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Slow Cooker Honey Buffalo Wings | Chicken wings are rubbed with spices, tossed in a sweet and spicy honey buffalo sauce, cooked in the slow cooker, then crisped up under the broiler for a finger-lickin' juicy hot wing!  Slow cooker wings are the way to go this game day season! | The Chunky Chef | #chickenwings, #hotwings #chickenwingrecipe #buffalo #honeybuffalo #slowcooker #crockpot #gamedayfood
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4.55 from 87 votes

Slow Cooker Honey Buffalo Wings

Make buffalo wings the easy way, by cooking them in the slow cooker! Made stress-free and loaded with mouthwatering finger-licking flavors!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time2 hours
Total Time2 hours 10 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6 - 8 servings
Calories: 714kcal
Author: The Chunky Chef

Ingredients

SPICE RUB:

  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp onion powder or dried minced onion
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp dried parsley

HONEY BUFFALO SAUCE:

  • 3/4 cup hot sauce (Frank's Original is what I always use)
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1 Tbsp melted butter
  • 1 Tbsp molasses (optional but recommended)

WINGS:

  • 4 lbs fresh chicken wings, patted dry

Instructions

  • In a small mixing bowl, add rub ingredients and stir to combine thoroughly.  Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray and add chicken wings.  Sprinkle rub over the top and use hands to massage the rub into all the chicken wings.  I like to use nitrile gloves for this - easy clean up!
  • In the empty rub mixing bowl, add sauce ingredients and whisk to combine well.  Pour over spiced wings and toss gently to coat.
  • Cover slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 2 hours, or on LOW for 3-4 hours.

FOR STICKY GLAZE:

  • Cook slow cooker recipe as directed above.  Line a baking sheet with 2 sheets of aluminum foil, then place an oven safe wire cooling rack on top.  Place cooked wings on cooling rack, then pour sauce from the slow cooker into a saucepan.  Add 2 Tbsp cornstarch and 2 Tbsp of water to a small bowl and whisk to combine well, then pour into sauce and whisk.  Cook over MED-HIGH heat until boiling, then reduce heat to MED-LOW and whisk as it cooks.  Cook about 5 minutes, or until thickened to desired consistency. 
  • Brush wings with thickened sauce, then broil on HIGH for 2-3 minutes, until the sauce caramelizes a little.  Brush with more glaze and broil another 2 minutes.  Repeat this one more time and you should have perfectly sticky wings!

Notes

Frozen wings can also be used, but the sauce in the slow cooker after cooking will be more watery, as most frozen chicken wings are ice glazed (each wing has a thin glaze of ice over it, so they don't stick together as much in the bag).  For best results, thaw frozen wings before cooking.
If cooking from frozen, cook time is 3 hours on HIGH and 4-6 hours on LOW.

Nutrition

Calories: 714kcal