with a little salt and pepper. It’s simple, but the more I eat it, the more I enjoy it for what it is, not because it has a strong signature. Still, there are moister, more flavorful chicken than this.
Seriously? Pizza Hut serves the best fried chicken of the pizza chains? Pizza Hut? Well, maybe it makes sense. The folks at parent company Yum! Brands also make KFC, though Pizza Huts unbreaded wings are quite different. I was full near bursting by the time I reached Pizza Hut, my sixth lunch of the day, yet I did not bemoan it. That says something.
When these came out of the fryer, they were really tasty, and they didn’t give me heartburn or anything else like that happens when I eat Pizza Hut’s actual pizza. There were no weird additives, just fresh wings with crispy skin and surprisingly good flavor, even though they seemed very plain. Hey, its what I ordered, and they did it well. In fact, aside from the addictive eleven herbs and spices, theres a strong case to be made that Pizza Hut makes better wings unbreaded than sister brand KFC does with a delicious, deep-fried shell.
1 Buffalo Wild Wings GO
Aw, B-double-dub, you were supposed to be the chosen one! Its your whole brand! What a miss these dried-out wings were. The skin was crisp-ish but not crunchy, and the rubbery kind of chewy: another victim of that heat lamp life is my bet. They were dry enough to stick to the teeth, but the meat itself was nevertheless impressively moist, not stringy or chalky.
Buffalo Wild Wings gives you very welcome celery and carrots on the side like your local bar, and boy, do they beat the chicken for freshness. While the taste was good, it was also minimal. These wings were decidedly not wild. There was no detectable seasoning beyond salt. Again, no points lost in the sauce sideline, but its obvious these wings want to be sauced. Ordering them plain is a losing bet, yet the orange chicken sauce I pulled on the side was cloying and did nothing to redeem the meat. If you go here, stick to buffalo sauce and pray for better results. Maybe its different at the fast-casual, but the GO takeout is far short of “worth your money” territory.
Papa Johns wings looked like theyd taste so much better, but displayed the same browning minus flavor that Little Caesars sells. Its essentially the same wing, although these had more actual chicken flavor and were not so tough. Theyre the less disappointing version of whats barely worth documenting. Points for being meaty will take you places, though.
These pizza chains are throwing me for a loop. Theres no correlation between pizza quality and chicken worthiness. All I can tell you is that as wings go, theres no redemptive trashy satisfaction here, as one might find dipping a bizarrely chewy pizza crust into a golden ramekin of garlicky not-butter oil. Papa Johns is the first “not bad” but definitely not an order to get with your pizza delivery unless someone among your party is skipping carbs. And frankly, you can get better chain pizza that also makes superior wings.
I tried not to let my views of Dominos pizza color my expectations of these wings, but I will say they exceeded my fears. I thought, if anyone, Dominos would serve up the disappointment I got from Little Caesars. Nope, these arent bad, though theyre not good. They’re about the best you can get from the chain whose pizza tastes much better when served cold for breakfast the next day.
An interesting smoky note is about the limit of the skins powers, with some garlic and maybe pepper hiding in the meat; its not super strong, but its interesting enough that youd like to see it applied to a better cooked wing. Unfortunately, a gummy texture upsets the intrigue, and youre not going to detour for Dominos wings tonight. Even so, at least you can eat these plain and count on flavor to carry the weight that texture cant lift. Ill say this: Dominos makes better chicken wings than Dominos makes pizza.
LIVING on WORLD’S BEST CHICKEN WINGS for 24 HOURS (Gordon Ramsay, KFC, Hot Ones & More)!
FAQ
What restaurant chain has the best wings?
The Best Chain Restaurant Wings, RankedWing Stop Original Hot Wings. Hooters Original Style Medium Wings. Slim Chickens Buffalo Wings. Buffalo Wild Wings Original Buffalo Wings. Twin Peaks The Classic Wings. Applebee’s Double Crunch Classic Buffalo Wings. Chili’s Medium Buffalo Wings. Zaxby’s Tongue Torch Wings.
Does applebees really have the best wings?
Applebee’s Classic Buffalo Boneless Wings were preferred in every region versus the competitive national chains. Applebee’s Classic Buffalo Boneless Wings were statistically significantly preferred at a 95 percent confidence level nationally.