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.
Hi, this looks so amazing. I was wondering what type of honey you used liquid or the creamed? If liquid do you think the creamed would work or be to thick? I’m also curious of the name of the soy sauce you used? Thank you so much for sharing this can’t wait to try it out.
HI! I did use liquid honey, and since I haven’t used the creamed honey in this, I am not 100% sure as to how it would work. I’m sorry. :-/
The Soy Sauce I use is by Fusia, and it’s a Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce. It’s very good!
We are having a bad winter storm today in Upstate New York so snow day for me! Yay! I just put this recipe together and the sauce already…YUM!! Since I didn’t have honey or sesame seeds and I can’t get to the store, I am using agave nectar and sesame oil in the sauce. Will be putting it over jasmine rice. My hubby will be so happy when he gets home from work after plowing snow all day!
I would lik to try this with chicken wings. Any suggestions for dos and don’ts? Thanks!
Hi Amanda! I have never made this with chicken wings, but I don’t see anything that would need to be altered. I would just make sure that the sauce to wings ratio is on point – maybe use at least 1.5 pounds of wings. Then, just follow the recipe as is and enjoy. 😀
I made this yesterday, and it was just ok. If I did it again, I wouldn’t cook it as long as suggested. Tested temperature about 3-1/2 hours in while cooking on high, and it was overdone. Sauce is great over rice.
Regarding the soy comments; if you’re using regular or even “strong” dark soy, just use 1/8 cup with the above recipe and it works lovely. Many thanks! Jon in London.
I can’t believe how well this recipe turned out. The sauce is phenomenal and slurp worthy. I made 8 thighs and doubled the recipe and it turned out perfect. I made angel hair pasta as a side and drizzed the sauce over the pasta as I plated it.
Thank you for sharing this recipe
I’m so hoping this turns out well! Right now it smells wonderful but the sauce is super pale and very very runny. Crossing my fingers!
Unfortunately, despite following the recipe and instructions exactly mine came out very differently. My sauce is red and has a very distinct ketchup flavor. Next time I think I need to use no more than a 1/4 cup of ketchup. Not a 1/2 cup. The sauce has thickened but needs to be tweeked for sure. Not what I was hoping for unfortunately. So bummed!
I made this with chunks of pork rather than chicken. I imagine the higher fat content is what made the sauce very thin and watered down near the end of cooking (after five hours on low). So I just transferred the whole thing to my cast iron Dutch oven and let it simmer on low heat on the stovetop for about a half hour to reduce the sauce to syrupy yumminess. The pork was perfectly infused with all the flavour and fell apart with a fork. Like another commenter, I found the sauce a bit sweet for my taste and will reduce the honey the next time I make this as well as add a little heat. But that’s just personal preference and I think most people will find the flavour of this sauce perfect.
One note the recipe needs is to use Chinese, not Japanese, soy sauce. I knew this but some people might not be aware there’s a difference. The Chinese stuff is much thicker and has a more robust flavour.
Oh, good point on the soy sauce!!! Thanks SO MUCH for chiming in!
You’re welcome! I used to make something very similar to this with tofu, but using only brown sugar and soy sauce, no ketchup, so I learned the hard way to go with the Chinese kind!
I don’t think you can crockpot tofu that long, but tofu soaked in your sauce and then cooked on the stovetop would be amazing.
The ketchup was necessary, to my surprise. It really added a depth of flavour I wasn’t expecting.
I live in an area where only Japanese soy sauce is available so I found I had to add a bit more honey and soy sauce to get rid of the ketchup-y taste which was over-powering.
Hi this looks amazing. thanks for this. I have a rice cooker which i always use to cook chicken curries and do you know if this is possible in rice cooker ? how long should i keep it there ?
This baby is going in the monthly rotation! I made it last week and followed the recipe verbatim and it was quite delicious! Made it again tonight but with a slight tweak, the original is a bit sweet for my tastes (though I must reiterate, still very tasty!) so tonight I cut honey down to a scant 1/4 cup, cut the ketchup down to 1/3 cup and added about 3-4 TBSP of House of Tsang’s Hot Chili Sesame Oil and hatchimami, it was just yumtastic!! Great Recipe!!
Also, this is my first recipe from Diethood, but I’m already planning next week’s menu around more of your recipes!!!