Fast Food Chicken Wings Ranked From Worst To Best

Chicken wings are an important part of culture — essential to many people's most memorable moments at parties, celebrations, or family gatherings. Throughout history, people have lived for chicken wings and people have died for chicken wings. Luckily for us, we now have endless choices of restaurants that serve up these crispy and delectable little treats. 

Many fast food restaurants have even tried their luck at the chicken wing game. Some restaurants specialize in them, while others seemingly add them as a marketable afterthought. To decipher between the two, we tested as many local fast food chicken wings as possible to bring you the objective list of the best fast food chicken wings.  

To rank the wings most effectively and fairly, we taste tested each fast food joint's traditional or naked chicken to avoid getting lost in the sauce. More about the methodology behind this ranking can be found at the end of the article. After much thought into this delicate subject, we proudly present the official ranking of fast food chicken wings from worst to best. 

Truthfully, there was a clear distinction between the wings that came from a pizza shop and the ones that did not. The difference is most evident with Papa Johns' traditional wings, which fall flat — drums and all. 

Papa Johns' unsauced roasted wings, to their defense, do pack some flavor. True to the name, the wings have an almost pleasant oven-roasted taste that would actually be enjoyable if they didn't also feel unpleasantly rewarmed. The wings are unfortunately chewy and contain too many fibers and tough-to-chew pieces. The slightly-charred taste and complimentary dipping cup don't make up for the poor quality of the chicken at Papa Johns. And seemingly, it's not just the chicken wings that are struggling at Papa Johns. 

Papa Johns does have an interesting array of sauces for its wings, including hot lemon pepper, honey chipotle, and garlic parmesan. You can order in increments of six, eight, 16, or 24 wings. Six wings will cost around eight dollars, but it's likely that you can find some sort of coupon on the Papa Johns website for a discount. 

While Dominos knows pizza, they really should get better acquainted with chicken. These wings look appetizing but are mostly a disappointment when you finally get your hands on them. 

The fine, thick breading on Dominos's chicken wings give the appearance that you'll bite into a satisfying, crispy outer layer. Unfortunately, that satisfying bite never comes. The wings are soft and chewy inside and out, with fatty bits inescapable in every wing. There's not much flavor at all to these plain oven-baked wings, and Dominos's sweet mango habanero or honey BBQ sauce can only do so much to save them. Perhaps they would taste better after two or three glasses of the infamous Dominos x Yellow Tail wine. 

More than a couple of the eight chicken wings were very tiny and consisted mostly of bones and other inedible bits. None were extravagantly large wings, but the standard ones had a nice amount of meat on the bone. An eight-piece will cost around $12, and you can also order in increments of 16 or a whopping 32 wings. 

The most notable part of Pizza Hut's traditional chicken wings is the price tag. A meager-six piece for $14.50, these are by far the most expensive fast food bundled chicken wings on the market. The cost would be excusable if these wings were better, but unless you can snag a coupon they're almost certainly not worth it. 

That being said, Pizza Hut's naked chicken definitely has the best flavor of the pizza joint wings on our list. The fried outer layer is almost sweet, the kind that would pair well with a bit of vinegar. The wings taste good and are large and meaty, but contain way more gristle than you'd like to see. They're also, unfortunately, chewy and lack any satisfying crunch in that initial bite. Pizza Hut's wings are also incredibly greasy — enough to leave a slick oil residue across your fingers. Pizza Hut can deliver to space, but has not yet discovered the air fryer.

Still, these are the only plain wings so far that can really be enjoyed without any dips or sauces. Pizza Hut offers a ton of flavors, though, including sweet chili, spicy garlic, and three different types of buffalo sauce. Bigger sizes include 12 pieces, 18 pieces, or 36 pieces for $62.50 if you'd like to bankrupt yourself over these very slightly below-average wings. 

KFC is an American classic, but its wings could use a bit of a redesign. Consisting of too much breading for their own good, KFC's wings take some pretty good chicken and fumble it in the fryer. 

KFC's chicken frankly looks the least like chicken. They come in weird, jumbled pieces of wings held together by a thick coating of a dark brown fried batter. Unappetizing-looking black ends of bones sticking out of the meat, jutting out like a grease-coated iceberg. In some cases, the excessive and oily fried breading is not thoroughly fried. You may be unlucky enough like me to find small pieces of uncooked flour that really dampen a chicken that otherwise tastes pretty good. 

Yes, even though the chicken looks mangled and manhandled, the KFC classic seasonings kick it up a notch. The wings, like the rest of KFC's chicken, taste peppery throughout every bite — but never overwhelmingly so. Unlike other wings on this list, too, it's hard to find an excessively fatty or chewy piece of chicken in KFC's meat. The chain doesn't sell a pack of only wings, but you can find them in meal deal bundles or add a single a la carte wing to your order for $2.50. 

El Pollo Loco's wings are exactly what wings should look like: whole, with the tip included, cooked to golden-brown perfection with bits of slightly charred skin. Looks can be deceiving, though, as they are with El Pollo Loco's very mediocre fire-grilled wings.

While certainly not bad, they're not great either. There's really not much to these wings, either in flavor or in meatiness. The rotisserie-style seasonings barely come through in these two-bite wings, which are gone as fast as they came. They have a nice aftertaste of pepper, which somewhat redeems an otherwise underwhelming piece of meat. 

El Pollo Loco — which beautifully translates in English to "the crazy chicken" — never intended to simply sell wings, though. The wings are small but perhaps more filling when paired with a breast or a thigh. The lite rotisserie flavoring may be more appealing on one of these larger parts chicken El Pollo Loco sells as its "family meal deal." This is how God intended El Pollo Loco to be eaten, and I chose to go against that. Bonus points to the cashier, though, who confusedly rang up my order of two a la carte wings for $4 and still slipped me a free extra. 

Church's Chicken is certainly a step up from its more famous competitor KFC, with better quality chicken and wings that don't look like they've been through a natural disaster. The flavoring isn't all there, but they still leave a better taste in your mouth and are wholly more pleasant to eat. 

Church's Chicken wings are large, with lots of breading but not a ton of seasoning. The golden brown fried chicken is still delicious on its own, but could greatly benefit from a bit of pepper and hot honey. All of its chicken comes in either original recipe or spicy, the latter of which would most likely bump up Church's placement on this list. The breading itself, despite not being packed with flavor, is satisfyingly thick and crispy. These are hefty pieces of chicken, filled with tender white meat that will actually fill you up. The wings are greasy, as you would expect any fried chicken to be, but don't feel overly oily in your hands or in your mouth.

The wings come in a number of Church's combos and can be added additionally to your meal a la carte for $3.50 per piece. A wing and thigh meal comes with a choice of one side, a Church's famous honey butter biscuit, and a drink — which is more than enough to satiate one person for $11.50

Popeyes surprisingly doesn't offer its classic breaded chicken in wing format, opting to serve only spicy bone-in wings in an abundance of different peppery flavors. I stuck with the "signature hot" for this taste test, but inventive flavors like "Sweet N Spicy," "Louisiana Garlic," and "Sweet N Smokey Chipotle" also seemed very appealing.

Popeyes's spicy bone-in wings are some of the best-tasting of the bunch. Even the signature spice has notes of garlic and pepper — layers of flavor that most other wings don't have. The quality of the chicken itself, though, kept Popeyes wings from achieving first place. Underneath the flavorful, crispy breading are brittle bones that break off into tiny pieces that are not appetizing or safe to eat. This happened with nearly every wing, an unfortunate end to an otherwise incredible fast food meal. 

Still, I would be lying if I said I wouldn't return to my local Popeyes anytime soon. The wings are fragile, but the chain's signature chicken meal deals with thigh and breast meat look more hearty. If anything, go to Popeyes just for the hot sauces. Wings at Popeyes come in classic boneless or spicy bone-in, which costs just $8 for six wings. You can add a combo with a side and drink for $5 more, but honestly, you might as well order another set of wings for an extra $3. 

Pollo Campero is a chain that I have never thought twice about and truthfully expected to rank pretty low. Just one chicken wing, though, shattered my expectations and made me an official fan of this nationwide fast food chain. 

The fried chicken at Pollo Campero comes with a perfectly crispy outer shell that crunches from your first to last bite. The thick breading is seasoned wonderfully with something like Lawry's seasoning salts or a mild cajun blend. It's not spicy but has a distinct kick to it. Underneath is tender white meat chicken that all but falls off the bone. The sizable chicken wings are pretty filling, but have a bit too much gristle and overcooked edges. 

Chicken from Pollo Campero comes fried or grilled, usually as part of a family meal deal or on a sandwich. You can purchase these big chicken wings a la carte for $3.90 each. While on the pricier side for an individual wing, these are well worth the cost.  

Wingstop's wings are second to none, even compared to more casual, sit-down chain restaurants like Buffalo Wild Wings. Admittedly, the chain's naked wings don't pack a lot of flavor. Any one of Wingstop's many sauces, though, will help craft the best fast food chicken wing that you can find. 

The quality of the chicken at Wingstop is much better than the majority of other joints that sell flats and drums. The wings are satisfyingly crispy, with a perfectly cooked outer skin layer covering tender white meat that steam pours out of after your first bite. The plain wings are somewhat seasoned with pepper, but the real treat comes from Wingstop's sauces and dry rubs like Spicy Korean Q, Hot Honey Rub, or the new Sweet Chili Glaze. 

Selling five wings for only $5.50, Wingstop also sells some of the most affordable wings around. You can get them even cheaper on Tuesdays when Wingstop does its weekly 80-cent wing deal. Purchase in small bundles of five, or go for one of its larger party packs of up to 100 wings. Whatever you choose, you'll certainly be happy with these supreme wings. 

All nine of our chicken wings selected were sourced from the Greater Los Angeles area but were ordered from chain restaurants that are available in many parts of the country. This is done to ensure that most readers are able to access most – if not all – of the sampled chicken wings throughout this list. 

While "naked" wings were the standard for some restaurants such as KFC and El Pollo Loco, we opted for the plain, unsauced chicken at all nine fast food locations. This was done to best determine the quality of the meat itself, and to avoid playing favoritism over the taste and quality of additional sauces. When it comes to wings, we look at affordability, texture, and taste — including crispiness, tenderness, and flavor. 

At the end of the day, though, great-tasting chicken doesn't necessarily make up for poor-quality meat. At the heart of the matter, we are looking for the fast food chicken wings that would actually make us want to go back for seconds — even after eating an indecent amount of chicken wings for this taste test.