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This recipe for Honey Garlic Chicken is cooked in the slow cooker with just 5 minutes preparation needed. With just a few simple ingredients, you’re left with a delicious sticky, Asian-style sauce and super tender meat.
A while ago I took to Instagram to ask my lovely followers what kind of recipes they’d like to see more of, and SO MANY of you said slow cooker chicken recipes for summer!
It took some getting my head around, and then I realised it made sense… no hot and sweaty cooking over a hot stove – perfect!
And no cooking later in the day when we’ve had our fill of a hot day.
That prompted a collection of summer slow cooker recipes that were great for the warmer months and meant moving away slightly from stodgier dishes like traditional stews.
This is where this Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken dish comes into its own.
It’s light but packed with flavour and a mouthwatering sticky Asian-style sauce. It’s perfect with a bit of rice or vegetables on the side and requires very little effort to put together. Enjoy!
If you’d like to try this on the hob instead, follow my Honey Garlic Chicken recipe here.
Why you’ll love this Honey Garlic Chicken recipe
⭐️ Prepared in under 5 minutes
⭐️ The most delicious, sticky, tasty sauce 😍
⭐️ Great change from a takeaway
More slow cooker summer recipes…
Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes
Spinach & Ricotta Lasagne {Slow Cooker Recipe}
Slow Cooker Chicken
Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
Slow Cooker
Simple Slow Cooker Salmon
Slow Cooker
Feta and Tomato Pasta {Slow Cooker Recipe}
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken Ingredients notes
- Chicken thighs – These should be boneless and skinless
- Garlic and ginger – I use this from the freezer, pre prepared (always after a shortcut). You can obviously prepare fresh if you’d prefer
- Oyster sauce – This is optional as I know it’s not super common to have in your cupboards. BUT if you can get it/have some, it’s definitely worth adding as it really is the secret to super tasty Asian-style sauces
- Honey – Runny or set is fine
- To serve – Rice, chopped spring onions and sesame seeds
How to make Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
- Add everything (apart from the cornflour and serving ingredients) into the slow cooker and stir well. Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 6 hours.
- When the chicken is tender, scoop out some liquid and mix with cornflour (corn starch in the US) to make a ‘slurry’ (see notes on this below) and pop back in to thicken the sauce.
- Gently shred the chicken with two forks.
- When the sauce is thick enough, serve with rice chopped spring onions and sesame seeds.
Substitutions
- Chicken breast – You could use chicken breast in this recipe, but it won’t be QUITE as tender. You may also need to cook for slightly less time
- Soy sauce – I prefer dark soy sauce for this recipe as it gives a rich, thick sauce. If you only have light soy sauce, the end result will be more pale and not quite as rich. You could also use a mix of both if you don’t want such a rich sauce
Leftovers
In the fridge You can keep this recipe in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat fully by before serving.
In the freezer This recipe freezes well. Just wait until it’s totally cold and then put into a freezer proof container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly before reheating.
⭐️ Dump bag recipe ⭐️ This works perfectly as a ‘dump recipe’, which means you can add all the raw ingredients into a storage bag together, then freeze it and simply defrost and dump it all into a slow cooker when you’re ready!
What to serve with Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
- Boiled rice (or from a microwave pouch if you’re saving time) OR
- Noodles
- Boiled or roasted green vegetables (I like broccoli with this or mange tout peas)
- Prawn crackers
- Extra sweet chilli sauce and soy sauce on the side
More Chinese inspired fakeaways…
Slow Cooker
Slow Cooker Peking Style Duck
Slow Cooker Beef
Chinese Style Beef and Broccoli {Slow Cooker Fakeaways}
Family Dinner Ideas
Easy Pork Yuk Sung {Chinese Lettuce Wraps}
Slow Cooker Chicken
Slow Cooker Salt & Pepper Sticky Chicken
FAQs
If you want to get scientific, the reason we brown meat before slow cooking is because it causes a Maillard reaction. The process of frying, heating it to a hot temperature until it browns, changes the flavour compounds in the meat, basically adding a depth of flavour.
Does it add something to most slow cooked dishes? Yes. Is it vital in this dish, which is packed with other flavour? No. My opinion is that it’s much more important in red meat dishes and even then, sometimes speed and ease are more important.
This is a trick to thicken the sauce without ending up with floury lumps.
First you add cornflour to a small bowl, mug or jug, then use a little liquid from a dish (a spoonful or two) to mix the cornflour into a paste consistency. Add that back into the dish’s sauce.
If you just sprinkle cornflour straight into the dish, it will form lumps that are almost impossible to get rid of. I promise this step is worth the extra dirty bowl!
PLEASE NOTE that cornflour in the UK is NOT the same as it in the US! There it’s known as ‘corn starch’. Corn flour in the US is something different (the same as cornmeal in the UK), so please don’t use this.
The Morphy Richards Sear & Stew Slow Cooker is my all-time favourite because you can use it for initial browning on the hob and it’s really light.
I wrote up a whole slow cooker review though, where you might find another one to suit your needs. Have a read here.
Sure! Try out my Slow Cooker Marry Me Chicken, Slow Cooker Chicken Korma, Chicken Satay, Sweet & Sour Chicken or my Chicken Noodles with Curry Sauce.
See the whole slow cooker chicken collection here!
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken {with Sticky Sauce}
Ingredients
- 1 kg (4 cups) Boneless, skinless chicken thighs, See notes.
- 4 Cloves Garlic, peeled and crushed, see notes.
- 2 tsp Fresh ginger, See notes.
- 8 tbsp (0.5 cups) Dark soy sauce, See notes.
- 2 tbsp Oyster sauce, Optional. See notes.
- 4 tbsp (0.25 cups) Honey, Runny or set is fine.
- 4 tbsp (0.25 cups) Tomato ketchup
- 1/2 tsp Chilli flakes, Optional.
To add at the end of cooking:
- 1 tbsp Cornflour, See notes
To serve:
- Rice
- Chopped spring onions
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Put everything APART FROM the cornflour (corn starch in the US), into the slow cooker (crock pot). Give it a good stir.
- Put the lid on and cook on HIGH for 4 hour or LOW for at least 6 hours.
- When the chicken is tender and falling apart, scoop out a couple of tablespoons of the liquid and mix into the cornflour in a small bowl or mug. Whisk until totally smooth and add back into the chicken mixture.
- Gently shred the chicken with two forks and stir thoroughly so that the cornflour is distributed.
- You may find that the sauce thickens almost instantly (depending on how long it takes you to shred the chicken). If it doesn't, just leave in the slow cooker switched onto HIGH for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Serve sprinkled with chopped spring onions and sesame seeds.
Did you make this recipe? Click here to let us know how it went and give it a ⭐️ rating! Your feedback helps us to make more recipes you really want.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutritional values are per portion unless otherwise stated.
This post was originally published on July 1, 2020 and updated later to make improvements.
Made this today. The chicken was tender but way too salty. Will try doubling the honey and garlic next time as I tasted neither in this dish
Very flavorful. But, very salty. I used low sodium veggie broth n soy sauce. Guessing oyster sauce the culprit. I will add some broccoli and serve over cauliflower rice (Both unseasoned) . Hoping it cuts into salt?
Otherwise, yum.
Hi Nan, we are so glad you enjoyed the flavour, and sorry it came out too salty for you. The oyster sauce is optional, so leaving it out next time would definitely help. The recipe doesn’t require any broth so you could skip that too. Broccoli and cauliflower rice should help balance it out nicely. Thanks for your review.
Delicious! Kids loved it and it was so easy!
Hi V, thank you so much for the five star review! Easy and delicious is the dream combination for a family dinner. We’re so pleased it was a hit and hope it becomes a regular.
Easy to prep & make, I finely chopped an onion & added it, only because it looked lonely in the veg rack.
I skinned and boned my chicken it was much cheaper to buy on the bone.
Very tasty with rice, going to try with noodles next time.
Kev
Hi Kevin, thank you for the lovely feedback and tips. Adding the onion sounds perfect, and buying chicken on the bone is such a great way to keep the cost down. We think it would be great with noodles next time too, do let us know how you get on.
I just skin it cook on the bone and then when it’s time to shred it you can just pull the bones straight out less work and less waste
Hi Joe, thank you for sharing such a handy tip! Skinning the thighs and cooking them on the bone, then pulling the bones out when you shred, is a great way to save time and waste. Other community members will find this really useful.
This is a favorite of ours. Husband calls it “crack chicken.” I leave out the tomato and add a couple tsp of rice vinegar for acidity. I also double the sauce (for about 2.5 lb chicken usually). It is on regular rotation.
Hi Kate, thank you so much for the five star review. Crack chicken is a wonderful name for it, and we love your tweaks of leaving out the tomato, adding rice vinegar and doubling the sauce. Other community members will enjoy trying those too.
I made this dish yesterday. Loved it. It was so easy and tasty! Nicer and cheaper than the recipe bases I’ve been using. It could be done with beef too, I presume.
Hi Sheila, thank you for the five star review. We’re so pleased you loved it and found it easy, tasty and cheaper than the shop bought bases!
do you add water to the pot ? and if so how much ?
Hi Andy, great question. There’s no need to add any water as the chicken releases plenty of its own juices and the sauce ingredients give you all the lovely liquid you need. We hope you enjoy it.
I thought id died and gone to heaven,it is one of the most delicious meals I have ever had! Its even better as there was no effort involved in cooking it.I have it with a big helping of homemade Asian slaw so it is reasonably healthy as well as incredibly tasty. Thank you!
Hi Jane, what a wonderful thing to read, we’re thrilled you enjoyed it this much, and serving it with your homemade slaw sounds perfect. Thank you so much for the five star review!
fed a crowd last night so i adjusted to make it feed 8 hungry adults. everyone absolutely loved it. i am certainly making that again for sure. it was a real winner of a dish I am so glad i have discovered this website its a god send i am a mum of two teens, my husband and i both work so time at home is so precious so i try really hard to get a delicious wholesome meal on the table which means my slow cooker is a god send.
Hi Emmeline, we’re so pleased this was a real winner that fed eight hungry adults and that everyone loved it! It’s lovely to hear the slow cooker helps make your time at home a little easier. Thank you for the five star review!
This is the best honey chicken I have ever eaten! I had to stop myself from having a third round. Definitely on my rotation. Thanks for the recipe Sarah. 🙂
Hi Marianne, thank you so much for the five star review! The best honey chicken you’ve ever eaten, what a thing to hear, and we love that you had to stop yourself going back for a third round. So pleased it has earned a place on your rotation.