Fall off the bone slow cooker chicken wings with teriyaki sauce that are spicy and sweet at the same time! Perfect appetizer or dinner idea we all love! Enjoy as is or make crispy as air fryer chicken wings when done.
Ok so I’m a sucker for some fall off the bone wings! I think a lot of people would agree with me that they are the perfect appetizer. It’s one of our favorite easy crockpot recipes with chicken nowadays.
Crockpot dinners are the best especially when I’m gone all day but I want to make sure I have a complete meal done by the time I return home. Finger foods are always my children’s favorite way to eat so combining them both is the way to go with drumettes, wingettes or Whole Chicken Wings.
Since I was born in Hawaii I loved this flavor. You can use bottled or this is how to make teriyaki sauce for this. Marinade is a great way to get the meat super duper tender, and then you can crisp the skin at the end. I will share a few different methods to do just that below for you.
Ingredient Links
You will want to use fresh or thawed chicken wings that have been separated into drumettes and wingettes. You could make this with whole wings if you wanted and the cook time wouldn’t change. Those are a bit harder to eat though.
If you just wanted to use 1-2 bottles of sauce that works too, you don’t have to make your own. I highly recommend Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce brand as it is more of a thinner marinade so they can boil and cook over a longer period of time. Just like Chicken Wings in Instant Pot these are cooked with the sauce and can be crisped later.
If you double this recipe you may want to make 1.5x the sauce to make sure they’re covered. Also, add as much spice as you want. Taste the sauce after whisking it together to see if you want a bit more before pouring into your slow cooker.
Can you cook frozen wings in slow cooker?
Yes you will use the same timing as below. Since they simmer in the sauce for many hours they will have time to defrost and then cook. Keep in mind that the meat in this case will likely fall off the bone but yes it is possible. You will get a better result though if you follow our frozen chicken wings in air fryer steps or in the oven this is How to Bake Frozen Chicken Wings instead.
How Long to Cook Chicken Wings in Slow Cooker
Not long. You will need just a few hours since they are quite small so stay close. They only take 2 hours on high or 4 hours on low. If you just want to eat the meat eat as is. To crisp the skin we have a few suggestions below once you remove them from the sauce….
How to Crisp the Skin
Now the texture when done will be similar to Boiled Chicken Wings. If you don’t care about the skin then you are good to go since you’d peel that off and discard anyway with either of these methods.
If you wanted to know How Long to Deep Fry Chicken Wings this is how to do that quickly when done and then you would toss in the sauce. Before that though, lay on paper towels to absorb the excess oil so the sauce will stick. In the oven, use directions on our How to bake crispy chicken wings.
Since these are cooked right in the sauce itself there is no Dipping Sauce for Chicken Wings necessary when done. Only step that is optional would be to crisp the skin but as is tastes amazing.
FAQ
For sure you can. These don’t take long and if left too long the meat will fall off the bone entirely meaning you will need to use a slotted spoon to lift it out, having to separate the meat from the bones and skin. You only need a few hours so stay close!
You will. Wings don’t have a lot of fat to them so there is little to no juices released when cooked. In order to create enough heat in the Crockpot you will need to add some moisture. Your best bet is to use bbq sauce or teriyaki sauce so the meat soaks up all those wonderful flavors as they slow cook.
You will want some high heat, quickly, to crisp up the skin. To keep from burning you should brush or spray some oil on the top too. I think the air fryer is your best bet because it will create the crispiest result, and quickly too!
Your best bet is to reheat chicken wings in air fryer! Know that you will never get them to the same original crispy texture but this is as close as you can get. Pat dry the skin to remove moisture, spray tops with oil and air fry in preheated machine at 400 for a few minutes to “liven them back up”!
Slow Cooker Chicken Wings Recipe
Equipment
- 1 slow cooker
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken wings
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp garlic, minced
- 4 tbsp brown sugar
- 4 tbsp Sriracha, more or less depending on how spicy you like it
- 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
- 4 tbsp cornstarch, more or less depending on how thick you want the sauce
Instructions
- Rinse your chicken wings and pat dry with a paper towel.
- In a bowl whisk all of your other ingredients together, but only whisk in about 2 tbsp. of cornstarch.
- Spray bottom of crockpot with non stick cooking spray.
- Lay chicken wings in your slow cooker so they overlap as little as possible.
- Pour sauce over the top. Turn your slow cooker to High for 2 hours or low for 4 hours.
- If you’re home flip wings halfway thru cooking time.
- About 20 minutes before serving spoon a cup or two of your hot liquid into a bowl and whisk in remaining 1-2 tbsp. of cornstarch until smooth (if you want it thicker do this). Pour back into crockpot and cook remaining time.
Notes
How to make skin crispy
If you want the wings to be crispy, dab on paper towels to dry outsides and put them on a baking sheet (I would put some parchment paper down first so they don’t stick) and into your oven on the broil setting for about 5 minutes or until the outside is as brown and crispy as you’d like them. You can preheat at 400 and crisp in an air fryer for about 3 minutes too.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Other teriyaki recipes you’ll love
If you wanted to cut up the whole bird with all the pieces in the oven I would follow our baked teriyaki chicken too. It is a cheap way to cook a whole bird and cook in under an hour that will automatically get a bit of crispy.
You can broil for a few minutes like we do at the end when making teriyaki chicken drumsticks
If you want to make crockpot chicken wings faster but with a similar end result I would use breasts and make Instant Pot teriyaki chicken. It is so simple this way and only needs 3 main ingredients to fall off the bone delish.
