A simple dump and leave slow cooker dish that is bursting with flavour. Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken is a rich and sticky honey and garlic sauce poured over juicy chicken thighs and cooked low and slow until you get fall apart, melt in your mouth chicken. This is a family favourite.
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Less than 5 minutes prep time goes into this honey garlic chicken in the slow cooker and it's a delicious way to make chicken a bit more exciting and the rest of the ingredients you probably already have in your cupboard. This sticky, sweet and garlic packed sauce will set your taste buds alight.
When you feel like ordering a takeout for the 3rd time this week, make this instead. It's also a great slow cooker recipe for the summer months. A flavour packed takeout alternative, with minimal effort. This slow cooker garlic honey chicken also freezes well - so make a big batch to portion out.
Speaking of takeout alternatives, have you tried our super speedy 10 Minute Sticky Ginger Beef, better than takeout Healthy Chicken Tikka Masala or our delicious BBQ Chicken Pizza?
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Ingredients and Substitutions
A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Chicken - We used boneless skinless chicken thighs as the make the dish really juicy. If you use bone-in chicken thighs, they will take longer to cook. You could swap it for boneless skinless chicken breasts, which are leaner and they would still shred well. We find chicken thighs juicier and make a better slow cooker chicken recipe.
- Soy sauce - If you want a really thick and rich sauce, then use dark soy sauce. However it would still work with light soy sauce, you just won't have the same intense flavour. We used low sodium soy sauce. You can swap it for gluten free tamari if needed.
- Honey - This is where all the sweetness comes from and helps to make the sauce nice and sticky, whilst balancing out the saltiness of the soy sauce. Try to use the best quality honey that you can in this slow cooker garlic honey chicken, as you will be able to taste the difference. You can adjust this to suit your own tastes, if you don't like sweet things. You can also swap it for brown sugar if you don't have any honey.
- Oil - We added a little bit of sesame oil, as it really boosts the Asian flavour and a little nuttiness. However you could leave it out, and this would reduce the calories a little.
- Tomato puree (paste) - This helps to thicken up the honey and garlic chicken sauce and give it a nice burst of tomato flavour. You could use tomato ketchup instead, but we find that it makes the finished dish too sweet and with a bit of an artificial taste.
- Garlic - This recipe is very garlic heavy, but we like it that way. It is honey garlic chicken after all. If you don't love garlic as much as we do, then you can reduce it.
- Ginger - This gives a real kick of flavour to the dish. We have used fresh, however you can use frozen (the same as with garlic) for a little time saving hack.
- Scallions (Spring onions) - We topped ours with sliced green onions for presentation. This is totally optional.
More ingredient substitutions and variations can be found in the recipe card.
How to Make Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
- Step 1: In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, honey, oil, tomato puree, garlic and ginger.
- Step 2: Put the chicken thighs in the slow cooker.
- Step 3: Pour the sauce on top.
- Step 4: Cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 4 hours.
- Step 5: Use two forks to shred the chicken and mix with the sauce.
Serving Suggestions
We love this slow cooker honey and garlic chicken with a side of our Cilantro (coriander) and lime rice which soaks up all that honey garlic sauce. However, if you want to serve it with some potatoes then our Easy Roast Potatoes or Garlic Potato Wedges go well. Slow cooked honey and garlic chicken also goes really well with noodles.
Want something to scoop up all that delicious crockpot honey garlic chicken sauce with? Why not serve this with our Baked Tortilla Chips, Peshwari Naan or Easy Homemade Flatbread.
If you want to give a bit of a veggie green boost to this, then try our Garlic Green Beans, Crispy Air Fryer Broccoli, Roasted Lemon Asparagus or Roasted Tenderstem Broccoli.
Dannii's Top Tips
- If you like a kick of heat in your meals, then you can add a generous splash of your favourite chilli sauce to the sauce mixture, or even a sprinkling of red chilli flakes. We like sweet chilli sauce, because the sweetness really adds to the recipe. Sriracha works well too. You could just drizzle some on before serving if you prefer.
- You don't have to shred the chicken. It pretty much falls apart when you scoop it out of the slow cooker, so you could serve it like that with the sauce poured on top of it.
- We have served the dish topped with some slices of spring onion for crunch and some fresh cilantro (coriander) to lighten it all up a little. You could add a sprinkle of sesame seeds too or even some crushed peanuts for some extra crunch.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, you don't have to cook the chicken before it goes in the slow cooker. This is more important when cooking beef, because it it really does add some extra flavour. But there is no need to with chicken, which makes it much quicker to prepare.
You can use chicken breasts and then shred them in the same way, however we find skinless and boneless chicken thighs to be much juicer. Chicken breasts are leaner however.
We like the sauce as it is in this recipe, however if you would prefer a thicker sauce then you can add a cornflour slurry to it to thicken it up. Do this by taking a ladle of the sauce out and adding it to a bowl with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and whisking. Then slowly stir that into the slow cooker to thicken it up.
Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. This is a great freezer meal, which is why we like to batch cook it. Wait until it has fully cooled and then store in freezable containers and it will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can also freeze this uncooked. Put the sauce ingredients and chicken in a large freezer bag and store for up to 3 months. Then just make sure it is fully defrosted and then it can go into slow cooker ready to cook.
To reheat, make sure it is fully defrosted and them add it to a large pan with a splash of water and heat through. You can also reheat it in the microwave.
Yes, this is also a great Instant Pot meal. Put the chicken and sauce ingredients in the Instant Pot and cook on HIGH pressure for 15 minutes. Allow the steam to naturally release and then remove the chicken and shred. If you want to thicken the sauce, then make a cornstarch slurry and add it back to the pot with the rest of the sauce (not the chicken) and cook on SAUTE for 5 minutes whilst whisking constantly. Then add the shredded chicken back and mix with the sauce.
More Crockpot Chicken Recipes
If you've tried these Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
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Recipe
Easy Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 Chicken thighs - boneless and skinless
- 100 ml (0.5 cups) of Soy sauce
- 5 tablespoon of Honey
- 1 tablespoon of Sesame oil
- 3 tablespoon of Tomato puree - paste
- 5 Garlic clove - crushed
- 1 tablespoon of Fresh ginger - diced
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together 100 ml of Soy sauce, 5 tbsp of Honey, 1 tbsp of Sesame oil, 3 tbsp of Tomato puree, 5 Garlic clove and 1 tbsp of Fresh ginger.
- Put 6 Chicken thighs into the slow cooker.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken.
- Cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 4 hours.
- Use two forks to shred the chicken and mix with the sauce.
Recipe Tips
- If you like a kick of heat in your meals, then you can add a generous splash of your favourite chilli sauce to the sauce mixture, or even a sprinkling of red chilli flakes. We like sweet chilli sauce, because the sweetness really adds to the recipe. Sriracha works well too. You could just drizzle some on before serving if you prefer.
- You don't have to shred the chicken. It pretty much falls apart when you scoop it out of the slow cooker, so you could serve it like that with the sauce poured on top of it.
- We have served the dish topped with some slices of spring onion for crunch and some fresh cilantro (coriander) to lighten it all up a little. You could add a sprinkle of sesame seeds too or even some crushed peanuts for some extra crunch.
Nutritional Information
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The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
Diane says
If you love that sweet/salty/soy flavour of Chinese restaurant sauce, then this is your recipe. The taste was amazing. I added some drops of Tabasco sauce but it didn't overpower it. I also used tamari instead of the usual soy sauce but it's quite heavy in flavour so I watered it down a little. Didn't affect the flavour at all. This is a winner in our household now. Thanks Dannii!
Lisa Austin says
I made this last night for my family and everyone loved it. Super tasty and so, so easy. I added some chilli flakes for a bit of a bite and it was awesome!
Michelle says
Love these flavors together! The sweetness and garlicky with the other Asian flavors is really good and easy to throw together.
Elizabeth says
I'm all about the slow cooker during the week. Thanks for a great recipe, my whole family loved it!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
Love how easy this recipe is. Can’t wait to try it this weekend.
Beth says
This chicken came out so tender and we love the sauce. Thanks for an easy delicious dinner!
Lindsay says
This was really good! I love using the slow cooker in the summer to make dinner without making it super hot inside. Kids liked this too - bonus!
Colleen says
This easy and delicious recipe is now going into my regular recipe rotation. So good!
Sara Welch says
Enjoyed this for dinner last night and it did not disappoint! Turned out perfectly tender and juicy; my whole family loved it!
Amy says
I love how easy this recipe is to throw together, such a dream!
Erika says
This chicken is so flavorful and delicious! It's perfect in burrito bowls! Definitely a new family favorite.