Buffalo Wild Wings Flavors, Ranked Worst To Best

Grab bone-in or boneless wings doused in one of Buffalo Wild Wings' sauces for one of the tastiest game day appetizers out there. They come loaded on a tray with your choice of sauce or dry rub. You can get a sample of any sauce before you order to see which one will work for you, which we'd recommend for those eyeing the really spicy versions. Dip a fry or two into the sauce or dry rub to get a good idea of the taste.

I tried them all to see which ruled the roost. The sauces are ordered from sweet to heat on the menu, giving diners a good idea of what they can expect from different options. There is also a good selection of dry rubs, which come in a generous coating on your wings. If you're going with a spicier version, don't forget to order a drink to go along with the heat. You can enjoy the chain restaurant's great happy hour deal on appetizers as well to round out your meal.

The mild sauce is a classic chicken wing sauce that has the tiniest bit of spice. It is enough to wake up your taste buds but doesn't linger. For those who really don't want any sort of spice, this would be a good option.

If you like Buffalo sauce that's on the milder side, this is the perfect sauce. For me, it was a bit too mild, and I found myself wanting something a little bit more memorable. It tasted good but wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

The lemon pepper dry rub was good, but it didn't bring nearly as much flavor as the saucier version or any of the other dry rubs. The pepper taste is a bit stronger than any hints of lemon. 

I tried it on a fry to get a good idea of the flavor using a neutral base. You would need quite a bit of this dry rub on your wings to get any sort of impactful taste. If you want lemon pepper, go with the sauce version rather than the dry rub.

The orange chicken sauce is a combination of savory soy sauce with citrus zest. It's a pretty classic orange chicken, similar to what you can find at many other restaurants. Even though it was good, this generic flavor also made it one of the more forgettable options.

If you want orange chicken, and you're already at BWW, you'll be happy with this choice. But there are plenty of other places where I'd go for orange chicken first.

The hottest of the hot, Blazin' Knockout sauce is made with nine kinds of peppers. If you want to attempt the "Blazin' Challenge," which means eating 10 wings doused in Blazin' Knockout sauce in just five minutes, you have to sign a waiver. 

This was the hottest of the hot sauces and burned not just my mouth but also my throat. I like a good amount of spice, but this was too much for me for casual eating. If you decide to give it a go, make sure to have a drink nearby to help cool things down.

The hot sauce at BWW is pretty spicy, but it's nothing compared to some of the super intense options, like the Blazin' Knockout sauce. It tasted like a stronger and slightly spicier version of Buffalo sauce. 

Pairing it with bleu cheese was my favorite way to enjoy this one because it helped tone down the heat a little bit. But there were plenty of other hot sauces on the Buffalo Wild Wings menu that I enjoyed more. The hot sauce just didn't have anything super special about it, other than the heat, which other sauces did better.

If you like your Buffalo wings with bleu cheese, the Buffalo bleu sauce is a good combination of both flavors. It's pretty creamy, and the spice is toned down compared to the original Buffalo sauce. It could do with a little bit more of a kick, especially if you're expecting a true hot sauce.

I'd put this one higher on the list, but I'd rather get standard Buffalo sauce and then customize it with just the right amount of bleu cheese that I want. It's still a solid choice, especially for those who like a creamier wing sauce.

The Wild sauce is very similar to the original Buffalo with just a little bit more heat. If you like spicy, it's good, but it doesn't stand out much within the vast lineup of sauces. It has chili peppers and spices, which puts it just behind Blazin' Knockout and the hot sauce for fiery heat. 

The kick was intense at first but didn't linger like the Blazin' sauce. The spice was also a little bit warmer than most, which I liked.

If you like curry, you'll love this sauce. When noting the difference between Thai curry and Indian curry, the former has a coconut milk base flavored with curry paste, while the latter relies on more heavy-handed spices and aromatics. 

This sauce has that distinct coconut flavor plus a little sweetness, but it's the curry spice that really shines through. I'd definitely order it again, although the only reason that I didn't put it higher in my rankings is that it doesn't have quite the same widespread appeal that other sauces might for those looking for classic wings.

At first taste, I didn't notice anything particularly special about the Desert Heat dry rub option. But as I continued sampling it, the flavor became much more complex. The heat comes a little later when you indulge in this dry rub on your wings. 

There are plenty of peppers in it, but what sets this apart is the hint of smokiness. The Desert Heat name is very fitting for a combination that has hot spices and dry heat at the same time, plus just the tiniest bit of sweetness.

It was a toss-up between the Buffalo dry rub and the Desert Heat dry rub when it came time to rank the two. While the Desert Heat had more smokiness, the Buffalo dry rub was a classic wing flavor that I really enjoyed. It's a little spicy, but not so much that my eyes were tearing up.

If you like Buffalo wings but want to keep things extra crispy without sauce, this would be a top pick. It's very similar to the Buffalo sauce in terms of flavor, but creates a different texture on the wings.

The Asian Zing sauce has a soy sauce base, but the addition of spices and ginger made it a bit spicier and gave it more depth. It tasted similar to the orange chicken, thanks to the umami-rich soy sauce, but this wasn't nearly as sweet. 

I really liked the strong ginger flavor, plus it had just enough heat to balance out the other elements. I wouldn't call it spicy, but it was definitely full of flavor.

The Nashville hot sauce sample came out next to some of the spicier sauces, so I was expecting something with a serious kick. But when I tried it, the best description I could think of was "warm" rather than traditionally hot. 

It has cayenne pepper and brown sugar, which work well together for a sweet heat. It was enough to get my taste buds tingling without actually burning. The Nashville hot was one of my favorite sauces from the hotter lineup.

I'm a sucker for classic Kansas City-style barbecue, which is what the molasses-rich, sweet BBQ sauce reminded me of. It's very dark and rich, especially compared to some of the other barbecue sauces at BWW. I like the combination of sweet and savory, but there's not a lot of heat in this one. 

If you're looking for a classic barbecue chicken wing, this would be a good pick. It also has a pretty widespread appeal and would work for a shared dish, especially if you have people with a lot of different preferences.

The Golden Fire flavor is a combination of Carolina Gold barbecue sauce and peppery heat. It started with a sweet tang, thanks to the vinegary base, but just enough spice came in as I enjoyed this sauce. 

If it had a bit more mustard or vinegar, it probably would have ended up at the top of my list. But as is, it's a solid choice that I think most people would enjoy. This is a limited-time offering, so be sure to try it while you can if you like golden barbecue sauce.

The mango habanero sauce was pretty spicy, which shouldn't have surprised me given that it includes hot habanero peppers, but the sweet mango flavor helps balance everything. This one has a slower burn rather than an in-your-face heat that makes you splutter. 

You can learn more about this condiment's main ingredient in the spicy guide to all things hot peppers, but trust me when I say that a drink is necessary with this sauce. Be sure to have some lemonade handy because the spice builds as you eat the wings. It will sneak up on you if you're not careful.

I like just about anything with Caribbean jerk sauce, so it wasn't a shock that I really enjoyed the Buffalo Wild Wings version. It has a rich base that's full of warm spices, plus just enough red pepper to bring a little fire to the sauce. 

It wasn't exactly spicy in the same way that some of the hot sauces were, but it still had a lot going on. It also had a sweeter side, largely due to the prominent brown sugar in the jerk seasoning blend. Caribbean jerk chicken sings thanks to ingredients that blend sweet and heat.

The Buffalo Wild Wings teriyaki sauce is thick and syrupy with a super sweet flavor, but the soy sauce base keeps the signature savoriness that makes teriyaki so popular. You can actually make teriyaki sauce with just two ingredients at home, but this one has a bit more complexity to it. 

I liked the thickness of this sauce, especially compared to other teriyaki versions that I've tried. This coats wings really consistently, although you'll need plenty of napkins to deal with the sweet, savory, and sticky mess that is sure to be the result of enjoying a basket of chicken in this sauce.

The chipotle BBQ dry rub has a nice, savory barbecue flavor but also a hint more spice than some of the similar dry rubs and sauces. Adding chipotle to the mix brings in a little bit more heat without being overpowering. 

If you want to try something a little bit hotter without straying far from the classic barbecue roots, this is what I would recommend. It would make a great beginning point for those wanting to ease into spicier wings.

Another sweet and spicy option is the Jammin' Jalapeño sauce. It's had more sweet jam flavor than spicy jalapeño, but I still really liked the combination of the two things, which are so different but balance each other.

The BWW menu says that there are hints of tequila and lime in the sauce as well, but I had a hard time distinguishing those specific ingredients. Nonetheless, it earned a spot relatively high on my rankings, thanks to the complexity and balance of flavors.

I wasn't expecting anything out of the ordinary from the spicy garlic sauce, but I was pleasantly surprised by how deep the flavor was. It tasted like a classic hot sauce at medium to hot strength, but had the additional benefit of savory garlic. 

It's well-blended and smooth, which I think was key to keeping the garlic from overpowering any of the other flavors. This sauce has a little bit of a kick, but it fades pretty quickly and won't make you start sweating.

If you like the salt and vinegar combination, this dry rub is for you. When I first looked at the sample, I expected it to be pretty heavy on the salt, but the vinegary bite held its own really well. There's also a little bit of pepper to keep things working together. 

I only tried a small amount, but this would be really tasty on a basket of fries as well as on traditional chicken wings. I'd even ask for a side dish of it to sprinkle over some of the other sauces as well.

For a classic Buffalo option, go with the original Buffalo sauce, which has a good texture for those who want wings heavily coated. It has hot sauce plus spices to create a rich flavor, making it the most intense of the Buffalo-style sauces (but not the hottest). 

It's thick enough to coat your wings, and I loved it with bleu cheese and ranch for dipping. The combination of spiciness and creaminess is what enjoying chicken wings is all about. The universal appeal of the original Buffalo earned this sauce a spot pretty high on my list.

I had a hard time telling the medium sauce and the original Buffalo sauce apart, but I liked the way the medium lingered a bit longer on my tongue. Either one would be a solid choice for those looking for a classic wing sauce. 

It has a little heat but nothing long-lasting, and I think most people would be able to handle the spice without any issues. This hot sauce is so popular that you can pick up a bottle at the grocery store, and it even landed around the midpoint in our ranking of store-bought Buffalo sauces. 

There is a good amount of dill in the BBQ ranch sauce, which combines bright, herby ranch with savory barbecue sauce. I wasn't expecting much from this, since the combo of ranch and barbecue is pretty standard at other fast food spots as well. 

The difference was how bright this sauce was compared to what I expected. This version was very strong on the dill, which gave it a little extra flavor and ended up earning the sauce a spot pretty high on my list. It was the only sauce that had a lot of herb flavor.

The creamy Parmesan garlic sauce was a surprise upset in my own rankings because I expected it to be too creamy to really enjoy on wings. But the Parmesan cheese brought in enough intensity to make it flavorful, and the garlic was definitely in full force in this sauce. 

I have to admit that it tasted a lot better than it looked, so don't judge too harshly when your wings come out coated in thick Parmesan sauce. If you like sharp cheese and garlic, you'll love the taste of this flavor.

The lemon pepper sauce was so much better than the lemon pepper rub that it's hard to even put the two in the same category. It has a much brighter flavor, and I could really taste the lemon. 

It's cut with the sharper taste of pepper, plus a little bit of salt to help it all meld together. I also liked that the sauce combined a creamier base with the dry rub on top for added texture as well. 

My server told me that the honey BBQ is a fan favorite, and it was easy to see why. It's slightly sweeter than the other BBQ options without taking away from the savory taste, which is still the most dominant flavor. The honey made this barbecue a bit lighter than a traditional barbecue with molasses, but it was still well-balanced.

I tried this sauce on its own and then later again on an order of boneless wings. It was exactly what I picture when I think about savory-sweet barbecue wings, and it would be perfect for a shared app.

I tried all of the sauces with simple fries to get the best idea of the actual taste. Starting with the sweeter and milder options, I built from there to get to the hotter sauces on my tray. 

I asked the BWW manager which flavors were the most popular and tried those on boneless wings to see which brought the heat, which had the sweet flavor I loved, and which I'd pass on. The only ones that I wouldn't order again were those that were too hot to enjoy routinely. If you're up for a challenge, however, some of these spicy wings may be right up your alley.

My favorites definitely tended to be those with a good balance of sweet and savory flavor, as well as those with some pretty distinct tastes, such as garlic or lemon. The dry rubs are also a big hit, especially for those who like to keep the crunch front and center.