Slow Cooker Bang Bang Chicken
73 CommentsUpdated May 05, 2026
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These slow cooker bang bang chicken drumsticks are bold, creamy, and perfect for spooning over rice with an extra drizzle of sauce.
Featured Comment
“Very good as written, no need to change a thing. Thank you for your time and effort!”
– kara
If you’ve never tried Bang Bang Chicken, you’re in for a treat—the sauce is bold, creamy, and totally addictive. It’s amazing on these slow-cooked drumsticks, but it’s also the same sauce that makes bang bang shrimp so popular.
Key Ingredients
Chicken Drumsticks: Budget-friendly and perfect for slow cooking—they soak up the sauce and stay tender.
What Makes Bang Bang Sauce So Good: A bold combo of mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, and sriracha creates a creamy, sweet-heat glaze that caramelizes beautifully under the broiler.
Salt & Pepper: Simple seasoning that balances the richness of the sauce.
Green Onions: A fresh, crisp topping that adds color and contrast when serving.
How to Make Bang Bang Chicken in the Slow Cooker
- Add the drumsticks to the crockpot and coat with half the bang bang sauce.
- Cook until tender and fully cooked through.
- Broil briefly for color, then serve with the reserved sauce.
Cook’s Tips & Variations
Optional Marination: You can marinate this chicken in the sauce the night before (be sure to only use half of the sauce; the other half is for serving).
Spicier: Double the sriracha in this recipe or add a few shakes of Tabasco. Additionally, you can add red pepper flakes if desired; approximately a half teaspoon will do.
Other cuts of chicken: Bone-in Chicken thighs work well, too. If you choose to use boneless chicken (thighs or breasts), there is no need to brown the chicken before serving.
Serving Suggestions
Rice: These bold drumsticks are perfect over white or jasmine rice to soak up the flavorful sauce. Right before serving, sprinkle with sliced green onions and don’t forget that extra bang bang sauce on the side which is cool, creamy, and perfect for dipping.
Other Sides we love with this dish are crockpot mac and cheese, slow cooker collard greens, crockpot cabbage and our favorite is crockpot corn on the cob.
Slow Cooker Bang Bang Chicken Recipe
How to Video
Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs. chicken drumsticks
- 2 tsp. sriracha
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup sweet chili sauce, I use Frank's Red Hot brand sweet chili sauce
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
- 1 bunch green onions, for serving
Instructions
- Add the drumsticks to the slow cooker.
- In a medium-sized bowl, add the mayo, sweet chili sauce, sriracha, salt and pepper. Stir.
- Place half of the sauce in another bowl and place in the fridge for serving. Pour the other half of the sauce over the chicken.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker. Cook on HIGH for 3.5-4 hours or LOW for 5 hours.
- Preheat the oven to broil.
- If you have a wire rack, place that on a sheet pan. When the cooking time is up place the chicken on the wire rack that is on the sheet pan (or directly on the sheet pan if you don't have a rack).
- Broil for about 5 minutes or until browned. Keep an eye on them so they don't burn.
- Sprinkle the green onions over the chicken when serving.
- You can serve the chicken with the hot sauce poured over the chicken (great over rice). And also serve it with a side of the cold reserved bang bang sauce. We love these drumsticks with rice.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
More chicken recipes
Thai Peanut Chicken and Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken both bring bold, saucy flavors with an easy prep.
If you like a little heat, try Buffalo Ranch Drumsticks or Orange Chicken Drumsticks—both are full of flavor and perfect for busy weeknights.
For something sweet and tangy, Pineapple Chicken Drumsticks hit the spot.If you love easy chicken drumstick recipes, also try my slow cooker chicken drumsticks recipe.
Can I use frozen chicken drumsticks or should they be defrosted first?
I recommend thawing all meats before putting in the slow cooker.
Not a good Idea. They won’t cook evenly and would be overcooked on the outside before being cooked enough near the bone.
So appreciate your awesome recipes , my take away recipes you have do not include so many spices I do not keep on hand. So many recipes I share with my Son who is Firefighter and believe me those guy’s and gal’s love to cook.
Thank You for sharing your recipes and know each one so delicious.
Bang bang is great the whole family loves it !!!
Absolutely beautiful! I cooked this following your recipe. Absolutely beautiful with flavours & textures. Thank you so much
Can I use boneless chicken thighs and if so what would be the cooking time
Bruce, did you ever receive a response to being able to use Thighs vs breast for this recipe. Slow Cooker Bang Bang Chicken. I want to use thighs also.
Thanks, Janet
On a scale of 1-5 how spicy is this. I have a grandchild that doesn’t like spicy (although I do) so can I half the spices. Or which ones would you suggest that I leave out that would make it moist and not as spicy (without losing a lot of flavor). Or maybe just fix this for us!!!!!
Thanks, Janet
How do I convert this recipe and other of your slow cooker recipes for a smaller slow cooker? There are just 2 of us now.
Hi! I would cut it in half. It should do fine! Same cooking time.
Where Do I Buy Sole Cookler.Thank You For Any Information.
Hi! Amazon has them, Walmart, Target, pretty much any store that sells small appliances.
Can I still make this if my oven doesn’t have a broiler? I want to make sure it gets brown and crispy.
If you have luck browning other dishes this should do fine. It just may take longer.
Can I substitute drumsticks with chicken breasts for a more shredded option? Will that alter the cooking times if I use breasts instead?
I would do 3.5 hours on high, or 6 hours on low. I think it would be great.