Little Caesars is a popular pizza chain that also offers a variety of side dishes and appetizers like wings. For people watching their carb intake or following a low carb diet, knowing the carb count of menu items can be helpful for making informed choices. This article will provide a detailed look at the amount of carbs found in Little Caesars wings.
Wings are often perceived as a low carb option, since they are mostly protein from the chicken meat. However, the breading, sauce, and cooking method used can result in varying amounts of carbohydrates. Factors like wing size, batter type, sauce flavors, and added dipping sauces impact the total carbs. So how many carbs are actually in an order of Little Caesars wings?
Little Caesars Wing Styles
Little Caesars offers two main wing styles on their menu – Original Wings and Boneless Wings. Both are fried and tossed in one of Little Caesars’ signature wing sauces.
Original Wings – Traditional bone-in chicken wings fried with a light breading and sauced. An order contains 8 pieces.
Boneless Wings – All white meat chicken fried into bite-sized boneless pieces. An order contains 8 ounces.
Within these two styles, customers can choose from the following wing sauce flavors:
– Hot N Ready Buffalo Sauce
– Lemon Pepper Sauce
– BBQ Sauce
– Parmesan Garlic Sauce
– Mango Habanero Sauce
The type of sauce impacts the carb count, so this is an important factor when determining carbohydrate content.
Nutrition Information for Little Caesars Wings
Little Caesars provides nutrition information for their menu items on their website. Here are the listed amounts of carbs for each wing choice:
Original Wings
| Sauce | Total Carbs (g) |
|---|---|
| Hot N Ready Buffalo | 5g |
| Lemon Pepper | 5g |
| BBQ | 9g |
| Parmesan Garlic | 7g |
| Mango Habanero | 6g |
Boneless Wings
| Sauce | Total Carbs (g) |
|---|---|
| Hot N Ready Buffalo | 13g |
| Lemon Pepper | 13g |
| BBQ | 17g |
| Parmesan Garlic | 15g |
| Mango Habanero | 14g |
This nutrition data shows that boneless wings have around double the amount of carbs compared to original bone-in wings. This is likely due to the thicker breading and smaller shape of the boneless wings versus the lighter breading on bone-in wings.
Among the sauces, BBQ flavor wings have the highest carbs while Hot N Ready Buffalo and Lemon Pepper are lower in carbs. The creamy Parmesan Garlic sauce and sweet Mango Habanero fall in the middle carb-wise.
Factors Affecting Carb Content
There are a few important factors that impact the carbohydrate content of Little Caesars wings:
Breading
The breading used to coat the wings before frying adds additional carbs. Boneless wings have more breading overall compared to traditional wings with bones, increasing the carb count.
Sauces
The various sauce flavors differ in ingredients, which changes the amount of sugars and carbs. Thicker, sweeter sauces like BBQ and Parmesan Garlic contain more carbs than spicier, vinegar-based sauces like Hot Buffalo.
Dips and Dressing
If dipping sauces like ranch, blue cheese, or honey mustard are ordered for dipping, those can add extra carbs per serving depending on amount used.
Wing Size
Larger, meatier wings will have less breading proportionally and fewer carbs than smaller wings. Wing counts in orders also impact carb amounts.
Cooking Method
Fried wings develop a crispy carb-containing coating. Wings grilled or baked plain would have minimal carbs, but Little Caesars does not offer these options.
How Many Wings Are Typical Serving?
Little Caesars wing orders provide decent portion sizes for one person. Their regular wing orders include:
– Original Wings: 8 wings
– Boneless Wings: 8oz (about 12-15 pieces)
Most people would consume around 8-12 wings as a single serving. By comparison, some other restaurants may only provide 5 or 6 wings per serving.
If you want a lighter carb meal, stick with the Original bone-in wings layered with less thick breading. Opt for Hot Buffalo or Lemon Pepper flavors to minimize carbs. And avoid additional high carb dipping sauces to further reduce total carbs.
A serving of 8 Hot Buffalo Original Wings would have only about 5g of carbs from the wings themselves, plus carbs from any dip ordered. This makes for a reasonable lower carb option from the Little Caesars menu.
Low Carb Dipping Sauce Options
While wings alone are lower in carbs, dipping sauces can add further carbs depending on amount used. Some better options for low carb dipping sauces include:
Buffalo Sauce
Get extra cups of Little Caesars regular Buffalo wing sauce or Hot N Ready sauce for dipping. These contain about 1g carbs per 2 tbsp serving.
Mustard
Yellow mustard or spicy brown mustard are both low carb choices, with around 0-1g carbs per tbsp.
Horseradish Sauce
Prepared horseradish mixed with mayo makes a zesty lower carb dip with about 1g carbs per tbsp.
Salsa
Look for fresh store-bought salsa with 2g net carbs or less per 2 tbsp.
Blue Cheese Dressing
Ask for blue cheese on the side and be mindful of portions. Around 2 tbsp will add 3-4g carbs.
Ranch Dressing
Ranch is higher in carbs but you can ask for extra and use sparingly, limiting to 2-3 tbsp for 6-9g carbs.
Ordering Low Carb at Little Caesars
To recap, here are some tips for ordering lower carb wings from Little Caesars:
– Choose Original bone-in wings, which are lower carb than boneless.
– Get Hot Buffalo or Lemon Pepper sauce for minimal carbs.
– Skip high carb dipping sauces like honey mustard or house ranch.
– Opt for low carb dipping sauces instead like buffalo, mustard, salsa or limit ranch.
– Watch carb counts if adding sides like breadsticks or cheesy bread.
– Stick to 1 serving of wings as part of a low carb meal.
Conclusion
When ordered wisely, Little Caesars wings can be a relatively low carb option compared to other menu choices. Prioritize Original Hot Buffalo or Lemon Pepper bone-in wings with lower carb dipping sauces to maximize flavor while limiting carbs. Just 8 bone-in wings with buffalo sauce contain only around 5g of carbs total. So you can definitely satisfy that wing craving at Little Caesars while maintaining low carb nutrition goals.