WW Recipe of the Day: Slow Cooker Chicken Wings Two Ways
I love chicken wings, but not all the fat and calories associated with the kind that are fried. So, I decided it was time to give slow cooker chicken wings a try.
Slow Cooker Chicken Wings
After way too much time spent deciding how to make them, I finally opted to divide my bag of wings in half and cook each in a different sauce.
In one CrockPot I made slow cooker wings in a teriyaki ginger sauce.
In another, slow cooker wings in a sweet spicy BBQ sauce.
The Skinny on Slow Cooker Chicken Wings
I did a little research before making these slow cooker chicken wings.
Some recipes tell you to toss the wings and sauce into the crock pot.
Others tell you to bake or broil them first.
Still others direct you to broil them at the end.
I wasn't sure which approach to take until I read this recipe for slow cooker chicken wings, where the CrockPot Lady Stephanie O'Dea said, "Spread the wings out on a large cookie sheet and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes at 400F degrees. This browns the skin and keeps it from getting terribly slimy in the crock. I do think this is an important step, even though I loathe cooking before I cook."
I'm glad I took this extra step. During baking the wings released a LOT of water and grease that would have ended up in the crock pot, and significantly diluted the sauce!
We loved both batches of slow cooker chicken wings so much it's hard to chose a favorite.
They were fall-off-the-bone tender and full of flavorful.
But if I had to call it, I'd say that the teriyaki-ginger won by the slimmest of margins.
How Many Calories and WW Points in the Teriyaki Ginger Slow Cooker Wings?
According to my calculations, each serving of the Teriyaki Ginger Wings has about 68 calories and
5 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
5 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
5 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
2 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
Slow Cooker Chicken Wings - Teriyaki Ginger
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken wings (about 16 wings)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup teriyaki sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger paste (I use jarred)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon crushed garlic (I used jarred)
- Optional garnishes: sesame seeds, sliced green onions
Instructions
- Ideal Slow Cooker Size: 4-Quart.
- Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Cut off and discard wing tips. Cut each wing at joint to make two sections. (If this seems like too much work, check to see if you can buy already sectioned wings in the freezer section of your grocery store. That's what I do.)
- Place wing pieces on foil lined baking sheet (affiliate link). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bake for about 20 minutes or until chicken is a light, golden brown. Transfer chicken wings to slow cooker.
- In a bowl, stir together the teriyaki sauce, honey, fresh ginger paste, fresh lime juice and crushed garlic. Pour over the wings making sure they all get coated with the sauce.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours, or until the wings are tender. Stir at least once to make sure that the wings are evenly coated with the sauce.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions if desired.
Recipe Notes
How Many Calories and WW Points in the Sweet + Spicy BBQ Chicken Wings?
According to my calculations, each serving of the Sweet + Spicy BBQ Wings has about 72 calories and
6 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
6 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
6 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
2 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
Slow Cooker Chicken Wings - Sweet and Spicy BBQ
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken wings (about 16 wings)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup hickory flavored barbecue sauce (affiliate link)
- 1-½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce (I used Frank's Red Hot)
Instructions
- Ideal Slow Cooker Size: 4-Quart.
- Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Cut off and discard wing tips. Cut each wing at joint to make two sections. (If this seems like too much work, check to see if you can buy already sectioned wings in the freezer section of your grocery store. That's what I do.)
- Place wing pieces on foil lined baking sheet (affiliate link). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bake for about 20 minutes or until chicken is a light, golden brown. Transfer chicken wings to slow cooker.
- In a bowl, whisk together the barbecue sauce (affiliate link), mustard, vinegar, honey and hot sauce. Pour over the chicken wing pieces and toss gently until completely coated.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 4-½ hours, or until the wings are tender.
- Stir at least once to make sure that the wings are evenly coated with the sauce. Serve hot.
Recipe Notes
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
If you like WW Friendly Slow Cooker Chicken Wings, you might also like:
- Easy Crock Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
- Crock Pot Cocktail Sausages
- Easy Slow Cooker French Onion Meatballs
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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Theresa Litz
These sound wonderful! Thanks to you I now have two slow cookers so I can try out both recipes (maybe for games on Sunday). I still can't believe I won a slow cooker from your blog. It is so pretty and Im really excited about it being a take & go model! Again....THANK YOU!
Martha McKinnon
You are so welcome, Theresa! I'm so glad it has arrived it time for you to use for Sunday! I have the same one an love it 🙂
Jackie P
This is what I have been looking for. I wanted to get rid of some fat first, but I didn't know exactly what to do! Thanks. I'm going shopping right now 🙂
Martha McKinnon
Enjoy, Jackie!
Jackie P
fat, not fate :0
Ron E.
Hello Martha,
I had tried a similar recipe for the sweet & spicey wings, this was back in late Oct. 2014. The best Idea you are using is baking the water and fats off 1st ( especially for the frozen 3,4 or 5lb pkg.).
It really doesn't consume any more time preparing, as they are baking I'm mixing my sauce ingredients. The aluminium foil keeps the chicken pieces from sticking to pan and makes for easy clean up.
I had made a double batch last time (10lbs) for 1 crock pot. I had them done in about 4 hrs, 1 1/2 hrs high- 2 1/2 hrs low. Placed them in tupperware for travel ( 1/2 hour away ) and re-warmed on low then warm temperature.
Nothing but compliments from everyone ! As we had no oven to re-heat or broil crisp outside skin.
This batch I'm making as I write this reply, I will place back in oven prior to serving to give it that thicker glazing under the broiler using the crock pot sauce. I may need to use cornstarch to help thicken, but the sugars from ingredients should help give that deep golden brown goohey glaze .
Martha McKinnon
Hi Ron,
Thanks for sharing your wonderful insights into making delicious glazed wings in the crockpot. I agree that giving them a precook in the oven is worth it and doesn't take any extra time/effort when you line your baking sheet with foil first. A lot of fat/water gets released that would otherwise end up in your crockpot watering down your sauce. Happy Slow Cooking!!
Gabi
Hello’ Martha I really enjoy ur recipes and have made quite few of them’ always looking forward to seeing more ‘ want to try the wings one but don’t know how many wings to I get for the SmartPoints ‘ we’re on the freestyle ones? Thank u again. Gabi
Martha McKinnon
Hi Gabi, It will depend on the size of the wings but as the recipe is written the serving size is 1 wing. Hope this helps
susanC4000
Hi, Martha. You say 16 chicken wings equals 16 servings, and one wing then is therefore 6 FS points! I wish I’d read the calculations more carefully after making a crockpot full! That’s like trying to eat one potato chip! So disappointed.