Slow cooker honey garlic chicken is just 5 ingredients and minutes to prep and smells amazing as it cooks! You’ll want to drizzle the delicious sauce over your whole plate!
Today, I’m finally bringing you a slow cooker version of one of my most popular recipes!
This slow cooker honey garlic chicken has the same amazing sauce as the original 15-minute honey garlic chicken, which gets rave reviews. And the same as honey garlic chicken stir fry, which has a ton of veggies added in.
But this version is made in the slow cooker, so it’s waiting for you when you get home.
It takes just a few minutes to prep and it’s only 5 ingredients, so this delicious dinner is perfect for crazy days.
And oh, you are going to swoon and drool when you start to smell this cooking away in your crock pot. It's intoxicating!
If you're looking for a pressure cooker version, check out this Instant Pot honey garlic chicken. Or try honey garlic pork chops for a different twist!
So let’s get cooking!
Ingredient Notes:
Chicken: I use and recommend boneless, skinless chicken thighs, but you can substitute boneless, skinless chicken breasts as well. I’ve made it that way and while it’s a tad less flavorful, it’s still really good.
Soy sauce: I use and recommend a low-sodium soy sauce so you can control the sodium in this dish. Want to make this recipe gluten-free? Just sub some gluten-free tamari for the soy sauce.
Red pepper flakes: You can adjust the heat of this dish by adjusting how much red pepper flakes you use. As is, it’s a low-medium level of spicy. I use a bit less than what the recipe calls for when I’m making it for my kids and they’re fine with it.
Serving Ideas:
We love having this served over steamed brown rice. White or basmati rice would work well, too.
You could also keep it low-carb and serve it with some of my easy cauliflower rice.
I bet it’d also be delicious over quinoa or some rice noodles or a long, thin noodle like angel hair. Anything to sop up more of that sauce!
Add a veggie side - such as broccoli, snow peas, green peas - to round out the meal.
You can also check out these honey garlic chicken rice bowls for another great way to serve this chicken or to use the leftovers. So yummy!
Last thing... what to do with any leftovers.
The leftovers, once cooled, can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days. Reheat over medium low heat in a skillet or in single servings in the microwave. (Bonus: The sauce helps keep the chicken from drying out.
Yes, the leftovers freeze great! Once cooled, place in a freezer-safe ziptop bag or container, label and ate it, and freeze for up to 5 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator and then reheat in the microwave or in a skillet.
I hope you give this recipe a try when you need a super easy, super yummy dinner!
You can also check out all of my slow cooker chicken recipes for more inspiration. Slow cooker cream cheese chicken is another easy go-to that's a reader fave!
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or sub chicken breasts)
- Salt and black pepper
- ⅓ cup honey
- ⅓ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional, adjust for heat)
Optional toppings:
- Sliced green onions, chopped peanuts, chopped parsley or cilantro, extra sprinkle of red pepper flakes or a drizzle of sriracha for a spicy kick
Instructions
- Season chicken thighs lightly with salt and black pepper and add to the insert of your slow cooker.
- Mix remaining ingredients together in a small bowl and pour the sauce over the chicken thighs in the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2 ½-3 hours.
- Remove the chicken thighs and either cut it into chunks or shred it with two forks. Mix the chicken back into the sauce in the slow cooker and let sit for at least 5-10 minutes, to help absorb the juices.
- Serve hot with any desired toppings and enjoy!
Lauren
Will this be ok cooked on low for 8.5 hours or will it spoil? Also can I pre make the sauce about 8hours before and leave it in the fridge?
Kathryn Doherty
Hi Lauren! I think the chicken will be really overcooked if it cooks that long. In most slow cookers, it's done at about 5 hours, so that's a lot of extra cook time. Does yours have a warm setting? You could let it switch to that after 5 hours of cook time. It may still be a bit overcooked but hopefully not as dried out. Hope that helps!
Karen baxter
Can u use cooked chicken breasts such as Rotissierie chicken from Costco
Kathryn Doherty
Hi! I don't recommend that because the chicken would likely become very dried out. The slow cooker is being used to cook the chicken. You could try making just the sauce and adding your cooked chicken, in which case you'd want something more like this stovetop version: https://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/15-minute-honey-garlic-chicken/
Hope that helps!
Andrea
What if you use frozen chicken? How would that change the cook time?
Kathryn Doherty
Frozen chicken should work just fine! And I think timing-wise, you'll still be OK with the max side of the cooking times suggested (so 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low). That's been my experience using frozen chicken in the slow cooker for a variety of recipes. If your chicken thighs are large or you're not sure your slow cooker cooks accurately/on time, you could add an extra half hour and then check with a meat thermometer. I hope that helps!
Cheyenne
I've found that when making recipes like this in the crock pot, using the low setting and really frozen chicken is the only way to keep moisture.
Nick
Can one simply scale down amounts of ingredients proportionately to adjust for smaller amounts of chicken, e.g. 1lb?
Kathryn Doherty
Of course! If you're cooking a small amount, however, it might help to use a smaller slow cooker.
Dorothy
You could also make the full batch then freeze the leftovers in smaller containers for a ready-made meal down the road.
AKJESS
I’ve made this several times and it’s delicious. When a recipe calls to shred chicken I always cut it in quarters so I can just smash it with a spoon or potato masher to shred. Maybe it’s wrong but it works well for me. Anyway it’s delicious and easy; my favorite way to cook!
Kathryn Doherty
I'm so happy to hear you love it! And I love that trick for shredding chicken - thanks so much for sharing! 😊
Jaimie
I don’t have enough sauce to fully cover the chicken whilst cooking, does that matter?
Kathryn Doherty
Nope! That's just fine. The chicken will cook through and usually releases some liquid to create even more sauce. You should have plenty to stir the chopped or shredded chicken back into after it's cooked and cut. Hope that helps!
Melissa Tooker
I don’t ever leave reviews of recipes… tonight I made this and doubled it. (6 males lol) Huge hit! Delicious! Every one wanted more! Thank you!!
Kathryn Doherty
Yay, I'm so glad to hear this was a hit! Thanks so much for sharing Melissa! 😊
Becki Philly2FL
Hi Melissa, I would like to double this recipe as well. Glad it was a hit! How did you adjust for time or other adjustments? Thank you!
Joy Townsend
Love this recipe! Had all the ingredients on hand.
So quick, easy and delicious. I doubled the quantities and my family wants this again.
Thank you.
Kathryn Doherty
I'm so happy to hear you loved it Joy! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and share - I appreciate it! 😊
Tiffany Maresca
Tasted great. I mistakenly got bone in thighs with skin on them and still was wonderful!
Only annoying thing was when I put the honey garlic and soy sauce in a bowl, it was very hard to mix together because the honey was thick and not watery… not sure how other people handle that. I had to put honey in the pit seperatly
Kathryn Doherty
I'm so glad you loved the recipe! Yeah, the honey is rather thick, but I find I can mix it all together pretty easily using a fork or a small whisk. Once you get your fork/whisk going for a few seconds around the bowl, the honey starts to incorporate and mix with the other ingredients to make the sauce. I hope that helps!
Becki Philly2FL
Hi Joy, I would like to double this recipe as well. Glad it was a hit! How did you adjust for time or other adjustments? Thank you!
Kathryn Doherty
Hi Becki! As long as your slow cooker is large enough to hold everything, you should be fine to just double all of the ingredients and cook with the same recommended timing, maybe just going to the max recommended of the range (so a full 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low). It would be fine to add an extra half hour, too, if your not sure about how well your slow cooker keeps temperature. The sauce will keep the chicken from drying out. Hope that helps and hope you enjoy it!
Kerryanne
Hi, I'm new to venturing out of standard stew recipes in the slow cooker, this looks yummy, do you have a grams or mls measurement for the ingredients? (From the UK and seems to be a shortage of measuring cups on the market at the minute for some strange reason!)
Kathryn Doherty
Hi there! I don't but I Googled it and this seems to be a conversion you could use: https://www.allrecipes.com/article/cup-to-gram-conversions/ Hope that helps!
delci
If I do chicken breasts instead, is the cook time still the same?
Kathryn Doherty
Yes, I keep to the same cook time when I sub in chicken breasts. Hope that helps and hope you enjoy it!
delci
great thanks! Making for meal prep this week with your roasted parm broccoli!
Hannah
This sounds so good! I have a 7qt slow cooker - how should I adjust to make this as it was meant? The sauce doesn’t even reach halfway up the chicken breasts so just want to make sure it actually works out 😊
Kathryn Doherty
Hi Hannah! This recipe should still work fine as is... the sauce doesn't have to cover the chicken. (You can see in the video that it doesn't in mine, either.) You'll cook the chicken then chop or shred it and mix it back in with the sauce at the end. Hope that helps!
Ali
Can you use minced garlic instead of garlic cloves? If so how much?
Victoria Slotto
Do I need to make any adjustments for chicken wings, ?
Kathryn Doherty
Hmm, I haven't tried this recipe with chicken wings so I'm not sure what adjustments you might need to the cook time and whether the sauce would coat them well enough. Would love to hear if you try it though!
Sophie
Hi I’ve made this recipe and it’s lovely! A new family favourite. I was wondering if you have tried freezing and re-heating this at all?
Kathryn Doherty
I'm so happy you enjoyed it Sophie! Yes, I have frozen extras of this chicken and it works great! The liquidy sauce helps keep the chicken flavorful and prevents it from drying out when reheating.
Terri
I found this recipe this morning and can not wait for payday so I can get the ingredients and make it. Even the comments sounds yummy. Glad I couldn't sleep. Have a blessed day.
Kathryn Doherty
I hope you enjoy it! 😊
R+W’s mom
Hi, is there a substitute for soy sauce? My son has a soy allergy. Thank you!
Kathryn Doherty
Hi there, coconut aminos is a soy-free substitute for soy sauce, but it's got a slightly sweeter, less salty flavor, so it might affect the taste of the dish a bit.
Baila
Hi, is the cook time less if you’re making half the recipe?
Kathryn Doherty
It'll depend on your slow cooker a bit, but the cook time should be pretty close to the same, even with less chicken since it still needs the time to cook through. You could check it a a half hour early and see if it's done. Hope that helps!
Pat
I need to use up leftover rotisserie chicken - breast, thigh and wing meat. What can I add to make a juicy sauce since the chicken won’t be releasing juices.?
Kathryn Doherty
I would make the skillet version (https://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/15-minute-honey-garlic-chicken) because putting already cooked rotisserie chicken in the slow cooker for 3+ hours will not be very tasty. Hope that helps!
Kimberly
It was great 👍
Kathryn Doherty
I'm so glad you loved it, thanks for sharing! We just had it for dinner two nights ago! : )
JT
Solid meal, perfect easy recipe. Nothing crazy, but satisfies.
Kathryn Doherty
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it!