These sticky slow cooker Paleo Whole30 Chicken wings are bursting with Asian flavor! You’d never know they’re a healthier, gluten free appetizer!
PIN Paleo Whole30 Chicken wings
Today we are just WINGING IT.
Oh my gosh, I have honestly been dying to use that wing pun for as long as I have been blogging, which is about 7 years.
AKA: A LONG TIME.
Game Day Food
So, it’s football season. Which is basically my least favorite season of the entire year because I feel like I am single and lose my husband to the little men running around on the TV.
Not that I am bitter.
BUT, these whole30 wings are about to make all the people at your game day party extremely happy because they are the PERFECT football food.
Some other equally delicious game day food ideas for you are:
- BBQ paleo chicken wings
- Tandoori crispy baked chicken wings
- Butter Chicken Dip
- Almond Crusted Chicken bites
- Greek yogurt French Onion Dip
Paleo Whole30 Chicken Wings Flavor
You guys know me and my love of 5 spice. I’ve baked it into Five spice eggless vegan zucchini bread or healthy gluten free sweet potato muffins or rubbed it onto ribs or chinese five spice chicken thighs and now we’re rubbing it ALL over these crock pot chicken wings and then dunking it in this (naturally!) sweetened sticky pineapple sauce.
Can I just say that this kinda tropical, kind of Asian, sweet, sticky and spicy combo is just basically the perfect marriage of flavors? Do not think there could be anything as harmonious on your tongue.
Fresh or Frozen Paleo Whole30 Chicken Wings?
I have only tried these slow cooker wings from FRESH chicken wings. I am sure that you COULD use frozen wings, but you will need to thaw them first. If you do not, the water content will mess up the sauce and it won’t be sticky…just runny.
SAD DAY.
How to Cook Chicken Wings in a Crock Pot
The beauty of making paleo whole30 chicken wings in your slow cooker is that it pretty much does all the work for you. You just need to rub the spices onto the wings (which I think you can handle!) and that is ALL the manual labor.
More time for you to grab a blueberry mojito and pretend to be interested in the game ????
Mix
Whisk all of the sauce ingredients (except the tapioca starch) in the crock pot. Then, whisk the pineapple juice and tapioca starch together and then slowly pour into the crock pot, whisking as your pour.
Season
Dry off the chicken wings and season with the Chinese 5 Spice and red pepper flakes.
Cook
Cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours until the paleo wings are no longer pink inside.
Get Saucy
Once cooked, you want to thicken the sauce. Transfer it from the slow cooker into a large pot and bring to a boil for 3 minutes on high heat. After 3 minutes, reduce the heat and simmer until it reduced by half – which is about 15 minutes.
Crispy
The slow cooker will not make your wings crispy, so this is where your oven gets involved. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and place the wings on it. Rub with some of thickened sauce and broil on HIGH for 5 minutes. Baste again and cook for another 5 minutes. Then, flip the wings and repeat the process.
Garnish
Add your garnishes and serve the paleo chicken wings with the sauce for dipping!
Spicy, sweet and crispy chicken WINGS.
AKA: the only way I’ll watch the game.
Other Healthy Chicken Recipes
Paleo Gluten Free Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken
Paleo Easy Gluten Free Healthy Sesame Chicken
Spicy Thai Basil Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients
For the sauce: *
- 2 1/4 Cups Pineapple juice divided, not from concentrate
- 3 Tbsp + 1 tsp Coconut aminos
- 2 Tbsp Garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp Fresh ginger minced
- 1 tsp Sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp Sea salt
- 2 Tbsp Tapioca flour
For the wings:
- 3 Lbs Chicken wings thawed if frozen
- 2 Tbsp Chinese 5 Spice powder
- 3/4 tsp Red pepper flakes
- Cilantro diced (for garnish)
- Green onion sliced (for garnish)
- Toasted sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- In a 5 quart slow cooker, stir together 2 cups of the pineapple juice (reserving the rest for alter) along with the coconut aminos, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and sea salt until well combined,
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the tapioca flour and the remaining 1/4 cup of pineapple juice until smooth. Stir into the slow cooker with the other sauce ingredients.
- Place the wings down onto a paper towel and place another paper towel on top. Pat the wings until they are as dry as possible.
- Place the wings onto a large plate or cutting board. In a small bowl, mix together the 5 spice and red pepper flakes. Sprinkle half the mixture on the wings evenly, and rub it into each wing. Flip the wings and repeat on the other side with the remaining spices.
- Add the chicken wings into the slow cooker with the sauce and cook on high for 2-3 hours (you want the chicken to no longer be pink inside.)
- Once cooker, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and place the wings on it in one, flat layer. Turn your oven on to high broil and place the oven rack in the 3rd from the top position.
- Before you begin to broil the wings, pour the sauce from the slow cooker into a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, boil 3 minutes and stir constantly. Then, reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring frequently, until the sauce reduces by half (about 15 minutes) Once reduced, remove from the heat to cool and slightly thicken more.
- While the sauce simmer, it's time to broil the wings.
- Using a basting brush, generously rub some of the simmering sauce over all the wings. Place into the oven and broil for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, generously baste again, and broil an additional 4-5 minutes until browned and sticky.
- Flip the wings over, generously baste and repeat the process again, making sure to baste half way through cooking time again.
- Once the wings are nice and sticky, garnish with chopped cilantro, green onion, sesame seeds and DEVOUR with the reduced sauce for dipping!
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Info:
Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.
FOR THIS RECIPE, I RECOMMEND:
Weight Watchers Points Per Serving: SmartPoints: 12 Points+: 10. Old Points: 9 Free Style Points:5
(per 1/6 of the recipe)
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Annie says
I’m trying the whole 30 starting next week…is tapioca flour specifically required or could I use almond flour for example ?
Taylor Kiser says
Tapioca flour definitely. Almond flour doesn’t thicken like tapioca. Sorry!
AmandaH says
Have you ever tried this recipe with chicken thighs? I really don’t like chicken wings, but the ingredients sound great.
Taylor Kiser says
I can’t say that I have – sorry!
Ash says
These look amazing! Do you think I could replicate this for drumsticks? Thanks!
Taylor Kiser says
I really can’t tell you as the recipe wasn’t tested as such – sorry! PROBABLY, but I can’t tell you about cooking time etc.
Robin says
For anyone else who wants to try, I subbed in some chicken thighs to make it more dinner and kid friendly and this worked great! I cooked mine for about 3 hours and did everything else as directed. They melted off the bone and the kids asked for seconds, they were awesome. Thanks so much for a yummy and super easy dinner.
Taylor Kiser says
WOO HOO! So glad you loved them and thank you for letting everyone know about the thighs -SO helpful!!! <3
Kristy says
Finished making these at about 9:00 pm tonight. Told myself I would just eat one to see how they tasted. Proceeded to eat 3 more, at which point husband told me OMG STOP EATING WINGS IT’S LATE. Couldn’t help it, these are amazing!
Taylor Kiser says
HAHAHA well I consider my work done yet! 😉 So glad you loved!
Natasha says
I decided to use fresh pineapple juice. I used my Omega juicer. I’m not sure if my fresh pineapple wasn’t as sweet as canned pineapple juice or what but the sauce was nasty:( I’m giving the recipe 2 stars based on me using fresh juice.
Taylor Kiser says
Hi Natasha! I am sorry you didn’t love them. But, I reallly think it was the juice – as you can read from other reviews people usually love these!
JJ says
Is this recipe right as written? 2 Tbsp of 5 spice is a lot. I’m using 4 lbs of chicken wings and I’ve probably only used 1 Tbsp. Will circle back with a review after they’re done.
Taylor Kiser says
Hi JJ – yes, it’s correct. I’ve had many people make it as written and love it! Let me know what you think!
Morgan Ramsdell says
This sounds excellent! Thoughts on making this in an instant pot?
Taylor Kiser says
To be honest, I don’t do a lot of IP cooking so I can’t really tell you! I am sure it would work, I just don’t know the steps to take to make it happen! But, let us know if you try it!
Tomi L. Duren says
I’m sorry to leave a bad review. But these were tasteless and unappetizing. Won’t be a second try here in this house. ??
Taylor Kiser says
I am sorry you didn’t like them! Many readers have, but we all have different taste buds 🙂
Skip Poulsen says
Just started Whole30 2 days ago and was looking for something sweet and there you were. I’m single so I made a half order (6 full wings). OMG I made them in my Instant Pot (25 minutes @ high pressure, everything else as stated in your recipe instructions) and they turned out GREAT!! Will definitely make these again.
Taylor Kiser says
WOO HOO! I am SO glad you loved them! And thank you for the instant pot tip – that will help so many people! 🙂