Slow Cooker Chicken Legs

Do you like your meat falling off your bones? Maybe not your own, but I bet you like fall off the bone slow cooker chicken legs.

The secret to tender chicken is to slow cook the hell out of it.

Sure, air frying chicken legs locks in the juices and gives them a nice sear, but slow cooker chicken legs get so tender you can’t really even pick ’em up.

But unlike the air fryer, the slow cooker is set and forget.

Fire that bad boy up in the morning and have a great tasting dinner when you get home from work, school, or activities.

Ingredients and Kitchen Supplies

Here’s what you need to get started making slow cooker chicken legs:

• Drumsticks – You can make as many as few as you like or need. You can keep the skin on and stack and smush them together so don’t worry about keeping them seperated.
• Garlic – Freshly minced or crushed garlic adds a bit of earthy, spicy flavor to the drumsticks.
• Chicken Broth – You will definitely end up with more broth when the chicken legs are done cooking, but you will want to have a little moisture in the slow cooker when it first starts out.
• Butter – Helps add a bit of richness to the chicken and helps prevent the spices from sticking.
• Spices – We use poultry seasoning, pepper, salt, and a bay leaf to add flavor and spice. You could add additional spices to give it a more Italian, southwest, or other flavor profile.

You really only need a slow cooker to make this meal, though tongs can help with serving the drumsticks.

How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Legs

Here’s how to get started with making slow cooker chicken legs.

1. Prep the chicken.

Rinse and pat the chicken legs dry with a paper towel.

Place the chicken legs into the pot of your slow cooker.

2. Add in the seasonings, broth, and butter.

Sprinkle the seasonings over the chicken legs.

Using tongs, a large spoon, or your hands, gently toss the legs so they get an even coating.

Keep in mind, you may want to add more spices if you are using a lot of chicken legs. We made this using about 2 pounds.

Once you toss the chicken with spices, pour in the chicken broth and toss in the butter and bay leaf.

3. Set it and forget it.

When everything is happy in the slow cooker, turn it on the low setting.

It takes between 4 to 6 hours to cook, but you can add a bit more time to this if needed.

If you need to shorten the time, you can set the slow cooker on high.

The chicken legs are ready when the meat pulls away from the bone, it falls apart in your tongs, or the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees F.

How to Serve Slow Cooker Chicken Legs

Serve slow cooker chicken legs over rice, with a side of bread, or with a side of veggies, like roasted brussel sprouts.

You can also serve them on their own if you like.

The bone should be easy to remove, so you can easily prep a plate for a young child.

Storing

You can store slow cooker chicken legs in an air tight container.

They should stay fresh for about 3 to 4 days in the fridge or about 6 months in the freezer.

To reheat, you can microwave them for a few seconds or place them in a warm oven for several minutes, until they warm through.

Tips and Tricks

• Don’t feed your dog a chicken drumstick without first removing the bones. This will not end well for your dog. Also, don’t let your feral children gnaw on the bones either, they are not ogres, even if they act like it sometimes.
• You can easily alter the flavor of chicken legs with different seasonings. Our blend creates a mostly neutral flavor that pairs well with just about anything. You can add different flavors like southwest seasonings, buffalo seasonings, cajun seasonings, Italian seasonings, or any number of different combinations.
• The longer chicken legs cook in the slow cooker, the more they will fall apart when you pick them up. If you want them to be firmer, either cook them on a higher setting or only cook them until they reach a safe internal temperature of 170 degrees F.

Don’t have time to make these in the slow cooker? Use your air fryer to cook up chicken drumsticks quickly and easily.

Did you make this? Let me know!

Did you make these slow cooker chicken legs or any other recipe on my site? Leave me a comment below and let me know how you liked it.

Make sure you follow along with me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest to see everything we’ve got going on.

Stay in the know! Sign up for our newsletter that contains the latest recipes and tips.