These Slow Cooker Chicken Wings are cooked to perfection then covered with BBQ sauce and browned in the oven until they're crispy!
Oh, sweet mother of slow cooker chicken wings. These little beauties are going to knock your socks off.
Seriously, people. I'd pat myself on the back but my hands are covered in barbecue sauce.
Ah, screw it, I'm throwing caution to the wind, and my shirt in the trash. Some days you just have to congratulate your dang self.
I know we all love our slow cookers however some folks hate that they don't make meat crispy. It's a valid point.
So, I'll let you in on a little secret. This girl uses her oven for just a few minutes at the end to crisp things up.
Yes, it clearly means you will have a few more dishes but who the heck cares when you're eating meals like this one.
Suck it up buttercup. Do the extra dishes and get your crisp on. Better yet, make your hubby or kids do the dishes.
I mean, that is why we keep them around right? For errands and dishes.
No? Just me then!
Now, if you really don't actually want to turn on your oven you can always crisp these on the grill. It's easy to do.
In fact, grills are your friend. Your very hot friend. So, proceed with caution and wear some cute oven mitts.
Honestly, you can totally do all of this in the slow cooker if you like but to tell the truth, the skin won't be crispy.
They will be good but in all honesty, you won't get the crispy skin you would with an oven or grill. Again, still yummy, just not caramelized.
Hope you make try them!
More Slow Cooker Recipes:
- Root Beer Chicken Wings
- Manly Meaty Chili
- Hawaiian Pulled Pork
- Root Beer Pulled Pork
- Zesty Hamburger Soup
- Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup
- Short Rib Ragu
- Slow Cooker Garlic Mashed Potatoes
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Slow Cooker Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken wings
- 12 oz root beer
- 1 cup barbecue sauce divided
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
Instructions
- Place the wings in your slow cooker.
- Pour root beer inside.
- Pour half the barbecue sauce over top. Set the remaining sauce aside for later.
- Turn slow cooker on. You can cook these on low for 4 to 5 hours, or on high for 2 to 2 ½ hours.
- Turn slow cooker off.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Remove the wings and lay on a cookie sheet lined with parchment.
- Brush the remaining barbecue sauce over top of the wings.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar over top.
- Place the cookie sheet in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Remove and carefully plate using tongs.
- Serve with a big old messy smile!
Notes
Nutrition
Thanks for visiting today!
If you’re looking for more dinner recipes be sure to check out my recipe index. You can also find a lot more slow cooker recipes as well.
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Toodles! xx
Angela |Mind Over Batter
Yup, that's my beef with the slow cooker: lack of crispness. I'm going to have to suck it up and do more dishes, because these wings look like a tasty saucy mess. And I want to be down with that.
Karissa | Sweet as a Cookie
I love this so much! My boyfriend is a wing-o-holic. This recipe looks absolutely perfect for us.
Amanda @The Kitcheneer
This looks like a man's dream to come home to! I know my FIL would love this!
Stacy
What a great idea, Kim! I would definitely finish these off on the grill for extra flavor. Talk about finger licking good!
Tamara Zimmer
Hi Just wanted to know if you used raw chicken wings in this crock pot recipe? If so, are they frozen or thawed?
They look amazing, just want to fix them according to your recipe.
Thanks much
Kim Beaulieu
Hi Tamara. I used fresh. I sent my hubby up to the butcher the day I made them. So you want them fresh but not ice cold. I always let meat rest for about 20 minutes before cooking. Although with slow cookers it is not as crucial as searing beef or pork. Hope you love them. Let me know if you need any help. xx
Whitney
These look amazing and I can't wait to make them. Though I hate dishes too so it's a crock pot liner and aluminum foil to the rescue!
Kayre
This is the best wings I've ever eaten! Just took them out the oven and could have eaten the whole tray! Thanks for the recipe!
Kim Beaulieu
Yeah, I'm so happy to hear that. So glad you liked them. Thanks for swinging by to let me know.
melanie
could you use cola in this recipe or would that make it too sweet? these look fantastic!
Kim Beaulieu
Cola would rock in this. I use it quite often for slow cooker meals, and also for braising beef. It's old school actually. People have used it for making carnitas for eons. Let me know how it turns outs.
Sue
This recipe looks like a winner. I am planning to go home during lunch break and get the slow cooker going. My question is: I only have diet root beer, do you think that would make a difference? Please advise. Thank you in advance.
Kim Beaulieu
Hey Sue, sorry, just seeing this now. I never use diet soda so I'm not sure if it would have any affect or not. My guess is no, but that's just a guess. People use artificial sweeteners to cook and bake so it shouldn't be an issue. But I could be wrong. Not very helpful, I know. Sorry.
Maggie
Looks delicious! Mmm root beer! Thank you for the recipe. 🙂
Wondering if this recipe can be doubled and can use frozen chicken wings instead of unfrozen??
Kim Beaulieu
Thanks Maggie. I double the recipe often. It's one of those recipes where you can veer off course and it will still turn out great. You could totally try this with frozen wings. I vote "go for it". Let me know if you like it.
If you're a root beer fanatic I also have root beer popcorn on the site. Because I dig root beer. ha
Maggie
Thanks, Kim. 🙂
Root beer popcorn hey.. interesting! I'll have to check out the recipe!
Candice
Does the chicken wings have to be frozen or thawed before putting them in the slow cooker?
Kim Beaulieu
Thawed is preferable. I try never to cook anything from the frozen state because I worry about bacteria. The food would spend too much time in the danger zone for me, temperature wise. If it stays in that zone too long harmful bacteria can grow. So I'm personally not a fan of cooking anything from a frozen state. I'm a total spaz when it comes to worrying about bacteria growth, mostly because I have a sensitive stomach due to illness. Some people will tell you it's safe and recommend it. I'm not one of them. I would worry about salmonella, among other things. I know there's a trend of people doing "frozen to cooked" in slow cookers, I'd be wary of them. Hope that helps. If you need anything else just holler. Sorry it took me so long to answer, today was my birthday so I took the day off work.
Laura
This recipe looks amazing.. I'm attempting to double it, so I hope it works!
Kim Beaulieu
Let me know how it goes for you. I double mine a lot but every slow cooker is so different. Hope you love them.
Jessie
I made these for poker night and everyone loved them.
Kim Beaulieu
That sounds like fun. Glad everyone liked them.