Review: Kroger's Flamin' Hot Boneless Wings Are Intensely Fun, But Lack Staying Power

Supermarket chain Kroger recently released a new boneless wing flavor, which you can pick up in its hot deli section. Normally that fact alone wouldn't be all that notable, but it's a brand collab with a finger-staining spicy snack that you'd normally pick up in the chip aisle — Flamin' Hot Cheetos. That's right, these are Flamin' Hot-flavored boneless wings (you can blame Buffalo Wild Wings for the concept of boneless wings).

The concept of Flamin' Hot seems like it can be applied to nearly any savory snack (we loved these Flamin' Hot Korean-style Doritos), so Flamin' Hot boneless wings don't exactly feel like a stretch. I'm in Chicago, and our local Kroger-owned grocery store chain, Mariano's, doesn't carry these, so the company sent me a humongous 20-pound foodservice box (RIP my poor freezer) so I could sample them for myself. My main driver of curiosity was whether or not these things captured that tangy, spicy, and impulsive eating experience you get from crushing a bag of Flamin' Hots, because frankly, if executed properly, they sounded like they could be downright fun.

Fortunately, preparing the boneless wings doesn't require any special equipment other than an oven or an air fryer, which means I could prepare them the same way I'd normally find them at the hot bar (all they take is about 10 minutes in an air fryer, or 15 minutes in a conventional oven, if you're curious). No pressure or deep fryer necessary. 

Just keep in mind that since I heated them myself, I ate them at their absolute peak for the purposes of this review. Under ordinary circumstances I'd just be getting them in a plastic container, which as we all know can potentially change the texture of anything crispy (for example, get soggy after a while due to steam condensation).

That being said, I had to prepare them twice. The first time, I attempted to bake them from frozen via my countertop oven using the convection setting, but I managed to royally screw that up, and they came out ice cold (that was a skill error on my part). The second time, I used my basket-style air fryer, and they came out fully heated. I assessed these boneless wings on that attempt, based off of external and internal textures, juiciness, heat levels, and whether or not they were accurate enough flavor-wise to carry the Flamin' Hot moniker.

Just some formalities to get out the way — a single serving size of these things is two pieces, or 80 grams. They come in at 180 calories and 7 grams of total fat, 1.5 of them saturated. A serving contains 45 milligrams of cholesterol, 810 milligrams of sodium, and 14 grams of total carbohydrates. There's less than 1 gram of fiber and added sugar each, and 15 grams of protein in every serving.

These retail at $9.99 per pound, and you'll find them at Kroger stores in the hot bar section. Some sister stores also carry the product, such as Fred Meyer or Dillons, but availability may be limited depending on your location. One interesting tidbit is that these Flamin' Hot boneless wings are manufactured by a foodservice brand called Pilgrim's, which specializes in prepared chicken products for restaurants and delis — it also has a grocery store line of frozen chicken wings and nuggets. So even if the brand isn't advertised on the store packaging, it's by a company you're possibly familiar with, even if you didn't know it.

I'm happy to report that these boneless wings are enjoyable, and this is coming from someone who wholly enjoys bone-in wings over boneless nuggets. They're brawny, juicy, and thankfully, not boring, but the answer you probably seek is whether or not they actually taste like Flamin' Hot Cheetos. This is where things get a little less straightforward. I'd say they're about 2/3 of the way there — the initial phase of the flavor has a distinctly Buffalo-style feel to it, which eventually gives way to that acidic Flamin' Hot taste that devotees love so much. 

Then the heat kicks in, which I'd say hits the high end of medium, especially if you eat a bunch of them. If you handed me a few of these things and asked me to guess their flavor, I'm not sure I would be able to identify them as Flamin' Hots, which is where the issue lies. The fun is really in their novelty; after a while the onslaught of flavor does get to be a little too much, which is why the nuggets are really just good in moderate doses. I dipped mine in blue cheese dressing, only because that's all we have at home right now, but I think they're better suited for ranch.

These wings are worth trying once if you're curious, but beyond that, I'm not sure most people will get hooked. It's worth noting that they are a limited-time item; Kroger says that they'll be available through June of this year, which gives you plenty of time to snag them. As for me, I have just under 20 pounds of the sample left in my freezer, so does anyone want to come over and help me eat them?