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These tender slow cooker chicken thighs are super easy to make with a short prep time and everyday ingredients. The honey garlic sauce is absolutely irresistible!
Try these easy skillet Honey Garlic Chicken Breasts or Honey Garlic Pork Tenderloin next.
Why you’ll love it
Is there anything better than homemade honey garlic sauce? It’s got bold flavors, and it perfectly coats the melt-in-your mouth tender chicken thighs. This versatile recipe is wonderful over rice, noodles, or even in a sandwich. Asian-inspired flavors just bring so much more to the table when it comes to shredded chicken!
This is a family friendly meal that you’ll make again and again. There’s tons of the mouthwatering sauce that even the pickiest eaters will enjoy. Smother it over veggies, and you’re golden. Busy parents will appreciate that it’s an incredibly simple to make dump-and-go chicken dinner.
What you’ll need
- Chicken – boneless chicken thighs are a great choice for slow cooking because they become more tender and don’t dry out as easily as chicken breasts do
- Soy sauce – we’re using the low sodium variety here
- Honey – this gives a sweet contrast and balance to the savory ingredients
- Ketchup – adds a bit more sweetness and depth. Don’t worry, it definitely doesn’t give an overwhelming tomato taste!
- Garlic – feel free to adjust the garlic quantity to your tastes
- Apple cider vinegar – my not-so-secret ingredient to amp up the flavor
- Ginger – don’t skip the fresh ginger! It’s essential to this recipe
- Red pepper flakes – optional, but I like giving it a little kick
- Cornstarch – to thicken the sauce
How to make slow cooker chicken thighs
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Place the chicken thighs in your slow cooker, arranging them so that they’re in a fairly even layer. In a bowl, whisk all the sauce ingredients together.
Pour the sauce over the chicken. Cook on high for 3.5 hours, then add in the cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce up and continue cooking it for another 15 minutes. Shred with two forks and enjoy!
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- I use this Crockpot model.
- Ginger is much easier to grate when it’s frozen. I always keep a piece of ginger in my freezer in a ZipLoc and then grate it with my Microplane when needed. That way, you’re also never without ginger!
- For the garlic, I simply use a garlic press to crush it. I do this as a shortcut for any recipe that requires minced garlic.
Substitutions and variations
- You can swap the chicken thighs for chicken breasts, but they may not turn out quite as tender since they have less fat and aren’t as well-suited for slow cooking. Cooking time may need to be adjusted depending on their size.
- Using bone-in chicken thighs is an option, but I would increase cook time to 4 hours on high. If you use ones that are skin-on, keep in mind the sauce may end up a little too oily.
- If you want to keep the thighs intact and not shred them, that’s fine! But the meat will easily fall apart anyway after slow cooking.
What to serve with honey garlic chicken
- This recipe pairs really well with jasmine rice and chopped scallions. I also garnished the chicken with sesame seeds, but that’s totally optional!
- You can also serve it over noodles or with steamed or stir fried vegetables.
- One of my favorite ways to serve shredded chicken is in a bun with some Homemade Coleslaw.
Leftovers and storage
- Keep any leftovers of this chicken recipe in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
- Reheat in a small saucepan over a low heat. Microwaving will work fine as well. I’d make fresh rice or noodles.
- Freezing should be good for up to 3 months with this one. Thaw overnight, or very slowly over a low heat.
More Asian-inspired recipes
If you made these Crockpot honey garlic chicken thighs, let me know in the comments below! Tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram if you made any of my recipes.
Honey Garlic Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken thighs boneless skinless
- For serving: chopped scallions, sesame seeds, rice optional, to taste
Sauce:
- 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes optional
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Add the chicken thighs to your Crockpot (in an even layer).
- Add the sauce ingredients (except for the cornstarch) to a bowl and whisk together until combined.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and cook on high for 3.5 hours. Low for 6-8 hours will work too.
- Mix the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl, and then pour it into the slow cooker. Give it a stir. Let it cook (on high) for another 15 minutes or so to ensure the cornstarch has activated and the sauce thickens.
- You can leave the chicken pieces whole or shred them with 2 forks (I do this right in the slow cooker). Serve over rice and with scallions and sesame seeds sprinkled over top if desired.
Notes
- This recipe serves 4-6 depending on portion size.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Wonderful, simple, and easy recipe! Thank you for sharing! Great way to use up some chickens thighs and who doesn’t love a set it and pretty much forget it recipe for busy days! Keep up with the awesome recipes!
You are very welcome, Tarryn!!
Lovely recipe ! So glad I tried it, definitely going to be a new staple for me ! I’ll have to adjust the time a bit as my slow cooker seemed to be a bit too hot the chicken was a bit dryer than anticipated but otherwise flavour was spectacular and prep time was quick!
I’m so glad you liked it, Tonya!! 😀 Thank you!
Did not come out great… maybe I shredded the chicken too much. But flavor was lacking also. We ended up putting bbq sauce on it and making bbq shredded chicken Sammie’s.
This turned out amazing! I used 2lb chicken breasts, followed the recipe – went 3.5 hours on high… but cut that short by 10 min so I could make it to yoga. Took the two breasts out, mixed in the cornstarch slurry, then added the chicken back. I made sure to cover the breasts with the sauce. I kicked it to warm and it stayed there for about an hour. Came back and shredded the chicken and it was perfection! Paired it with some rice and garlic sauteed broccoli. 🙂
So glad it was a hit, Christina! Thank you!
This recipe was so tasty! I added in a little extra cornstarch since my sauce wasn’t thick enough, and ate it with a drizzle of sriracha which made it even better.
I’m so glad it was a hit!!
If we want to double or triple the recipe, how much longer would we need to cook the chicken?
Hi! I have never done either, so I couldn’t tell you. I would test for doneness after the suggested cooking time and then add on extra time. If it’s close, I’d probably check every 15-30 minutes or so from there.
Do you have a conversion for using the instant pot?
Hi! This is purely an untested guess, but maybe high pressure 10 mins, release pressure and then add the cornstarch slurry in after?
This recipe is fantastic. My family loved it. Me too. It came out perfect. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
You are very welcome!! 😀
Do you have to use thighs or can you breasts?
See “substitutions & variations” in the blog post 🙂
We love this recipe, my husband, myself, and my daughter. I did find it a tad bit on the salty side so I was thinking of reducing the soy sauce slightly and maybe using some broth instead, but I wasn’t sure if it would work🤔
I would definitely make it again, next time we’re going to try on buns!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for your review! Yes, I think that tweak should be fine. I wouldn’t reduce the salt is you’re going to eat it on buns, however, as you’ll need the extra seasoning.
This came out so tasty and flavorful! My boyfriend and I loved it! I followed the recipe step by step. My only issue was the sauce didn’t thicken and came out soup. Should I add more cornstarch?
But still so delicious!
Hi Melly! I’m glad you enjoyed it! Did you add the recommended amount of cornstarch in for the last 15 minutes or so of cooking time and crank the heat up to high? It’s not meant to be a super thick sauce, but you could definitely add more in if you didn’t find it to be enough. 🙂