Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe
Sep 06, 2015, Updated Aug 31, 2022
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Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken is an easy slow cooker dinner, featuring a sticky-sweet sauce and juicy, perfectly cooked chicken thighs. Everyone will be fighting for the last piece!
Want more chicken thigh recipes? Try this easy air fryer chicken thighs recipe!
So Good You Might Just Lick Your Plate (I Did!)
Crockpot honey garlic chicken always makes me think of this one time, at a reallllyyy nice restaurant, when I picked up my plate and slurped up all the sauce. No shame.
It just so happened that I had a hot date at one of Chicago’s best Asian restaurants, and because I knew the owner, I felt like, hey anything goes! I felt like a hot shot, if you will, until I completely made a fool of myself because I could not stop slurping up the honey garlic sauce. I didn’t completely pick up the plate – just kind of tilted it a little bit – enough to get every last drop of that sauce! This experience was akin to the first time I tasted bourbon chicken, with its equally irresistible sauce that leaves you wanting more.
As a result, I developed this recurring hangry hunger for honey garlic chicken because it is simply that good. Tender, moist, chicken thighs, coated in the most glorious homemade honey garlic sauce, and in my version, it all comes together in the slow cooker. This recipe will change your life!
What You’ll Need
We’re only dealing with 5 ingredients here plus a seasoning or two. Super easy, I’m telling you. Here’s what you will need to make the perfect crockpot honey garlic chicken:
- Chicken Thighs: Since this recipe is for the slow cooker, I recommend using boneless, skinless thighs. Skin-on chicken would not get crispy.
- Garlic: Mince up some fresh garlic for a pop of savory flavor.
- Honey: For sweetness and stickiness! Pure maple syrup makes a good substitute if needed.
- Ketchup: Low-sodium is my preference, but you can use any ketchup you like.
- Soy Sauce: Again, I like low-sodium soy sauce. However, you can use regular soy sauce, or substitute tamari or coconut aminos.
- Dried Herbs/Seasonings: Dried oregano, fresh parsley, and toasted sesame seeds… yum!
How to Make Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken
Take out the ketchup, soy sauce, honey, garlic, and chicken thighs – things are about to get amazing!
- Mix the Sauce Ingredients. In a bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients: honey, ketchup, garlic, soy sauce, and dried herbs.
- Place the Sauce and Chicken in the Slow Cooker. Arrange the boneless, skinless chicken thighs inside the slow cooker, and pour the sauce over them.
- Cook. Cover the Crockpot and cook on HIGH for about three hours, or on LOW for 4 to 5 hours.
- Optional: Thicken the Sauce. If you would like to thicken the sauce, you can whisk a cornstarch slurry into the sauce about thirty minutes before the end of the cooking time.
How to Make a Cornstarch Slurry
To make the slurry for thickening, mix a tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with a tablespoon of cold water, to form a paste. Whisk this into your sauce inside the slow cooker, cover and continue to cook. The sauce will thicken up beautifully!
Helpful Tips
This easy recipe is perfect for any dinner, with its ultra-simple ingredients and scrumptious taste. Plus, these tips make it even easier to whip up!
- How Much Chicken Should I Use? Use enough chicken thighs to cover the bottom of your slow cooker. You can also use chicken breasts, or substitute bone-in, skin-on chicken, if you prefer. Keep in mind that different kinds of concern require different cooking times!
- How Long Should I Cook This? All crock pots cook at different times and temperatures. Some readers suggest to cook the chicken for only 3 hours, while others said it took 4 hours in their crock pot. You can use a meat thermometer to make sure your chicken is done.
- Checking for Doneness. Most importantly, 165 degrees Fahrenheit is the safe internal temperature for both the white meat of the chicken, and the dark meat. Always cook to this temperature for food safety!
Great Side Dish Ideas
To serve this chicken, I like to make jasmine rice or another white rice. Of course, you could also make salad, or serve some simple veggies cooked with salt and maybe a little butter. Still looking for inspiration? Well, some other good side dishes could include…
- Broccoli: Fresh, green, Garlicky Steamed Broccoli is a great contrast for sticky chicken. It adds nutrition, too, of course! I love the fragrant garlic flavor in this recipe.
- Noodles: Instead of rice, add even more yumminess to your meal with a serving of noodles.
- Snap Peas: Crispy, crunchy, and sweet, these Sesame Snap Peas are always a huge hit and a breeze to make. Sesame goes perfectly with the sweetness of the honey garlic chicken.
Storing and Reheating the Leftovers
- To store, place the chicken and sauce in airtight containers or bags, and refrigerate for up to four days.
- Reheat on the stove over medium heat until heated through.
Can I Freeze Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken?
Yes, you can! Just place the cooked, cooled chicken and sauce in a freezer bag or container, leaving as little air inside as possible. Mark with the date, freeze, and use within 3 months for best results.
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Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 boneless, , skinless chicken thighs*
- 4 garlic cloves, , minced
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/2 cup low sodium ketchup
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Arrange chicken thighs on the bottom of your slow cooker; set aside. (please look at the notes section)
- In a mixing bowl, combine garlic, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, oregano and parsley; whisk until thoroughly combined.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken thighs. Close with a lid and cook for 4 to 5 hours on LOW, or 3 to 4 hours on HIGH.** (please look at the notes section)
- Remove lid and transfer chicken to a serving plate.
- Spoon the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Serve.
Video
Notes
- Use 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water; mix it together until mixture forms a paste.
- 30 minutes before the chicken is done cooking, whisk the cornstarch slurry into the sauce inside the slow cooker; cover and continue to cook for 30 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
My family loves this. I make it often and serve over rice
Hi! I tried to read through the comments but didn’t see an answer… Can you do this with legs? I have ten. I was going to take the skin off. Still 5 hours you think? Thanks so much!
I made it today with chicken legs on my slow cooker and they came out amazing!!
If I double this recipe, how much longer should I cook it?
Hi!
First, I would advise not to crowd the slow cooker because most slow cookers work best when they are about 2/3 full. And, as long as that’s the case, you shouldn’t need to adjust the cooking time. Hope that helps. 🙂
HI, I came across this searching for something for dinner. My question is can I cook it on low for 8 hours in the crock pot?
Hi! I’ve tested this recipe at LOW for 6 hours and up to 8 hours, but the chicken was just too dry for my liking. I hope that helps to answer your question, somewhat. 🙂
If I wanted to brown the chicken, first, in a skillet, would that cause it to dry out? I usually do that with beef, but have never made chicken in the slow cooker before. Thank you!
I don’t know how my comment looks to everyone else, but on my screen the letters are overlapping…I wanted to know if it would cause it to dry out? Usually I brown beef before putting in slow cooker, but have never made chicken in the slow cooker before. Thanks, again.
Hi!
I am not seeing the overlapping letters, but I’m definitely going to look into it. Thank you!
You can definitely brown the chicken beforehand – you don’t have to – but if that’s how you like it, I wouldn’t worry about dry chicken. If you go through the comments, you will find a bunch of readers that browned the chicken and ended up with delicious results. 🙂
Thanks very much—love your recipes!
Thank you!!
The overlapping letters are happening when people use special characters such as question marks, commas, exclamation points etc. And I’m assuming you aren’t seeing it because you are using a desktop not a mobile device. Not a huge deal but if you’re concerned I’d contact your web developer to troubleshoot the issue .
Delicious recipe! Love it!
Just made this for dinner tonight. Sauce is good but VERY thin – think soy sauce consistency. While I love chicken thighs, I simply haven’t the patience to trim them, so I used 3 extremely large breasts. 4 hours on high was *way* too long – chicken came out dry, but the flavor was great. Dousing it in the sauce after serving helped a lot. Served it with green beans and white rice. I will make again, but maybe with cutlets instead of breasts, and maybe I can find a way to thicken the sauce a bit.
Cornstarch!
How much cornstarch would you suggest? One tsp?
I use arrowroot. It comes out more like a glaze than a cloudy sauce. Unfortunately, I use “about that much.” maybe a couple of tablespoons to a bit of water. then mix in. It thickens up pretty quickly.
I buy boneless skinless chicken thighs from box store. no cleaning!
You can easily thicken the sauce with an easy slurry.
1 Tbsp water + 2 Tsp corn starch. In a small cup add the corn starch to cool water and mix with a fork until smooth. Add the slurry to the sauce during the last hour and the sauce will thicken right up.
Really super easy. I didn’t have honey so I used grape jelly. All I can say is great recipe. Thank you so much.
I made this using chicken breasts, left out the oregano and added some chili pepper. I cooked it in the oven at 350 for 55 min. My family loved it!
I was wondering if there was a quicker way. Got home too late to crockpot it.
Maybe in an electric pressure cooker. You can google how long to cook it for.
Amazing. Used Chicken Thighs w. Skin and Bone. Cooked on low for 5 hours, and added carrots at 4 hours. Left out Parsley and Seeds because I didn’t have any. Really good.
I would like to cook this at night, whilst asleep. Can it be cooked on a lower heat for 8hrs instead or will it dry out and not be as flavourfull?
I cooked mine in a west End slow cooker on 1.5 (out of 5) for 9 hours and it was perfect! I put the chicken thighs in frozen.
You should NEVER put frozen meat in the crockpot or slow cooker. There is not enough heat to kill bacteria. Especially chicken.
that’s a myth – not true
Agree, being cooking chicken from frozen for as long as I can remember in the crock!
Just made this for the first time today and followed the recipe exactly…the chicken was fall-apart tender and the sauce was very tasty, but came out a bit watery. I think next time I will leave the lid off for the last hour to help it to thicken up a bit. Otherwise, it’s a keeper!
that is not how slow cookers work…you should NEVER use a slow cooker with the lid off. If you need to thicken the sauce add a small amount of cornstarch, a slow cooker will NOT reduce a sauce like a stove top pot could, their simply won’t be enough heat with the lid off.