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Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken is a sweet and savory Asian inspired chicken recipe. This delicious slow cooker chicken recipe has lots of honey and garlic, as well as other yummy ingredients. This crock pot honey garlic chicken recipe is done in just a few hours!
Originally published on 4/23/2019
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
Sometimes I want a slow cooker recipe that will cook all day, but chicken will be too dry if it cooks that long. That’s why this slow cooker chicken recipe is great for a weeknight. It cooks in about 3 hours!
You will have time to mix this up and get it cooking while you do your afternoon running around, being a soccer/dance/sports parent, dealing with homework/pets/catching up, or whatever else needs your attention.
Which Cuts of Chicken Work Best in This Recipe?
- Bone-in chicken legs and bone-in chicken thighs are the best for this recipe as written. I like dark meat as it stays very juicy and tender.
- Chicken breasts will do well if you keep a close eye on the cook time (they may need less time, depending on their size).
- If you are using skinless boneless chicken thighs, they will need less time as well, due to being smaller and not having the bone or skin.
You can also mix up the cuts of meat and use a whole cut up chicken, or a mix of legs and thighs. Legs may cook a little quicker, so pair them with smaller thighs if you can.
Just try and have the legs and thighs similar in size and thickness. You could take out the legs if they are done first, and cover them. Then add them back in after the thighs are done and you add the corn starch slurry.
Why Put Water in the Crock First?
Since the sauce is thick, and could burn, adding just a small amount of water (after spraying with nonstick spray) helps it not scorch, and adds a little steam to the crock, which keeps the chicken moist.
What Goes With Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken?
• You can serve Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken over rice, cauliflower rice, noodles, quinoa, or mashed potatoes.
• Some ideas for side dishes that go well are: Asian Coleslaw, Instant Pot Cabbage Side Dish, steamed or sautéd vegetables, and so on.
Slow Cooker Creamy Tuscan Chicken
Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork
Crock Pot Creamy Chicken Breasts
Crock Pot Lemon Chicken Breasts
If you make this crock pot honey garlic chicken recipe, please let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and star rating below! Share on your social media! Thank you!
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Chicken Legs or Thighs
- 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
- ¼ cup Water
- ½ cup Honey
- ⅓ cup Soy Sauce, low sodium
- 2 Tablespoons Ketchup
- 1 teaspoon Ginger, grated
- 4 - 5 lg Garlic Cloves, pressed or finely minced
- 2 Tablespoons Onion, finely minced
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
To Thicken (whisk together)
- 2 Tablespoons Corn Starch
- 3 Tablespoons Cold Water
To Serve
- 4 cups Cooked Rice
- Sesame Seeds for Garnish
- Chopped Scallions for Garnish
Instructions
- Spray the inside of the crock. Turn on to Low setting.
- Salt and pepper all sides of the chicken.
- Add the water to the crock, then place the chicken in there as well. Place the lid on so it starts warming up.
- In a 2 cup measuring cup, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, ketchup, ginger, garlic, onion, and red pepper flakes. Pour over the chicken.
- Cook on Low for 2-4 hours (check after 2 hours). Cook time may vary, due to size of chicken, and/or your brand of slow cooker.
- Remove chicken to a plate and lightly cover. Turn the slow cooker to High setting.
- Whisk together the corn starch and cold water. Add to the liquid in the crock and stir.
- Add the chicken back into the crock and cook on High until thickened (usually 10 to 15 minutes) and chicken has an internal temperature of 165° F.
- Serve over cooked rice, garnished with sesame seeds, scallions, and/or cilantro.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Resources to Make Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe
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Used thin chicken breasts and rubbed a bit of veg oil on them before adding to crock pot. Cooked 9n low for an hour and then high for 2. Delicious! Best sauce. Chicken was tender, juicy, and flavorful.
Made this tonight and it was so good! The legs cooked in a little over two hours on medium low (my crockpot has 4 settings). Next time I’ll cook on low as you said (I don’t follow directions well lol)… ps .. they were thawed, not frozen fyi. Served with jasmine rice and asparagus. No leftovers here! Used the sauce on the rice. Thank you for this recipe!
I made this and we loved it! Used thighs with the bone in them. Very juicy and flavorful.
Would you be able to freeze the sauce when finished? I want to make more chicken another day but I do not want to waste all the left over sauce.
Yes, I would.
Can I use chicken wings ?
This recipe sounds amazing & I can’t wait to try it
Yes! Watch the cook time so they get done to your preferred level of tenderness.
I’m not sure how this is supposed to be cooked in 2-3 hours on low. After 3 hours the chicken is still raw. I have had it in the slow cooker 4 1/2 hours at this point and it is not done yet. It does smell good. I’m wondering if the recipe was meant to say cook on high?
I do note in the instructions that cook time may vary by chicken size and your slow cooker. I use low, but you could use high.
It did turn out and tasted great. The chicken took closer to 5 hours on low to cook. It went well with rice and broccoli.
Looks good! can I go 5 hours in crock pot without ruining it?
If you have a programmable slow cooker that can switch to warm, that would be best. You can try the longer cook time, but It may be overcooked.
Can this be made from frozen chicken breasts?
Yes!
I would be careful cooking meat frozen in a slow cooker as it could be in the temperature danger zone too long.
New InstaPot owner. I love the sounds of this recipe. How do I convert this to an instapot recipe? Is there a rule of thumb about time conversion from crock pot toinstapot.
I don’t think there is a rule, per se, as pressure cooking times are so varied by the thickness and density of the item being cooked. I usually do chicken thighs or legs at 10 minutes, with a 10 minute natural release.
We had everything to make this and had it for dinner tonight. I wish I had doubled the recipe because the kids all had seconds! My husband said he liked the flavor and was glad it wasn’t spicy.
That’s great, Jessica! Glad you all liked it. I agree with your hubby, not everything needs to be spicy, however, you can add more red pepper flakes if you are ever in the mood for a bit of heat!