Wendy’s customers have long been limited to just two flavors whenever they’re craving an order of chicken nuggets: classic and spicy. But starting today, fans will have a slew of exciting new nugget varieties to choose from at the fast-food giant.
A major new line of sauce-covered chicken nuggets is currently landing on Wendy’s menus nationwide. Digital customers who order through the app or website can snag an order starting on June 3, while in-person customers will have access starting on June 10.
Served with a side of ranch or blue cheese dipping sauce, the flavorful nuggets are freshly coated in the customer’s choice of one of seven flavors: Honey BBQ, Spicy Honey BBQ, Garlic Parm, Spicy Garlic Parm, Buffalo, Spicy Buffalo, or Spicy Ghost Pepper. Customers can snag them in four-piece, six-piece, 10-piece, or 20-piece orders.
During a recent preview event attended by Eat This, Not That!, Wendy’s Global Vice President of Culinary Innovation John Li said they created the new offerings in response to fans clamoring for more chicken nugget flavor options. Li and his team spent two years developing a range of flavors that would be both familiar and adventurous to consumers.
“We are not putting this type of effort into anything else. This is a big deal,” he said of the new nugget line.
Wendy’s team also paid close attention to developing sauces with the right consistency to coat every nook and cranny of each nugget, Li said. For every order, a Wendy’s employee will toss chicken nuggets with the customer’s preferred sauce directly inside the container they’re served in.
I had the opportunity to sample all seven new Saucy Nuggs flavors during the Wendy’s preview event. Here’s my review of each option, starting with my least favorite and ending with my absolute favorite!
Honey BBQ
Nutrition: (Per 10-Piece Order):
Calories: 590
Fat: 29 g (Saturated Fat: 6 g, Trans Fat: 0 g)
Sodium: 1,450 mg
Carbs: 56 g (Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 30 g)
Protein: 25 g
Wendy’s Honey BBQ Saucy Nuggs are coated in a sweet and tangy sauce that features a touch of honey. A 10-piece order of these and every other Saucy Nuggs flavor currently costs $6.89 at my local Wendy’s in central New Jersey, though prices could vary by location.
The look: Wendy’s Honey BBQ sauce was thick enough to cling to every millimeter of the chicken nuggets but not so thick that it ventured into gloopy territory. The deep, rich sauce color almost made these look more like boneless chicken wings than chicken nuggets.
The taste: These nuggets truly live up to the “honey” aspect of their name. The sauce is intensely sweet, with some zingy tanginess playing in the background. The flavor isn’t bad, per se, but the sauce does give the nuggets a cloying quality that I found a bit overpowering. These probably would have ended up higher in my ranking if the sweetness levels were toned down or there was a bit more tang or smoke to counteract them. I also found the texture a little lacking since the sauce somewhat softened the crispy coating on the nuggets.
Spicy Honey BBQ
Nutrition: (Per 10-Piece Order):
Calories: 600
Fat: 31 g (Saturated Fat: 7 g, Trans Fat: 0 g)
Sodium: 1,700 mg
Carbs: 55 g (Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 30 g)
Protein: 26 g
Wendy’s Spicy Honey BBQ Saucy Nuggs feature Wendy’s popular Spicy Chicken Nuggets coated in a sweet and tangy barbecue sauce.
The look: The non-spicy Honey BBQ nuggets were practically indistinguishable from them thanks to that deep, rich sauce, which covered the chicken pieces perfectly.
The taste: These nuggets, thankfully, offered a little more balance than their spice-free counterparts. Wendy’s Spicy Nuggets have a peppery, fiery taste that counteracted some of the overwhelming sweetness I got in the classic Honey BBQ Spicy Nuggs. I still wish the cloying quality was more toned down, but these were much more enjoyable to eat overall. As someone with a pretty average spice tolerance, I’d rate the heat levels at about a four on a scale of 1-10.
Buffalo
Nutrition: (Per 10-Piece Order):
Calories: 530
Fat: 36 g (Saturated Fat: 7 g, Trans Fat: 0 g)
Sodium: 2,800 mg
Carbs: 26 g (Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 1 g)
Protein: 25 g
Wendy’s Buffalo Saucy Nuggs are tossed in a vinegary pepper sauce with some buttery notes.
The look: These were undoubtedly the most generously sauced of all the new nugget flavors. The buffalo coating had an orange, almost creamy appearance that gave the nuggets a glistening sheen.
The taste: Potent in a tasty way. The flavor was pretty in line with any classic buffalo sauce: vinegary, fermented, buttery, and peppery with a small kiss of heat. My only complaints are that the sauce was crazy salty and the breading lost virtually all of its texture after being tossed in the coating. Those factors didn’t stop me from getting plenty of enjoyment out of these, though.
Spicy Buffalo
Nutrition: (Per 10-Piece Order):
Calories: 540
Fat: 37 g (Saturated Fat: 8 g, Trans Fat: 0 g)
Sodium: 3,040 mg
Carbs: 26 g (Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 1 g)
Protein: 26 g
Wendy’s Spicy Buffalo Saucy Nuggs feature Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Nuggets tossed in a vinegary buffalo sauce.
The look: The color on these nuggets was identical to the color on the non-spicy variety. While coated thoroughly, these weren’t quite as generously sauced as the classic Buffalo Saucy Nuggs.
The taste: These boasted the same peppery, vinegary, buttery, and salty flavors as the other buffalo nugget variety. However, they rose above the non-spicy version in my ranking because a kick of heat is an automatic upgrade for any food in my book. These started at about a four on the spice scale, but the heat grew a little more potent with every bite in a delicious way.
Garlic Parm
Nutrition: (Per 10-Piece Order):
Calories: 940
Fat: 80 g (Saturated Fat: 17 g, Trans Fat: 1.5 g)
Sodium: 1,610 mg
Carbs: 29 g (Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 1 g)
Protein: 27 g
Wendy’s Garlic Parm Saucy Nuggs are coated in a savory sauce flavored with parmesan, a little parsley, and four types of garlic for extra depth: garlic powder, roasted garlic, minced garlic, and garlic oil.
The look: These golden brown nuggets looked more seasoned than sauced in comparison to the Buffalo and Honey BBQ flavors. The garlic parmesan coating was significantly thinner than the other two varieties, but the bits of parsley and shiny sheen also made it very apparent that these weren’t your typical chicken nuggets.
The taste: Even before I took my first bite, these nuggets filled the air around me with a strong, savory aroma that almost reminded me of garlic knots from a pizza parlor. The taste, however, was even better than the smell. There’s a bit of butteriness accented by sharp, salty parmesan. The garlic is also strong and has a deep, toasty flavor rather than the lingering raw taste you sometimes get in garlicky foods.
As a bonus, the thinner sauce allowed the Garlic Parm Saucy Nuggs to stay much crispier than the Honey BBQ and Buffalo versions.
Spicy Garlic Parm
Nutrition: (Per 10-Piece Order):
Calories: 950
Fat: 82 g (Saturated Fat: 17 g, Trans Fat: 1.5 g)
Sodium: 1,850 mg
Carbs: 28 g (Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 1 g)
Protein: 28 g
Wendy’s Spicy Garlic Parm Saucy Nuggs consist of the chain’s Spicy Chicken Nuggets tossed with a parmesan and garlic sauce.
The look: Unlike some of the other non-spicy nugget flavors in this ranking, the Spicy Garlic Parm Saucy Nuggets had a sort of distinct look from the Garlic Parm Saucy Nuggets. The color had a bit of a reddish tint to it, probably due to the blend of peppers and spices it uses in its Spicy Nuggets.
The taste: As I’ve previously said, a kick of heat automatically makes food tastier to me. The Spicy Garlic Parm Saucy Nuggs had everything I liked about classic Garlic Parm Saucy Nuggs, but they were even better because of the spicy, peppery taste of the Spicy Nuggets. I’d put the heat levels at about a 4 again.
To be clear, I don’t really think you can go wrong with the regular Garlic Parm version. But if you’re like me and welcome a kick of spice anywhere you can get it, I bet you’ll like these even more. There was only one Saucy Nuggs flavor I found tastier and more craveable.
Spicy Ghost Pepper
Nutrition: (Per 10-Piece Order):
Calories: 900
Fat: 76 g (Saturated Fat: 16 g, Trans Fat: 0.5 g)
Sodium: 2,060 mg
Carbs: 30 g (Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 2 g)
Protein: 27 g
The hottest of all the new Saucy Nuggs flavors, Wendy’s Spicy Ghost Pepper Saucy Nuggs feature Spicy Chicken Nuggets tossed with a spicy ghost pepper sauce.
The look: Even compared to the reddish Spicy Garlic Parm Nuggs, the Ghost Pepper Saucy Nuggs had a deep fiery color that teased the spice to follow. The ghost pepper sauce was spotted with herbs and had a thinner consistency similar to the Garlic Parm sauce.
The taste: I sometimes worry when trying ghost pepper-flavored foods that it will be all pain and no flavor, but that wasn’t the case with these new Wendy’s nuggets. The heat creeps up slowly rather than punching you in the face, giving you enough time to savor the flavor and texture of the actual nugget. It’s savory, salty, crispy, a little buttery, and full of delicious pepper flavor.
I did have a slight sheen of sweat and a little nose drip after a couple of bites. but out of all seven flavors, I still couldn’t stop eating these.
