Little Caesars Wings: What To Know Before Ordering
Love it or hate it, there's no denying that Little Caesar's has found its spot as the fastest in fast-food pizza. Ever since introducing the Hot-N-Ready promotion back in 1997, the Michigan-based pizza chain has promised customers a pizza that is both hot and ready to go the moment they walk up to the counter. Although the pizza was originally a simple $5, the price rose to $5.55 at the start of 2022 — though the pizza now allegedly has 33% extra pepperoni.
Little Caesar's may be a pizza chain, but pies aren't the only item on offer. There's also Little Caesar's wings, bone-in wings that — much like the pizza — promise to be ready for dipping and enjoying as soon as you walk into the store. But while no-wait wings may seem like a dream to some, there are others who may find themselves hesitant to try the Roman Emperor's hasty chicken wings. Are Little Caesar's wings a hot-n-ready deal, or is it all just gristle underneath the sauce?
How many flavors of wings are there?
As of now, there are currently four varieties of wings you can choose from at Little Caesar's. You can order the classic oven-roasted, spice it up with buffalo, or go with the savory flavors of BBQ or garlic parmesan, depending on your taste. Although you have a selection of dips such as ranch or "Cheezy Jalapeno" to choose from, it feels like something's missing, doesn't it? It's almost as if you're sure that, once upon a time, Little Caesar's offered more than just those wings.
In 2011, Little Caesar's introduced up to eight wing flavors to choose from. In addition to the varieties mentioned before, there was teriyaki, spicy BBQ, lemon-pepper, and the surprising combination of "bacon-honey mustard." These flavors have seemingly been discontinued as of this time, since they are not able to found anywhere on the chain's menu. That doesn't mean Mr. Caesar wasn't done experimenting with chicken wings just yet. In March 2021, Little Caesar's announced two new items: "crispy boneless chicken wings" and "Crispy Chicken Cravers," an item that combines fried chicken with pizza (via Chew Boom). The latter consists of pieces of crispy chicken on top of a white sauce pizza drizzled with swirls of wing sauce. These, unfortunately, seem to have been discontinued as well, but the option for combining wings and Hot-N-Ready pizza is still available.
How much do Little Caesar's Wings cost?
If you've ever been to Little Caesar's before, you know you get a whole lot of food for not too much money. After all, who else sells a whole pizza for less than $6? Price may vary by location, but according to Real Menu Prices, the average cost of an order of Little Caesar's wings will run you about $6.00 — the same price you'd pay for a pizza. You'll get an order of eight wings, which doesn't seem too bad of a deal.
If you think just eight wings aren't going to cut it, you may be inclined to order the #4 Combo Meal. This comes with a Deep Dish Pizza, an order of wings, and a 2-liter of Pepsi, all for around $15-$16 dollars (via Fast Food Menu Prices). Considering how much food (and drink) you get, it's certainly not a bad offer.
How are Little Caesar's Wings made?
According to Little Caesar's employees on Reddit, the recipe for the chain's wings is surprisingly (or unsurprisingly, depending on your view of Little Caesar's) a very simple procedure. Frozen chicken wings are shipped in, baked in the oven, and then tossed around in sauce which, according to the employees' claims, is nothing more than Frank's Red Hot. This only covers the Buffalo-style wings, however, but it is presumed that the rest of the wing varieties follow the procedure of thawing, baking, and saucing. On another subreddit, r/TopSecretRecipes, a user inquired about how to make the Garlic Parmesan wings from Little Caesar's. A now-deleted user informed them that all they needed was to purchase wings from Costco, bake them in the oven, and then toss them in a specialty garlic topping they could purchase at Costco too.
But what if you want to enjoy the closest thing to Little Caesar's wings without actually ordering them? The Food XP offers a recipe for the chain's Parmesan wings that uses ranch dressing and grated parmesan cheese to get as close to the taste of the original as possible.
How healthy are Little Caesar's Wings?
While it's obvious that pizza and wings aren't exactly the first thing that springs to mind when someone mentions a diet, there has to be a happy medium between taking care of yourself and enjoying your favorite food, right? Perhaps Little Caesars can satisfy your craving for savory wings without leaving you feeling queasy or overstuffed.
Unlike other chicken wings, Little Caesar's wings are oven-baked instead of deep-fried. They also aren't breaded. According to Fast Food Nutrition, Little Caesar's Buffalo Wings contain 510 calories, 35 grams of total fat, 285 milligrams of cholesterol, and an incredible 3,600 milligrams of sodium. The other flavors of wings have a similar nutrition content, but vary in terms of sodium content. The oven-baked version has notably less — 1,740 milligrams — while the BBQ wings contain 2,300 milligrams of sodium. The maximum amount of sodium recommended in a day is 1,500 milligrams.
While these may sound pretty heavy sodium-wise, they pale in comparison to other Little Caesar's items. The Pepperoni Crazy Calzony, for example, not only contains an enormous 2,560 calories but an astounding sodium count of 6,010 milligrams. While these wings certainly won't kill you, it's best to eat them on occasion instead of making them an everyday meal.
Are Little Caesar's Wings any good?
Little Caesar's has always been a point of debate in the pizza industry. There are some who think the pizza is pretty good considering the price and there are those who'd rather pay full price for what they see as a better pizza. Are Little Caesar's wings good, or are you better off paying a bit more for quality wings?
All Things Wings reviewed the chain's Hot Buffalo wings, attempting to answer this same question. The review claimed that the wings were small and "soggy, but thankfully not slimy." The sauce, the review continued, was described as lacking any heat, as well as being "thin and runny," pooling at the bottom of the box instead of sticking to the wings. The only positives they gave were that the meat itself was tender and juicy and the convenience of "Hot-N-Ready" was fair, but still not enough to really make any difference.
STL Wing Review's critique of the wings was a bit more positive. While they noted the wings weren't very crispy due to them being oven-baked rather than fried, they did claim that the chicken was also moist and juicy. Unlike All Thing Wings' review, STL claimed the sauce had a "good amount" of spice to it and that the wings were evenly sauced.
It would appear that the quality of wings at Little Caesar's can differ from place to place, so the final opinion is up to you.