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a platter of golden brown and lightly sauced crockpot chicken legs with a cup of extra sauce to the right and whole green scallions in the background

crockpot chicken legs recipe

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These easy crockpot chicken legs are sprinkled with a homemade spice blend, then bathed in an umami rich honey-garlic soy marinade while slow cooking to succulent, tender yet crispy perfection.

  • Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

Scale
  • ⅓ cup soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • ¼ cup honey
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder 
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder 
  • 1 teaspoon paprika 
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 pounds chicken drumsticks
  • Scallions, for serving

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, lime juice, honey and minced garlic. Give it a quick whisk just to dissolve the honey a bit and then set the mixture aside. a mixture of honey, soy sauce, lime juice, and minced garlic combined in a white hexagonal bowl.
  2. In another small bowl, stir the onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and black pepper together until well-mixed. Sprinkle the spice mixture–yes, all of it!–on the chicken drumsticks, turning them around as needed so that all sides get evenly seasoned.raw chicken legs on a plate that have been evenly dusted with a mixture of garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and black pepper.
  3. Use tongs to transfer and arrange the seasoned chicken legs in the bowl of your crockpot. If possible, try to cook your chicken legs in a crockpot that is large enough them to fit in a single layer instead of stacked. For reference my slow cooker is an 8-quart model. seasoned raw chicken legs arranged in a single layer in the bottom of a crockpot.
  4. Add your soy sauce marinade to the crockpot, pouring it around the chicken legs. Try to avoid pouring it directly on top of them as doing so will wash off some of the seasoning mixture. the soy sauce marinade has been poured over and between the chicken legs in the slow cooker. some bits of minced garlic are on top of the chicken legs.
  5. Turn the slow cooker on to low and cook your chicken legs for 4 hours.  cooked chicken legs in the bottom of the slow cooker. the skin has gotten crisp and deeply golden-brown and the cooking liquid is slightly thickened.
  6. I like to garnish these chicken legs with some thinly sliced scallions for a punchy crunch! I also pour the cooking liquid from the crockpot into a small bowl and serve it alongside. It’s great for drizzling, especially if you serve your crockpot chicken legs with rice. cooked crockpot chicken legs arranged on a white rectangular platter garnished with thinly sliced scallions.

Notes

  • When loading your chicken legs into the crockpot, try your best to corral them towards the center of the basin. Since we are cooking them with minimal liquid, the sides of the crockpot will get hotter than usual and can take your legs into extra-extra crispy territory. You can see above this happened to one of my drumsticks and it got just a leeeeetle crisp! It may look burnt but it tasted delicious 😉 
  • The cooking time will vary depending on how large your chicken legs are, how cold they are to start with, and how full your crock pot is. 4 hours on low worked perfectly for me, but as always, use an instant read thermometer to make sure the internal temp of your chicken reaches 165℉.
  • Author: kelly@crescentmoonkitchen
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 4 hours
  • Category: dinner
  • Method: slow cooker
  • Cuisine: asian

Find it online: https://crescentmoonkitchen.com/crockpot-chicken-legs/