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+ servings
many golden brown drumsticks piled on a silver platter.
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5 from 3 votes

Slow Cooker Chicken Legs (2 Ingredients)

The best slow cooker chicken legs! An easy, 2-ingredient crockpot recipe for super tender and flavorful chicken drumsticks.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time6 hours
Course: Main Course, Poultry
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4
Calories: 490kcal
Author: Adina

Equipment

  • Slow cooker or crockpot

Ingredients

  • 8 drumsticks about 3 lbs/ 1.4 kg
  • fine sea salt and ground black pepper
  • 2 cups BBQ sauce divided, Note 1

Instructions

Slow cook:

  • Pat the drumsticks dry with paper towels (Note 2).
  • Season them generously with salt and pepper and place them in the slow cooker.
  • Pour 1 ½ cups sauce on top and toss well to coat the chicken legs. Reserve the rest of the BBQ sauce for broiling.
  • Cook for 3 ¼ - 4 hours on HIGH or 5-6 hours on LOW or until the chicken legs are very tender.

Broil (optional but recommendable):

  • Preheat the broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
  • Transfer the chicken legs to the prepared baking sheet using tongs. Brush them with some of the reserved BBQ sauce.
  • Broil for 1-2 minutes until the skin is sticky and very lightly charred in places. Flip the legs and brush them with sauce on the other side. Broil them for another 1-2. Keep an eye on the drumsticks to ensure the skin doesn’t burn.
  • Garnish as desired (toasted sesame seeds, parsley, cilantro, chopped green onions, red chili flakes, etc.) and serve immediately.

Notes

  1. Use your favorite BBQ sauce. You will need 1 ½ cups of sauce for slow-cooking the chicken legs and ½ cups for brushing them during broiling.
  2. Don’t wash chicken; according to USDA, that will only spread bacteria into your sink and the working surface. Bacteria that might be on the chicken will only be destroyed during the cooking process.

Nutrition

Serving: 2chicken legs | Calories: 490kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 139mg | Sodium: 2241mg | Potassium: 674mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 48g | Vitamin A: 395IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 2mg