I Tried All 12 Wingstop Flavors — Here Are the Best

Wingstop, for my money, doesn’t miss. The chicken wing wizards are at the top of their game at all times. Before we’ve even had time to process the fact that Wingstop is slinging chicken sandwiches now, a gift has been bestowed: Hot Honey Rub. The newest dry flavor has landed, so I figured it was time to see just where it stacks up with the rest of the most popular Wingstop flavors. Here are all 12 Wingstop flavors, ranked from best to worst.

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This is the truth, and I’m not proud of this, but I did in fact say, “Oh me oh my” out loud when I tasted this. It was completely involuntary. I am head-over-heels for this rub. As you lean in for a bite, the first thing that happens is that you smell honey. Then you taste honey, and then your mouth erupts with heat. And then it’s sweet like honey again, but your mouth is still feeling the burn. This is dinner and a show, folks. 

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Gochujang, sesame oil, and soy sauce sing like angels in this Wingstop masterpiece. I could not possibly improve this flavor; it’s got quite a bit of heat, it’s got tang, it’s got gingery depth, it has it all. This would scale up nicely into sandwich form, and as all chicken does, it tastes best right off the bone. Korean Q is what I like to call a great choice.

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The truth is, I used to be smitten with Wingstop’s Mango Habanero. Prior to tasting my newfound favorites, I had this mentally ranked among the best Wingstop flavors. Times change, though, and now thanks to Korean Q and Hot Honey, Mango Habanero has to fall down a bit. No fault of its own.

BBQ sauce is never my first choice when it comes to wings, but at Wingstop, it’s a sauce that shines. This one is thick, smoky, and brown sugar-sweet. This is an indulgence, so go on, indulge.

I have been eating at Wingstop for a long time now, and I’ve never even considered ordering the Garlic Parm. There are just too many other flavors that appeal to me first. Though I am not huge on parmesan cheese, there are a couple of big wins happening here. For one, the parm is muted and the garlic is strong. Love that. Two, this is the driest rub Wingstop has, so the fried chicken stays nice and crispy. All in all, a very good wing flavor. I had no idea.

Here’s where the Creole flavors you might be missing from Popeyes come into play. This is a terrific rub, bursting with Old Bay-style seasoning and flecked with oregano. No notes. 

I’m not sure this qualifies as another flavor since this is just Wingstop’s original hot sauce with some Cajun seasoning, but I don’t particularly care. The spiciness is cranked up in a nice way here, bursting with smoky paprika and garlic powder. I see no reason to order Original Hot while this exists.

Look, you know what these are going to taste like. These are straight-up Buffalo wings. Did Wingstop reinvent the wheel here? No, they did not. But there was no need for that, because the wheel is pretty fantastic the way it is. If spice isn’t your friend, this will do you well.

Let me tell you a story about what an idiot I am. When I got these delivered, there wasn’t a cheat sheet or anything telling me what flavor was what, so I sort of had to Sherlock Holmes my way to the answer. After gingerly taking a bite of what I thought was Atomic, I proceeded to write an entire entry about how Atomic sauce was barely spicier than anything else. I popped an entire piece into my mouth for the next flavor, and surprise! That was Atomic. Guess what? Atomic wings are very, very hot. Flew a little too close to the sun on that one. I’m not sure what this tastes like because I can’t taste anything anymore. There is no more “flavor.” There is only Atomic.

I do like lemon pepper wings, but Wingstop goes for it with the lemon and oil here. It’s full of flavor, but this is among the greasier wings you can eat, and after a while they can feel a little too decadent.

For some reason, I always think this is going to be a Teriyaki-type sauce. It’s more of an orange chicken situation. The sauce is OK, but here’s the deal, there’s already a place that you’re supposed to go for fast food orange chicken. They do it the best. Always have, always will.

What do you want me to say? This is a flavor that’s been designed to not taste like anything. If you are at a wing restaurant, I assume that you like wing sauce enough to not order the most mild option. If mild sauce is your go-to, I think this restaurant might not be for you.