Calories in Chicken Wings: Baked, Fried and Buffalo

Chicken wings are the classic game-day food: crispy, saucy and easy to share. They’re also often seen as “just chicken”. But wings are mostly skin, and they’re usually fried, sauced and dipped. So how many calories do chicken wings really have?

The short answer: one baked chicken wing with skin has about 86 calories. A breaded fried wing has about 160–180 calories, and a buffalo wing with sauce about 90–110. 10 wings come to about 860–1,100 calories, plus about 150 more for a blue cheese or ranch dip. Most of the calories come from the skin, frying oil, breading, sauce and dip.

Calories in chicken wings per wing

Values are from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA FoodData Central):

Wing	Calories per wing	Protein
Wing meat only, no skin (21 g)	43 kcal	6 g
Baked or roasted wing with skin (34 g)	86 kcal	8 g
Buffalo wing with hot sauce (35 g)	89⁠–⁠110 kcal	6 g
BBQ or honey glazed wing	100⁠–⁠130 kcal	7 g
Breaded fried wing (fast food, 58 g)	160⁠–⁠180 kcal	12 g

Tip: the numbers are for the part you eat, without the bone. A “wing” in restaurants is usually one piece – either a drumette or a flat.

Calories in 6, 10 and 20 wings

Portion	Baked, with skin	Buffalo, with sauce	Breaded, fried
6 wings	about 520 kcal	about 550–650 kcal	about 950⁠–⁠1,050 kcal
10 wings	about 860 kcal	about 900–1,100 kcal	about 1,600⁠–⁠1,800 kcal
20 wings	about 1,720 kcal	about 1,800–2,200 kcal	about 3,200⁠–⁠3,600 kcal

Chicken wing nutrition facts

Nutrient (per 100 g)	Roasted, with skin	Fried, breaded
Calories	254 kcal	310 kcal
Protein	23.8 g	21.1 g
Fat	16.9 g	20.1 g
– of which saturated	5.0 g	5.4 g
Carbohydrates	0 g	11.2 g
Sodium	98 mg	867 mg

Wings have as much protein per 100 g as other chicken, but much more fat, because the skin is a big part of each wing. Breaded fried wings add carbs from the coating and a lot of salt.

Calories in wing sauces and dips

Sauce or dip (2 tbsp)	Calories
Hot sauce (buffalo, no butter)	about 5⁠–⁠10 kcal
Buffalo sauce with butter	about 60⁠–⁠100 kcal
BBQ sauce	about 50⁠–⁠70 kcal
Honey garlic or teriyaki	about 60⁠–⁠90 kcal
Ranch dressing	about 130⁠–⁠140 kcal
Blue cheese dressing	about 140⁠–⁠150 kcal
Celery and carrot sticks (1 cup)	about 20⁠–⁠50 kcal

Dips are the hidden calories. Two tablespoons of ranch or blue cheese dressing have more calories than a baked wing. Many restaurants serve 4 tablespoons or more with an order.

Are chicken wings good for weight loss?

Not the best choice, but you can fit them in. Much of a wing’s calories come from skin and fat, and restaurant wings are usually fried and served with creamy dips.

How to make them lighter:

• Bake or air-fry instead of deep-frying – the skin still gets crispy.
• Skip the breading.
• Use a dry rub, hot sauce or lemon pepper instead of sweet or buttery sauces.
• Measure the dip, or use a Greek yogurt dip instead of ranch.
• Count the wings and fill up on celery, carrots and a salad.

Remember that you lose weight only when you eat fewer calories than you burn. Read more about the calorie deficit and find your number with our calorie calculator. If you want leaner chicken, see our articles on chicken breast and chicken thigh.

Count the calories in your wings without guesswork. With NutriSmart, you snap a photo of what you eat, and the app counts your calories, protein, carbs and fat and shows how much you have left for the day.Get the app free

You can also read how many calories are in beer and in a slice of pizza.

The bottom line

A baked chicken wing with skin has about 86 calories, a buffalo wing about 90–110 and a breaded fried wing about 160–180. Ten wings add up to 860–1,800 calories, and creamy dips add about 150 more. For a lighter plate, bake or air-fry your wings, skip the breading, use hot sauce or a dry rub and measure the dip.