Slow Cooker Sticky Chicken Wings
The easiest wings you will ever make. Just throw everything into the crockpot and you’re set for the most tender, fall-off-the-bone chicken wings!
I’ve made quite a few wings recipes in my day, mainly because Jason is pretty much obsessed with any kind of wings – hot, buffalo, asian-style. You name it.
I’ve also tried deep-frying and baking them, but I’ve never made wings in the slow cooker until I tried this. And boy was I in for a treat for the easiest, most effortless wings ever.
There’s absolutely no hot oil, no deep frying, no dreading, nothing. Just throw everything into a slow cooker, press the high or low button and that’s it. Really. It’s just that easy.
And the results are unbelievably amazing. These babies are cooked absolutely perfectly, soaked in all that flavor for hours on end. And the meat literally falls off the bone!
Slow Cooker Sticky Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken wings
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
For the sauce
- ⅓ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup honey
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, honey, garlic, Sriracha, ginger powder, pepper and onion powder.
- Place wings into a slow cooker. Stir in soy sauce mixture and gently toss to combine. Cover and cook on low heat for 3-4 hours or high heat for 1-2 hours.
- In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water. Stir in mixture into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.
- Preheat oven to broil. Line a baking sheet with foil.
- Place wings onto the prepared baking sheet and broil for 2-3 minutes, or until caramelized and slightly charred.
- Serve immediately with remaining sauce, garnished with sesame seeds and cilantro, if desired.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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I read all the reviews before making. I baked in 400 degree oven on parchment paper for 15 min. After drying wings off. Put in my crockpot with the sauce as directed for 3 1/2 hours. Took wings out and thickened the sauce (no problem on saute setting) put sauce on chicken and broiled till caramelized then flipped more sauce broiled again. OMG amazing!!! I have very picky eaters here and no complaints!!!!!! Thank you for the recipe!!
I haven’t made this yet but plan to in a few days. I’m hoping someone can answer a question. Do I use frozen or fresh wings when I put them in the slow cooker? Thanks!
I’ve used both frozen if I can’t defrost it works no matter what just take your time if you can or cook on high if you’re in a hurry bless… so yummy
This was awesome! I followed the recipe exactly except for the Sriracha. Those last few minutes in the oven made the chicken a perfect consistency. It truly is a simple recipe with wonderful and very tasty pay off. Made this Sunday and making again tonight (Wednesday) .
Has anyone tried putting these on the grill at the end? We are working with a kitchen remodel and no working oven at this time. I’m also wondering how salty they are – I like the suggestion to sub some chicken broth for part of the soy sauce.
I have a Weber Gen III and I use it as an outdoor oven all the time. so I say yes. I think that tossing these over a open flame might tend to burn the glaze.
I’ve made these yummies lots of times now and love love love them… so easy I love wings… thanks Chungah bless
Great recipe! I had an excess amount of liquid left in the slow cooker, so I placed it in a pot and reduced until it thickened like molasses. I placed the wings under the broiler and charred them for added taste and texture, then tossed with the reduction.
Delicious!
I made these last night. I prepped them on the stove top as my slow cooker is small. Let them simmer gently in the sauce for about 45 min – 1 hour. Removed the chicken wings and added cornstarch to the sauce until thickened. Put the chicken back in and coated them with the sauce then broiled them in the oven. These were AWESOME!!!! So darn good! Thx for this great recipe!!!
Appears from these reviews this recipe has been here for awhile! My family loved these chicken wings!!
So tender & flavor was delicious. A perfect balance.
It was pretty good, I didn’t have everything listed BUT I usually preseason all my meat so the flavour works well. I don’t know if I did more than 3lbs of wings, I don’t think I did, but not all all the wings were cooked properly after 1.5hrs in the slow cooker on high, so not sure if that is because of my slow cooker or something else. Mine also came out a deeper shade of brown, which is nice too!
Tasty but I’d recommend parchment paper instead of foil. Make ur life that much easier.
Absolutely amazing! I’ve made this a few times to take to football viewings and the guys have demolished them. I read the other reviews and put the sauce into a pan to reduce and thicken and then coat the wings again before broiling. Turned out great. Some of my best recipe have come from Damn Delicious so thank you for yet another one!
This recipe is always requested and back by popular demand! Usually double the recipe as everyone devours these wings and wants more. I’ve made these on low in the slow cooker for 3-4 hours or high for 1-2 -hrs – either way, always turns out great!!
This was awesome! I left out the heat because my toddlers don’t like spicy but otherwise followed the directions. Everyone loved them!! I just wonder if you have calorie count for this.
Excellent recipe. New to cooking with a crockpot, so this was my first time making chicken wings via slow cooker. Cooked thawed wings (~30 count) just under 4 hours on low. Next transferred wings to baking sheet then laddled sauce from crockpot to medium saucepan to thicken up with cornstarch. Sauce thickened up as expected after 15 mins, next with tongs submerged wings into sauce then put back onto baking sheet. Only needed 3 minutes or so on broiler oven setting to get a nice crisp. Btw subbed minced onions for onion powder and half soy sauce half chicken broth (totaling 1/3 cup) for soy sauce (didnt have reduced sodium soy sauce). Feel free to adjust heat or sweet to preference!
This is the first time I use my crockpot and the first time I cook chicken wings and this recipe is the bomb. Unfortunately for me I put way too much sirachi in it and it’s extremely hot. And I cook the wings for a long time like 7 hours and the meat fell off the bone it was hard to separate the meat from the bone from the sauce
These wings are amazing. Great dinner foe a rainy or cold day. We like ours hot and spicy so we add a teaspoon of Dave’s Insanity Sauce. Serve with white rice, carrots, celery sticks and ranch dip. Yum!!!!!
Just started another batch of these damn Delicious sticky slow cooker chicken wings… these are too easy and sooo yummy, thank sooo for this recipe
Bless
I’ve made these several times. They are tasty and juicy from the slow cooker and crispy from the broiler. I highly recommend!
Sweet mother of pearl. My crockpot has never fully reached its potential until today! These will definitely be going into the regular rotation, absolutely amazing. Though I do think the recipe should be modified to recommend that if it is super watery transfer the liquid to a saucepan and then add the cornstarch and water. When it’s thickened add the chicken the coat, then take out and put on a pan to broil. If it weren’t for the reviews that suggested this I would have been at a loss.
The taste was fantastic but I had more of a chicken stew than chicken wings so not sure I would use this again .A little disappointed ☹️
I love this recipe. The combination of flavors is the best.
I just wish I made more than the two pounds. Oh, this sauce is to good to not use on other chicken dishes I can’t wait to try it. 🙂
This sauce…oh, this sauce. Sooooo good! I had 4 lonely chicken drumsticks hanging around so I threw them into the crock pot with this sauce and…just. incredible. Yet another great recipe, Chungah! Thank you!
So happy you liked it!
Tried this and my hubby loved it! Chicken wings falling off the bone.
I have made this several times with various substitutions due to not having this or that, but yesterday was the closest to your recipe yet – no sesame seeds, but I added 2 tsp of sesame oil to the pot during the thickening phase, then broiled.
It is our FAVORITE DISH now! THANK YOU!!
ONLY problem with it –
Our dog keeps climbing into my lap while I eat, wanting her share – –
Just whipped up a batch of these, and I figured since I had the recipe pulled up, I may as well leave a HUGE THANK YOU to you for this recipe. A recurring staple in our house. I love having a recipe to fall back on when the creative juices aren’t flowing in the kitchen.
I’m grateful for everyone’s comments. I’m going to try this for the first time and hopefully I’ll learn from all this advice. Know your crock pot, consider stove top reduction of sauce and reapply before broiling. Thanks.
I too had the problem of the meat falling off the bone and not being “wings” anymore…which is why I don’t like cooking chicken in a crock pot. I think I’ll have more success cooking them in a dutch oven…then transferring them to a crock maybe for the last half hour, with the sauce and thickening. Then under the broiler for a quick crisp.
Made this tonight- DELICIOUS. Cooked on low for 3.5 hours, took the wings out and set aside in dish under foil and since I have trouble thickening sauces in my crockpot I poured the sauce into a pan and thickened it on the stovetop. Dumped the wings into the sauce pan after, mixed them up to cover with the sauce, then pulled them back out and onto the foiled pan to be broiled. They were perfect!! Thanks for the recipe, definitely will make many more times.
I’ve made this twice now and I LOVE this sauce! I made it per recipe the first time with chicken wings and it turned out fine. I took the wings out at the end, turned the slow cooker to high and added the corn starch and left the top off and whisked it occasionally and my sauce thickened up just fine in about 15-20 minutes, then i put the wings back in to coat them and then broiled them.
The second time (last night) I used boneless chicken thighs and cooked them on low (after browning them) for about 2 hours then turned my multi cooker to the saute setting and added the cornstarch to thicken up the sauce and put the thighs back in to coat. I didn’t broil the thighs after and still thought they were delicious! This time I doubled the sriracha sauce b/c we like it spicy. I left off th sesame seeds an cilantro. I will probably make boneless thighs instead of wings from now on and may try them in the oven next time. This is going to be a regular in our house now.
I would check the wings b/c i do think the cooking time was a little too long.
Can someone tell me if this is hot/spicy? Worried about some of the ingredients.
Loved. Turned out great. This is a keeper.
I have LOVED all your recipes but this was not a keeper. I followed your instructions fully and used the correct ingredients. The chicken looks nothing like your picture. Like other reviewers my sauce did not thicken, the chicken fell apart and there was no stickiness. PLEASE revise this recipe.
These turned out great! Thank you so much.
Sounds really good. Want to make it this weekend. Can you use frozen wings or do the have te be defrosted?
Many food companies who do protein pump their products with a saline solution. This may be where the extra water is coming from in the crock pot. You must read label on chicken, by law they have to report the % of pump they put in their products. I agree if you do have a pumped product ( they do this to add weight) by putting in oven at 400 for 10 to 20 min. Will get rid of some of the water.
I made these as directed, and yes, it was watery. Fortunately I was using an Instant Pot on its slow cooker mode, and it has a sauté function as well. After the 15 minutes on high in the slow cooker didn’t thicken the sauce, I took the wings out and laid them on the cookie sheet to broil. Then I switched the instant pot to the sauté function, and the sauce thickened up beautifully. I broiled the wings without sauce, and then put them in a bowl and tossed them in the sauce. They were delicious!
I doubled the recipe and after cooking the wings in the crock pot for 2 hours on high, they were not completely cooked. Before cooking, Half of the wings were completely thawed and the other half was 90% thawed. That may have been the problem and also my boyfriend’s crock pot may have had a lower “high” heat setting than the author as Bill Ryan suggests above. We took the wings out of the crock pot and put them on a baking sheet. Then we thickened up the sauce in a sauce pan over the stove. Then we tossed the wings in half the sauce and baked them at 400 for 30 minutes. When they were done baking we put them back in the crock pot and tossed them in the rest of the sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds. FYI, we cut the sugar and honey in half and quadrupled the sriracha which made the wings mildly spicy with a nice balance of sweetness. They were delicious and were a hit at our party! We’ll definitely make again and make sure wings are completely thawed and maybe adjust the cooking time.
Mine did not cook fully either – maybe I have the same issue, that my high is different than the author’s as well. I needed probably 2 hours!!
I made these wings 2 nights ago. I came back to read comments on the recipe and add my own.
First of all, they were amazing! The only ingredient I did not use was cilantro because I didn’t have any. I substituted choppped chives. Worked out great!
I used my Breville risotto pot that has a slow cook feature as well as a sauté. I only used 2 lbs wings, but left everything else the same. Started on sauté to get the heat up, then dropped to high slow cook. After two hours wings were done, removed them to the broiler, switched to sauté feature to reduce with cornstarch. Perfect! I made some fried rice on the side. My house smelled deliciously like a Chinese restaurant!
I have 3 different slow cookers. I know that this one worked great with this recipe. So to the commenters who ran into technical problems, know your slow cooker!
Thank you for your wonderful recipes!
Do they need to be thawed out first or can you put the wings in frozen?
Thawed.
I’m really upset about these wings. I’ve now made them twice.
The FIRST TIME, was on Thanksgiving. I cooked them on low, for about 41/2 hours. I did EXACTLY as the recipe calls for. The sauce was like water – which resulted in very flavorless wings. They were indeed, “fall off the bone”, but it didn’t matter because they had no taste. I had to throw away the majority of the wings.
The SECOND TIME, was today actually. We had a party at my work and I saw wings on sale at the store, so I figured I would give this recipe one more try before I threw it out. I’m even more disappointed the second go round. This time, I cooked them on high for about 3 hours. I added more cornstarch to a little less water in hopes to have a thicker sauce. But unfortunately, they came out even worse than the first attempt. The sauce was still soupy water and the wings were not “fall off the bone” tender (which I understand I cooked them on a higher temp this time) A few people tried them, but most were honest and said they didn’t want to try them for two reasons:
1.) They did not look appealing. In the least bit.
2.) Other people told them that they were not good.
I just don’t understand why it came out like this, twice. I voiced my concern to a fellow teacher this morning as I was prepping and we both thought it would come out thicker… which would result in a more flavorful wing. But, it did not. I’m so embarrassed to have served these to fellow co workers.
Are you saying you seriously didn’t even try to do the most basic and common sense level thing of… reducing the sauce if it wasn’t to your preferred consistency? Seriously? That’s like… beginner level knowledge on how to cook.
Forgive me- I’ve never made wings before. Do we leave the skin on the wings?
Yes.
I decided to try chicken wings in the crockpot for a change; the fall weather always makes me think crockpot. I came across this recipe on the internet and decided to try it. I didn’t have any Sriracha sauce so I used Frank’s Red Hot sauce instead, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. They were absolutely delicious and fall off the bone tender. A thumbs up from everyone in the house.
I forgot to mention that I think the comment from Ron E. back on 1 Feb 2015 was spot on! Prebaking on aluminum foil in the oven at 400 degrees F. should indeed remove some of that excess moisture and fat. I don’t know about doing that for 20 minutes, but I will certainly experiment with this before placing them in the crock pot. He contends that it solves the issues of floating fats, watery sauce and fallen off the bone meat issues that were part of so many of the previous posts. I forgot to mention in my earlier post that once the wings have been thawed overnight in the refrigerator be sure to pad them dry with paper towels, again to help reduce the moisture content prior to cooking. I can’t wait to try this recipe. I love chicken wings and usually flavor them with one form or another of hot sauce. I fully anticipate that thawing completely, pad drying with paper towels and pre-cooking will result in a thicker sauce and that if I broil the wings prior to serving I should get the desired results and with a thickened sauce, but I will certainly watch the pot closely on the first cooking in order to adjust time or temperature as needed. Thanks for what appears to be a great recipe. Thanks to Ron E. for the advice on precooking.
Different brands of Slow Cookers have different heat settings for High, Medium and Low. The size of the crock pot also influences the internal temperature of the device. I suspect that whatever crock pot Chungah used was one that reduced the sauce more quickly than many or most of those who complained of soupy, not sticky, sauce. Another factor is that Chungah repeatedly has definitely mentioned that she used thawed chicken wings. Previously frozen chicken wings if mishandled during transport or at the grocery store by thawing, or partially thawing, and then refrozen will pick up extra moisture in the form of ice crystals on the surface of the wings. In fact, the presence of ice crystals on the outer surface of the wings so that they actually stick together by the ice is a sure sign that this thaw and refreeze cycle has occurred. It isn’t supposed to happen, but anyone who has shopped much for chicken wings can attest that it does happen. Extra moisture is picked up in the process and that extra moisture may be why so many complained of thin and soupy sauce. Don’t buy chicken wings when you see the individual wings frozen together by ice crystals. There are health issues in eating poultry, or any meat, that has been thawed or partially thawed and then refrozen as well as the issue of extra added water. As for the issue of the complaint of the chicken falling off the bone during cooking…. this again relates to the differences in actual temperature achieved amongst various brands of slow cookers. It all depends on what exactly is “High” and what exactly is “Low” for your own individual slow cooker compared to the one used by the author of the recipe. Something to keep in mind with any slow cooker recipe. A good idea is to check the contents of the slow cooker once every 45 minutes to an hour the first time you cook a particular slow cooker recipe. Lift the lid and take a good look and ask yourself if you need to adjust the temperature setting or adjust the cooking time. Following blindly cooking settings like “Low” and “High” when using a slow cooker may indeed result in results quite different from those of the author of the recipe. Prevention beats trying to cure bad results.
Loved the idea of this, but like many others above – it was soup with wings. Bummer!
I’m sorry but these were the most tasteless wings I’ve ever made! The first time I make a recipe, I do it EXACTLY as described and these were awful! The house reeked of the vinegar, and after they were finished (including an EXTRA half hour for the cornstarch, which never really thickened) the only thing we could tasted was balsamic vinegar. My husband loves my cooking, and I’m lucky enough to do it for a living but even he pushed his plate away after the first wing. I took the very watery sauce back to the kitchen, added some more hot sauce, a little salt, and a 14 ounce can of crushed pineapple and reduced it by half. Poured it back over the wings, let it set for ten and served it again. *sigh* The wings tastier, but still not very good. The pineapple had picked up some flavours, but I took the whole thing back to the kitchen, stirred in a cup of fresh orange juice and shoved it in the fridge for the night. Hopefully, tomorrow, when we reheat them on the grill outside, they might be enjoyable. I won’t make this recipe again.
I’m sorry that this recipe did not turn out the way you had imagined. I only post recipes that have been successfully tested in my own kitchen, and as you can see from the comments here, many of these readers have had great outcomes in the final dish as well. However, I understand that we all have different taste preferences, and I really appreciate your honest feedback.
I made these last night and they were so good! The flavour of the sauce is delicious! I don’t have a crock pot so I made them in a large non-stick pot on the stove. I was making a few different varieties of wings so I just bought a club pack and separated it into 3 batches so I think I used maybe 15 wings in total for this recipe. I made the whole batch of sauce and then poured maybe 3/4 of it over the wings, set it to medium-high and put the lid on. The sauce started boiling fairly quickly (unsurprisingly) so I turned it down to medium. I stirred pretty frequently (maybe every 2 minutes or so) because I didn’t want the sauce to burn. It continued simmering on medium so I figured that was a good heat to keep it at. After about 25 minutes I added the cornstarch mixture and stirred everything up and put the lid back on. The sauce thickened immediately and became so sticky that there was no longer any sauce left in the pot (it was all coating the wings) so I reduced the heat to medium-low and cooked for another 5 minutes (so total cook time of half an hour). Then I took the wings out using a pair of tongs and laid them out on a foil wrapped cookie sheet and broiled them (all coated in sauce) for 3 minutes per side. The sauce was very sticky and it caramelised very nicely in the oven but I think if I had left them in for another 3 minutes or so they would have crisped up a bit better (no complaints here though, they were still delicious all soft and sticky).
I think the only problem with my method seems to be that I only got 15 wings out of it (by choice) and if I had added all of the sauce I could maybe have gotten away with another 5-7 wings so since most of you will want to make a lot more wings I just wanted to mention that I think the reason my sauce reduced so much is because I started it out on medium-high heat and it started boiling right away (which cooked out a lot of the liquid and left me with a fairly thick sauce even before the cornstarch step) and then even when I reduced the heat to medium it was still simmering and further reducing. I also attribute the quick boiling to the fact that my pot was quite large (not sure the size, but it’s a pretty standard stew/chili pot) and I only had 15 wings in it so the sauce was spread out in a fairly thin layer.
So anyways I think if I had more wings (say a total of 30-35) and I started on medium heat and then maybe reduced to medium-low once I added the cornstarch and obviously adjusted my overall cook time to allow for more wings at a lower temperature (maybe a total of 45-50 minutes) I would have had the same end result (perfectly thickened sauce coating all of the wings) but would have ended up with more wings. So that’s probably what I’ll try if I ever want to make a full batch. Hopefully that all made sense, I just wanted to be clear that the recipe does make enough sauce for a lot of wings as long as you don’t let it reduce too quickly. Just some advice for anyone interested in cooking these on the stove 🙂
I should also reiterate that my pot was non-stick (which was definitely the way to go) and that I kept the lid on throughout the entire cooking process which helps trap in the heat so that the wings cook all the way through.
I made these the other night it was my first time I ever made any Chicken wings in the crockpot & they turn out awesome. I didn’t have any Sesame seeds or fresh cilantro leaves either. I cooked them on high about 2 1/2 hours then broiled for 3 minutes I poured the juice in a pan mixed up the corn starch & water to thicken it up. They turn out awesome…Thank you
How much fresh ginger would I use as I prefer it versus the powder?
The ratio for dry to fresh spices is typically 1:3.
I made this because it was 100 degrees outside and didn’t want to turn on the oven. Horrible. Will not do it again. I did the 1-2 hours on High, but the chicken was not done.
Karen, I’m sorry that this recipe did not turn out the way you had imagined. I only post recipes that have been successfully tested in my own kitchen, and as you can see from the comments here, many of these readers have had great outcomes in the final dish as well.
Did you try cooking it for a longer period of time until it was fully cooked through?
I made these tonight and they turned out really well. I cooked for three hours in my crockpot and they were done. I transferred the sauce to a pan before adding cornstarch. Added some extra siracha and brushed the sauce over the wings before broiling. They could have still been a little bit more spicy for me but overall a great recipe.
Hi! I just wanted to say thank you so much for this great recipe – I highlighted all of the reasons why an Instant Pot (a kitchen appliance that includes a slow cooking function) is a must-have for young recent graduates in the kitchen, and this recipe was the perfect example!
I also linked to your post on Slow Cooker Corned Beef!!
You can read the post here, if you’d like! http://themillennialmenu.com/blog/the-one-appliance
Thanks for your great food!
After a year or so of keeping this bad boy on my List of Things to Make One Day, I finally tried it last night — only I used a pressure cooker (electric) instead of a slow-cooker. Same principle, though:
add wings and sauce to pressure cooker; set cooker for 10 minutes; release pressure, remove wings to wire rack over foil-lined baking pan; oven-broil wings for 5-10 minutes (watch them!) while thickening sauce (I set the pressure cooker to “Saute” with the sauce still in, and added a little cornstarch and water); brush or pour sauce liberally on wings and broil for 3-5 more minutes; flip wings over, slather on more sauce, broil for another 3 minutes or so, and OH, BABY. Happy faces for days. I didn’t bother with the sesame seeds or cilantro, though I think they’d be lovely for presentation. I just threw those bad boys out to the madding crowd, and watched them disappear. Thanks for this recipe!
Just made these for a luncheon party. Followed the directions for 2 hrs on high. The sauce was, I thought, was quite a bit too bland. Tasted pretty good before being cooked, but I think the chicken releases its juice which thins out the sauce and destroys the flavor. If I tried it again, I woul WAY shorten the cooking time. Or I wouldn’t use a slow cooker. My wings weren’t sticky at all.
I cooked these on high in a 5 quart crock pot and they were done in 2 hours. The sauce did not thicken, I reduced it on the stove in a sauce pan. I broiled a few racks down from the top for 3 minutes on each side for a 6 minute total. Came out really good. I didn’t have brown sugar left so I substituted white sugar with 1 tablespoon of Molasses. They were done and falling of the bone. The skins didn’t crisp well but I don’t care. Delicious!
Oh so GOOOOOOD!!! Mine are just finishing up in the crockpot right now, then will go under the broiler. I left out the sriracha because I didn’t have any, used apple cider vinegar (didn’t have what the recipe called for). The smell of those wings is amazing! My poor dogs have been pacing in the kitchen for the last 3 hours. LOL Going to be serving them with potato “logs” tonight. Perfect recipe that I will definitely be making a lot more often! THANK YOU!
I just made these and they certainly are “sticky” and good. I had to double up the sauce recipe though and i only used 2.5 pounds of chicken wings. The amount of sauce the recipe called for barely covered the bottom of the crock pot so i doubled it and it was enough to cover almost all the chicken wings. I also used much more sriracha and added some salt as the recipe is very sweet. The combination of honey and sugar do make for a good sticky wing though after you broil them. I broiled mine on high for about 7 minutes on each side until they were crispy in spots but still fall off the bone tender.
I must agree these wings were super easy to make & tasted AWESOME! It even passed the kid test (16, 9, & 5). Definitely keeping this one in the arsenal. Next time going to try this same recipe on ribs.
Thank you for the excellent recipe! I made a batch of these for super bowl munchies. They are in the slow cooker right now. The sauce is so delicious, I could drink the whole thing!
I’m planning on making these tomorrow and I put the chicken and sauce together to marinate over night. Do you think that the acidity of the marinate will make a difference in the cooking time? If you haven’t tried this before, can you give your professional opinion on this process?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
I made these tonight and they really were perfect. It was the first time I ever used the broiler for anything other than cinnamon toast and they charred and crisped just like something from a magazine spread. The taste was great and I look forward trying different flavors of sauce. Easy easy easy
I made these today. Mine too, like others, were a little soupy. I followed the recipe to a tee but mine weren’t the same color or sticky enough. Broiling did make them look a little better. I love your photos and the ingredients, just was hoping to recreate the same.
Lovely taste… juicey… kids loved it and so did I. It was very wet… but I forgot the Cornstarch at the end. Oh well… we loved it anyway!
And I would suggest draining the liquid into a sauce pan and then thickening on the stove. Poor back into crock mix and stir. Sounds like the mixture isn’t getting hot enough to thicken.
Please fix so this will print on one page only.
The recipe can be printed in one page. Please use the PRINT RECIPE feature located in the recipe box.
We made these tonight. They were good, but for some reason the sauce never thickened up. We even left it in the crock pot for 30 minutes instead of 15 minutes to see if it would thicken at all and it ended up being just as thin as before we put the corn starch in.
Brittany, you can add more cornstarch as needed until the desired consistency is reached.
I had the same problem. I used 5lbs of wings so I just doubled everything. But using four tbs of cornstarch didn’t thicken it at all. So, I’ll add more next time. There was SO much fluid in the crockpot that it diluted the sauce it was cooking in and of course also the taste. Not sure what to do about this. the wings were flash frozen but thawed in the refrigerator before cooking. I order a lot of stuff and have noticed that lots of things are now flash frozen. I wonder if this adds more water?
I put the sauce in a small pot and added cornstarch, the sauce thickened immediately.
I made this tonight for dinner and it’s sooooo delicious! Cooked it for 3 hours on the slow cooker. I didn’t add the Sriracha because we have little kids. We just added some hot sauce on the sauce upon serving and dip the chicken there. It’s a hit! Thank you for sharing your recipe! Served with rice and some green beans. 🙂
Please advise if the cornstarch can be substituted or not used – ty in advance
Erika, here is a great resource on how to substitute cornstarch.
Can I skip or substitute the cornstarch? I want to try and make this today
Do you put the chicken wings in frozen or thawed?
It is best to use when thawed completely.
Thank you for the recipe it was delicious. Would you let me know what I could substitute for soy sauce? It goes by quick in my house. Thank you.
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
In the middle of a kitchen remodel and I don’t have a oven… Could you crisp them up on a propane grill?
Yes, absolutely.
Hi. This recipe looks great and I will definitely try! Curious if you have a traditional hot wing recipe too? Thanks!
Yes! This is one of my favorite chicken wings recipe. I hope you like it! 🙂
I’m wondering if you can slow cook these on the stove? I have some leftover drumettes, but not nearly the amount called for in this recipe.
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot advise on how to adapt this recipe without a slow cooker. However, here is an article worth checking out on a possible conversion guide from Williams-Sonoma: http://blog.williams-sonoma.com/slow-cooker-vs-dutch-oven-a-conversion-guide/.
Slow cookers are the best inventions since sliced bread!!!! The meat was so tender . I figured the sauce might be to sweet in the beginning, but made it according to the recipe anyway, and it turned out very nice.
My kids loved it…..thanks☺☺☺☺
Omg this sauce was sooo good! I made bone-in chicken thighs instead of wings and threw in some red peppers and onions and it turned out amazing. Because I like my sauce super sticky I thickened it on the stove before broiling the chicken and it rocked! I am so making this again, thank you!
These were great! The best thing I have made in my slow cooker ever. Because of timing they were in the oven a bit longer than necessary which thickened the sauce quite a bit.I also used regular vinegar and plan to make these again this week.
This recipe is a staple in my house and I make it at least twice a month. For anyone having issues with this recipe, these tips may help you:
– Reduce cooking time if the wings are falling apart completely. They should fall apart easily but only when you pick at them. Start with 3 hours on low and allow for more time, if needed. Usually 3-3.5 hours is enough for 3-4 lbs of wings.
– Don’t add the cornstarch directly into the slowcooker. I’ve followed Chungah’s directions to the T the first and second time I made these, and for some reason, adding the cornstarch into the slowcooker never thickens the sauce. I ladle the sauce into a pot with cornstarch and boil it until thickened.
– Definitely broil these and toast the sesame seeds. It makes a huge difference!
Hope this helps! 🙂
I can’t remember the last time I thought “I’m going to be hungry for chicken wings four hours from now!”
These were AH-mazing! I changed a couple things, since we were out of brown sugar I used a little honey and white sugar, out of balsamic vinegar so we used 1/4 cup rice vinegar. Finely minced onion, ginger and garlic… I skipped the sauce thickening step and opted for basting the wings. Ours also had to broil a bit longer than suggested. about 5 minutes, then flip and baste and 5 more minutes for the other side for that nice copper brown color. Absolutely delicious and SO MUCH EASIER and less mess than frying. Gonna try this with some other sauces and possibly sauce-less (so others can add different sauces) To me a sign of a good recipe is one that can be used in more than one application! Thank you!
Hello everyone,
I was curious as to what side dishes you all paired with the chicken wings?
We had white cheddar mac and cheese and broccoli. Mashed potatoes or rice would also be lovely options.
These wings were delicious! My husband loved them. I did add a little bit more cornstarch/water mix to make the sauce a little thicker, and I broiled them a tad bit longer to make them more crispy. I think next time I will put even more of the sauce on them because the sauce was awesome, and I love extra sauce. Thanks for this super easy, delicious recipe! I’ll be making these again.
I have yet to try this recipe, but can’t wait. All of the flavors that you put together are right up my alley!
However; I’m also thinking about cooking the wings on a propane grill, making the sauce seperately, then toss them in a bowl.
What do you think?
I haven’t tried it myself but that sounds like a great idea!
LOVE your enthusiasm, and will let you know how it turns out. Would rather use a charcoal grill, we’ll see how it unfolds.
Thanks again!
made these tonight, for dinner, tasted great but could not get sauce to thicken 🙁 next time im gonna try on a pork or beef roast as well or chicken breast chunks..
if im using 5lbs of wings what would the adjustments be (im not good at math) for the sauce
You can simply double everything as needed.
i look forward to making these they sound delicious, ive never used the broil on my oven, is it easy and how do i know what temp its at?
Yes, it’s very easy! And there is no temperature gauge for broiling. All you have to do is select the “broil” function.
Im useing 4lbs. from frozen…I know you call for less and thawed, but and tips for adjustments? pieces are large as well. 🙂
You may have to adjust cooking time as needed to ensure that the chicken is completely cooked through.
Mine also fell apart and were not sticky as the sauce was just liquid. Yes, I followed the recipe to the letter. I added a little more cornstarch/water which helped. IF I do these again, I’ll reduce my cooking time by 30 mins. to see if that helps.
Were not the least bit sticky. Taste was fine, but, honestly, I’d just as soon deep fry them outside and use the traditional method of dumping which ever flavors of sauces I choose. That way I can have mild, medium, hot, extra hot, teriyaki, honey mustard, and on and on.
This recipe may be better for a one meal situation with larger pieces of chicken (skinned due to fat).
David, thank you for trying my recipe! Have you tried broiling these for 2-3 minutes at the end of cooking time? That really helps coat the wings to get that sticky-crisp effect!
OMG!!! We used chicken breasts. we chunked them up… they where soooooo good!!!! My husband and picky teenagers LOVED it! We served over brown rice!!! Thank you for a AMAZING recipe!!!!
Mine didn’t exactly come out sticky but they were so delicious it didn’t even matter! I woke up in the morning and made these before school, and when I got home I had the most amazing chicken ever waiting for me! So easy! My family absolutely loved this, too! Thank you so much 🙂
Oh I also left out the sriracha because my family isn’t a fan of spice but it came out super good even without it
Thank you for replying.. this is what I am thinking of doing but wasn’t sure if they would taste good at all.
THanks!
I made these today for a Super Bowl potluck. They were the runaway hit for the evening! I loved their ease of prep, and with the 2-3 minute broiling, they actually looked quite pretty! Thanks for this great addition to my recipe file. I’ll make them again!
Chungah,
I had tried your recipe end of Oct. 2014. I made a double batch (10 lbs) frozen, thawed in refrigerator prior night.
I saw a KEY tip on another site. Prior to placing pieces into crock pot, bake in oven on aluminium foil on baking sheet. Bake 400 degree’s for 20 minutes , salt/pepper lightly. This bakes out the water & fat’s and makes for easy clean-up. No extra time needed in preparation, as I’m making sauce while its baking.
This may be what had happened to a few having a watery sauce or the floating fats on top. Causing more of a Cachitorri or fall of the bone issue.
This recipe came out amazing, compliments from everyone! I needed a crockpot recipe, it took 4 hr’s total. Placed in Tupperware for travel, rewarmed in crock pot when I arrived.
I’m going to place back in oven this time recoating with sauce and get them a little crispy on outside prior to serving. 5-6 minutes under broiler, turning over once.
Thanks for the great crock pot recipe !
do you have any suggestions for cook times if I am making this recipe with just the wingettes and not the entire wing?
Thanks!
Melody, the cooking time should not really have to change when using wingettes, but please use your best judgment when making substitutions.
Theses look and sound amazing. I just had a question…you had mentioned broiling them at the very end in one post then in another you said u prefer to broil without the sauce. Can you please clarify? And how do you feel about baking them? Would they stay intact more?
Thanks
Yes, that’s exactly right. You can broil them at the very end without the sauce, or you can baste the sauce if you’d like – it’s really up to you. As for baking them – unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot speak for how this will turn out in taste/texture. Please use your best judgment.
Oh man these were incredible. I broiled them but the skin didn’t get too crispy. Still so tender and amazing flavor. Bravo
Chungah,
I want to make 2 lbs chicken wings with same ingredients and sauce. Would that be ok or too salty? Thanks.
Connie, as the recipe calls for 3 pounds of chicken wings, I do not recommend using the same amount of sauce. It would be best to adjust the ingredients accordingly to obtain the best results possible.
what about all the oil that comes from the chicken! hectic amount……..sauce tasted great after i spooned off the fat first then added the cornflour.
thanks for the recipe:)
Do you use frozen wings or thawed?
It is best to thaw the wings first.
Thank you!
Chungah, what are your thought on Pre-broiling the wings before putting them in the crock? I am planning on making these for Christmas Eve tomorrow and so I would like guests to be able to just take the wings from the crock and not have to deal with a mess of taking them out, broiling them and then putting them back in since I won’t be in my own kitchen.
These look delish! I am thinking maybe if I cook the wings up a short time before they go into the crock that might help with the falling off the bone problem that some people mentioned?
Unfortunately, I’m not entirely sure if this will work as I haven’t tried it myself. I also prefer to broil at the very end to let the sauce really soak right into the chicken!
What size crock pot you used
I used a 3-qt slow cooker but any size should work just fine.
What if I just cut up some chicken breast chunks and put them in the crock, would I use pretty much the same amount of ingredients and directions? cooking time, etc.? What are your thoughts?
Joe
It should be fine to use chicken breasts. I haven’t tried it myself but I recommend using the same amount as indicated in this recipe (about 2-3 pounds).
This recipe was delicious. But the 5-6 hours on low cook time is WAY TOO long. I had a pile of bones and a pile of meat. Not Cool.
Oh no – so sorry about that! I’ve had successful results at 5-6 hours but I know some of my other readers have had the same issue. I hope you can try it again with a shorter cooking time!
On your chicken wings do you broil with all the sauce or just the wings. How many wings are you figuring to make up 6 servings. Also are the drumettes or the joints of the wing better?
Carol,
1. I prefer to broil without the sauce.
2. There are about 8-11 wings/drumettes in 1 pound. This recipe calls for 3 pounds (24-33 wings/drumetes) so with 6 servings, I am averaging about 4-5 per person as an appetizer.
3. This is really based on personal preference. I prefer drumettes but the fiance prefers wings.
If I want to make the chicken wings in advance for a company potluck, including broiling in the oven to crisp them up, can I reheat them in the crockpot the day of?
I actually do not recommend leaving it in the crock-pot longer than directed. A lot of readers seemed to have issues with the meat literally falling off the bone!
I had the same results as Ann..it just made soupy skins and bones in a fantastic sauce. Fortunately I saved the day. lol It tasted wonderful.
Hi Chungah,
I prepared the sauce for the chicken wings this morning and have hardly been able to concentrate all day as I look forward to chomping down on those wings…
Question: my partner will be turning the slow cooker on while I’m at work so I won’t see this part happening with my own eyes. Is it important that the chicken is completely immersed in the sauce? The sauce didn’t look like it would totally cover 3 lbs of chicken wings.
Thanks!
Surita
No, the wings do not have to be completely immersed, but I found it helpful to toss it every once in a while to make sure the wings are evenly coated.
How long will I cook this recipe using double the amount with chicken thighs? Thank You, Lyn x
Lynn, it will take a bit longer if using twice as much chicken thighs. Unfortunately, I cannot advise on the appropriate cooking time as I have not tried this myself. Please use your discretion to increase cooking time to ensure that the chicken is fully cooked through.
these were ah-mazing! I did half the time in the slow cooker on high heat. Tonight I am going to use either use boneless, skinless chicken things in oven or use thighs with skin, crisp those suckers up then in the oven. Can’t decide. I will double the sauce I think…it was soooooooo good! going to toast those sesame seeds, too. Oh man, dinner will not come soon enough
All i have to say Chungah, is these are DAMN DELICIOUS!
Thanks for saving me an expensive trip to Wingstop or Buffalo Wild Wings!
Hi, I was hoping to make this tonight for dinner but still need to go to the store! Do you think this would come out as good if I cooked it on high heat for 4 hours?
Yes, that should be fine. You can even do it for a shorter amount of time if you’d like as some readers were mentioning that their meat was too tender and falling off in the slow cooker.
Thinking of making this for work….20 or so people. How many wings do you think I should cook? And what size crock pot should I use? I won’t have access to a broiler to crisp them up.
Roberta, this yields 6 servings so please feel free to make the adjustments accordingly to serve 20 people. I would recommend a 6qt crockpot if you were to double or triple the recipe.
Hi I was wondering if I doubled the recipe.. Would that change the cooking time?
Yes, cooking time may need to be adjusted as needed to ensure that the chicken is completely cooked through.
I followed the recipe and the meat fell off the bone in the crockpot.
I’m not sure what went wrong as I was not in the kitchen with you. Maybe next time you can reduce cooking time as needed. Hope that helps!
I just made this recipe using half a chicken that I cut up. Delicious!
I’m not sure what I did wrong, but the wings completely fell apart in the crockpot. It came out more like stew vs. individual wings. The flavor was amazing. I may just use this recipe for larger pieces of chicken in the future.
Ann, I’m not sure what went wrong either. These should be fall-off-the-bone tender but they shouldn’t be falling apart!
I tried this a few weeks ago and they were AWESOME. I made them as a late night snack for my boyfriend to come into the house to after a bachelor party. I’m actually going to give it a try with chicken thighs now-I’m thinking the consistency of the skin and meat will lead to a similar delicious outcome, plus they are way cheaper!
This looks so delicious! Slow cooker really helps a lot, it’s easy and time-saving. This is why I always use this to prepare food for my kids. I’ve also read about the best recipes you can cook with the slow cooker, they’re: Stout and Chicken Stew, Barley Risotto with Fennel, Fennel and Pork Stew, Swedish Yellow Split Pea Soup with Ham, Shiitake and Noodle Hot and Sour Soup, Slow-Cooker Picadillo
can you overnight these and reheat after work the next day or do i need to serve immediately?
You can certainly give that a try but these are really best when served immediately.
Do you think I could use a jarred sauce? I work for a condiment company and we make all kinds of yummy sauces. If so, how much do you suggest?
Cheryl, you can certainly substitute jarred sauce but without further recipe testing, I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish. It is always best to use the ingredients listed in the recipe to obtain the best results possible.
Was i to skin the wings first. This was sauce & wing soup.
Margaret, I worry that perhaps the sauce did not thicken up for you – did you follow the recipe exactly as written without any substitutions?
Does the cooking time change if I use frozen wings?
Claire, it is best to use thawed wings.
I made these Sunday and they did not come out sticky. The sauce did not thicken and I followed the recipe exactly how you have it. Any suggestions? I used frozen drumsticks but I thawed them out before hand. Do you think that made a difference?
Amy, it is very difficult for me to tell you what went wrong as I was not in the kitchen with you. Did you follow the recipe exactly as is without any substitutions? I also worry that using drumsticks instead of wings may have made a difference.
I tried this recipe too, although I used chicken breast cut up and not on the bone. Mine was not sticky and didn’t thicken up either. I followed the recipe with the exception of cilantro. It was still tasty just not tender or sticky.
Maybe pat them dry after defrosting?
Thanks again Chungah for another outstanding recipe. I made the wings this evening for dinner to rave reviews. For the experimental home chefs, consider toasting your sesame seeds to enhance the nutty flavour. Next time I think I will add some sliced fresh ginger for a little warmth.
Chungah, thank you for the tip about the broiling too!
Mine came out saucy and the meat fell off the bone. They taste great but look nothing like the photo. Can’t figure out what I did wrong.
Not sure if anything went “wrong” per se – that’s exactly how it should be! You can alternatively broil these for 1-2 minutes at the very end to get that nice, crisp crust too!
Can this recipe be doubled ?
Absolutely!
Thank you.
Did you broil the batch in the photos? They really do look amazing! I will be making them tomorrow! Yummmm… Love Asian style wings.
Yes, I did! I broiled for about 2-3 minutes to get that nice crispness!
These are definitely going on my must-try soon list!
I live in Buffalo N.Y, and everybody knows , it’s chicken wing City. Trying this recipe
Sunday , my husband and our 7 sons are foot ball fans. So you know this will go over very good. Have enjoyed numerous recipes from this site! Thank You!
My husband loves wings of any flavor too, and we’ll definitely be making these soon!
These are probably the best looking chicken wings I have ever.. totally drooling here over that sticky glaze. I love that you used a slow cooker too. You can definitely consider that I will be recreating the recipe, thanks for sharing it!
When you told another commenter to broil the wings for a couple of min, did you mean AFTER they are done in the crock pot & AFTER you add the cornstarch for 15 min? Thanks. Will make these very soon!
Yes, that’s exactly right!
Chungah, do you use fresh wings/drums or frozen? Look forward to trying these! Thank you,
Peggy, I always use fresh ingredients unless otherwise stated.
Will using frozen wings impact the recipe?
It is best to thaw prior to using.
Delicious! I love how sesame seeds always make the food look so fancy 😀 x
These will be perfect the next time we host poker night! Thanks! 🙂
I need to try these for an upcoming game day. These look too good!
Yuuuum! I used to make a similar recipe every football season but I’ve lost that recipe! Definitely making this one!
These look so lovely but I dont have a slow cooker, would this work in an ordinary oven
at a low temp??
Please understand that it is very difficult to give exact conversion information to translate a slow cooker recipe to be used in the oven without further recipe testing. I recommend using your best judgement to convert this recipe to be used in the oven.
I made these in the oven tonight and thought I’d reply for anyone reading. I mixed together everything except the sesame seeds (didn’t have any) and the corn starch. I only used half the brown sugar and honey that was called for. I then coated chicken thighs in the sauce and baked them skin down in the sauce at 350 for about 45 minutes then flipped them skin up and cooked them at 375 another 30-45 minutes. I had two pans of them and the sauce in one pan thickened and the other pan didn’t so I mixed the two sauces and boiled it and added corn starch to that and poured it over the thighs. They were amazing.
I tried your method and that worked the best — great texture!
No frying, no oil and the easiest chicken wings of my life? SO much to love in this post. These look like the perfect chicken wings! Pinned!
They look wonderful! But I am wondering about the texture of the skin since the crockpot does not make things crisp.
Michelle, you can broil these for 2-3 minutes to get the wings nice and crisp!
We broil them after they have been taken out of the slow cooker, right? Not before?
Yes, that’s correct.
Do you have to broil afterwards of can you just serve out of crockpot?
Broiling is an optional step.
What are the odds we both have a slow-cooker recipe today? Seriously. We couldn’t have planned this! Granted you do a whole lot more than me but still pretty cool 🙂 And I’ve never made wings in my life but I’ve heard they can be a pain….this looks like a perfect solution!