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If you’ve never made slow cooker buffalo wings, you’re in for a real treat! These wings are sweet, spicy, and fall-off-the-bone tender—basically everything you love about classic bar food, but made easy at home. Serve them up with ranch or blue cheese dressing, plus some crunchy carrots and celery for the full experience. Whether it’s game day, party time, or just a snacky dinner, these wings bring the flavor and the fun. Bonus: they’re ridiculously simple to make!
Slow cooker buffalo wings really deliver on sweet and spicy flavors. With a garlicky brown sugar and hot sauce coating they’re highly flavorful and hard to resist.
Also try slow cooker garlic parmesan wings, peach bourbon wings, hot honey wings, chipotle wings, or these air fryer buffalo chicken tenders.
Why You’ll Love It
A versatile dish: Enjoy buffalo wings as a snack, appetizer or even a main dish. They’re great for any occasion from a casual get-together to game day or a party.
Easy to make: This recipe is really simple. After slow cooking the wings in sauce, you just need to broil them briefly and that’s all.
Gluten-free: There’s no gluten in this recipe. Swap the butter for a dairy-free alternative and it also becomes dairy-free.
Delicious flavors: The sweetness of the brown sugar contrasts wonderfully with the spicy, tangy hot sauce and savory garlic and onion flavors in the dish.
Crockpot Buffalo Wings Ingredients
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Chicken wings: Use a combination of drums and flats, or even whole wings or drumsticks if preferred. Larger chicken pieces have a longer cooking time.
Frank’s Red Hot buffalo sauce: To add that wonderful heat.
Butter: To add a velvety richness to the wing sauce.
Brown sugar: For a rich sweetness with a hint of caramel.
Garlic powder and onion powder: Add complementary savory flavors.
How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Wings
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Make the buffalo sauce: Whisk together everything in a large mixing bowl except the wings and garnishes.
Add ingredients to the slow cooker: Place chicken wings in the slow cooker. Pour the buffalo sauce mixture over them. Add cubes of butter on top.
Cook the wings: Cover the slow cooker and cook until the chicken is tender and fully cooked through.
Broil them: Broil the wings on prepared baking sheet, brushing more hot sauce over them. Flip and broil a little more until they’re crispy. Serve hot, garnished with parsley and/or green onions if liked. You can also serve extra buffalo sauce on the side.
Substitutions and Variations
Dairy-free option: Use your preferred non-dairy alternative in place of the butter.
Chicken wings: Use drums and flats, whole wings or your preferred cut of chicken, adjusting the cooking time if needed.
Hot sauce: Frank’s is a delicious brand but you can use your preferred hot sauce.
Adjust the spiciness: Adjust the heat by using less or more hot sauce. For more heat, you could add cayenne pepper or chili powder to the sauce too.
Fresh parsley: Fresh cilantro would also be good as a garnish.
Serving Suggestions
As an appetizer: Enjoy spicy buffalo wings as an appetizer, perhaps with other snacks too such as Irish nachos. These wings are good with blue cheese dressing or ranch for dipping too. I like to add carrot and celery sticks to the plate as well, for a contrasting texture and fresh flavor.
As a main dish: Wings pair with all kinds of sides from Louisiana voodoo fries to a creamy Hawaiian macaroni salad or a zesty Brussels sprouts slaw.
How to Store Buffalo Wings
Store: Let leftover wings cool and then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Freeze: You can freeze the wings in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Thaw: Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight.
Reheat: Spread the wings out on a baking sheet and give them 10 to 15 minutes in a preheated 375°F oven to warm them back up.
Top Tips
Use a large slow cooker: I recommend using a 7-quart slow cooker or larger. If you overcrowd the Crockpot, you’ll find the wings don’t cook evenly.
If using frozen wings: These release liquid as they cook, so discard any excess liquid left after transferring the slow cooked wings onto the sheet pan.
Coating thickness: If you want an extra-thick sauce, baste your wings every few minutes as they broil. Keep in mind the more Frank’s hot sauce you add, the spicier your wings will come out.
Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Wings FAQs
They’re nothing to do with the animal! They gained this name because they originated in the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. Teressa Bellissimo first created the dish back in 1964.
I wouldn’t recommend cooking frozen chicken wings on low because they’d spend too long in the danger zone (between 40 and 140°F) and pose a food safety risk. Slow cookers take a while to reach a safe temperature. But for thawed or fresh wings, go ahead and cook on low, as they only have to cook from chilled and not from frozen.
You can, but do keep in mind they might take longer to cook through. You’ll want to check for doneness with a meat thermometer (this one works great!) Once they reach 165°F in the thickest part, they’re done.
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Wings Recipe
Slow Cooker Buffalo Wings
Equipment
- Slow Cooker Large
- Baking Sheet Rimmed
Ingredients
- 4 Pounds chicken wings, fresh or frozen
- 1 ½ Cups Frank’s Red Hot wings sauce, plus more for basting
- 1 Teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 Teaspoon onion powder
- 1 Teaspoon salt
- ½ Teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ Cup brown sugar
- 4 Tablespoons butter, ½ Stick, cut into cubes
Optional Garnishes:
- parsley, chopped
- green onions, sliced
Instructions
- Add the wings to your slow cooker.
- Whisk the hot sauce, brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper together.
- Pour this buffalo sauce mixture over the wings.
- Top with the butter.
To Cook Frozen Wings:
- Cover the slow cooker and cook for 3 to 4 hours on HIGH.
To Cook Fresh or Thawed Wings:
- Cover the slow cooker and cook for 4 to 5 hours on LOW.
- Check the chicken is tender, cooked through and 165°F in the thickest part.
Broil the Wings:
- Preheat the oven broiler.
- Line a baking sheet with foil and then grease it to prevent sticking.
- Arrange the wings on the prepared baking sheet and brush more hot sauce over them.
- Broil for 6 to 8 minutes, flipping halfway through, or until they’re crispy.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and/or green onions if liked and serve hot with your preferred dipping sauce on the side.
Notes
If using frozen wings: These release liquid as they cook, so discard any excess liquid left after transferring the slow cooked wings onto the sheet pan.
Coating thickness: If you want an extra-thick sauce, baste your wings every few minutes as they broil. Keep in mind the more Frank’s hot sauce you add, the spicier your wings will come out.
Nutrition
Vibrant red slow cooker buffalo wings are one of the most popular bar snacks ever. These slow cooker chicken wings are simple to prepare and their flavor is unparalleled! Combining hot sauce, butter, brown sugar, onion, and garlic, these wings are bursting with incredible flavors. They’re amazing paired with ranch or blue cheese dressing and perhaps some carrot sticks and celery sticks also. It’s simple to cook chicken wings in the slow cooker. Broil them afterwards to ensure you get crispy chicken wings which everyone will rave about.
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Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
Game-changer! I didn’t think wings could be this easy AND delicious. The meat practically fell off the bone, and the flavor was spot on—spicy, tangy, a little sweet.