This slow cooker honey garlic chicken is an easy, family-friendly meal made with tender chicken thighs in a sweet and savoury sauce. There’s no need to brown the chicken first, and it’s delicious served with rice and steamed vegetables.
How to Make Honey Garlic Chicken in a Slow Cooker
This recipe takes just 10 minutes to prepare, making it ideal for busy days when you want to get dinner started with minimal fuss.
I left the thighs whole and served them with rice, steamed broccoli and sliced spring onions. You can also cut the chicken into chunks or shred it and stir it back into the honey garlic sauce.
For exact quantities and full instructions, head to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
What You Need
Chicken thighs – I used a 900g pack of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, but you don’t need to use exactly this amount. A little more or less will be fine, depending on the pack size you have.
Chicken thighs are a good choice for slow cooking as they tend to stay tender and juicy. You can leave them whole, as I did, or cut them into chunks before cooking. You could also use chicken breast, although you may need to adjust the cooking time to prevent it from becoming dry.
Honey – the honey provides the sweetness in the sauce and balances out the salty flavour of the soy sauce.
Dark soy sauce – dark soy sauce gives the sauce a rich, savoury flavour and a lovely deep colour. Different brands of soy sauce can vary in saltiness, so you can adjust the amount slightly to suit your taste. I wouldn’t add any extra salt to the recipe until you’ve tasted the finished sauce.
Tomato ketchup – a little tomato ketchup adds sweetness and a subtle tanginess to the sauce. It also helps give the sauce some body.
Rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar – the vinegar balances the sweetness of the honey. Either rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar works well.
Garlic – I used four crushed garlic cloves to give the sauce plenty of garlic flavour. You can reduce this slightly if you prefer a milder flavour.
Fresh ginger – a little grated fresh ginger works really well with the honey, garlic and soy sauce, but you can leave it out if you don’t have any.
Cornflour – mix 1 tbsp cornflour with two tablespoons of cold water to make a slurry. This is added towards the end of cooking to thicken the sauce.
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Making Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
This is a really simple recipe to put together, and there’s no need to brown the chicken thighs beforehand. I just put them straight into the slow cooker, leaving them whole.
For the sauce, it’s a case of mixing everything together in a jug before pouring it over the chicken. Give the thighs a quick turn so they’re coated in the sauce.
You might think there isn’t quite enough liquid at this stage, but don’t worry, the chicken will release plenty of juices as it cooks.
I cooked mine on low for 5 hours, but you can use the high setting if you’re short on time (2 to 3 hours). The chicken should be lovely and tender by the end of cooking. If you are unsure check the internal temperature, it should be 75°C.
The one extra thing I would recommend doing is thickening the sauce before serving. It will be quite thin straight after cooking, so I lifted the chicken out and stirred in some cornflour mixed with cold water. I then left the slow cooker on high for another 15 to 20 minutes to give the sauce a chance to thicken.
If your sauce is still a little thin, you can transfer it to a saucepan and simmer it on the hob for a few minutes. This is also a good way to reduce it if you want a slightly stickier sauce.
I decided to leave the chicken thighs whole when serving, but you could easily cut them into chunks or shred them with two forks before mixing them back into the sauce.
We had ours with rice, steamed broccoli and some sliced spring onions on top. The rice was perfect for soaking up all that extra honey garlic sauce. You could mix in some noodles instead.
Variations
Make it spicy – add a pinch of chilli flakes or a teaspoon of sriracha to the sauce for a little heat.
Add vegetables – you can add sliced peppers or carrots to the slow cooker alongside the chicken. Just bear in mind that vegetables will release additional liquid, which may make the sauce thinner.
Try chicken breast – you can use boneless chicken breast instead of thighs. Keep an eye on the cooking time, as breast can become dry if overcooked.
Shred the chicken – for shredded honey garlic chicken, use two forks to pull the cooked chicken apart before stirring it back into the sauce.
How to Store
In the fridge – allow the chicken to cool before transferring it, along with the sauce, to an airtight container. Refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking and keep in the fridge for up to 48 hours, or freeze for longer storage. Reheat until piping hot throughout.
In the freezer – honey garlic chicken is suitable for freezing. Once cooled, transfer the chicken and sauce to freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months for best quality. Defrost overnight in the fridge before reheating thoroughly.
Reheating – you can reheat the chicken in a saucepan over a medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until piping hot throughout. If the sauce has become too thick, add a splash of water to loosen it. Alternatively, reheat in the microwave, stirring or turning the chicken partway through to ensure it heats evenly.
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 900 g boneless chicken thighs
- 80 g honey
- 60 ml dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger optional
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 2 tbsp cold water
To Serve
- Cooked rice
- Steamed broccoli
- Sliced spring onions
Instructions
- Place the chicken thighs in the slow cooker, leaving them whole.
- In a bowl or jug, mix together the honey, dark soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, garlic and ginger, if using.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and turn the thighs to coat.
- Cover and cook on low for 4–5 hours or high for 2–3 hours, until the chicken is tender and cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 75°C. Cooking times will vary between slow cookers.
- Carefully lift the chicken out of the slow cooker and place it on a plate.
- Mix the cornflour with the cold water until smooth. Stir into the sauce, switch the slow cooker to high and cook, covered, for 15–20 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
- Return the chicken to the sauce, leaving the thighs whole or cutting or shredding them if preferred.
- Serve with cooked rice, steamed broccoli and sliced spring onions.
Notes
- You can use slightly more or less than 900g chicken, depending on your pack size.
- Boneless chicken thighs work particularly well, but chicken breast can also be used with an adjusted cooking time.
- Add chilli flakes or sriracha for a spicy variation.
- If the sauce doesn’t thicken sufficiently in the slow cooker, transfer it to a saucepan and simmer for a few minutes.
- No additional stock or water is needed during cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an estimate.