You don’t need a ton of fussy ingredients to make a great, kid-friendly dinner. In fact, it’s the fussy ingredients that typically send the kids into a full-on meltdown. Leave all the hassle behind and welcome in the easiest of slow cooker recipes — Crock Pot Chicken Legs!
This chicken dinner comes together with an effortless rub of oil and a sprinkle of savory spices. After just a few hours of slow cooking, you’ll have perfectly cooked, full-flavored, juicy drumsticks ready for the taking. It’s a dinner both the children and the adults are guaranteed to find simply delicious!
Love easy chicken recipes? We’ve got more where that came from! Bookmark our Baked Chicken Legs and these hunky Baked Chicken Leg Quarters for next time!
HOW TO COOK CHICKEN LEGS IN THE CROCK POT?
- Pat the drumsticks dry with paper towels and add to the crock pot.
- Mix seasoning.
- Drizzle the chicken with oil, sprinkle with seasoning, and rub all over to adhere.
- Cook on low for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
USE DRY HEAT FOR THE BEST SLOW COOKER DRUMSTICKS
Contrary to what some might believe, you do not need liquid to operate a slow cooker. In fact, Slow Cooker Drumsticks are better without any liquid at all.
You might have noticed there’s no liquid going into the crock pot at any point in the recipe. That is because we are technically “dry slow cooking,” and it’s this cooking method that will prevent your chicken leg skin from becoming overly soggy and rubbery.
Rest assured, dry heat in the slow cooker does not result in dry chicken…quite the opposite, actually. You are guaranteed perfectly cooked, juicy, and tender Crock Pot Chicken Legs with this recipe.
HOW LONG DO CHICKEN LEGS TAKE TO COOK IN THE CROCK POT?
We tested these Slow Cooker Drumsticks using a probe thermometer inserted into a chicken leg during the entire duration of the cooking process. The alarm was set to go off once the chicken legs had reached 165°F, which is the internal temperature at which dark meat is ready to safely consume.
It took the drumsticks just under 4 hours to reach this temperature on the low setting. However, as you probably know, dark meat is very forgiving and if you need to leave them in an hour or longer, you can certainly get away with that.
CAN YOU COOK FROZEN CHICKEN IN THE CROCK POT?
Can you? According to the Crock-Pot company– yes. Should you? According to the USDA — No. It’s always best to thaw chicken before adding it to any cooking vessel, as stated in their “Slow Cookers and Food Safety” write-up.
Point of the story? Safely thaw your chicken legs before adding them to the slow cooker.
INGREDIENTS
The great thing about these Crock Pot Chicken Legs is you don’t need a ton of ingredients, and you probably already have everything you need to make them in your pantry!
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
- Chicken Legs
- Oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- Paprika
- Onion Powder
The spice mix that covers the chicken legs is über savory and very flavorful, and you’ll find it’s as pleasing to the kids as it is the grown-ups at the table!
HOW TO TURN CROCK POT CHICKEN LEGS INTO BBQ CHICKEN
We love dark meat BBQ chicken around these parts, as evidenced by our BBQ Baked Leg Quarters and this delicious Oven-Baked BBQ Chicken! If you want to turn your Slow Cooker Drumsticks into a BBQ chicken masterpiece, you’re in luck — it’s crazy easy!
- Have your oven preheated to 375°F by the time the chicken legs finish cooking in the slow cooker.
- Then, transfer the drumsticks to a baking dish or sheet and brush or spoon over a generous layer of your favorite sticky-sweet BBQ sauce.
- Transfer the chicken to the oven and bake for 15 minutes, uncovered.
If you love BBQ sauce, you’ll adore our easy Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken! Chicken breasts slow cooked in BBQ sauce and amped up with big flavor!
HOW LONG WILL THE CHICKEN KEEP?
You can store these Crock Pot Chicken Legs for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If you’d like for them to keep any longer than that, freeze them!
To freeze cooked drumsticks, allow them to cool to room temperature, then, wrap each chicken leg in wax paper and transfer it to a freezer-safe zip-top bag. Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze.
To dethaw, place in the refrigerator overnight. Consume within 3 months for best results.
5 MORE CROCK POT RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
- BBQ Pulled Pork In the Slow Cooker
- Crock Pot Chicken Enchiladas
- Crock Pot Chicken and Rice
- Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings
- Crock Pot Chicken Tacos
The best Crock Pot Chicken Legs are breeze to make! All you need is a slow cooker, a little oil, drumsticks, and a simple blend of savory spices!
- 2 - 2 1/2 pounds chicken legs
- 2 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons oil (avocado, canola, or olive oil)
-
Pat each drumstick dry with a paper towel and transfer to a 4-6 quart crock pot.
-
Combine all of the dry seasoning in a small bowl and stir to combine. Drizzle the chicken with oil and rub to adhere to each leg. Then, sprinkle the seasoning evenly over the chicken and rub all over to adhere.
-
Cover and turn on the low setting. Cook for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Video
Came out perfectly! Thank you for the recipe!
Loving this seasoning blend for these easy peasy chicken legs! Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Kelly,
In the blog you mention a probe thermometer, which is new to me. Looking them up, I see some with long cords to “drape” outside a conventional oven door to read the temp. Others look like the whole thermometer stays in the oven. Would you mind sharing what type you used?
I can’t wait to try these drumsticks!
Hey Susan – I thought I would share with you the probe thermometer I have been using the past few months that we really love!! I purchased it on Amazon, but I am not seeing it there now…you could Google for price comparisons, but here it is on the manufacturer’s website: https://buythermopro.com/product/thermopro-tp-03-digital-instant-read-thermometer/
I have used the type of thermometer with the draping long cords and I was so sick of the cord getting tangled and the largeness of the thermometer box. This quick probe is awesome…I just open up my crock pot lid and poke it right into the meat 🙂
Excited to try these- is the skin typically on or off? Thanks!
The skin should be on 🙂
Hey, was wondering if I had to double to amount of meat and ingredients, will I still cook on low for 3 1/2 – 4 hours?
Because it will likely take longer for the crock-pot to come to temperature (due to all the cold meat), I might extend the cooking time by an hour or so. I haven’t tried this myself, so just be sure you check for doneness before eating!
Made these such a delicious yet easy dinner meal 🙂 I added fresh sprigs of thyme while I cook them for four hours. These turned out so yummy ☺️ Thanks for sharing with us !
What’s a good side dish you recommend for this chicken?
Mashed or roasted potatoes, fresh green beans, broccoli, shells and cheese…so many options! Here are some goodies to browse through: https://www.theanthonykitchen.com/category/comfort-food-recipes/southern-side-dishes/
Hi Kelly! This looks perfect and easy for me to make while working from home… but would this work if I used other pieces of bone-in chicken pieces or party wings as long as the chicken is checked for doneness?
Absolutely! I haven’t tested the cook time on other cuts yet, but the seasoning and method would be great for other cuts. Just make sure they’re cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F before eating 🙂
Just made these—the crock pot ended up having a lot of liquid in the bottom (delicious flavored with seasoning and chicken juice). But the skin never got that golden look and I am afraid the seasoning dissolved into the liquid (although I know that liquid will flavor the meat, it’s not like a dry rub). I did pay them dry. Has this ever happened to you? I might put them in the oven to dry them out.
I wouldnt worry too much about the liquid at the bottom of the crockpot, but if you wanted them to crisp up more you could definitely pop them under the broiler. Just be sure to keep an eye on them in there so they don’t burn 😉
Can you make this with frozen drumsticks?
I would not recommend putting frozen food in the crockpot.
Hubby just told me, “zero leftovers”. Can this recipe be done over cut up veggies for a one-pot meal? Thanks much!
Thank you for sharing that, Karen! Love it!
Have you done this recipe with some cut-up veggies as well (or is the time too short for the veggies to cook properly)? Thanks for the recipe!
If you want to add veggies, I would par-cook them in the microwave first. I’ve got a demo for doing that in a crockpot chicken noodle soup recipe! Here’s a link if you want to see how it’s done 😉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7j2Y37FE2E
AMAZING! This deserves 10 stars.
Thank you!
This Spice Mix was phenomenal… thank you! I had good luck elevating the legs on a few foil balls in the bottom of the slow cooker, and putting them all in vertically, fat side down. Incredible flavor!
I have a small crockpot and can maybe fit 4-5 flat on the bottom. Can we stack the legs on top of each other to cook more?
Yes you can stack them!
can you do this recipe with chicken breasts too?
Yes! But, I would begin checking the breasts after 2 hours for doneness on the high setting or 3 hours on the low setting! 🙂