Description
This Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken is a flavorful and easy-to-make dish featuring tender chicken thighs or breasts cooked in a sweet and savory honey garlic sauce. Perfect for busy weeknights, it can be served over rice or steamed vegetables and makes excellent leftovers for meal prep.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
Sauce
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Thickener
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water (for slurry)
Garnish and Serving
- 2 tablespoons chopped green onions
- Sesame seeds
- Cooked rice or steamed vegetables for serving
Instructions
- Place Chicken in Slow Cooker: Arrange the boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts evenly in the bottom of the slow cooker to prepare for cooking.
- Prepare Sauce: In a mixing bowl, whisk together the honey, low-sodium soy sauce, ketchup, rice vinegar, sesame oil, minced garlic, and optional crushed red pepper flakes to create the flavorful sauce.
- Combine and Cook: Pour the prepared sauce over the chicken in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours or on high for 2 to 3 hours, until the chicken is fully cooked and tender.
- Shred or Leave Chicken Whole: Once cooked, remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred it with forks or leave the pieces whole according to your preference.
- Thicken the Sauce: In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with water to make a slurry. Stir this mixture into the sauce remaining in the slow cooker, then cook on high for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until the sauce thickens nicely.
- Combine Chicken and Sauce: Return the shredded or whole chicken back to the slow cooker, stirring to coat evenly with the thickened honey garlic sauce.
- Serve: Garnish the chicken with chopped green onions and sesame seeds. Serve hot over cooked rice or with steamed vegetables for a complete meal.
Notes
- Chicken thighs provide more flavor and tenderness, but chicken breasts are a leaner alternative.
- Add vegetables like broccoli or bell peppers in the last hour of cooking for a convenient one-pot meal.
- Leftover honey garlic chicken can be refrigerated for meal prepping or frozen for longer storage.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: Asian-Inspired
