When a wing craving hits and time is of the essence, Wingstop emerges as a convenient option. Boasting over 2,000 locations nationwide, this fast-food chain has gained popularity for its bone-in or boneless wings, customizable with a wide array of flavors and heat levels. Beyond wings, the menu includes sides like fries and veggie sticks, offering options to complete your meal.
While wings might not be the leanest cut of chicken, they can certainly fit into a balanced, health-conscious diet, provided you pay attention to the sauce. As a dietitian, I can offer insights into navigating the Wingstop menu for those mindful of their dietary choices, highlighting items to favor and those to limit.
Understanding the Basics: Plain Wings
Stripped down to their essence, the plain wings at Wingstop are simply bone-in chicken wings, lightly seasoned and fried. Opting for plain wings and skipping the sauces can significantly reduce your intake of sodium and added sugars.
Flavorful and (Potentially) Beneficial: Mango Habanero Wings
The Mango Habanero wings offer a sweet and spicy flavor profile. Being one of Wingstop’s spiciest sauces, it might even offer a health benefit. A 2021 meta-analysis, encompassing studies with over 550,000 adults, revealed that regular consumption of spicy food was associated with a 12% lower risk of mortality (from any cause) over a 9-year period, compared to those who never ate spicy foods. Additionally, this option is relatively lower in sodium, containing just 480 milligrams per six wings.
Balanced Flavors: Spicy Korean Wings
These wings strike a balance between sweet and spicy, delivering a burst of flavor with a moderate 810 milligrams of sodium (35% of your daily value) per serving. They also stand out as one of the lower saturated fat options, with only 1.5 grams per wing. Similar to the Mango Habanero, these Spicy Korean wings contain 3 grams of added sugar per wing.
Read also: Wingstop Ranch calories and macros
Aromatic and Savory: Garlic Parmesan Wings
For those seeking flavor without the heat, Garlic Parmesan wings are a compelling choice. With no added sugars and a modest 75 milligrams of sodium per wing, they rank among the more favorable menu items at Wingstop. However, it's important to note the higher saturated fat content stemming from the butter used in the sauce. Each wing contains 2 grams of saturated fat, meaning that a serving of six contributes 60% of the recommended daily limit.
Classic and Relatively Healthy: Old Bay Wings
With the classic bold and distinctive flavor of Old Bay, these wings are not only a fan favorite, but one of the healthier choices on Wingstop’s menu. Lower in sodium with 28% of the recommended daily limit in six wings, they also have just 6 grams of added sugar or one gram per wing.
Tangy and Light: Lemon Pepper Wings
These sweet and tangy wings are loaded with delicious citrus flavor and have only 1.5 grams of saturated fat and 85 milligrams of sodium per wing. “Although each wing has 2 grams of added sugar, it is balanced out by the protein and fat content of the wing,” says Megan Huff, RDN, LDN, an Atlanta-based cardiac ICU dietitian. This dry rub has a zesty flavor that packs on the salt.
Options to Approach with Caution
Atomic Wings
Those who like to test their limits might consider the Atomic Wings at Wingstop, their hottest sauce by far.
Original Hot Wings
The sauce that led the way for all the others, Original Hot is just too high in sodium for us to recommend.
Read also: Healthy food access with Highmark Wholecare explained.
Mild Wings
Less spicy than the original, with a little less sodium, the Mild Wings still have 60% of the daily value of saturated fat and 42% of the recommended limit of sodium.
Hickory Smoked BBQ Wings
One of the least desirable wing options at Wingstop is the Hickory Smoked BBQ Wings, says Wan Na Chun, MPH, RD, CPT, owner of One Pot Wellness based in Indianapolis, IN.
Navigating the Sides
Veggie Sticks
You can get a daily serving of veggies in at Wingstop-a fresh side we love to see!
Seasoned Fries
“The seasoned fries would satisfy my French fry craving while providing 495 calories and a whopping 1,530 milligrams of potassium,” says Baty.
Voodoo Fries
The Voodoo fries have double the amount of sodium and saturated fat as the seasoned fries, thanks to the cheese sauce, ranch dressing, and cajun seasoning loaded on top.
Read also: Healthy Eating on the Run
Buffalo Ranch Fries
“The buffalo ranch fries are one of the worst sides nutritionally, as a regular serving contains over 1,700mg of sodium,” says Chun. That’s 74% of the amount you should be getting in an entire day.
Low Carb Options
Yes, the Jumbo Wings at Wingstop are basically 0 grams of carbs without the addition of sauces. Wingstop provides detailed nutrition information for everything on their menu. The Boneless Wings are breaded and fried. The Jumbo Wings are what we are after. They are traditional bone in chicken wings that are fried and tossed in the sauce of your choosing.
Low Carb Sauces
This is the spiciest sauce Wingstop has to offer. This is actually a rub and not a sauce. The spice rubs at Wingstop are very flavorful and happen to be my favorite option. If you’ve gotten dry rubs at Buffalo Wild Wings before and were disappointed, give these rubs a try. Your classic buffalo sauce. Original hot is exactly what you’re expecting when you think of buffalo wings. It’s one of the better options for Wingstop low carb wings. Options at Wingstop are not limited for low carb dieters. This mild sauce is another good choice if you like the flavor of buffalo sauce but don’t like the spice. Now we’re getting to the good stuff. Garlic parmesan is definitely one of the top sauce options. It is probably the 2nd most popular wing sauce offered. I rarely place an order without at least a few garlic parmesan wings. Lemon pepper is by far the most popular wing flavoring whether you are doing a low carb diet or not. You can’t say you’ve tried Wingstop until you’ve had their lemon pepper wings. Louisiana rub is a unique and flavorful spice blend. It is comparable to the cajun wings in a lot of ways, but offers something unique as well. Of the 10+ sauces and seasonings available, only a small group of them are high in carbs. Mango Habanero is a sweet and spicy sauce that clocks in at 6g of carbs for 2 wings. Hickory Smoked BBQ is the highest carb sauce you can get. If you’re a fan of Korean BBQ then you will probably love this sauce.
Low Carb Sides and Dipping Sauces
Sadly, just about every side is going to be loaded with carbs. Of course the veggie sticks that come with the wings are a good side item for your meal, but you can hardly count those as a side… right? The options for dipping sauces are ranch, blue cheese and honey mustard. The ranch and blue cheese dipping sauces are relatively low carb, while honey mustard should be avoided with its 17 grams of sugar. The cleanest drink option is Gold Peak Unsweetened Tea.
First Time at Wingstop
If you’re going to Wingstop for the first time the only essential item that you have to try is the lemon pepper wings. It is what Wingstop is known for and in my opinion is the best item on the menu. Aside from that, just pick rubs and sauces that sound good to you.
Important Considerations
While it’s easy to get a keto friendly meal at Wingstop, it is not something we do as often as we would like just because of the unhealthy oils used. We pride ourselves on having the most up to date and comprehensive guides for eating out on a keto diet. Matt is a former college basketball player turned computer engineer who discovered his passion for health and nutrition after cutting sugar from his diet in 2016. That year he founded KetoConnect with Megha in order to share their ketogenic lifestyle through recipes, videos, and educational content.
Gluten
Wingstop is not gluten free. Even if you get the Jumbo Wings, which are not breaded at all, they are fried in the same oil as other gluten containing foods. If you have a serious gluten allergy you will want to avoid Wingstop.
Thighstop
Yes, Thighstop bone-in thigh’s are prepared in the same way as the Jumbo Wings.