3 Ingredient Crockpot BBQ Chicken Wings Recipe

Want to make BBQ Chicken Wings better than those expensive ones in the restaurant? Follow this simple Slow Cooker recipe with only three ingredients.

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.

Do you love easy recipes for barbeque meat? Try this easy recipe for Oven BBQ Ribs.

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!

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, especially game-day food.

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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Tools Needed

• Large Crockpot, (shop Crockpots at Walmart)
• Large Colander
• A large slotted spoon to scoop out the wings
• Disposable Crockpot Liners (optional)

Ingredients

These slow cooker wings require only three simple ingredients available at your grocery store or via Instacart here.

1. Coca Cola
2. Frozen Chicken wings
3. BBQ Sauce, I like this brand

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 bags for my family. These small chicken drumettes are perfect especially for game day food.

The Crockpot I use

I use a 6-quart Crockpot like this one for this recipe with 5 to 10 lbs. of wings and they fit comfortably.

How To Cook Good Wings

No need to thaw the chicken wings. Wings are thin meat so they thaw and cook at the same time. I always rinse my chicken wings first. We are going to cook them frozen and they may have a few ice crystals to be rinsed off.

Step 1

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. Leaving ice crystals on them will ‘water down’ the liquid while cooking. This colander looks exactly like mine which is large enough to hold 5 lbs. of fresh chicken wings at one time.

Use low water pressure, and 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 before 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 cola. Add the lid and cook on low for about 3-4 hours.

When we have Coke on hand that is what I use but the store brand and even diet cola work just fine also. Readers have contacted me to say they even used Sprite or Dr. Pepper and it worked well too. Do not use water for this recipe.

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

Preheat your oven control to 350°.

Carefully transfer wings from the slow cooker and back into the colander to drain the juice. I use a large slotted spoon  like this one

Do not use tongs to remove these slow cooker chicken wings from the crockpot. 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.

Step 4 Ready for the oven

This is the step that tells you how to get BBQ sauce to stick to the chicken wings.

Line a large baking sheet pan with foil. Spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray. Now, it is time to learn how to barbeque chicken wings into a deliciousness you can’t resist.

Place chicken wings in rows, in a single layer on your prepared sheet pan. Brush with your favorite barbeque sauce. We like Sweet Baby Rays Honey flavor for these BBQ Wings.

Now let’s bake that yummy sauce onto those wings.

Step 5 Finish your Crockpot BBQ Wings

Place the baking pan into the preheated oven. Bake the wings 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!

Remove from oven when you are happy with the amount of char on your wings. Serve and enjoy!

Also, See how to use this same Slow Cooker Wings recipe to make these into Lemon Pepper Wings

Scroll down for the printable recipe card.

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BBQ Wings are great game-day food. This recipe is a crowd-pleaser. It makes a great appetizer or an easy dinner. Crockpot BBQ chicken wings with coke will be one of your family favorites.

Make these finger-lickin’ good Coca Cola Chicken Wings for game day, parties, celebrations, summer cook-outs or any occasion including weeknight dinner.

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 Weeknight Dinners for Family

• Oven Baked Smothered Cube Steak, the ultimate comfort food
• Baked Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas, easy recipe for a kid-friendly dinner
• Air Fryer Catfish Nuggets taste deep fried but they are not
• Oven Baked Glazed Spam, an easy recipe with few ingredients
• 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