Slow cooker hot honey wings are a must-try dish. This easy recipe made with just 5 ingredients is a sweet and spicy flavor explosion! The perfect addition to any meal, party or game day celebration.
Wings aren't just for the "big game" anymore. They have earned a place of honor on menus everywhere from local, rural bars to big city gourmet restaurants. Not only that, the variety of sauces, dips and cooking methods seem almost endless.
Not surprisingly, of course, your slow cooker is a great place to make them!
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Like most things slow cooker, this is a super easy recipe not involving any gourmet culinary skills. To start, you will need to gather the following:
- wings!
- honey
- Sriracha
- minced garlic
- lime juice
- kosher salt
🥣How to assemble this dish
If you are planning to use a slow cooker liner, placing it in your crockpot is always the first (and most forgotten) step. This hot wing recipe works with either an official slow cooker liner or parchment paper. If you don't plan to use either, start by spraying your slow cooker with some sort of non-stick spray.
Add honey, Sriracha, garlic, lime juice and salt to a mixing bowl. Use a fork or whisk to fully combine all ingredients. Next, make sure your wings are ready to go.
Pat wings dry if they are extra wet. This will help the sauce stick. Place dry wings into the bottom of your slow cooker.
Pour sauce mixture over wings in your slow cooker. Use tongs or a spoon to toss your wings around a bit in your crockpot to make sure each one is fully coated with sauce on all sides.
Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. The best way to confirm that your wings are fully cooked is by using a meat thermometer. Once your chicken reaches an internal 165ºF, it is considered safe to eat.
Pro-tip: Be sure to carefully follow the instructions on your thermometer regarding the proper way to insert it into the chicken.
How to make wings crispy
Slow cooking will turn your wings into a juicy and delicious treat, but to finish them off just right, you need to add a little crispiness. The two easiest ways of doing this are under the broiler or in an air fryer.
Remove wings from slow cooker and place them on an open oven rack with a drip tray below it. You can toss your wings under the broiler for 2 or so minutes per side or in the air fryer for about 10 minutes. Be sure to watch broiled wings carefully, they can go from done to burned very quickly.
While the chicken is getting crispy, you will want to thicken up your sauce. Transfer a few ladlefuls of the sauce in your slow cooker to a saucepan and allow it to come to a boil, stovetop. Boil until it reduces to a thicker, syrup-like consistency.
Use a brush or spoon to lightly coat crispy wings with some of the thickened sauce. This can be done either in the middle of the crisping process or after the wings are fully crisp.
🍽Serving ideas
Serve with extra sauce for delicious dipping! They are also great with either blue cheese or ranch dressing for extra dipping. Similar to Buffalo wings, they are terrific when served with some crunchy, fresh vegetable sticks such as carrots and celery.
Spoonable cornbread makes for a particularly delicious partner for slow cooker hot honey wings as it is a moist and slightly sweet dish. Regardless of what food you decide to serve with them, the most important accompaniment will be napkins to clean off all those dirty, saucy fingers!
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😉Hints & hacks
- Slow cooker hot honey wings are delicious served warm or cold and make for great refrigerator leftovers!
- Use a meat thermometer to confirm chicken is safe to eat. According to the FDA, chicken is safe to eat when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Slow cooker liners are an optional but helpful hack whenever using a crockpot. They allow you to cook with little to no cleanup. I like to buy mine in bulk for a better per-piece price.
- Not a fan of slow cooker liners? Parchment paper also works with this recipe and will leave you with virtually zero slow cooker clean up.
- In the market for a new slow cooker? I love mine!!
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❓❔Frequently asked questions
Full chicken wings have three parts, the wingtip, the wingette, and the drumette. Wingettes and drumettes work best for this recipe. Check this out if you are interested in learning more about chicken wing parts.
Consuming undercooked chicken can be dangerous! The best way to confirm that your wings are safe to eat is by using a meat thermometer. Chicken is safe to eat when it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF
Yes, if you are pressed for time, you can cook your wings on high for 2-3 hours.
Yes! Raw chicken can be safely cooked in a slow cooker. Again, the best way to confirm it is safe is to use a meat thermometer.
📖 Recipe
Lazy Slow Cooker Hot Honey Wings Recipe
Equipment
- 3.5 quart slow cooker or larger
- mixing bowl and spoon
- slow cooker liner or parchment paper (optional)
Ingredients
- 4 lbs wings wingettes and drumettes
- 1 cup honey
- ½ cup sriracha
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic regular or roasted garlic
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Line slow cooker, if using
- mix honey, sriracha, garlic, lime juice and salt in a mixing bowl or cup
- clean wings and pat very dry
- line up half of chicken pieces all around bottom of slow cooker. pour half of sauce over wings.
- layer in more wings and pour over remaining sauce
- stir ensure all wings are coated
- cook 4 hours on low
- place juices from slow cooker into a sauce pan and boil stove top until sauce starts to thicken
- prior to serving, place wings under broiler for about 2 minutes on each side, or toss into air fryer for 10-15 minutes to crispen skin. About half way through, brush on additional sauce from what has been thickening stove top.
Nutrition
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Andrea says
Would I be able to just use Mike's Hot Honey [with lime juice mixed in]? Bought a new Giant BJs size bottle not realizing my other one got pushed back in the cabinet and I'm too short to see. Lol.
Thanks in advance.
The Lazy Slow Cooker says
I don't see why not! I bet it will be delicious. If you try it, I would love to hear how it goes. I haven't tried Mike's yet - I need to!