Save the white styrofoam container for a more desperate time—today we’re making easy Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken. Its sweet, sticky sauce has all the allure of your favorite takeout but is made of healthy, natural ingredients. The recipe is only eight ingredients (nine if you are a stickler and count the rice), and if you cook Asian food regularly (meaning you own soy sauce), you have all of them in your pantry right now.
I regularly hear that you are constantly on the lookout for healthy, easy crockpot chicken recipes.
As a fellow appreciator of keeping dinner simple (but delicious!) and healthy (but by no means “diet”), recipes like this slow cooker honey garlic chicken thighs are some of my absolute favorites to create.
The recipe index also suggests that when it comes to picking a slow cooker chicken recipe theme, I have a serious penchant for this entire “takeout/fake out” approach. (Although, I do have an extensive list of other Healthy Crock Pot Chicken Recipes.)
Does reading that recipe list make anyone else want to borrow a few extra slow cookers and create one of those restaurant-style combo plates? (I’ll have the #2 with slow cooker honey garlic chicken, the cashew chicken, and a side of Homemade Fried Rice please!)
For today, however, this tasty slow cooker honey garlic chicken is exactly what I want at the center of my plate.
The breezy ingredient list only takes a few minutes to stir together, the honey sauce merits nothing short of universal praise, and the leftovers easily pack for lunch and reheat like a dream.
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
Healthy Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken. Easy recipe with 8 simple ingredients! Juicy chicken thighs or breasts in a sticky honey garlic sauce.
Prep: 5min
Total: 270min
Yield: 4
Serving Size: 1 of 4, about 1 cup
Nutrition Facts: servingSize 1 of 4, about 1 cup, calories 329 kcal, Carbohydrate 32 g, Protein 35 g, Fat 7 g, Saturated Fat 2 g, Cholesterol 162 mg, Fiber 1 g, Sugar 25 g
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or chicken breasts)
- 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons chili paste (sambal oelek, sriracha, or hot sauce of choice)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Prepared brown rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Chopped green onion
Instruction:
- Place the chicken in the bottom of a 6-quart or larger slow cooker. In a medium mixing bowl or very large measuring cup, whisk together the soy sauce, honey, tomato paste, chili paste, garlic, and rice vinegar. Pour over the chicken. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours or HIGH for 2 to 3 hours, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. If you are available, flip the chicken over once halfway through to coat both sides. (If not, don’t stress; it will still be tasty.)
- Remove the chicken to a plate and let cool slightly. Whisk the cornstarch into the slow cooker cooking liquid. Cover and cook on HIGH for 15 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly, stirring occasionally. If you’d like the sauce particularly thick, you can cook it for a full 30 minutes in the slow cooker OR follow the stovetop method below.
- For quicker sauce thickening, reduce the sauce on the stove: After whisking in the cornstarch, transfer the cooking liquid to a medium saucepan. Cook on the stovetop over medium heat, stirring often until the sauce thickens, 5 to 10 minutes. (If your slow cooker insert is stovetop safe, you can remove it from the slow cooker and place it directly on the burner, but do not do this unless you are POSITIVE your insert is stovetop safe or it may crack.)
- With two forks (or your fingers if the chicken is cool enough), shred the chicken and place it in the slow cooker. If you reduced the sauce on the stove, add it back to the slow cooker now. Stir to coat the chicken with the sauce. Serve over rice, sprinkled with green onions and sesame seeds.
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs and Potatoes Recipe
FAQ
Can I put raw chicken in a slow cooker?
Do I need to brown of the chicken before it goes in the slow cooker?
Pre-cooking seals in the juices in the poultry and makes it even more tender as you cook it. A caramelized piece of meat will always taste better in your dish.
Do you need to put liquid in the slow cooker when cooking chicken?
Why is my slow cooker chicken rubbery?
