3 Ingredients Easy Crockpot BBQ Chicken Wings Recipe
Pair a bag of frozen chicken wings with some Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce and one secret ingredient and you have the best every BBQ Chicken wings recipe.
My 3 Ingredient Crockpot BBQ Chicken Wings recipe is our go-to for an easy scrumptious party or game day food any time of the year!
This recipe has been shared more than 200 thousand times by our readers.
I can’t even tell you how many times I have made this easy recipe for my own family and they still enjoy them. It is one of our favorite recipes for any time of the year.
We like just a tiny bit of char on our Chicken Wings. The secret to making delicious Crockpot BBQ Wings is in the final step!
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Ingredient List for Crockpot BBQ Chicken Wings
- Coca Cola
- Chicken wings
- BBQ Sauce
The Wings I Cook
- Bone in
- Skin on
- Store brand Chicken Wing Drummettes They come in 2 1/2 lb. bags and I usually cook two for my family. These small chicken drumettes are perfect.
The Crockpot to use
I use a 6-quart Crockpot like this one for this recipe with 5 lbs. of wings and they fit comfortably.
How To Cook Good Wings
No need to thaw the chicken wings. They thaw and cook at the same time. I always rinse my chicken first. We are going to cook them frozen and they may have a few ice crystals to be rinsed off.
Place the chicken wings in a big colander in the sink and rinse with slow running water to remove any ice crystals which may be on them from the freezer. This colander (affiliate) looks exactly like mine which is large enough to hold all the wings at once.
Use low water pressure, don’t turn the water on full force, so you won’t splash chicken water all over the place. But just to be safe please wash the sink and counters around it any time you have rinsed chicken in your kitchen sink.
Do Not Thaw
Do not thaw the wings prior to cooking! They thaw, cook, and soak up flavor all at one time in just 2 or 3 hours!
Step 2
Add your frozen wings to the Crockpot.
Cover with the cola. When we have Coke on hand that is what I use but the store brand and even diet cola work just fine also. Folks have contacted me to say they even used Sprite and it worked well too.
The wings are going to create their own juice while cooking so you only want to barely cover them with cola. The combination of the chicken juices and the cola will create a tender juicy deliciousness in your BBQ Wings!
Step 3 Drain the wings
While your wings are draining, preheat the oven to 350°.
Drain the cooked wings well in the colander before adding the BBQ sauce. Carefully remove the wings from the slow cooker. I use a large slotted spoon like this one
Do not use tongs to remove the wings from the slow cooker. They are very tender and will fall apart easily. A slotted spoon is best because it allows the juice to drip back into the pot.
The last step to making slow cooker BBQ Chicken Wings
Line a large baking sheet with foil. Spray the foil with cooking spray. Now, it is time to learn how to barbeque chicken wings into a deliciousness you can’t resist.
Place chicken wings out in rows, in a single layer on your prepared sheet pan. Brush with your favorite barbeque sauce. We like Sweet Baby Rays which you can find on Amazon right here.
Now let’s bake on that yummy sauce onto those wings.
Place into the oven preheated to 350°. Bake for 10-12 minutes then turn on the broiler to get a little char on the skin of your wings. Don’t walk away, char happens quickly. The end result is finger-licking delicious chicken wings!
Also, See how to make these into Lemon Pepper Wings
Scroll down for a complete printable/downloadable recipe.
Make this crowd pleaser for the super bowl, a family dinner or even as an appetizer. This recipe will be one of your family favorites to make a regular rotation on your meal plan.
3 Ingredient Crockpot BBQ Chicken Wings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12-16 chicken wings do not thaw
- 1 can Coke
- 1 Cup BBQ Sauce we use Sweet Baby Ray’s
Instructions
- Turn Crockpot on low. (I like this Crockpot with great ratings)
- Pour the can of Coke into the crockpot.
- Place all of the chicken wings into the Coke.
- Cook on low for 3-4 hours.
- Remove wings from Crockpot onto a baking pan covered with foil.
- Brush wings generously with BBQ sauce
- Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes, just until the BBQ is heated. Then turn on the broiler to get a little char on the skin of your wings. Don't walk away, char happens quickly.
- Serve and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
The Secret To The Success of Crockpot BBQ Wings Recipe
The secret to perfectly cooked Slow Cooker Barbeque Chicken Wings is placing them in the oven for a few minutes after removing them from the crockpot. The oven sets the BBQ sauce and keeps the wings from being too wet from cooking in the liquid.
Kitchen Tips
When we have a big crowd and I cook a lot of wings I serve them from disposable aluminum pans like these for easy clean-up. Just sit the tongs by the pan and step out of the way! Everyone loves these slow cooker wings!
Use Slow cooker liners for easy clean-up. I l-o-v-e them and don’t dare ever run out of them.
Side Dishes to serve with BBQ Chicken Wings
- Creamy Homemade Cole Slaw,
- Best Ever BBQ Baked Beans
- Homestyle Oven Baked Fries,
- Southern Style BBQ Baked Beans,
- Southern Potato Salad (made from scratch!)
- Fresh Green Bean Salad
- Baked Potatoes (20 Baked Potato Toppings)
More Favorite Recipes from Intelligent Domestications
- Oven Baked Smothered Cube Steak, the ultimate comfort food
- Air Fryer Catfish Nuggets
- Oven Baked Glazed Spam, an easy recipe
- Easy Crockpot Beef Tips & Gravy Recipe, shared over 153 thousand times. Yes, it is good.
- Easy Classic Lasagna recipe and the leftovers are delicious for lunch the next day
Updated 1/5/2021
These turned out perfect. Finger licking good. Thank you!
They really taste delicious. Thanks for this recipe and greetings from Australia!
Thanks for the greetings from Australia! Glad you enjoyed the recipe. It’s a favorite at my house making regular appearances.
Seriously delicious! I never thought NOT thawing the wings, nice trick and saves time too.
i love it crazy
Great recipe! These are simple, not time consuming and delicious! I let mine cook for 3 hours in the crock pot as suggested, and mine were done in that time. They were not falling apart. Now, when I placed them in the oven I did reapply the BBQ sauce after 15 minutes to do the other side. I let them stay another 15 for the other side. To get that done “crunch” look, I put them on “Broil” and watched them. My twin boys of 20 both loved them! Thank you! Will do these again! Pam
Really love this recipe. My husband and children are asking when I’m preparing this again. Thanks!
Just made these and they turned out great. Very flavorful!!
Just got my new crockpot in, gonna try them this weekend!
Can you put these back int he crock pot to keep warm after you oven cook them? Or will they over cook and stick to the pot?
I do not recommend putting them back into the Crockpot. They may in fact become overcooked. You may consider covering the pan with foil and putting them into the oven on the Warm setting only for a short time.
What if I don’t have Coke on hand? Can I use water and some other ingredient to cook them in crockpot?
I would not recommend using water. The flavor will not be the same.
Those sound amazing and so easy! I often crisp up meat/ chicken/ etc in the oven after taking out of the crock pot and I can see how it would make such a huge difference with this recipe. Pinned and Shared.
What if i already thawed the chicken wings?
Shelby, if you have already thawed them, they won’t take too long to cook. Just keep an eye on them so they don’t fall apart. Since I always cook them frozen, I do not know how long it will take to cook them thawed. Let me know!
You had me at crockpot! These look amazing!!!! Perfect for a bbq or potluck. Thanks for sharing this recipe on Whimsical Wednesday Link Party!