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.
- Coca Cola
- Frozen Chicken wings
- 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.
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.
3 Ingredient Crockpot BBQ Chicken Wings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12-16 chicken wings do not thaw
- 1 12 oz. 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.
- Cover with lid and cook on low for 3-4 hours.
- Remove wings from Crockpot using a slotted spoon onto a baking pan covered with foil.
- Brush wings generously with BBQ sauce
- Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes, just until the BBQ sauce 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!
Nutrition
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
Wow these look so delicious! Thanks!
These sound amazing and will be perfect for this summer
this could not have come at a better time! i got a package of wings at the pantry and im NOT good with chicken with bones at all… crockpot makes handling less
Great plan to cook wings in a crockpot. I have to try it.
Can I double the recipe and use 2 cans of Coke? How does the cook time change if I do?
Can I do these with diet coke or pepsi instead I am not to in to regular soda. Bur would like to make they look delucios
Has anyone made these with fresh (not frozen) wings and, if so, what was the cooking time you used?
Thanks!
I did. 2 ish hours on low
Do you have to use frozen
It’s the only way I have done it but no, you do not. Just monitor your cook time in your Crockpot. It may not take quite as long.
These look awesome! And so so easy! I think I’ll be adding these to my 4th of July menu.
I’m not usually a wings person, but these are making my mouth water 🙂 So that means my husband would LOVE them 😀
I love quick and easy recipes!
This looks delicious Shirley! Gonna pin this to our Pinterest board if you don’t mind 😉
Could you use frozen chicken drumsticks?
Yes. Frozen is what I use.
Do you think Vanilla Coke will work?
Hi Christy. It probably would but I’m not sure about how good vanilla flavored wings might be. Please Let me know!
Hi Shirley. So you don’t put the Bbq sauce in until they go in oven? Just Coke and wings in crock pot?
Hi Chris. Yes, that is correct.
How do you prevent the wings from sticking to the foil in the oven? Also, do the wings stay intact or fall apart when removed from crockpot to oven?
Hi Donna! I use pan coating spray to prevent sticking anytime I’m baking in the oven. If your wings are falling apart, you cooked them too long. I have never had that problem. Mine are done in about 3 hours in my Crockpot. Remove them gently from the Crockpot to be safe.
Making these for Christmas. Question…Can the wings be frozen when put in, and if so how long do you cook them for?
Great question Heather. I do cook them frozen and that is the cooking time listed in the recipe. I will update the recipe to reflect that.
I only cook them frozen so I don’t know the cook time if you thaw them first.
Thanks for asking. Happy Christmas season to you.
Thank you so much! Merry Christmas to you and your family.
This just popped up on my facebook feed and the picture caught my eye. The recipe hooked me. Pinning and planning on making these soon.
Hey Shirley! I love wings and an easy recipe! What about throwing them on the grill instead of in the oven? Thank you for linking up at Funtastic Friday! Pinning!
These sound delicious! I love the idea of starting them in the crockpot, and Sweet Baby Ray’s is the best BBQ sauce! Pinning!
I absolutely adore any meal that is made in a crock pot and/or has less than 5 ingredients. This is fantastic! Definitely going to try this in the summer. Pinned, stumbled and tweeting.
These look delicious and I was surprised to see Coke as an ingredient. Thanks for sharing with us at #WednesdaysWisdom and have a great day!