Enjoy these sweet and tangy slow cooker sticky chicken wings made with balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, and a few other ingredients.
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Our slow cooker sticky chicken wings recipe is the best chicken wings recipe that you can make in your slow cooker. I love an easy meal during the week, and this is just that. You can also use this as an easy appetizer recipe.
My family loves these slow cooker chicken wings, so I bet yours will too! I don’t know what my kids love more, how delicious these are, or how messy they get.
But that’s okay, nothing a few baby wipes can’t handle. I know what youre thinking, but yes, we still keep those handy with kids in our house. 😉 These wings are worth the little bit of mess, we just say they are finger licking good!
Recipe Ingredient Notes
To make our slow cooker sticky chicken wings, you need the following ingredients:
- Honey
- Brown sugar
- Balsamic vinegar
- Soy sauce
- Minced garlic
- Sriracha sauce
- Black pepper
- Chicken wings
- Cornstarch
- Water
- Fresh cilantro
- Sesame seeds
Equipment Needed
For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:
How to Make Slow Cooker Sticky Chicken Wings Recipe
- In a saucepan, add the honey, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sriracha and season to taste with black pepper.
- Bring the mix to a boil, then lower the temperature and simmer for 5 minutes (until the sugars have dissolved and the sauce is beginning to thicken).
- Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.
- Spray the crock pot with nonstick cooking spray and place the chicken inside.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and move the chicken around a bit with tongs so that it is completely coated with sauce. Put the lid on and cook on high for 4 hours, flipping chicken a couple of times during the cooking process.
- Once finished cooking, remove the chicken pieces and place on a plate.
- In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and water, then pour into the crock pot with the leftover sauce. Mix together well, place chicken back into the slow cooker, and let cook for about 10 minutes (or until the sauce starts to thicken up).
- Just before serving, sprinkle with torn cilantro leaves and sesame seeds.
Recipe Modifications
- Recipe slightly adapted from Farm Girl Gourmet.
- If you want to speed up the sauce thickening process, pour the sauce into a saucepan and cook on the stovetop for just a couple of minutes, until the sauce thickens.
- The purpose of cornstarch in the recipe is to help thicken up the sauce for the chicken wings. So, I would say it is kind of important to the recipe. If you can get some for this recipe that would be ideal. However, if you are trying to work with what you already have in your pantry, take a look at Healthline’s article for the 11 best substitutes for cornstarch, and see if you have anything that will work!
Enjoy More Delicious Hot Appetizers
Whether meatballs, chicken wings, nachos, or quesadillas, there’s nothing to start out a party better than an appetizer. Browse our comprehensive list of hot appetizer recipes.
- Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings
- Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
- Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings
- Asian Glazed Chicken Drumsticks
- Avocado Chicken Bites
- Baked Buffalo Wings
- Brown Sugar Bacon Chicken Tenders
- Buffalo Chicken Bites
- Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
- Winger’s Sticky Fingers Copycat
Slow Cooker Sticky Chicken Wings Recipe
Enjoy these sweet and tangy slow cooker sticky chicken wings made with balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, and a few other ingredients.
Serving servings
Ingredients
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce, (or your favorite hot sauce)
- black pepper
- 20 chicken wings
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon water
- fresh cilantro
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a saucepan, add the honey, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sriracha and season to taste with black pepper.
- Bring the mix to a boil, then lower the temperature and simmer for 5 minutes (until the sugars have dissolved and the sauce is beginning to thicken).
- Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.
- Spray the crock pot with nonstick cooking spray and place the chicken inside.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and move the chicken around a bit with tongs so that it is completely coated with sauce. Put the lid on and cook on high for 4 hours, flipping chicken a couple of times during the cooking process.
- Once finished cooking, remove the chicken pieces and place on a plate.
- In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and water, then pour into the crock pot with the leftover sauce. Mix together well, place chicken back into the slow cooker, and let cook for about 10 minutes (or until the sauce starts to thicken up*).
- Just before serving, sprinkle with torn cilantro leaves and sesame seeds.
Notes
- Recipe slightly adapted from Farm Girl Gourmet.
- If you want to speed up the sauce thickening process, pour the sauce into a saucepan and cook on the stovetop for just a couple of minutes, until the sauce thickens.
- The purpose of cornstarch in the recipe is to help thicken up the sauce for the chicken wings. So, I would say it is kind of important to the recipe. If you can get some for this recipe that would be ideal. However, if you are trying to work with what you already have in your pantry, take a look at Healthline’s article for the 11 best substitutes for cornstarch, and see if you have anything that will work!
Nutrition
Calories: 540 kcal · Carbohydrates: 46 g · Protein: 31 g · Fat: 26 g · Saturated Fat: 7 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 123 mg · Sodium: 865 mg · Potassium: 344 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 43 g · Vitamin A: 237 IU · Vitamin C: 2 mg · Calcium: 46 mg · Iron: 2 mg
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
I love your new ABOUT US page. So fun to read about each one of you. You are all a great inspiration. Thanks for a great blog and fun easy recipes!!
I have all of these ingredients on hand to make this so guess what dinner is going to be tomorrow night? Thanks for sharing!
These would be gone in a MINUTE.
This looks delish…do you think I could use chicken breasts instead of wings?
We have only made it with chicken wings. You could use chicken breasts. Maybe even slice it into strips. Not sure what the exact cooking times would be. You’ll have to watch it closely. Let us know how it works.
Made these last night. They were delicious but I think 4 hours on high is too long. The meat was falling off the wings! I think it would be great with drum sticks!
Sounds & looks delicious! Do you use frozen or thawed chicken wings?
This was excellent! My entire family loved it!
These look delicious!! Is there a way to bake them in oven rather than a crock-pot? What temp?
I’m sure you could cook them in the crock pot. We have only cooked them in the oven. So not sure the temp and how long.
This chicken was fantastic!! I have made it with wings, thighs and breasts, we even did boneless chicken bites which we floured and fried so they were crispy, I get lip smacking reviews everytime I serve it, I tell them it was my own recipe, haha sure hope they don’t follow this site… 🙂
Any chance the cook time could be longer? What about 8 hours on low? Any thoughts?
I think that would work. Hopefully someone will be home to check it periodically. Some viewers have used chicken breasts and that is yummy too!
No I thought if you put it on low it would take longer no by hour 4the meat was falling off
The photo shows it with drumsticks, not wings. How many drumsticks do you use? Or are those the drumettes from wings?
Has anyone else had trouble with the sauce not thickening up? Still tasted ok but I’m not sure what I did wrong – I didn’t change the recipe at all besides omitting the cilantro and seeds bc the sauce was too runny for it to stick to the chicken…
My family loves this recipe! I like it because I have all the ingredients on hand.
Anyone have ideas for sides with this dish? I was thinking rice but that seems kinda boring.
Maybe some fried rice or asparagus wrapped in bacon grilled
Thanks, I have all those ingredients so I think ill make this for dinner tonight! 🙂
wondering if anyone has made a really big batch of these and if that has changed the cooking times. I am making this for 2 big families so I need lots.
Could I use this for my 30 days of freezer meals? Would I just make the sauce, let it cool then toss it all in with the raw chicken? Then freeze?
That should work. Then just thaw and put it all together in the slow cooker.
not drumsticks, but drummies from the wing..
Would the cooking time be the same if I use frozen drummies and wings?
Hi, love the sound of this… I don’t have an actual slow cooker, just a good heavy (Le crueset copy) casserole dish with lid, can you advise me on how long I could cook it with drumsticks for and at which temp to get the same effect? And oven or hob? I have plenty of time … So love slow cooking … Can’t wait to try it!
Hi Sophie, We have only made this in the crock pot. I did some research for you though. The low setting on a crock pot is around 190 to 200 degrees. The high setting is around 250 degrees. I think the drumsticks would cook about the same length of time as the chicken wings. Just be sure they are cooked all the way through before eating. I hope this helps as you try to convert this recipe over to your casserole dish and bake it in the oven. Have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by our blog!
This recipe sounds wonderful. What size crockpot did you use?
All of the sisters have different sizes and brands of crock pots. But the majority of us have 6 quart crock pots. Hope this helps! Have a great day! 🙂
add some more cornstarch and cook it on the stovetop.
I’ve made similar in the oven — have to use a disposable foil pan as they are very messy from the oven. Cook long enough and the sauce thickens and they do indeed fall off the bone. My recipe uses maple syrup and I am a maple syrup freak so I’m looking forward to adding it to this recipe and using the crock pot.
Made these for supper tonight!!! They were very good! My husband said could use a little more heat so maybe next time(because he is already asking for me to make them again!) i will do a TBSP of sriracha sauce!
I love your site and have had success with all the recipes we have tried, especially the classic peanut butter chocolate chip cookies!!
Thanks 🙂
Can I prepare the night before and marinate overnight??? then cook the next day?
Thanks! Sounds yummy
That will work fine to prepare the night before. 🙂
My husband and I don’t like dark meat and I accidentally bought chicken legs from our local butcher (I know, I know…how does one “accidentally” buy chicken legs). I was looking for a recipe that may help to mask that dark meat flavor we don’t care for. I made this for dinner tonight and it was DELICIOUS! We literally couldn’t get enough! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe, we may just like dark meat after all!
I think this looks yummy. What would the time and increased ingredients be to serve 50 people?
Thank you.
This recipe makes about 20 chicken wings. You could use wings or drumsticks. Just depends on how many pieces of chicken everyone will eat. You will just need to adjust to that. You will need to use a couple of slow cookers. To load them all in one slow cooker would be too many.
What if I use chicken breast? Does the amount of time change?
I made this last night for dinner for my husband and four boys….they were licking their plates! I used drumsticks instead of wings and the meat was literally falling off the bone. The only change I made was to pierce the chicken with a fork when it was thaw, so the sauce would marinate it as it cooked and seep into the meat. Delicious! Thank you for a fantastic recipe!
Suggestions on if I need a dipping sauce?
You really don’t need a sauce because they are covered in sticky delicous sauce. You could dip them in ranch dressing.
If you double the wings, do all the ingredients double?
Yes, double all the other ingredients if you are doubling the wings. You don’t want them to be too dry. We love good Sticky Chicken Wings!
I came across this recipe while looking for an easy dinner to make tonight for 7 people. So glad we brought the extra large crockpot for our long weekend holiday!
Skin on or off?
Hi Jaden. We left the skin on when making these. But you can take it off if you prefer.
Sorry. I meant does this use frozen or **thawed wings? Thanks!
We have done both. If frozen it may need a little more cooking time. Some are saying the cooking time was too long. Just depends our your slow cooker. So just watch it.
Thanks
Very clear and helpful
I am embarrassed to say I ate the whole thing.
These were an hit! I ended up adding some garlic powder, salt and about 2 teaspoons of the spicy chili crisp.
I noticed after I did the cornstarch it still had a lot of liquid, so I ended up pouring it into a saucepan and reducing the liquid. Then we put the wings in the air fryer on broil for 5 minutes on each side, then we drizzled the liquid over the wings.
Thanks