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This chicken is slow 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 try this Honey Garlic Chicken Stir Fry, Foil Pack Honey Garlic Chicken or Glazed Lemon Honey Garlic Chicken.

Slow cooker honey garlic chicken in a slow cooker with a wooden spoon stirring it up.

Slow Cooker 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. It all starts in the morning and becomes

Honey Garlic Chicken Ingredients:

  • 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.

How to make Honey Garlic Chicken in the Slow Cooker:

  1. 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.
  2. Shred the chicken:Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred.
  3. 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!

The Recipe Critic Pro Tip:

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.

Honey garlic chicken in a slow cooker with a wooden spoon stirring it up.

How to Serve Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

Make this 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.

Honey garlic chicken in a bowl with rice and garnished with scallions.

More Recipes to Enjoy your Slow Cooker with:

  • Slow Cooker Barbacoa Beef
  • Best Slow Cooker Parmesan Honey Pork Roast Recipe
  • Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe
  • Skinny Slow Cooker Kung Pao Chicken
  • Brown Sugar Balsamic Chicken and Vegetables

Honey garlic chicken in a bowl with rice underneath and chopsticks picking up the chicken.

  • 6-7 Boneless Chicken Thighs
  • 3/4 cup Honey
  • 3/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp hoisen sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic crushed I used 1 ½ T minced garlic
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger root I used 1 T dry ginger
  • 1 tsp seseame oil
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup water

  • In a 5 quart slow cooker add the chicken thighs. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, hoisen sauce, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

  • Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred. Whisk togther 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 ane enjoy!

Updated on March 4, 2020

Original Post on August 7, 2012

Serves: 6

Calories 445 kcal (22%) Carbohydrates 42 g (14%) Protein 51 g (102%) Fat 8 g (12%) Saturated Fat 3 g (15%) Cholesterol 145 mg (48%) Sodium 1985 mg (83%) Potassium 945 mg (27%) Fiber 1 g (4%) Sugar 37 g (41%) Vitamin A 106 IU (2%) Vitamin C 4 mg (5%) Calcium 22 mg (2%) Iron 2 mg (11%)

All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian American

Keyword honey garlic chicken, slow cooker honey garlic chicken

Alyssa Rivers

I am Alyssa and the blogger behind The Recipe Critic. I started my blog in June of 2012 as a place to share my passion for cooking. I love trying new things and testing them out with my family.

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