The sauce with our Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken thighs is so tasty, you’ll want to drink it straight from the bowl!
Is there anything better than walking in the door after a long day at work, to the scent of a slow cooked dinner? This slow cooker honey garlic chicken just falls apart after a few hours in the crock pot. Even more succulent than our honey lemon garlic chicken, these bone-in, skinless chicken thighs are cooked in plenty of sauce, boasting crispy, charred, sticky edges!
After sinking your teeth into this slow cooker honey garlic chicken, the recipe is bound to become a family staple!
SLOW COOKER HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN
After publishing our Pork Loin Roast with an irresistible honey garlic sauce, our readers have been asking non stop for this recipe — THE chicken of all slow cooked chickens. When you ask, we listen!
Few slow cooker chicken recipes have a sauce as flavoursome as this one. Jam-packed with vibrant herbs and spices, this chicken will no doubt have you going back for seconds! If you’ve tried our honey garlic sriracha chicken, you’ll already know that we’re basically honey garlic connoisseurs. So you can share in our love of honey garlic, we’ve created a simple, no-fuss chicken slow cooker recipe that you can leave on the bench to cook.
A simple ‘no-stress’ cooker recipe like our slow cooker whole chicken, is more than enough to feed the whole family. These skinless, bone-in chicken thighs beg for a rich, salty, sweet sauce to compliment those dark meat flavours. Cooking them in a Honey Garlic Butter Sauce is PERFECT and is the ideal sauce to serve them with.
HOW LONG TO COOK BONE IN CHICKEN THIGHS IN CROCK POT
Slow cooker honey garlic chicken thighs need a bit of love before cooking to give you an incredible tasting meal:
- SEASON: Seasoned in a delicious rub with paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, brown sugar to help caramelise those edges and an optional pinch of cayenne pepper. Pat them dry with a paper towel first so that the seasoning sticks and absorbs better.
- OPTIONAL SEAR: While chicken usually goes into a slow cooker raw, searing thighs first in those seasonings for just 2 minutes each side helps lock in juices. It doesn’t necessarily speed up cook time when we’re searing for such a short amount of time, but it does create DEEPER flavours on your chicken AND in your sauce! However, this is optional. You don’t have to do this step if time doesn’t allow for it, or if you just don’t want to. Chicken still tastes INCREDIBLE without searing.
- COOK: If you’re committed to making the best slow cooker honey garlic chicken you’ve ever had, you’re going to flip your chicken thighs in the sauce half way through cooking time, basting them in all of that sweet, savoury sauce. Then cover and continue on cooking. I know the general rule is never to uncover your slow cooker in the middle of cooking, but this recipe is the exception! works perfectly! Just don’t take too long.
HOW LONG DOES CHICKEN NEED TO COOK IN THE CROCKPOT?
For our crock pot recipe, cook chicken thighs for the suggested times:
LOW SETTING: 5-6 hours
HIGH SETTING: 2-3 hours
To check if they’re done, make sure they are fork-tender and register an internal temperature of 165°F (75°C).
WHAT IS HONEY CHICKEN SAUCE MADE OF?
Honey, butter, soy sauce (make sure you use low sodium), rice vinegar (or cider vinegar), and a good kick of garlic is all you need. The cooker chicken will release juices while slow cooking, which mixes through the honey garlic sauce to create incredible flavours!
This slow cooker honey garlic chicken recipe makes SO MUCH SAUCE which you can drizzle all over rice, noodles, veggies and potatoes.
While your slow cooker honey garlic chicken is resting: pour the juices from the slow cooker bowl into a pot. Bring to a simmer and whisk in a cornstarch slurry (cornstarch water) to thicken it to a beautiful, velvety syrup.
CRISPY EDGES ON SLOW COOKED CHICKEN? YES!
If you want those charred, crispy edges, broil thighs for a couple of minutes each side! You’ll need a lined baking sheet; baste chicken with some of the thickened slow cooker honey garlic chicken sauce and broil until nicely charred. It doesn’t need long thanks to the brown sugar and honey.
HOW TO PREPARE COMPONENTS AHEAD OF TIME
Chicken and sauce can be prepared up to one day ahead:
- Pour sauce over seared/browned chicken (store in your slow cooker bowl, baking pan or a large, shallow dish).
- Cover and refrigerate for up to 12 hours.
- Slow cook as per recipe.
Don’t have a slow cooker? No problem! Try our stove top/oven honey garlic chicken recipe here.
HOW DO YOU STORE SLOW COOKED CHICKEN?
Refrigerate with the sauce for up to three days, or freeze for three months. The sauce soaks through the chicken while stored and tastes even better the next day!
SERVING SUGGESTION
Serve over steamed or plain rice with buttery sautéed green beans or roasted cauliflower, mashed potatoes, cauliflower mash or noodles!
MORE SLOW COOKER RECIPES
Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
Slow Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
CHICKEN:
- 6 large chicken thighs skinless and bone-in
- 1 tablespoon olive oil divided
RUB:
- 1 teaspoon paprika mild or smoked
- ½ teaspoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper optional
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- ¼ teaspoon cracked pepper
HONEY GARLIC BUTTER SAUCE:
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 6 cloves garlic finely chopped or minced
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar or cider vinegar
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ teaspoon cracked pepper
ADDITIONAL:
- ¼ cup water or chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
CHICKEN:
- Pat dry boneless, skinless chicken thighs with paper towel. Combine ½ tablespoon of oil with rub ingredients. Season chicken, rubbing the mixture into the chicken.
- OPTIONAL SEAR: Heat remaining ½ tablespoon oil in a large pan or skillet over medium heat. Sear chicken for 2 minutes each side to get a nice sear. (Do not cook chicken all the way through, this step is purely for flavour.)Transfer chicken thighs to a 6-qt (litre) slow cooker bowl.
SAUCE:
- Melt butter in the same pan the chicken was in, scraping up any leftover browned bits in the pan. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant. Stir in remaining sauce ingredients; bring to a rapid simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
SLOW COOK:
- Pour sauce over chicken in slow cooker bowl, flipping thighs in the sauce to evenly coat. Cover with lid and cook on HIGH heat setting for 2-3 hours, or LOW heat setting for 5-6 hours. Baste with sauce half way through cooking.
- Transfer chicken onto serving dish and tent loosely with foil. Let rest for 5 minutes.
- While chicken is resting: pour juices from the slow cooker bowl into a pot large enough to fit the liquid. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
- Whisk ¼ cup water (or broth) with 2 teaspoons of cornstarch/cornflour into a lumpfree slurry. Whisk into sauce and let simmer for a good 2-3 minutes, or until thickend into a syrup-like consistency. (Please note: sauce will thicken as it cools). For a thicker sauce, repeat this step with 1 teaspoon extra cornstarch mixed with 2 teaspoons water. Add into sauce and cook until thickened. Continue this step until reaching your desired consistency.
BROIL:
- Place slow cooked chicken thighs on a lined baking sheet. Baste chicken with some of the thickened sauce, about 2 tablespoons per thigh. Broil briefly for 1-2 minutes each side to char the edges.
- Slice chicken and serve drizzled with Honey Garlic Butter Sauce.
Kara says
Thank you for posting this delicious recipe! I prepared it as written. The flavor is incredible! This is the first time cooking with butter and soy sauce…what a combination!
Ella says
thank you so much for all the delicious recipes you share with us. But could you please add a Pinterest pin so we can save these to our boards? Thanks so much!!
Carrie says
I made this using two boneless, skinless frozen chicken breasts. I did not brown them, but put them straight into the crockpot, frozen and cooked them on high for two hours. Then followed the rest of the recipe. They tasted really good and my chicken breasts were not dry at all. Thanks for the recipe!
Karina says
I Carrie, that’s fantastic to hear! I’m glad the recipe worked well with frozen chicken breasts, and that they turned out tasty and moist.
Lee says
This recipe was absolutely perfect, so delicious. Hubby could not stop praising it. I served with steamed rice and broccolini.
Thank you for sharing.
Charlie says
I think this may have been the BEST meal I have ever cooked myself (& with the help of a four year old)! Utterly amazing, thanks so much for the recipe, we most definitely will be making it again!!
DeeDee E. says
I followed this recipe exactly using boneless skinless chicken thighs. I will try it with bone in next time. It was delicious!! The sauce IS ALL THAT! I will definitely be making this a regular meal rotation. Thank you so much!
Julia M says
Mmmm Yummo!
…but you should clarify some words. The intro and ingredients said “bone-in,” but the instructions and notes said, “boneless.” Maybe your instructions should be to debone the thighs. I used boneless, and 2 hrs on high/low was plenty in the crockpot. So good. I will make it again.
Sydney says
Is it okay to leave the skin on? I’m excited to try this!
Renell Farley says
I followed this recipe almost exactly as written except I add seasoning salt to my chicken instead of plain salt. I used the tip to thicken the sauce with cornstarch. I served it with mashed potatoes. The sauce made a delicious gravy. Total hit! This is definitely going to be a new fav!