Avoid This One Whole Foods Prepared Item At All Costs

Whole Foods isn't just one of the best grocery stores in the U.S., but it's also one of our favorite grocery chains for hot food. The sheer variety of prepared foods, both hot and cold, is enough to enjoy a different meal every day of the week. But, not all of Whole Food's prepared foods are worth buying. Tasting Table's taste tester sampled and ranked 20 of the most popular prepared foods from Whole Foods, and they found that the grocer's hand at the quintessential game-day favorite, Buffalo chicken wings, unfortunately missed the mark. 

Whole Foods' Buffalo chicken wings failed the taste test miserably, and it all started with the sauce. Our taste tester found that the Buffalo sauce was sticky and thin, with a fake, low-quality flavor not worthy of even the cheapest wing joint — let alone a high-end grocery store. But the real crime was the gristly, fatty chicken meat and the thin film of skin that had absolutely not crisp whatsoever. Moreover, while these wings are in the hot food bar section, they were lukewarm at best. You're better off air frying wings at home and dousing them in one of the many store-bought Buffalo sauces.

While we weren't impressed with Whole Foods Buffalo wings, customers on Reddit, Facebook, and TikTok seem to have really enjoyed them — although some have noted that they prefer to take them home to add sauce and crisp them up in the air fryer. Customers were complimentary of the chicken quality, noting that the meat was lean, moist, and meaty. Others enjoyed the tangy zing of the Buffalo sauce. It's possible that our taste tester merely sampled these wings on an off day. But, a lack of consistency isn't worth the gamble — and cold Buffalo wings never live up to their potential. 

Despite some of the positive feedback, those on r/Wings subReddit did admit that the wings weren't crispy enough. "Those look... slimy," wrote on Redditor. "They definitely need a few minutes in the air Fryer," wrote another. If you're at Whole Foods and want crispy wings, one Redditor advised you, "buy their air-chilled wings and cook them yourselves." A couple of other Redditors agreed, noting that the grocer has high-quality wings at the butcher section that you can crisp up and enjoy hot with the help of an air fryer or by roasting them in the oven.