24 Buffalo Wild Wings Sauces, Ranked Worst To Best

If you watch the big game without buffalo wings, are you even really watching it Although it's hard to imagine bar food without buffalo wings, these spicy, saucy morsels didn't hit the scene until 1964, when they were invented by a bar owner in Buffalo, New York, which is how they got their name. Fast-forward sixty years, and it's hard to imagine a time when they didn't grace sports bars around the country with their fatty, vinegary taste. We're glad for that.

Enter Buffalo Wild Wings. This franchise got its start in the early '80s, and the number of restaurants had grown to over a thousand in the United States. One of the most prominent buffalo wing chains in the country, Buffalo Wild Wings stakes its reputation on perfectly crispy skin and, of course, its roster of over 20 sauces. From classic buffalo wing sauce to wilder flavors like Thai curry and mango habanero, there is no shortage of flavors to choose from at Buffalo Wild Wings.

But which sauces live up to the hype, and which ones fall short? We ordered a massive plate of plain, boneless wings and one of each of the sauces on the menu at Buffalo Wild Wings. Then, we got to dipping to come up with these rankings.

The reaction to this sauce was visceral in a bad way. Even before I put it in my mouths, I noted a cloying sweet smell, an unappealing speckled brown color, and a chunky, viscous, inconsistent texture with mysterious globs that were hard to spread. The sugar content was through the roof, and the faint orange flavor tasted artificial and reminded us more of some citrus-scented cleaning agent than of orange chicken.

A sweet, sticky corruption of Chinese cuisine shouldn't have been hard to pull off, but this sauce fell far below my expectations. Of the Asian-inspired sauces on this list, this one ranked low.

If this sauce were offered as the side to a cheap Caesar salad at a gas station, I would've let its shortcomings slide, but on a wing, the concoction of textures and flavors was poor. The strongest taste was that of watered-down mayonnaise, followed by the taste of Parmesan, which I appreciated, although there was a detectable addition of sugar that I felt did not match the sauce's savory tone.

Although this Buffalo Wild Wings sauce was visually appealing, with an off-white base and speckles of pepper and spices that looked like they'd deliver a gourmet-tasting product, the other spices did not deliver a strong enough flavor to be noticeable. If you're hankering for a creamy sauce, I'd recommend sticking with plain wings and blue cheese.

If this sauce is teriyaki, then I've long been mistaken about what teriyaki should taste like. Teriyaki should have the flavor of a mixture of soy sauce, mirin, and a hint of sugar. This "teriyaki" just tasted like soy sauce that was thickened up with starch until it was dense enough to coat a wing.

Not only is the flavor profile far from true teriyaki, but the sauce is way too sweet. The combined sugar and salt are enough to knock you off your chair, and beyond that, there is little else that it can offer other than some subtle notes of garlic and onion. If this sauce weren't branded as teriyaki, I'd be more forgiving in the rating, but as it stands, I can't reward something that feels false.

Ongoing sriracha shortages haven't stopped Buffalo Wild Wings from giving the condiment a coveted seat on its menu. The new, limited-time Honey Sriracha sauce falls under Asian influence, similar to the previous Zing offering. It shares a similar jelly-like consistency, but here I couldn't shake the feeling that I was indulging in a glorified yet mediocre sweet and sour.

The honey element is certainly not the end all be all here. Then again, neither is the sriracha. The sauce which is currently hard to find on the shelf is also difficult to pinpoint in this concoction, buried under other flavors like a strong presence of vinegar. It does pop up in the backend like a swift kick. Other than this fleeting heat, though, I would classify the sauce as more smokey than spicy, and just a small step up from the overly sugary Asian Zing.

This Buffalo Wild Wings sauce certainly had a zing. The result is an upside, with notes of garlic, chile peppers, soy sauce, and ginger that give it a complex, cohesive flavor profile. Asian Zing had just the right amount of heat; enough to create a pleasant tingle but not so much that it eclipsed the other flavors.

But Asian Zing was cloyingly sweet, and although that was fine for a sample, we can't imagine eating a whole plate of wings covered in this saccharine stuff. The sugar content was so high that the sauce had a sticky, syrupy consistency that I found off-putting.

Honey Garlic is another limited edition B-Dubs flavor, but one which has made appearances in the past. It is a combination of honey, garlic (the obvious add-ins), and soy sauce–where it gets its deep maroon hue. Without an overload of peppers hidden in the recipe, the sauce is certainly mild, offering some sweet relief in the midst of other fiery options.

Flavorful and smooth, it's a fine sauce. My only grievance is that it doesn't live up to its name. If something is labeled as "garlic" you better believe I expect a bold and pungent taste. And here, it's disappointingly subdued. With this lack of defined garlicky gusto, the Honey Garlic falls more in line with a slightly tangy honey barbecue, despite its soy sauce base. A bit confused, but not completely turned off, I felt this one fit best right in the middle of the pack.

A lot of interesting flavors have been added to BBQ sauce, some more successfully than others, and we found Bulleit Bourbon to be a moderately successful partner to the classic flavors of BBQ. This tomato-based sauce was too heavy on the brown sugar, though, which drowned out the flavor of the bourbon. I could taste it in the background, but definitely wanted more.

The bold, smoky, mesquite flavor I was hoping for fell short, and I didn't feel like this sauce had enough unique flavor to distinguish itself from a standard BBQ sauce. Also, the texture was strangely grainy, which I found unattractive. This sauce is a limited edition, and whether it will last long remains to be seen.

In terms of spice level, the new Golden Fire sauce lands at three flames out of four on the Buffalo Wild Wings scale. I can confirm that it does in fact pack some heat–the kind that hits you late and lingers long after you've swallowed. But, it's nothing a dollop of ranch or swig of water can't keep at bay.

Flavor-wise, the newcomer is similar to a smokey hot barbecue with plenty of umami notes. However, a mustard-like base creates a more unique flavor profile, separating the sauce from the jumble of other BBQs taking up residence at the wing chain. Overall, it garners no real complaints. It's just simply not as mouthwatering and memorable as some of the joint's longstanding and established sauces.

While this spicy BBQ sauce tasted not unlike its sweet sister, I found that the addition of a little heat made the sauce more enjoyable. Both of these sauces were tomato-forward, but where the sweet sauce was a little too ketchupy, the kick delivered by the dash of cayenne pepper balanced out the sugar content. The result was a sauce that satisfied those in the market for the flavor of BBQ and the heat of buffalo sauce.

Texture-wise, I found the hot BBQ flavor to be acceptably thick and smooth with just a touch of grit lent by the spices suspended in it. The flavors at the heart of this sauce reminded us of Sweet Baby Ray's, but with a distinctly spicy flavor that lingered on the palate.

There's no denying that BBQ sauce and chicken belong together. And if you're looking to make the union even more perfect, try adding a touch of honey, which is what Buffalo Wild Wings did with this Honey BBQ sauce. Of the BBQ sauces available to coat your wings, this was the winner. 

It's a tomato-based sauce, and the tangy acidity of the nightshade is a perfect counterpoint to the sweet honey that we detected — especially in the lingering aftertaste. Although it's quite sweet, there's also a notable smoky quality that prevents the sauce from tasting sickly. The texture is smooth enough to dip a nugget and thick enough to cling to a wing. The flavors meld together to deliver a classic BBQ flavor with a unique twist.

A welcome reprieve from the Buffalo Wild Wings sauces that were spiking our blood sugar, hot buffalo is one of four classic sauces made by the chain. It's the second hottest of the bunch, and although it won't burn your mouth off on your first bite, you're certain to feel the heat after a few wings.

The sauce is creamier than we expected, but I was pleased by the way the heat cut through the richness. And the vinegar component gave it just enough sourness to keep your mouth watering for more. I recommend keeping some carrots and celery on hand for this sauce, as you might want a cool crunch to counter the creamy heat.

As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. It wasn't a surprise that the original buffalo wing sauce was my favorite on the list. This is the signature flavor of sauce at Buffalo Wild Wings, and the chain knows how to execute it.

The sauce is perfectly spicy with an acidic, vinegary undertone that delivers the zingy flavor you're looking for when you bite into a chicken wing. The texture is just thick and creamy enough to coat a wing without being too viscous. I loved the heat from this sauce, and it paired perfectly with blue cheese dressing. If you've got to choose one sauce, this is it.