BBQ Chicken Wings (In The Crock Pot!)

By Kristy Richardson on July 2, 2024 | Updated June 21, 2024 | Rate Recipe

Making BBQ chicken wings in the crock pot may be the simplest way ever! You only need a few ingredients for juicy, tender and flavorful wings that will become your new favorite.

Why We Love BBQ Chicken Wings

• Tender And Delicious Every Time – These wings are always tender and packed full of flavor, almost falling off the bone. You’ll never eat dry, tough wings again!
• Not Fried But Packed With Flavor – Wings out are usually fried and then tossed in more butter along with the sauce. These wings are just tossed in the sauce and a few other ingredients which makes them more friendly for my family.
• Great For Game Day – I love that if I share these wings for game day or with a crowd, the slow cooker keeps them warm. This keeps the wings at a safe temperature for the whole game.

Ingredients For BBQ Chicken Wings

• 1 1/2 cups BBQ sauce can use your favorite brand, I like Sweet Baby Rays barbecue sauce for any crockpot bbq
• 1 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 2 pounds chicken wings can use drumettes, flats or wings. 2 Pounds is about 10-12 wings depending on the size

You can also add a little hot sauce if you like to make it spicy.

How To Make Chicken Wings In A Crock Pot

1. Spray the crock pot generously with cooking spray. Add the BBQ sauce, honey, red pepper flakes, Worcestershire, mustard powder, and brown sugar together to the bottom of a crock pot. Mix the sauce well.

2. Add the chicken to the crock pot. Stir well to coat all of the chicken pieces in sauce. Cover the crock pot and cook covered on low for 3 hours, or until 165 degrees when checked with a meat thermometer. Serve and enjoy!

Optional Broiling (Makes The Wings Crispier)

1. Turn on the broil setting on the oven. Cover a sheetpan with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking oil. Remove the chicken wings and place on the sheetpan with a little space in between each one. Use a silicone brush and brush extra sauce from the crock pot generously over the chicken wings.
2. Place the chicken wings under the broiler to crisp up the outside a little, usually 1-3 minutes. Be careful to watch closely as we want them to crisp but not burn. Serve and enjoy!

Why Is My BBQ Sauce Watery?

The bottled bbq sauce you choose can effect if the end result is watery. To thicken up the sauce add one teaspoon of cornstarch to three teaspoons of water in a small bowl. Mix well, then place the cornstarch in the slow cooker and mix it into the sauce. Cover and flip to high heat for about 20-30 minutes, then check the wings. This should thicken up the sauce without making it gritty.

If the sauce is especially watery, add two teaspoons of cornstarch to six teaspoons of water, then add to the sauce before flipping to high heat covered for 20-30 minutes.

Can You Make This Chicken A Freezer Meal?

You can prepare these chicken drumsticks and freeze them into sauce to prepare your dinner ahead of time. To use this recipe as meal prep, you must defrost the chicken and sauce before adding it to the slow cooker.

Can I Use Frozen Chicken Wings In The Slow Cooker?

Frozen chicken wings can be used in this recipe but they must be defrosted before adding to the slow cooker. Putting any raw meat into the crockpot and then cooking it from frozen is a big risk for bacteria. Because the chicken is frozen in the center, it spends too long at a temperature which is unsafe, and could cause illness.

How Long Will BBQ Crockpot Chicken Wings Last?

Expect these bbq chicken wings will last for about three days if stored in the refrigerator in an airtight covered container. Leftovers can also be frozen and reheated if you prefer.

BBQ Wings (In The Crock Pot!)

Course Appetizer, Dinners

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 4 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Making crockpot chicken wings in a bbq sauce is so easy, and makes the most tender wings your family will enjoy again and again!

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Equipment

• 1 6 quart crockpot

• 1 Large spoon

Instructions

• Spray the crock pot generously with cooking spray. Add the BBQ sauce, honey, red pepper flakes, Worcestershire, mustard powder, and brown sugar together to the bottom of a crock pot. Mix the sauce well.

• Add the chicken to the crock pot. Stir well to coat all of the chicken pieces in sauce. Cover the crock pot and cook covered on low for 4 hours, or until 165 degrees when checked with a meat thermometer. Serve and enjoy!

Optional Broiling

• Turn on the broil setting on the oven. Cover a sheetpan with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking oil. Remove the chicken wings and place on the sheetpan with a little space in between each one. Use a silicone brush and brush extra sauce from the crock pot generously over the chicken wings.

• Place the chicken wings under the broiler to crisp up the outside a little, usually 1-3 minutes. Be careful to watch closely as we want them to crisp but not burn. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

You can use a mix of bone in legs, wings, and drumsticks for this recipe, whatever you prefer.
You can swap in regular mustard for the dried mustard, use 1 tablespoon of Dijon or yellow mustard for each teaspoon of dried mustard. I recommend using Dijon mustard for more flavor.
Chicken is safe to eat when they reach a temperature inside of 165 degrees when using a meat thermometer. Be careful not to hit the bone with the thermometer when testing. When doubling the recipe, expect it to take four hours when cooked on low.
I used a 6 quart slow cooker for this recipe.
I usually plan on 4-6 wings per person. For parties where there is a lot of other food I’ll plan 4 wings, and if serving for dinner I’ll plan at least six wings per person. This recipe easily can be doubled or tripled, though if tripling I recommend using a larger crock pot.

Nutrition

Calories: 225kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 293mg | Potassium: 152mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 147IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg

Did You Make This?

I would love to see it! Share your thoughts with me in the comments below!