This Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs recipe makes incredibly tender chicken in a sweet and sticky sauce.
We love to serve this crave-worthy chicken over steamed rice along with a side of Cream Cheese Wontons for a complete meal.
Slow cooker meals are my favorite because you can easily prepare the meal in the morning, enjoy your day, then come back to a nice cooked meal for dinner.
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs
These chicken thighs are incredibly tender in a sweet and savory sauce that’s finger-licking good!
Ingredients Needed
Here’s the basic list of ingredients you’ll need in order to make these chicken thighs. As always, you can find the full list of ingredients located in the printable recipe card below.
- Chicken Thighs – boneless and skinless thighs work best, but you can also use drumsticks or even chicken breast
- Soy Sauce – low sodium
- Honey
- Hoisin Sauce
- Ketchup
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Rice Wine Vinegar
- Red Pepper Flakes – adjust to your preferred level of spice
- Cornstarch – used to thicken the sauce
It always amazes me how flavorful this chicken is with just a few basic ingredients. I always keep these ingredients on hand because they truly can jazz up any recipe!
How To Make Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
The slow cooker is great for any time of the year, but I especially love to use it when I have a busy day planned. Using the slow cooker allows me to prepare the recipe ahead of time, toss it all in the slow cooker and then come back to a delicious meal after a busy day.
COMBINE SAUCE Start by placing the chicken thighs in the bottom of your slow cooker in an even layer. Whisk all the ingredients for the sauce together (minus the cornstarch) and pour over the chicken thighs.
COOK ON LOW Turn the slow cooker to low and cook for 6 hours. You could also cook it on high for just 3 to 4 hours, but I feel like the chicken is more tender when cooked on low.
THICKEN SAUCE After the chicken has cooked, make a slurry with the cornstarch and some water and stir this into the sauce in the slow cooker. Increase the heat to high and cook an additional 15 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
SERVE OVER RICE The chicken is fantastic when served whole or shredded. It is so tender! Carefully place it over a bed of rice and spoon a little extra sauce on top. Garnish with sesame seeds and diced green onion if desired.
Make Ahead and Recipe Variations
PREPARE AHEAD You can easily prepare this recipe ahead of time by placing the chicken thighs and sauce ingredients all in a zip-close bag and storing in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Simply pour all the ingredients into the slow cooker when you’re ready to prepare.
RECIPE VARIATIONS
- Try using chicken breast in place of chicken thighs.
- If you don’t have hoisin sauce, you can swap with oyster sauce.
- Adjust the spice level by using more or less red pepper flakes.
- Want a thicker sauce? Increase the amount of cornstarch to make the sauce even thicker.
More Asian Inspired Chicken
With the classic flavors of soy sauce, garlic and ginger you can create an endless amount of dishes. Here are a few more of my favorite Asian-inspired chicken recipes that I think you’ll enjoy…
- Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken
- Honey Sesame Chicken Stir Fry
- Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Broccoli Chicken Stir Fry
I can’t wait for you to give this easy recipe a try. Don’t forget to let me know what you think!
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
For The Sauce:
Instructions
- Place the chicken thighs in the bottom of your slow cooker in an even layer.
- Combine all the sauce ingredients (MINUS THE CORNSTARCH) in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Pour the sauce over the chicken thighs and cook on LOW heat for 6 hours. OR you can cook on HIGH heat for 3 to 4 hours.
- After the chicken has cooked, combine the cornstarch and 2 tbsp of cold water in a small dish and stir. Pour this cornstarch slurry into the sauce in the slow cooker and increase heat to HIGH. Cover with lid and cook an additional 15 minutes, until sauce thickens.
- You can either shred the chicken thighs in the slow cooker or serve them whole. Serve the chicken over steamed rice and top with sliced green onions and sesame seeds if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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I made this and it was so delicious! Now I’m gonna make it with short ribs (same recipe) fingers crossed it’s as good as the chicken.
made this 2X now. Excellent! Definately a Keeper
So happy to hear it!
Your recipes are so practical and are elegant to be served for company! I was thrilled to see this recipe with all of the proportions all worked out. In my stage of life, I do less entertaining, but recipes like these make me feel that I could!