Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken is always a hit at my house! It’s chicken thighs cooked in a honey garlic sauce that is infused with soy and hoisin sauce with fresh garlic and ginger covering the boneless chicken thighs for one amazing family dinner. Throw it all together and let the slow cooker do all the work!

Since honey garlic chicken is a fan favorite, I have made a few different versions that are always delicious. You’ve got to try this Honey Garlic Chicken Stir Fry, this simple and fun to cook Foil Pack Honey Garlic Chicken, and this delicious Glazed Lemon Honey Garlic Chicken.

Slow cooker honey garlic chicken in the crock pot with a wooden spoon.

Slow Cook Honey Garlic Chicken

This has to be up there with my most favorite slow cooker recipes! The flavor of this sauce is amazing. And the smell of it cooking in my house all day is the best! It is so easy to throw together. The whole family loves this recipe, even the picky eater. Honey garlic chicken is the perfect dump and go dinner. I am in love with slow cooker dinners because you just throw everything in the pot in the morning, and by dinner time you have a tender and flavorful meal!

I make chicken dinners a lot, but if you don’t get creative with the sauces and sides it can get a little repetitive! That’s why I love slow cooker chicken meals, like this honey garlic chicken. I also love this Crockpot Tuscan Chicken recipe, but that’s another story! Serve this chicken up with some Instapot rice for the perfect hands-off meal.

Ingredients

Boneless skinless chicken thighs work best in a slow cooker since dark meat can be more forgiving when cooking for a long period of time. Thighs also don’t dry out as easily. If you prefer chicken breasts make sure to check it towards the end to make sure it is not overcooked and dried out. That’s my biggest tip when cooking this slow cooker honey garlic chicken! You can find the ingredients below in the recipe card.

Boneless Chicken Thighs: I prefer chicken thighs over breasts but chicken breasts can be used in this recipe. Chicken thighs are a soft and tender meat with a little more fat on them making them juicy too.
Honey: Choose the honey that you prefer but this will help sweeten chicken while it is slow cooking.
Soy Sauce: Light soy sauce is just what you need to make this slow cooker chicken infused with.
Hoisin Sauce: Thick and strong flavoring, this hoisin sauce will be the perfect amount of sauce to cover the chicken and marinate while it is slowly being cooked.
Garlic: Crushed the best that you can or purchase the garlic crushed in a bag.
Ginger Root: Fresh is best with the ginger.
Sesame Oil: This has a nutty oil that adds just the right touch to combined the flavorings together.
Cornstarch: Make a roux or thick sauce with the cornstarch and water mixture.
Water: Luke warm water is perfect for creating a roux and adding it back into the sauce to cover the chicken at the end.

A close up on the chicken in the crock pot.

Slow Cooker Chicken Garlic Honey Recipe

It doesn’t get easier than this slow cooker honey garlic chicken recipe! You just put your chicken in the crock pot and pour over your sauce, and let that goodness sit and cook for about 5 hours. If you want to add onion or sesame seeds, that would be delicious. Once the chicken is cooked, I like to shred the chicken with two forks. It’s so tender it comes right apart. If you are using frozen chicken, make sure to thaw it out before cooking it, and that goes for all slow cooker chicken recipes.

Prepare the slow cooker: In a 5 quart slow cooker add the chicken thighs. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil. Cook on low for 4-6 hours and high for 3-4 hours.
Shred the chicken: Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred.
Make a thick sauce like a roux: Whisk together the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Whisk it into the sauce in the slow cooker. Return the shredded chicken back to the slow cooker and let cook for another 15 minutes to let the sauce thicken. Serve over rice and enjoy!

Tips for Serving Honey Garlic Chicken

Make this slow cooker honey garlic chicken a complete meal by adding in side dishes that work perfectly for this dinner. Your family will be craving it and loving all the variations that can accommodate this slow cooker chicken.

Vegetables: Try stir-frying vegetables, asparagus or mashing potatoes for a side dish. Even make it simple by using microwave vegetables or frozen vegetables to help complete the meal quicker.
Rice: I love rice and the ease of using my rice cooker when preparing a meal. Fried rice, cauliflower rice or white rice is always a favorite in our family. The honey garlic sauce drizzled overtop the rice and chicken adds so much flavor and deliciousness to this meal.
Salad: Since this is an asian meal I like to add in asian inspired salads such as broccoli ramen salad, asian edamame ramen salad or asian kale ginger peanut salad.

Slow cooker honey garlic chicken in. a bowl.

Storing Leftovers

This slow cooker honey garlic chicken makes the BEST leftovers! Seriously, I always make a lot because I know everyone is going to love it for lunch the next day. Here is how to store your leftovers.

In the Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.