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bbq chicken wings in a black slow cooker, viewed from above.
5 from 18 votes

Slow Cooker Chicken Wings

Tender and extra flavorful Slow Cooker Chicken Wings are simple to make with a sweet and spicy BBQ sauce glaze and homemade ranch dip.
Author Diana
Servings 36 wings
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 hours 10 minutes
Total Time 20 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

Chicken wings

  • 3 ½ pounds (1575 g) chicken wings drumettes and flats separated and wing tips cut off
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder divided
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon paprika
  • 1 cup (240 ml) barbecue sauce
  • ¼ cup (60 ml) hot sauce
  • cup (80 ml) honey
  • 2 tablespoons chopped green onion

Ranch dip

  • ¾ cup (190 g) sour cream
  • ½ cup (125 g) mayonnaise
  • 3-4 tablespoons (45 ml) milk
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley divided
  • 2 tablespoons chopped green onion
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon granulated sugar

Instructions

Wings

  • Place wings in a large bowl and season with salt, pepper, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, and paprika. Mix together and set aside.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together barbecue sauce, hot sauce, honey, and ½ teaspoon garlic powder. Pour 1 cup of the sauce over the wings in the large bowl and mix together. Cover and refrigerate the remaining sauce.
  • Place wings in a crockpot and cook for 2 hours on high or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165F when checked with an oven thermometer. While the wings cook, make the Ranch dipping sauce.

Ranch dip

  • In a medium bowl, whisk together sour cream, mayonnaise, and milk. Add 2 tablespoons parsley, green onion, lemon juice, onion powder, garlic powder, and sugar. Whisk to combine. Add additional milk if desired to reach the desired consistency. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

Broiling Wings

  • Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and place a cooling rack on top. When chicken is done cooking in the crockpot, preheat broiler and using tongs, place chicken side by side without touching on the rack.
  • Brush chicken with remaining barbecue sauce mixture. Broil for 4-5 minutes, carefully remove from the oven and brush again with sauce. Using tongs, turn wings over. Brush again with sauce and broil for an additional 4-5 minutes on this side of the wings. Carefully remove wings from the oven.
  • Brush wings with a final glaze of the sauce and garnish with 2 tablespoons chopped green onion.
  • Serve wings with Ranch dipping sauce, garnishing with remaining chopped fresh parsley before serving.

Notes

  • Serving Size: This recipe makes 36-40 chicken wings and will serve 4 as a main dish or 6-8 as an appetizer. Nutrition estimates given here are for 1 wing, so you can adjust as needed. 
  • For easy cleanup, use a crock pot liner. 
  • Avoid cooking the wings for too long in the crockpot. Any longer than 2 hours on high and the wings will fall apart! 
  • The broiling step is important. This gives the chicken wings the perfect color and texture. Watch the wings carefully under the broiler, as they can burn quickly from the honey and barbecue sauce. 
  • Instead of this ranch dip, try serving your wings with homemade blue cheese dressing. 
  • To Store: Keep cooked chicken wings in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 6 months. 
  • The barbecue sauce and ranch dip here can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for up to a week.

Nutrition

Serving: 1wing | Calories: 109kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 230mg | Potassium: 73mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 124IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 0.3mg