Crock Pot Cranberry BBQ Drumsticks
Chicken drumsticks slow cooked in a cranberry bbq sauce make for an easy weeknight dinner or serving a crowd on game day. It’s pure fall comfort food!
This post contains affiliate links. Read the disclosure policy.
Table of Contents
About Crock Pot Cranberry BBQ Drumsticks
I know that summer is gone and fall has just arrived, but, technically, we’re still less than five days into the official season. Crazy, right? I’m so really for all things fall, but since I live in Phoenix, for me it feels like I’ve been trapped in Westeros and we’ve just started a five-year summer.
Have I mentioned that I’m still obsessing over the last season of Game of Thrones? And that I tend to have the previous seasons on in the background while I work?
Because, nerd. I am and always will be a nerd.
But, I digress. I’m making small talk about the weather with you because I have a feeling you’re going to totally relate when I say that even though it’s fall, it’s still too hot out to cook. And what better way to get around cranking up that oven than with a delicious crock pot meal?
And if it isn’t already apparent, I can’t wait for the “true” fall weather to arrive. I usually never say this, since I am one of those crazies who likes her dry Phoenix heat, but for whatever reason, I’ve been “done” with summer, like, May. Totally over it. Finito.
Because I want fall leaves.
I want crisp winds.
And tacky Halloween decorations sitting right next to tacky Christmas decorations.
I want holiday candy.
And, yes, even pumpkin flavored everything (don’t hate me!)
All these strange, early-season yearnings are also what made me love the cranberry BBQ sauce in this recipe so much, because not only does it embrace the ease of summer but also the tastes of fall. And, yes, the flavor is as amazing as it sounds.
It’s like summer and winter decided to put aside their differences and worked together for an awesome dinner solution.
If only all of our problems could be solved so easily, amirite?
Now, I’ll fully admit that drumsticks (or wings or whole chickens or pretty much anything with bones) are more an old friend of mine’s idea of a great dinner than mine, but I can totally be swayed when the dish is flavorful and the meat is tender.
And by flavorful, I mean that I want to discover whole new levels of deliciousness with every bite.
And by tender, I mean that I want the meat to fall off the bone if I so much as look at it funny.
I totally had both of those with this dish.
Notes & tips for these drumsticks with cranberry bbq sauce
- If you’re in the market for a new crock pot, I recently discovered this one and I’m seriously impressed. It has three sizes in one!
- This recipe works best when you use a BBQ sauce that you already love. For best results, stick to classic or spicy variations without a lot of extra flavoring.
- For the cranberry sauce, you can choose between jellied cranberry sauce or whole berry cranberry sauce. I used jellied cranberry sauce in the above video, but I’ve also used whole berry and it turned out just as good!
- In the moon for more drumsticks? Be sure to check out Drumsticks in Creamy White Wine Sauce and Sticky Honey Sriracha Chicken Drumsticks.
More great crock pot recipes
This recipe was originally posted on July 11, 2016. It received a TLC update with new photos on September 25, 2017.
Crock Pot Cranberry BBQ Drumsticks
Ingredients
- 3 lb chicken drumsticks, skin on or off, your choice
- 3/4 cup cranberry sauce
- 2 tbsp quick-cooking tapioca
Instructions
- Check your oven to make sure there's a rack positioned 4-5 inches from the top, then preheat oven to broil. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Place drumsticks on prepared baking sheet and season with salt and pepper, then place baking sheet on top oven rack. Broil drumsticks for 12 minutes, turning half way through. Drumsticks will be a light golden color when ready.
- While drumsticks cook, whisk together BBQ sauce, cranberry sauce, orange marmalade, quick-cooking tapioca, and mustard in a medium bowl.
- Add drumsticks to a 6 qt crock pot and pour cranberry BBQ sauce on top. Gently toss drumsticks to coat.
- Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours.
- Serve immediately with sesame seeds as garnish (optional).
Nutrition
I do my best to provide nutrition information, but please keep in mind that I'm not a certified nutritionist. Any nutritional information discussed or disclosed in this post should only be seen as my best amateur estimates of the correct values.
