Slow Cooker Buffalo Wings
51 Comments Nov 07, 2022
Updated Jun 07, 2024
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If you hate deep frying foods, try Slow Cooker Buffalo Wings instead! The slow cooker makes the hot wings tender, then popping them in the oven to make the classic crispy skin. Game day just got easier with this crock pot buffalo wings recipe.
Other game day favorites we love to make are Grape Jelly Meatballs, Crockpot Rotel Dip, and a Nacho Bar!
Table of Contents
Can I make buffalo wings in crock pot?
Yes! Try making your chicken wings in the crock pot instead of frying them for great results. These wings are super saucy with extra buffalo sauce, nothing is worse than when you order wings, and they are all dried up with no sauce! I add butter to the sauce because this is what restaurants do; the butter mellows out the hot sauce a tad. Try my Slow Cooker Honey Mustard Wings or Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Wings next!
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken Wings – Try to find packaged chicken wings that are not frozen and have the drumsticks and the “flats” separated for you already. If you can’t find them separated, you need to cut them yourself and discard the wing tip. If you buy frozen wings, be sure to thaw them completely and drain any liquid off.
- Buffalo Sauce – I recommend Frank’s Red Hot Original sauce. Note that it doesn’t say “wing sauce” on it. This is the straight hot pepper sauce that you want to buy. You can make a homemade buffalo sauce, if desired, which has a few more seasonings than this store-bought sauce.
- Salted Butter -This is the KEY to good buffalo wings. Restaurants add butter to the buffalo sauce to MELLOW it out. It also is a flavor explosion when paired with the buffalo sauce. Place the butter on top of the wings in pats, or you can use melted butter.
Step-by-Step Directions
Step One – Add the fresh chicken wings (not frozen) to your slow cooker.
Step Two – Pour over the Frank’s Red Hot Sauce.
Step Three – Lay over the pats of salted butter.
Step Four – Cook chicken wings on HIGH for 2.5 – 3 hours. Or until cooked through and the meat is fall off the bone tender.
Step Five – Preheat the oven to broil.
Step Six – Add the wings onto a sheet pan. You can use a foil lined baking sheet).
Step Seven – For crispy chicken wings, add the wings under the broiler and let crisp up; flip the wings and do for the other side too.
Step Eight – Remove all but one cup of the buffalo wing sauce from the slow cooker. Add the wings back into the sauce mixture and serve!
Recipe Variations
- Use barbecue sauce for part of the buffalo sauce, sounds like a weird combination, but they balance each other out perfectly.
- Whole chicken drumsticks can be used instead of small wings for a complete dinner. You’ll want to cook longer to ensure the chicken is done.
- You can add a packet of ranch seasoning mix for a punch of ranch flavor right into the slow cooker chicken wings.
How to serve
- Ranch Dressing – Always have ranch dressing available, for many do not like blue cheese dressing.
- Blue Cheese – Serve the crock pot chicken wings with really good blue cheese dressing. Don’t buy the shelf stable blue cheese from the regular salad dressing aisle; instead, get it next to the salad mixes in the refrigerator section; this blue cheese dressing is really good. You can even add blue cheese crumbles on top of the wings.
- Sides – A refreshing side for crock pot buffalo wings is celery sticks and carrot sticks, and they go great with ranch or blue cheese as well.
Recipe FAQs
No. If that is all you have, you must thaw them completely before using the recipe and drain them well.
It’s not necessary to season the wings, for the buffalo sauce is so powerful you won’t be able to taste the seasoning. Though, if you can’t resist, you can season the chicken wings with garlic powder, onion powder, Worcestershire sauce, and freshly ground pepper.
If you don’t feel like cutting up the chicken wings, you can add them whole to your slow cooker.
After you cook the buffalo wings in the crockpot, this recipe has you broil them in the oven to get that classic crispy skin buffalo chicken wings have.
Look for “mild” red hot sauce for starters. Add more butter to the recipe and also a touch of brown sugar to tame the heat. And don’t forget a heaping amount of ranch or blue cheese dipping sauce if you don’t like the heat, but still love the flavor of frank’s hot sauce.
More Buffalo Chicken Recipes to try:
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Slow Cooker Buffalo Wings Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. chicken wings, thawed not frozen
- 12 oz. Franks Red Hot Original Sauce
- ¼ cup salted butter
For Serving
- good blue cheese dressing, I used Litehouse “Big Blue”
- ranch dressing
- carrot sticks
- celery sticks
- green onion for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Add the chicken, sauce, and butter (slice it up and lay on top of wings) to the slow cooker. Cook on HIGH for 2.5 – 3 hours. DO NOT open the lid while the wings are in the slow cooker, heat will escape and they will not cook.
- After cooking time is done, preheat the oven to broil. Take the wings out of the slow cooker onto a baking sheet, leaving the sauce in the slow cooker.
- Broil the wings in the oven for a few minutes on each side until browned and crisp. Remove all but one cup of the sauce from the slow cooker.
- Add the wings back to the slow cooker, and stir them back into the sauce.
- Serve with ranch dressing or blue cheese, carrot sticks, and celery sticks. Sprinkle the wings with green onions (optional).
- Enjoy!
How to Video
Sarah’s Notes
- Do not use frozen chicken wings. Thaw them completely and drain well.
- You can use full size drumsticks for a complete meal. Cook for 4 hours on high.
- For mild wings, look for “mild” red hot sauce.
- Nutritional values do not include dipping sauces or sides.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Born and raised in Buffalo I had the great pleasure of going to the Anchor Bar when Frank and Teressa Bellissimo along with their son Dominic ran the bar/restaurant. So I have a great interest in new ways of preparing wings. This is a very acceptable way of preparing wings with modest effort – just a note when saying Buffalo the old locals say it in two syllables buf low and it is always referred to as wings (not Buffalo Wings. Mangiare
Thanks for the comment Charles. And interesting story about wings 🙂
Could you brown them under the broiler or in a pan BEFORE you put them in the crockpot to avoid the extra step needed closer to party time?
I did this once, and they were soggy by the time they were done. 🙂 So broiling at the end is better.
Gonna give this recipe a “test run” today in preperation for the Super Bowl. Thanks for sharing.
Not a fan of hot wings. Have you tried any other sauces that you enjoyed
I bet sweet baby ray BBQ sauce would be awesome. Cook the same way, and brown at the end under the broiler. 🙂
Sorry don’t know how to post my own question but I’m using a 4quArt and I work like 15 minutes away so could I cook it on low for 4 hours ?
Do you season the meat with any other seasoning besides what’s listed in the recipe?
No other seasoning. You can season them more if you want 🙂
Hi I am making these today and was curious after you put them back in the crockpot how long do you cook them for thank you
Just until they are browned and crisp, I would say 5 minutes or so, depends on how close the tray is to your broiler.
After you broil the wings for 5 minutes, and put them back In the crockpot, how much more time do I leave them on?
You cook in the crock pot for about 2.5 hours, then broil. They are ready to serve after that. 🙂
Sarah, I don’t think you understand what Geri is asking. Once the wings come out of the crockpot and have been under the broiler for 5 minutes or until crisp, do you just put the wings into the sauce to coat? I would think that they would get soggy if you left them in the crockpot for any length of time. Maybe that helps, Geri.
Yes thank you Sandy! Serve promtly. I’ll add that to the recipe.
Ronda, once they go back into the crockpot after broiling, just turn your crockpot on the “Warm” setting so they stay toasty while your guests mix and mingle. They’ll stay moist in the sauce all game long!
Thanks Amy! 🙂
Okay, so you say raw wings with skin on and with no breading. Is this correct? Love wings just want to make sure I do these right.
Yes, raw wings, no breading, if you buy frozen thaw them 🙂
At what temperature did you broil the wings?
500 degrees 🙂
Will frozen make them runny do u know..can’t get back to store..don’t want to mess them up
Thaw them out if possible and drain before putting the wings in the slow cooker. 🙂
Do you use raw wings or frozen wings (pre-breaded?)?
Raw 🙂