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
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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.
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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! 🙂