Slow Cooker Hot Honey Wings

With their buttery, spicy honey, garlic and cayenne pepper sauce, these slow cooker hot honey wings are so flavorful and super-tender. You’ll be so impressed with them!

Wing fans might also like peach bourbon wings, buffalo wings, chipotle chicken wings, or slow cooker garlic parmesan wings.

Why You’ll Love It           

Easy to prepare: This recipe is simple. After cooking the wings in sauce in your Crockpot, you just broil them briefly and that’s it!
Such delicious wings: Contrasting flavors, such as honey for sweetness, hot sauce for spice, butter for richness, garlic for an umami touch, and of course the tender chicken itself makes this the kind of dish you’ll go weak at the knees for. The wings just taste incredible.
A versatile dish: Enjoy these wings as a snack, appetizer or make them the main dish. They’re great for any occasion from a casual friends get-together to game day.
Gluten-free: There’s no gluten in this wings recipe.

Hot Honey Chicken Wings Ingredients

A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

Chicken wings: I like to use a combination of drums and flats, but you can use whole wings or even drumsticks if preferred. Larger chicken pieces have a longer cooking time.
Hot sauce: To add that wonderful heat! Sriracha sauce would work or maybe Frank’s hot sauce or even Tabasco. Just choose your favorite.
Cayenne pepper: Adds more heat.
Butter: To add a velvety richness to the wing sauce.
Honey: For sweetness and to make the wings sticky.
Garlic powder: You can omit this ingredient if you want or use extra.
Nonstick cooking spray: Or melted butter or cooking oil. For greasing.

How to Make Hot Honey Wings in a Crockpot

For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.

Make the hot honey sauce: Whisk together everything in a large mixing bowl except the wings and garnishes.
Add ingredients to the Crockpot: Pat wings dry and add them to the slow cooker. Pour some of the honey hot sauce over them, reserving a cup of it for later.
Cook the wings: Cover the slow cooker and cook until the chicken is tender and fully cooked through.
Broil them: Broil the wings on a baking sheet, brushing more hot honey sauce over them. Flip and broil a little more until they’re crispy. Serve hot, garnished with parsley and/or red pepper flakes if liked, with a creamy dipping sauce on the side.

Substitutions and Variations

Honey hot sauce: You can make your own hot honey and use that in place of the cayenne pepper and honey (this is my go-to hot honey recipe!)
Less or more spicy: Adjust the heat by using less or more hot sauce and/or cayenne pepper.
Chicken wings: Use drums and flats, whole wings or your preferred cut of chicken, adjusting the cooking time if needed.
Different flavors: You could add a splash of soy sauce for a salty flavor, lime juice for a bright twist, toss the chicken in sesame seeds for crunch before broiling or include onion powder in the sauce as well as garlic powder.
French parsley: Fresh cilantro would also be good as your garnish.

Serving Suggestions

As an appetizer: Enjoy hot honey wings as an appetizer, perhaps with other snacks too like Cajun shrimp deviled eggs (another spicy dish!) or Irish nachos. You could add blue cheese dressing or ranch for dipping too, or add carrot and celery sticks for a contrasting flavor.
As the main dish: Wings pair with all kinds of sides from air fryer onion rings (wings ‘n rings!) with BBQ sauce to lively Louisiana voodoo fries, creamy Hawaiian macaroni salad or a zesty Brussels sprouts slaw.

How to Store Crockpot Hot Sweet Honey 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.