New
I Tried Boneless Wings From 5 Major Chain Restaurants And Chili's Offered The Best Value
We tried five chain restaurants' boneless wings, and Chili's had the tastiest.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
- Football season is a key time for chain restaurants to draw in customers.
- We tried boneless chicken wings from five chains to determine the best option for game day.
- Applebee's and Chili's impressed us with their juicy, flavorful wings.
As football season kicks off, restaurant chains are rolling out crowd-pleasing tailgate favorites and value-focused deals to win over fans.
In a new series, "Tailgate Taste-off," Business Insider is pitting these chains against each other to uncover the best versions of popular game-day dishes.
Whether you're deciding which chain has the best Buffalo wings or offers the best value for delivery, this guide will help you make the most of your football season dining experience.
Boneless wings are one of the most popular options at chain restaurants on game day, and chains that specialize in chicken wings, such as Wingstop, are also experiencing significant growth.
In October 2024, the chain, which focuses its menu on bone-in chicken wings, boneless wings, and other chicken items, announced 38.8% year-over-year revenue growth.
Chains like Applebee's also know the value of delivering high-quality boneless wings.
"We've ensured our promotions during the season were available in-restaurant and for ordering to-go or delivery so we can be part of guests' football moments no matter where they like to watch," Joel Yashinsky, Applebee's chief marketing officer, told Business Insider, adding that "a key element" of Applebee's football-season strategy this year has been to highlight the chain's boneless wing options.
We ranked boneless wings from five chain restaurants — Applebee's, Chili's, Buffalo Wild Wings, TGI Fridays, and Wingstop — based on taste and value.
My least favorite wings came from Buffalo Wild Wings, which surprised me.Buffalo Wild Wings offers a variety of different flavors of boneless wings.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
I tried the same three flavors of wings from the five chains: Buffalo, garlic Parmesan, and barbecue.
At Buffalo Wild Wings, an order of 15 boneless wings, which included up to three different sauce flavors, cost $24.99, excluding tax.
However, Buffalo Wild Wings has been running a number of promotions recently that could help lower costs.
The chain is offering a value deal that includes 20 boneless wings in up to four sauces and a large order of fries for $16.99, excluding tax, when ordered online or through the BWW app.
Given that the chain is famous for its wings, I was surprised that the chain's boneless wings landed last in my ranking.
Buffalo Wild Wings' boneless wings looked more like chicken nuggets than boneless wings.The Buffalo boneless wings had a buttery flavor.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
Some of the wings were meatier than others, but I thought Buffalo Wild Wings' wings were the smallest when compared to the other chains.
Still, I enjoyed the flavor of the boneless wings, particularly the classic Buffalo wings. They had a sweet buttery flavor without packing too much spice.
The flavor of the Parmesan garlic wings could have been amped up.I thought the Parmesan garlic boneless wings could have been more flavorful.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The wings had a slightly pungent garlic savoriness, but they weren't as flavorful as the ones I tried from the other chains.
The breading was crunchy and had a peppery flavor to it, but I thought it slightly overpowered the sauce.
The honey barbecue wings were coated in the most sauce.The barbecue wings had the most sauce on them.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
Of the three kinds I tried from Buffalo Wild Wings, these were my favorite. The wings were sticky and sweet, thanks to the addition of the honey in the sauce, and paired nicely with the chain's creamy ranch.
The inside of the boneless wings was moist.The boneless wings from Buffalo Wild Wings were juicy.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The wings were juicy on the inside, which balanced nicely with the crunchy outer breading.
In some ways, these boneless wings reminded me of standard chicken nuggets.
Boneless wings are made exclusively from chicken breast, while nuggets are typically made from a blend of various chicken parts. These did taste better than most chicken nuggets I've had, though I wasn't blown away overall.
In the end, I'll go for the burger next time.
Next up were the boneless wings from TGI Fridays.I ordered boneless wings from TGI Fridays in three flavors.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
I ordered boneless wings from TGI Fridays in three flavors: Buffalo, garlic Parmesan, and apple-butter barbecue. I ordered them as part of the chain's combo platter, which allows you to choose three appetizers to try.
At the TGI Fridays I visited in Massachusetts, the order cost $18.29, excluding tax, and came with eight of each flavor wing.
The Buffalo wings were small but packed a decent amount of flavor.The Buffalo wings came tossed in Frank's Red Hot Buffalo sauce, a grocery-store staple.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
TGI Fridays doesn't seem to have its own house Buffalo sauce and instead douses its wings in Frank's Red Hot Buffalo sauce, a pretty standard grocery-store hot sauce.
I did enjoy the overall flavor, but these wings didn't bring the heat for me. Compared to the other Buffalo boneless wings I tried, these were just average.
I was most impressed by the Parmesan garlic boneless wings.The garlic Parmesan wings were crunchy and coated in sauce.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The wings had a super crispy coating and were drenched in a savory, garlicky sauce.
The wings had a crunch when I bit in — which I didn't quite get with the Buffalo boneless wings — and paired excellently with the chain's ranch.
I also liked the apple-butter barbecue wings.The apple butter barbecue wings had a slight sweetness.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
I could distinctly taste the apple butter in this sauce, which gave it a sweet, almost molasses-like flavor. Though the size varied, these wings also were slightly bigger and crunchier than the Buffalo wings.
The wings were filled with a good amount of chicken breast meat, but the sauce truly stole the show.The wings were flavored mostly with the three sauces.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The wings were reasonably thick, but the chicken and breading lacked seasoning or flavor on their own — the sauces provided the majority of the flavor, which wasn't necessarily a criticism but an observation.
The boneless wings from Wingstop landed in the middle of the pack.My local Wingstop offers 13 flavors to choose from.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
Boneless chicken products like boneless wings, chicken nuggets, and tenders are having a moment right now.
However, Wingstop's senior director of culinary, Larry Bellah, told Business Insider that the chain's bone-in traditional wings are still its most popular offering.
Bellah also said the five most popular sauce flavors at Wingstop are lemon pepper, Original Hot, hickory-smoked barbecue, garlic Parmesan, and hot honey.
I ordered 20 boneless wings, which allowed me to select up to three sauce flavors for $24.69, excluding tax.
The Buffalo boneless wings were crispy on the outside.The Buffalo boneless wings from Wingstop.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
They were smaller than the top two brands I tried but had a lot of flavor. Wingstop doesn't have a Buffalo sauce, but their Original Hot flavor is the chain's own spin on a classic.
They were buttery, with just the right level of spice.
The garlic Parmesan wings were covered in cheese.The boneless wings were topped with Parmesan cheese.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
I found the wings to be quite flavorful overall, but the Parmesan cheese stood out much more prominently than the garlic. The garlic flavor was subtle, almost overshadowed by the richness of the cheese.
The hickory-smoked barbecue flavor was sweet and smoky.The barbecue wings paired the best with ranch.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The sauce had a bold, smoky flavor with a rich balance of sweet, tangy, and savory notes, and coated every square inch of the boneless wing.
Of all the sauces, this flavor paired best with the chain's ranch, which was creamy and mildly tart.
The chicken meat inside was juicy and filling.The boneless wings were moist and flavorful.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
Though these wings were small, they were thick. I thought they were an excellent value for the price. The chicken meat inside tasted high-quality and shredded apart with every bite.
My second favorite wings came from Applebee's.The boneless wings from Applebee's came with celery and ranch.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
Applebee's seriously delivered on flavor. However, the chain didn't clinch the win for me based on value.
I found it difficult to try a variety of different flavors of boneless wings from Applebee's. The chain has an appetizer platter called the Classic Combo that's somewhat similar to the Triple Dipper from Chili's, but it's not fully customizable.
I ended up ordering two separate orders of eight boneless wings, which cost $16.99 each, at my local Applebee's in Brooklyn. I also got another order of eight boneless wings as part of the chain's "2 for $2X" deal, which included an appetizer and two entrées for $30, excluding tax.
In the end, I ended up paying more than at any other chain so that I could try multiple flavors. However, Applebee's does sometimes offer promotions like $0.50 boneless wings that could cut costs.
The Buffalo wings were packed with flavor.The Buffalo wings from Applebee's were the spiciest out of all the chains.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
As the official grill and bar sponsor of the NFL this year, I expected the chain's boneless wings to be good — and they delivered.
Out of all the boneless Buffalo wings I tried, these were the spiciest and most flavorful. They paired seamlessly with the chain's ranch, which was tangy and creamy and perfectly balanced out the heat.
The garlic Parmesan wings were also super flavorful.I liked the crispy exterior of the wings.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The outside of the wing was crispy and crunchy, and the garlic Parmesan sauce added a savory, nutty flavor to each bite.
The honey barbecue wings came coated in a sticky sauce.The barbecue wings from Applebee's came coated in sauce.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The wings were perfectly balanced between sweet and smoky.
I was also impressed by the thickness of these wings.The Applebee's boneless wings impressed me.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The wings were impressively large and packed with tender, juicy chicken.
When it came to flavor, Applebee's was exceptional. All three sauces I tried were well-executed and flavorful. However, the garlic Parmesan stood out as my favorite.
Its rich, creamy blend of nutty Parmesan and savory garlic created a bold and indulgent flavor that took the wings to another level. While the other sauces were delicious, the garlic Parmesan offered a perfect balance of crispy breading and zesty flavor that kept me going back for more.
Chili's came in first place for its flavorful boneless wings at a great value.I ordered the boneless wings as part of Chili's Triple Dipper.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
I got 15 wings in three different flavors as part of Chili's highly popular Triple Dipper appetizer combo, which allowed me to select three appetizers for $17.29, excluding tax, at a Chili's in Massachusetts.
The chain has seen great success with its viral Triple Dipper.
CNN reported that the TikTok-famous appetizer, which the company says is especially popular among younger customers, now accounts for 11% of Chili's sales. Triple Dipper orders grew by 70% over the last year, boosting foot traffic to Chili's restaurants and cementing the chain as the brand to watch.
The boneless wings from Chili's were the largest out of all the chains.The wings were bigger than the other chains I tried.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
The wings appeared to be baked in the Buffalo sauce rather than tossed in it after cooking.
The Buffalo sauce was sweet and slightly spicy, with a light buttery flavor. I got a strong citrus flavor coming through, which I also enjoyed.
The garlic Parmesan boneless wings were really flavorful.The garlic Parmesan wings had a strong flavor.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
I was again impressed by the size of the wings and thought the savory punch of garlic really came through. The wings were moist yet crispy, and I couldn't get enough of them.
The barbecue wings came coated in a smoky sauce.The barbecue wings were the sauciest.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
Unlike the others, which were almost dry to the touch, these boneless wings came completely drenched in the chain's house barbecue sauce.
I thought the sauce was smoky with a slight sweetness, but they could have benefited from a little acid for some brightness.
I loved the breading and the thickness of the wings.I thought the Triple Dipper was a good value.
Erin McDowell/Business Insider
They were full of chicken meat, which made this an incredibly filling appetizer to share among a few people at a Super Bowl party … or keep all to yourself while catching the game.
For under $20, the Triple Dipper delivered incredible value, offering a generous portion of high-quality wings that didn't skimp on flavor or size.
It's a standout deal that perfectly balances affordability with crave-worthy flavor — it's no surprise this menu item has become such a hit.
Read the original article on Business Insider
