Hooters Debuts New Meatless Wings That Taste Just Like Chicken

By Kat Thompson

Published on 1/6/2020 at 1:13 PM

hooters quorn foods meatless boneless wings chicken plant based
Edited - Courtesy of Quorn Foods

Meatless burgers? Check. Plant-based tacos? Check. Vegetarian-friendly sausage breakfast sandwiches? Check. Meat-free buffalo chicken wings? Also check -- now that Hooters is launching plant-based wings that taste just like real chicken at its restaurants nationwide. 

In a partnership with Quorn Foods, a meat alternative company that has been experimenting with vegetarian and soy-free "meats" since the '80s, Hooters is rolling out boneless wings that aren't actually made from chicken. Hooters claims the new meatless wings are "100% carnivore approved and even the most loyal meat eaters won’t believe Unreal wings."

"We're excited to build upon our heritage of offering the broadest variety of wings under one roof by being the first to bring great tasting meatless wings to our guests," Carl Sweat, chief marketing officer of Hooters, said in a release. "By partnering with Quorn, we were able to create the taste, texture and crispiness of our world-famous chicken wings perfectly. Similar to our launch of smoked wings and roasted wings with half the calories of our regular wings, the Unreal wings provide our guests a healthier option without compromising on the full Hooters Wing flavor they know and love."

The wings arrive on the heels of another plant-based chicken brand that recently debuted. As we said in our 2020 predictions regarding food trends, plant-based chicken would be on the rise. Not only are the wings allegedly healthier, they also give consumers more options -- especially those who tend not to eat meat either due to environmental reasons or issues related to animal welfare.

The new "chicken" wings are available now nationwide in any and all of Hooters' classic sauces and dry rubs, so feel free to try them out and do a side-by-side comparison with actual chicken wings. Who knows -- the flavor may just surprise you.

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Kat Thompson is a staff writer at Thrillist. Follow her on Twitter @katthompsonn.