The Nissin Cup Noodles Wings limited-edition lineup has officially landed, bringing a trio of chicken-wing-inspired flavors to the instant noodle aisle. Released just in time for the “Big Game” (and I’m being careful with the phrasing so the NFL lawyers don’t come after me), these cups aim to replicate a sports bar experience with popular chicken wing flavors translated into instant ramen cups. This mega-review tackles the entire lineup: Spicy Buffalo with Ranch, Garlic Parmesan, and Lemon Pepper.
At the time of this review, you can find this trio of products at Walmart stores across the USA for $1.18 each. They are marketed as a limited-time offering, and given that they seem to have been released to coincide with the NFL championship game airing on February 8th, I doubt they’ll be in stores for that long.
All three of these varieties are microwave-only, which is the preparation method I followed to ensure I was judging them exactly as the manufacturer intended. If you choose to steep these, I cannot guarantee you’ll get good results.
Noodles:
Rather than giving each cup an individual noodle score, I’ll just mention here that, across all three varieties, the noodles are the standard Nissin Cup Noodles fare. They are thin and soft, neither great nor terrible to me. While they are perfectly serviceable for a quick snack, they lack the al dente “snap” or wheat-forward character of a more premium noodle. They tend to soften significantly the longer they sit in the hot broth, eventually veering into mushy territory if you don’t eat them with a sense of urgency.
• 5/10
Spicy Buffalo with Ranch
The Verdict:
| Product: | Nissin Cup Noodles Wings Spicy Buffalo with Ranch |
| Origin: | Japan (Manufactured in the USA) |
| Noodle Quality: | 5/10 |
| Spice Level: | 2.5/10 |
| Overall Score: | 4/10 |
Buffalo sauce is a staple of American finger food, traditionally relying on a balance of cayenne-heavy hot sauce, like Frank’s Red Hot, and melted butter. This noodle version attempts to bake in a powdered “ranch” element to cool things down.Opening the lid, I found a strong, funky aroma dominated by powdered buttermilk. Once cooked, the sauce has a noticeably different aroma, leaning more toward a cheap, acidic sharp tomato sauce with ranch powder rather than a rich, buttery wing sauce.
The ingredient list is designed to mimic the sharp tang of a buffalo sauce. It features a base of sugar, salt, and chili pepper, bolstered by buttermilk and egg white to provide that intended ranch creaminess. Aromatics include garlic and onion, with paprika and beet powder added for that signature deep red Buffalo color. The “funk” I noticed in the aroma likely comes from the combination of white vinegar and powdered buttermilk. On the vegetable front, the flakes include carrot, celery, dill, and parsley, along with textured soy protein intended to act as imitation chicken bits. There’s 1180mg in the whole cup.
Spiciness:
The heat profile here mimics a standard bottle of Frank’s Red Hot or similar sauce. It provides a sharp, vinegar-based sting that hits the front of the tongue immediately but doesn’t have much of a “creep” or a long-lasting burn. For someone used to the extreme heat of Samyang or Daebak, this will feel very tame, but for a more casual noodle eater, it provides a recognizable hot wing zip that isn’t super punishing.
• 2.5/10
Overall:
While the inclusion of dried celery and carrot bits is a nice nod to the traditional wing platter, the actual flavor experience is a bit of a fumble. The acidity is too aggressive for the thin broth, and the “funk” of the ranch powder doesn’t quite bridge the gap between the vinegar and the noodles. It tastes like it smells, with a strange tomato-adjacent umami flavor that doesn’t make sense considering the lack of tomato in the ingredients, followed by a powdered ranch flavor on the back end. I also couldn’t find a single speck of the imitation chicken pieces. It’s an edible curiosity, and it’s not totally awful, but it certainly doesn’t taste like it should given the “buffalo sauce” moniker.
• 4/10
Garlic Parmesan
The Verdict:
| Product: | Nissin Cup Noodles Wings Garlic Parmesan |
| Origin: | Japan (Manufactured in the USA) |
| Noodle Quality: | 5/10 |
| Spice Level: | 1/10 |
| Overall Score: | 6.5/10 |
Garlic Parmesan is my personal favorite wing flavor, so I had high hopes for this cup. The powdered sauce contains garlic and parmesan cheese of course, supplemented by chicken fat and powdered chicken for savory depth, plus onion powder and a blend of nondescript Italian spices, which, based on the scent, clearly includes a lot of basil and rosemary. Interestingly, even though this isn’t the lemon pepper flavor, dried lemon and white vinegar are included here to provide an acidic “zing.” The flakes are minced garlic, carrots, celery, parsley, and textured vegetable protein. Sodium is 1130mg.
Upon peeling back the lid, the dry seasonings were incredibly aromatic, leaning heavily into the Italian herb aspect of it and not so much the parmesan cheese.
Spiciness:
There is a very minor, almost imperceptible spice to this cup. Occasionally, you do see an Italian seasoning blend that contains red pepper flakes, and this is one of those times even though it isn’t clearly delineated on the label. It’s unbelievably mild, but I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention it and give it a nonzero score.
• 1/10
Overall:
This was the standout flavor of this mega-review (which ended up being a low bar). While I found the parmesan cheese flavor to be pretty subtle to the point of being absent, the herb-forward sauce works pretty well with the noodles. It tastes more like a creamy Italian dressing-infused ramen than just straight-up garlic and parmesan wing sauce, but it’s savory, aromatic, and actually enjoyable to finish. The garlic, carrot, and celery pieces remained surprisingly crunchy, which helped offset the standard noodle texture. I also managed to find some TVP pieces in this one, making me wonder what was up with the missing pieces in the first cup.
• 6.5/10
Lemon Pepper
The Verdict:
| Product: | Nissin Cup Noodles Wings Lemon Pepper |
| Origin: | Japan (Manufactured in the USA) |
| Noodle Quality: | 5/10 |
| Spice Level: | 2/10 |
| Overall Score: | 3/10 |
Lemon pepper seasoning is a simple duo, so I thought this flavor had some potential. Lemon pepper wings would be maybe my third choice if ordering wings at a restaurant, so I’m not opposed to this flavor at all. This cup includes black pepper, lemon, and a chicken-fat base. The dried toppings are very similar to the others, consisting of carrot, celery, parsley, and soy protein. Sodium is the highest of the trio at 1230mg.
Strangely, the aroma is not particularly lemony; instead, it smells like a generic chicken broth with a heavy dose of pepper. The sauce has a creamy appearance, which was nice.
Spiciness:
The heat in here comes entirely from a massive amount of black pepper. It is bitter and potent, creating a medicinal linger that stuck in the back of the throat. It’s a relentless, sharp bite that builds up quickly, making it feel more “spicy” in a pungent way than the Buffalo variety, despite lacking any actual chili peppers.
• 2/10
Overall:
This was an unbalanced, one-note experience. I didn’t smell much lemon at all, even after cooking, but the flavor was abundantly lemon, and not in a good way. The lemon flavor was incredibly artificial and dominated my palate with a sourness that had no savory depth or sweetness to counter it. Imagine drinking a bottle of a lemon-scented wood cleaner, and that was pretty much this experience. Combined with the bitter aftertaste of the excessive black pepper, it became a struggle to finish. It lacked the nuance of a fresh lemon pepper wing and instead felt like a missed opportunity.
• 3/10
