The Popular Pizza Chain With The Cheapest Chicken Wings

Once upon a time, when you called for pizza delivery, pizza was all that was available. Sure, maybe you could get garlic bread or salad, and possibly even a pasta dish or two, but there were no wings on the menu. Buffalo wings have been around since the 1960s (before that, the wing was often considered a throwaway item), but they didn't really go national until the '80s. It wasn't until the next decade, though, that pizza places started adding them to the menu. These days, just about every pizza chain worth its weight in marinara seems to have wings on the menu, even the pandemic-era Chuck E. Cheese ghost kitchen known as Pasqually's Pizza. Since pizza itself is pretty expensive these days, and adding wings to your order can come at a significant upcharge, The Takeout set out to find the cheapest pizza chain wings. Little Caesars, it turns out, is selling them for less than other chains.

Pasqually's is no more (quel surprise!), so we didn't take its wings into account, but instead looked at pizza chains with a presence in all 50 states, including Domino's, Pizza Hut, Papa John's, and Little Caesars. Domino's offers wings in a variety of flavors (here's how we ranked them), priced at $9.99 for eight pieces. (All figures are based on the charge at Milwaukee-area restaurants and may vary depending on location.) At Pizza Hut, boneless wings are $9.79 for eight, while bone-in wings are $11.99 for six. Papa John's sells ten boneless wings for $8.99, while eight of the bone-in kind cost $9.99. Eight bone-in wings at Little Caesars cost just $7.99, making it the best-priced nationwide chain.

Little Caesars, like Domino's, only offers traditional, bone-in wings. Unlike Dominos, though, it doesn't have non-wing chicken items on the menu. The wings it does have come in a choice of four flavors: plain, barbecue, buffalo, and garlic parmesan. The wings are oven-baked instead of fried, as are Domino's, but they are lower in calories — Little Caesars' range from 64 to 84 calories per piece, depending on sauce, while Domino's are anywhere from 91 to 119 calories. The reason for the lower calorie count may be the lack of breading, which could count as a plus, depending on how you like your wings.

The lower calorie count might also be due to the size, as some customers have complained that Little Caesars wings tend to be on the smaller side. Small they may be, but most people seem to agree that Little Caesars wings are pretty darn flavorful. Some even claim that they're better than the wings found at a dedicated chicken chain like Wingstop, and they're certainly cheaper, too. (Milwaukee-area Wingstops want $11.79 for 10 wings, which works out to be an 18% increase over the $1 per wing you'll pay at Little Caesars.) As for how they compare to other pizza chains, some wing fans consider them to be on par with or even better than the ones at Domino's, Papa John's, and Pizza Hut. Obviously, opinions differ, but overall, they seem to be a pretty decent pick, as well as providing the best bang for the buck.