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?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
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!