Honey Garlic Chicken Crock Pot
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Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
This easy slow-cooker chicken dish hits all the right notes with its sweet honey and punchy garlic flavor. We opted to use boneless, skinless thighs instead of leaner chicken breasts because they stay nice and juicy as they cook down in this irresistible sauce.
Before You Start This Recipe
WHAT DOES HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN TASTE LIKE?
This honey garlic chicken recipe is the perfect combination of sweet and spicy. The honey balances out the chili sauce to make a sticky and delicious sauce.
INTERNAL TEMPERATURE
Be sure that the chicken breasts have an internal temperature of 165ºF before shredding the chicken after cooking.
WHAT TYPE OF CHICKEN DO I USE?
We use chicken breasts for this honey garlic chicken recipe. If you are a dark meat kind of person, feel free to use chicken thighs (boneless or bone-in).
Just be sure you check the temperature of the chicken thighs and remove the bones before shredding the meat.
BE SURE YOU SPRAY YOUR SLOW COOKER
We always recommend spraying your slow cooker before cooking anything for a long period of time to avoid burning on the edges of your slow cooker.
Ingredients
Directions
- Place the chicken thighs in an even layer in the slow cooker.
- Whisk together the honey, soy sauce, crushed red pepper, garlic, ginger, vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil and a few good grinds of black pepper in a large glass measuring cup or a medium bowl until combined. Pour the mixture over the chicken. Cover and cook on low until the chicken is cooked through and fork-tender, 6 to 8 hours. (Alternatively, cook the chicken on high for 4 hours.)
- Turn the slow cooker up to high. Whisk together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water in a small bowl to make a slurry, then mix the slurry into the sauce until combined. Submerging the sauce in the sauce as much as possible. Cover and cook on high until the sauce is thickened to the consistency of a glaze, about 30 minutes.
- Transfer the chicken and sauce to a platter. Sprinkle with the scallions and toasted sesame seeds and serve with white rice.
MAKE IT SPICY
If you want to make this honey garlic chicken any spicier, add red pepper flakes or a few teaspoons (or a tablespoon if you’re a fire-breathing dragon!) of sriracha to the honey garlic sauce.
ADD SOME CRUNCH
Serve this honey garlic chicken with sesame seeds or chopped cashews for some extra crunch.
What Goes with Honey Garlic Chicken?
You can easily turn this slow cooker chicken breast recipe into an amazing chicken meal prep by pairing it with your favorite grain and stir-fried veggies.
Portion out a serving of honey garlic chicken with a cup of cooked grains and a cup of veggies.
- Grains: brown rice, chicken fried rice, white sticky rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice
- Veggies: green beans, steamed broccoli, or peppers and onions.
WHAT SIZE SLOW COOKER FOR CROCK POT HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN?
Before you start make sure you have the right size slow cooker for the job. As this recipe is written it calls for about 2 lbs. or 6 chicken thighs. I recommend at least a 5 quart slow cooker for that.
I actually used this Black & Decker Slow Cooker I got on sale earlier this year, but my favorite is this Hamilton Beach 6 Quart Slow Cooker.
If you are going to half the recipe you can use a smaller 3 or 4 quart crockpot and it will turn out perfectly.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH CROCKPOT HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN
This recipe is delicious alone or served with rice and some stir fry veggies. You can actually use your slow cooker to make rice! Check out this Easy Crock Pot Rice recipe.
MAKE IT GLUTEN FREE
This recipe is very simple to convert to gluten free. Just use a gluten free soy sauce. Most stores carry this right with their asian goods now. Also, make sure you are using a gluten free ketchup. Some brands are not gluten free.
Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken
INGREDIENTS
- 6 chicken thighs bone in or boneless
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- ⅓ cup honey
- ½ cup ketchup
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoons dried parsley
- ½ tablespoon toasted sesame seeds optional
- diced green onions optional
INSTRUCTIONS
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Arrange chicken thighs on the bottom of your crockpot; set aside.
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In a small bowl, combine garlic, honey, ginger, ketchup, soy sauce, oregano and parsley; whisk until thoroughly combined.
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Pour the sauce over the chicken thighs.
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Close with a lid and cook for 4 to 5 hours on low, or 3 to 4 hours on high.
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Remove lid and transfer chicken to a serving plate.
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Spoon the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and/or green onions
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Serve.
Gluten Free
NOTES
Chicken
Regardless of the cut of chicken you want to use enough chicken to cover the bottom of your crock pot. You can also use chicken breasts.
Cooking Time
All crock pots cook at different times and temperatures. Some readers suggest to only cook the chicken for 3 hours, while others said it took 4 hours in their crock pot. More importantly, 165 degrees Fahrenheit is the safe internal temperature for both the white meat of the chicken and dark meat.
Thicken Sauce
If you would like to thicken the sauce combine 1 tablespoon of corn starch with 3 tablespoon water in a small bowl. Stir this into the sauce 30 minutes before the chicken is done. Cover and continue to cook.
Tips for Cooking Chicken in the Slow Cooker
Choosing Between Breasts and Thighs, Bone-In or Bone-Out
- As far as which type of chicken to use for this crock pot chicken recipe, you have options. Boneless skinless chicken thighs are what I used in this recipe. Dark meat is more forgiving, so it won’t dry out as easily. If you like, you can certainly make this a slow cooker chicken breast recipe instead. Be sure to check the chicken early to ensure it doesn’t overcook.
- To make slow cooker chicken thighs bone in, I suggest removing the skin first so that the sauce doesn’t become greasy. You will also need to extend the cook time. I’d estimate 4 to 6 hours on low, depending upon the size of your chicken. The same is true of slow cooker bone-in chicken breasts.
About Using Frozen Chicken for Slow Cooker Recipes
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- While it is safe to cook raw chicken in the slow cooker, the chicken must be thawed. Do not put frozen meat in a slow cooker. It will spend too long at room temperature and may not be safe to eat.
- If you do have your heart set on cooking with frozen chicken—say dinner is around the corner and you just realized you forgot to pull the chicken thighs out of the freezer (not that this has ever happened to me before!)—I’d suggest my Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken, which can be made safely with frozen chicken thighs or chicken breasts.
How to Serve Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
Make this recipe more filling by adding a side dish, or turn it into slow cooker honey garlic chicken and veggies.
- Veggies. Simply sauté or steam broccoli or mixed vegetables while the sauce finishes thickening in the slow cooker. I used a frozen stir-fry blend that I sautéed with olive oil, garlic, and a few shakes of soy sauce. Steam-in-the-bag microwavable frozen veggies are an easy option too.
- Try your honey garlic chicken over the top of Sautéed Cabbage for a low-carb meal.
- Rice. Pile the veggies over cooked brown rice (or cauliflower rice) with lots of the juicy chicken. Spoon the tasty honey garlic sauce generously over the top.
- Or, you could serve this honey garlic chicken with Homemade Fried Rice.
- Salad. Tasty Asian-inspired, crowd-pleasing Ramen Salad would be delicious.
How to Store, Reheat, and Freeze
- To Store. Store cooked and cooled leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- To Reheat. Reheat gently in a saucepan on the stovetop over medium-low heat, with a splash of broth or water if needed to keep it from drying out. You can also rewarm this in the microwave until heated through.
- To Freeze. Place cooked and cooled chicken in an airtight freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
