You only need a few pantry staples to make these copycat Winger’s Sticky Fingers. They’re crispy, sweet, and just a little spicy, just like the ones from the restaurant you love. Whether you’re hosting a party or need a quick weeknight dinner, these will leave everybody licking their fingers and asking for the recipe.
This recipe is also featured in our Copycat Cooking Cookbook! You can find it on page 78.
What are Winger’s Sticky Fingers?
This Utah-based restaurant chain is famous for their boneless wings. Most notably, their most-popular menu item, the “sticky fingers”, are chicken strips (or tenders), covered in a sweet, tangy sauce that has a little kick. Even though the restaurant’s exact sauce is kept under wraps, this 3-ingredient recreation is as close as it gets!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- 3-Ingredient Sauce. You only need hot sauce, brown sugar and water.
- Ready in 20 Minutes. From start to finish!
- Budget-friendly. Tastes just like the restaurant version for a fraction of the price!
- Customizable. Adjust how spicy it is by adjusting the amount of hot sauce.
- Great for parties, game day, or a quick weeknight dinner.
Recipe Ingredient Notes
These are the ingredients you’ll need to make this copycat recipe, plus some notes and thoughts about each ingredient.
- Frozen breaded chicken strips: our favorites to use are Applegate or Just Bare brands (not sponsored, just a personal preference). If you want them to be crispier, Costco brand works great.
- Frank’s RedHot Sauce: this brings it closest to the “sticky finger” sauce flavor. You can swap it out for a milder hot sauce or a different brand, but it will change the flavor.
- Brown sugar: we use light packed brown sugar, any brand will work (but our favorite is C&H). You can use dark brown, too – it will add a slightly stronger flavor.
- Water. Yep, just water.
- Ranch dressing: optional, but it tastes great for dipping when paired with the tangy sauce (it also takes a little of the heat off).
Equipment Needed
For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:
- Sheet Pan (for cooking the chicken)
- Sauce pan (Medium, for the sauce)
- Whisk (or wooden spoon to mix)
How to Make Winger’s Sticky Fingers at home:
- Bake the chicken strips according to the package directions. For crispier chicken, bake toward the longer end of the recommended timeframe.
- While the chicken bakes, combine the hot sauce, water, and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the sauce is smooth.
- Remove the sauce from the heat, then pour the sauce over cooked chicken (if you let it cool slightly, it won’t remove the breading). Toss gently to coat the tenders.
- Serve warm with ranch dressing (optional, but delicious).
Variations
A few different suggestions our readers have tried and loved:
- Turn it into wings: toss the same sauce with cooked bone-in or boneless wings instead of chicken strips for your next game day spread.
- Make it a wrap: just like one of our readers noted below, this makes a really great wrap for lunch!
- Turn it into a salad: toss the sauced chicken over chopped romaine lettuce with your favorite salad toppings and some buttermilk ranch dressing.
- Make it milder for kids: serving this with ranch helps cut back on some of the heat, but you can reduce the amount of Frank’s Hot Sauce and replace it with ketchup for a sweeter sauce.
“I found this recipe on Pinterest! Super yummy and easy to make! We had leftovers so for lunch the next day I put them in a wrap! The sticky fingers, lettuce (I used green leaf), some cheese and a little bit of ranch in a tortilla super yummy lunch!”
What to Serve with Winger’s Sticky Fingers
Storage and Reheating
Once the chicken has cooled, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat the chicken in the oven or air fryer until warm. You can use the microwave, too, but it may soften the breading quite a bit.
Frequently Asked Questions
The restaurant version keeps their recipe under wraps, but this copycat recreates that sweet, spicy, sticky flavor with just three ingredients: Frank’s RedHot Original sauce, brown sugar, and water.
No, you don’t have to use it, but we’ve found it is the closest flavor to the restaurant version. Several readers have noted Frank’s Buffalo Wings sauce in place of the original.
Cut the hot sauce, or sub a portion of it with ketchup. You could use a milder hot sauce or try this sweeter sticky chicken sauce instead.
Brown sugar sauces can crystallize as they cool, especially after time in the fridge. One quick fix is to stir in 1-2 teaspoons of light corn syrup while heating the sauce to keep it smooth.
This is Winger’s nickname for their sticky sauce mixed with ranch dressing. Stir equal parts of the two together for an easy copycat “special sauce”.
Looking for more Hot Appetizers? Try these:
- Slow Cooker Sticky Chicken Wings
- Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings
- Baked Buffalo Wings
- Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings
Winger’s Sticky Fingers Copycat Recipe
Ingredients
- 25 ounces Frozen breaded chicken strips
- 6 Tablespoon Frank's Hot Sauce
- 4 Tablespoon water
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar
- ½ cup ranch dressing, optional for dipping
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken strips as directed on the back of the package.
- Heat hot sauce, water and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, until sugar is dissolved.
- Pour sauce over cooked chicken and serve warm.
- We like to dip these sticky fingers in ranch dressing – optional.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
What a great quick fix!
Gasp. I heart their chicken strips. Thanks so much for sharing. Will be trying sometime soon!
Yes please!
just a heads up for everyone the brown sugar will crystalize i added a smidge of karo syrup still sweet and perfect the next day!
To anonymous: I have this same recipe on my blog, and i’ve made it SEVERAL times and never had it crystallize. I usually even make extra sauce to keep in the fridge.
Will it taste ok with the Buffalo wing sauce that Franks makes? I havent tried the regular sauce but i use the buffalo one for everything!
@Anonymous,
I’ve never tried it with any other sauce, but if you like it I’m sure it will still taste so good!
I’ve been waiting for this since I left Utah!! I’m so excited. Also,If you hear anything about Winger’s special sauce, I’d love to have a recipe for that too!
I am SO craving sticky fingers! But here in Germany is no Wingers! Glad I came across this recipe!
You can buy the special sauce for $5.00 a bottle at any Winger’s. 🙂
The special sauce is Winger sauce mixed with ranch 🙂
@ Alex and Melynda- concerning special suace: THANKYOU! I feel like a hole in my heart has been filled. lol. I’m making this right now- complete with the special dipping sauce.
Will this come out kid friendly or too spicy? Can’t wait to make this tonight!
Needs a tsp of salt
@April,
It is a little spicy so I’ll usually leave out a few pieces of chicken for my son and then pour sauce on the rest!
I’ve made this several times over the years. I also add a tsp or so of karo syrup to it doesn’t crystallize. For the kids, mine are 5,3, and 1, add a little ketchup and they are good to go. I think it makes the sauce a little sweeter and not so spicy.
Never heard of this before I saw your post, but I’m so glad we tried it! Huge hit here.
So so yummy! I made this for dinner tonight along with some potato skins and it was just like we were eating out! Thanks so much!
Thank you so much! Ee’ve made these several times since I found it on pinterest and we LOVE them!!!!
I can’t wait to make these! We always go to Wingers for my birthday but this is our first year where there isn’t one in the state! My grocery store carries Frank’s Hot Sauce, but 4 different kinds, none of which are just plain “Frank’s Hot Sauce”. Recommendations?
We usually use the Buffalo Wings Frank’s Hot Sauce, but I’m sure they would all taste great!
I found this recipe on Pinterest! Super yummy and easy to make! We had leftovers so for lunch the next day I put them in a wrap! The sticky fingers,lettuce(i used green leaf) some cheese and a little bit of ranch in a tortilla super yummy lunch!
Don’t know the restaraunt- but these sound good!
Just made this tonight for dinner, it was SUPER yummy. My husband was impressed. Thank you!
How many chicken strips are in the package because i got the big costco size?
Hi!
There are usually about 15-20 in the package we use. Thanks!
So I tried the recipe and was wondering how I can make crispier chicken? I bought the breaded chicken, but it wasn’t as crunchy as it is when I get it at a restaurant.
I usually cook my chicken strips for the maximum time so they get as crispy as possible. I also put the sauce on right before serving. Thanks!
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That’s so funny to hear because I made this last Sunday night & I decided to mix some ranch with some of this leftover sauce…..I thought I made up something new but apparently this Winger’s place already thought of that too LOL
I live in Portland, OR…..we don’t have a Wringer’s here. I’d never even heard of it until I came across this blog. These Sticky Finger’s are to DIE for though!!! So glad I found it 🙂
It was a little spicy, I just put a few chicken strips to the side before pouring the sauce over the rest of the chicken.
Oh I hadn’t even thought of that….I’m going to make extra next time so I can make some wraps!! Yumm!! Thank you “Price Is Right” for the idea!!
I am in NY and have never heard of a Wingers, but after reading this post, there is no need to! These things were so simple and so amazing!! These will be a staple in my house on nights that I have no idea what to make!!
There are 2 Wingers Locations in Germany. Hope you’re close to one! I seriously considered an 8 hour drive to go there when I was pregnant with my first. They also sell the sauce and I would have family send it to me when we were stationed at Spangdahlem in Germany. Good luck!
Making this now(;
OMG this is so yummy! thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was so delicious and tasted legit! It really tastes just like the real thing. My husband and I could not get over how great this sauce it.
I waited tables at Winger’s for years through my undergrad, and ate more than my fair share of sauce in various ways. Now we live in Arkansas, and today the sticky finger craving hit. For date night tonight, we are whipping up a batch of this sauce, and I.cannot.wait. Also, this sauce will last for weeks in the fridge, in case anyone was wondering. Weeks.
As soon as I get to the grocery store, I am buying the chicken strips so I can make this!! My kids and I love wings, especially boneless, so this would make a great lunch for us 🙂
I have never heard of Wingers (I’m a Rhode Island Girl)…but I saw this recipe on Pinterest and I made it tonight for a party an it was a HUGE hit!! It’ll be a regular in my recipe box from now on!!
Made this the other night when I was craving some sticky fingers and didn’t really want to spend the money for all of my family! Soooo yummy! Also passed it on to my sister! She loved it! Huge hit!
I fry the chicken for a couple of minutes after I bake it. Also make sure you let the sauce cool before you coat the chicken
Any ideas on the batter for the ‘bone-in’ version?
i have made these several time and use the Frank’s sauce. Delicious and so easy. We just dip the chicken in the sauce instead of coating the chicken. The sauce saves well in the frig.
I made these last night for an easy Friday night dinner for my husband and 3 boys. They were so good, and so easy I will be making these all the time!! I am so happy I found this recipe thanks for posting it!
YES, THERE IS TWO WINGERS IN GERMANY….They are both on the Army post though, one in Darmstadt-Hessen and the other one in Mannheim-RheinlandPfalz
Looking. For items to make for a finger food party…think. this will be great…DOING a test run today
I live in CA. Where would I find Frank’s Hot Sauce?
Thanks…….
Cher
It is sold at most grocery stores. Wal Mart sells it.
Made this for dinner tonight and it was a hit. The Frank’s was perfect match with the brown sugar. Even my father liked it and he does usually go for chicken with any heat. Thanks – will be making again and again! =D
Went to the University of Idaho in Moscow, Id and Wingers was the highlight of the community. Def tried this recipe last year and re did it this time i either deep fry chicken wings or put them in my smoker then saute in the reduced wingers sauce. bomb!
Would this sauce work with chicken wings!? I need a good sauce for chicken wings for a super bowl party
These would work great with chicken wings too!
I’m originally from New Hampshire so never had this sauce but I was looking for something sweet and spicy. I love crispy bone-in wings and this sauce was PERFECTION! Thank you!
Love this!!!
we have been trying to save money by not eating out so much .This recipe tastes just like something you would order out! My family loved this. Thanks!
What brand of frozen breaded chicken strips do you recommend?
Really tasty! Used only 4TB of the recommended 6 of hot sauce and it was still too spicy so we went with 3 the next time and it was right on.
We usually use Tyson or Foster Farms.
This has been a family favorite for years now! It’s rare to find a recipe that’s not only super easy but also super delicious! We use as a dipping sauce for the tenders (Tyson chicken strips are great), and didn’t even want or need Ranch. I use Frank’s Buffalo Red Hot Wing Sauce every time and yes, do put the entire 1.5 c. of brown sugar. Sounds like a lot but it’s perfect 🙂
Been making this for years & it’s such a great copycat. We usually use it for the salad. Yum!
I can’t wait to try the recipe tonight. I’m curious – I assumed the red spots in the picture were chili flakes but there aren’t any in franks hot sauce or in brown sugar. What else did you add? Or is this a picture of the original wingers dish? Do they use chili flakes?
This recipe was super easy and quick but tasted like I spent hours cooking it!
We used the Frank’s mild, so it wasn’t too hot. The kids and adults love it.
We love this recipe!! It’s a family favorite. We don’t love how spicy it is , so we half the hot sauce. Thanks!
Any tips on a good brand of chicken strips to buy?
We like to buy ours from Costco but you can use whatever brand you prefer. We recommend getting a kind that are extra crispy so they stay crispy with the sauce. Perdue brand has some great crispy strips