Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken has fall-apart tender chicken breasts or thighs coated in a sticky honey sauce. With only 10 minutes of prep, this is an easy weeknight dinner recipe.
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Everybody needs more easy chicken recipes. This is one of the easiest and best crock pot chicken recipes with a sticky honey sauce which is the feature of this recipe.
This sticky honey chicken will become a family favorite with great Asian flavor and tender chicken breasts or thighs. And it fits most healthy diets like a low-calorie or low-fat diet . And it can be made to fit a gluten-free diet.
Super easy to make with the step-by-step photo instructions. You can use almost any size slow cooker and either chicken breasts or thighs. And make it a complete meal by adding some vegetables with rice.
Serve with rice, like Fried Rice or Baked Rice. And don't miss these other easy Chinese take-out recipes Chinese Boneless Ribs, Beef and Broccoli, General Tso Chicken, Cashew Chicken, and Chicken Stir Fry.
Adapted from Allrecipes Honey-Garlic Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs.
🐓What your will need to make this recipe
- Chicken—skinless boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- Honey garlic sauce—soy sauce, honey, garlic cloves, basil(optional), crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- Corn starch—optional for thickening
- For serving—rice, toasted sesame seeds, green onions
👨🍳How to Make Honey Garlic Chicken in a Crock Pot
- Trim and cut chicken breasts or thighs into pieces.
- Mix the honey garlic sauce.
- In a smaller crock pot, stir the chicken with the sauce until coated.
- Cook on low for 3-4 hours but check at 2 hours. Breasts are done at 165° and thighs at 180°.
- If you want a thicker sauce, add a cornstarch slurry for the last hour of cooking.
- Serve with rice and use the sauce as gravy. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
✔️Tips and Options
- Chicken tips
- Chicken skin does not cook well in a crock pot, so don't use chicken with skin.
- Bone-in chicken takes a bit longer to cook.
- Cutting the chicken breasts into a couple of pieces helps them cook faster and easier, making serving-size pieces and more surface area for the sauce to flavor.
- If using chicken thighs, use skinless, but they may be boneless or bone-in.
- The size of the thighs is thinner and smaller than the breasts, so they do not need to be cut into pieces.
- Cook chicken breasts to 165° and thighs, although safe at 165°, are tenderer at 180°+.
- You may shred the chicken near the end of cooking and mix it back into the sauce.
- Sauce tips
- You can use Tamari to replace the soy sauce if you need gluten-free. Most Tamari is gluten-free, but check the label.
- A touch of rice vinegar (some may contain gluten) or crushed red pepper flakes are good. I added red pepper as an option.
- The basil is in the model recipe, but I no longer use it, so it is optional. Some will use oregano to replace the basil.
- The recipe makes ¼ cup of the honey garlic sauce to use at serving, but some will want more, so adjust the amount of sauce to what you want. It will not affect the cooking.
↕️How to make this a "for two" or "family size" recipe
This is a very easy recipe to cut in half or double. As written, it makes four servings of about 1 cup and can be made in a 2-quart crock pot.
To adjust the recipe size in the recipe card
- Use the recipe card and change the number of servings to half or double.
- Use the amount of ingredients in the ingredient list, not the instructions—those do not adjust.
Suggested crock pot sizes
- For a half recipe—it will fit in a 1 quart, but crock pots smaller than 2 quarts are notoriously inaccurate in cooking. So use one at your own risk and watch the temperature.
- For a full-size recipe—a 2 to 4-quart crock pot works well. You can use bigger but watch the temperature closely. Cooking small recipes in large crock pots tends to overcook rapidly and may burn. Cook to an internal temperature and not by time.
- For a double recipe—use a 3-quart or larger crock pot and watch the final temperature.
❓FAQs
Yes. Any chicken will do as long as you monitor the final internal temperature. But the bone is clumsy to eat around, and the skin does not cook nicely in a crock pot.
No. There are two issues with adding frozen chicken to a cooking crock pot.
First, the internal temperature of the chicken may not rise fast enough to cook safely.
Second, there have been a few reports of ceramic crock pots breaking due to temperature differentials.
The original recipe had a ½ cup of soy sauce. That was heavy on the salt. I receive complaints and suggest only ¼ cup of low sodium soy sauce. There is still a lot of flavor in the sauce.
Serving and storage of leftovers
The simplest serving method is with the honey garlic sauce over rice or cauliflower rice with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds and some sliced green onions.
Store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or freeze in an airtight container for 3-4 months.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.
Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Trim about 1 ½ pounds of chicken. If using skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut them into serving-size pieces. You may use skinless chicken thighs if you wish.
In a medium bowl, ½ cup of ketchup, ¼ cup of soy sauce (low sodium preferred), ¼ cup of honey, four cloves crushed garlic, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional), and ½ teaspoon basil (optional) whisk together.
Spread the chicken across the bottom of a 2-quarts or larger crock pot coated with PAM cooking spray. Add the sauce and mix.
If you want a thicker sauce, in a small bowl, make a cornstarch slurry by mixing 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cool water until smooth. Add to the crock pot and mix well during the last hour of cooking.
Cook on low for 3-4 hours. Breasts should reach 165°, or thighs should be 180° minimum when done. Check the chicken temperature at about 2 hours since crock pots vary.
Serve with rice and use the sauce as gravy. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
📖 Recipe
Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds skinless chicken - breasts or thights
Honey Garlic Sauce
- ½ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup soy sauce - low sodium
- ¼ cup honey
- 2-4 cloves garlic - crushed
- ½ teaspoon basil - optional
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes - optional
Optional thickening
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 2 tablespoons water
For serving
- rice
- toasted sesame seeds
- sliced green onions
Instructions
- Trim about 1 ½ pounds of chicken. If using skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut them into serving-size pieces. You may use skinless chicken thighs if you wish.
- In a medium bowl, ½ cup of ketchup, ¼ cup of soy sauce (low sodium preferred), ¼ cup of honey, four cloves crushed garlic, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional), and ½ teaspoon basil (optional) whisk together.
- Spread the chicken across the bottom of a 2-quarts or larger crock pot coated with PAM cooking spray. Add the sauce and mix.
- If you want a thicker sauce, in a small bowl, make a cornstarch slurry by mixing 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cool water until smooth. Add to the crock pot and mix well during the last hour of cooking.
- Cook on low for 3-4 hours. Breasts should reach 165°, or thighs should be 180° minimum when done. Check the chicken temperature at about 2 hours since crock pots vary.
- Serve with rice and use the sauce as gravy. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
Your Own Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- Use low-sodium soy sauce.
- It will fit nicely in a 2 qt or bigger crock pot. If you add vegetables, you will also need to increase the crock pot size and increase the sauce.
- Cook to an internal temperature of 165° for the chicken breasts. If using thighs, you will be happier with the texture of the chicken if you cook it to 180°+.
- Thickening is optional, and you may want to increase the amount of sauce for serving.
- Good refrigerated for 3-4 days. Good frozen for 3-4 months.
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Originally Published January 4, 2015. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Menolly
Hi! I don't own a crockpot. But I have dutch ovens of every possible size. If I were to bring this to boil and cook in a 275F - 300F oven in a cast iron dutch oven, how much chicken stock should I add, and how long should I cook it? Thank you.
PS: are thawed but previously frozen chicken breasts acceptable? I wanted to use this on frozen chicken that I need to rotate out of the freezer. I typically thaw overnight in the fridge.
Barbara
Recipe looks and sounds great. Can I start with frozen chicken breasts?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Barbara,
Welcome to the blog.
The two problems with frozen chicken in a crockpot is first, frozen chicken has been known to break ceramic crockpots during cooking, so a safety problem if the pot is ceramic. And second, a cooking time issue—be sure the chicken reaches 165°.
Dan
Paul D.
Fantastic recipe! My family loves it. My wife thinks I'm a genius, lol. I added chopped red, yellow, and orange bell pepper to the sauce and it was fantastic. I see a lot of comments about the sauce being a bit watery. My suggestion would be to use a fresh, dark honey in the recipe. The viscosity of the dark honey holds up better in the slow cooker. Just a suggestion. I'm lucky enough to live in the country, so it's readily available. If people have access to a farmer's market, you can probably find it there. My family wants me to make it again, so great job!
Sara
My sauce wasn't nearly as dark as the picture and I followed the directions to the T. Plenty of it and it was very flavorful, but looked more like a watered down blush colored sauce. Very wet and runny.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Sara,
Welcome to the blog.
The color is determined by the ingredients, mainly the soy sauce and ketchup so perhaps one of those broke down some with cooking. Another possibility is the chicken releasing more fluid during cooking. This would happen if it had been previously frozen. At least the taste was good.
Dan
Jackie
I use this for both chicken and pork. Right now I'm using it with cubed pork - just a couple of boneless chops go a long way So easy I feel like I'm cheating. I find the sauce comes out tangy - almost like sweet and sour, perhaps that is because of the vinegar in ketchup. My secret ingredient is to add sliced water chestnuts. If I have a green pepper on hand I'll throw that in. Love your recipes since I don't have to run around looking for things I don't normally have on hand. Who would have thought such a simple sauce would be so great and versatile!
Kerry Bianchi
Can this recipe be made with thin chicken breasts? That's all I have in the house. Will cooking time be different?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Kerry,
Welcome to the blog.
Go by the internal temperature of the chicken. It should be 165 degrees to be done and safe. The time will vary by the thickness of the chicken you have. It could be as little as 2 hours but go by the temperature.
Dan
Robin
Quick and easy recipes. Next time I'll add less ketchup as it was a little too tomato for me. Delicious all the same.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Robin,
Welcome to the blog and sorry for the delayed response.
Glad you enjoyed the chicken.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Ji Hee Kim
Thank you so much for this WONDERFUL RECIPE. This recipe is simple and very tasty. For the Maple Syrup, I've added sugar free maple syrup. When I get up very early in the morning like 3:00 a.m., I usually cook for my family or my 4 dogs. For the vegetables, I usually add whatever I can find in my Refrigerator. This morning I will probably add sesame seed at the end as someone has suggested. My four dogs go crazy smelling this food being cooked in the crock pot. Too bad that I cannot feed them this dish. Thank you again for sharing this recipe.
DrDan
Hi Ji Hee,
Welcome to the blog.
This is a very flexible recipe to just use up what you have with easy results. I generally sprinkle some sesame seeds on at the end.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Katy
Hi Dr. Dan, thank you for this recipe. I have made it a few times now, and love the simplicity of the ingredients and the incredible flavour. I omit the basil, but do the cornstarch/water mixture and shred the chicken after about two hours of cooking, add some shredded carrots and sliced green onion and cook for another hour or more. Served over rice it is DELICIOUS!
DrDan
Hi Katy,
Welcome to the blog.
This is an interesting recipe. I found the taste very surprising. And it is so easy to modify as you found.
Thanks for the note. And Happy Holidays.
Dan
Jon
I came across this recipe while I was in the army. I made it and planned on having leftovers for quite some time. My squad could smell it from my barracks door and everyone quickly ate it up. It was sooooo good. I now make it for every platoon function and it's always a hit.
DrDan
Hi Jon,
Welcome to the blog.
Glad it works well for you. It does make the house smell good for a while so I'm not surprised they found you out.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Beverly Barndt
Wow, WE! Loved it all the way around. I can't believe the easiness of it all. I have tried so hard with so much that I had or didn't have and never got a GREAT FLAVOR or close to what I was trying to get. Again you are a ROCKSTAR! I feel like I have won the LOTTERY here! Thanks again so much for your time.
Elizabeth
I came across this recipe line others, Google! I'm super excited to try this for me and my daughter this coming Sunday, looks line it'll be a winner!
Glenda
My daughter served this recipe using thighs last summer, I had chicken breasts intending to BBQ, but we are having a thunderstorm so looked up crock pot chicken and found your recipe, and the crock pot is cooking ... had no basil so used some thyme and oregano, no fresh garlic, but had ground garlic, was a little short on Ketchup but added a little water, hopefully it will work out...
Ms. Marcia
Hi Dan! I made this recipe yesterday in the crockpot, with the intention of having it for dinner tonight. It was delicious and I think letting the flavors meld together overnight in the fridge only made it better! I pretty much followed the recipe with only a couple differences:
I was doubling the recipe so I used I used:
1 cup of ketchup, 1/4 cup of low sodium soy sauce, 1/4 cup of dark honey, 1/4 cup of real maple syrup (on the advice above from the Canadian person), 1/4 cup of water, 1 Tbsp of crushed garlic from a jar (we love garlic) and 1 Tbsp of dry basil pulverized between my fingers before adding to sauce. I mixed this all up and let it sit for about an hour. Then poured it over about 3.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut up like you said. Cooked on low for 4 hours, although 3.5 would have been been plenty. I like my sauce thin so I did not thicken it.
Served tonight over Jasmine rice with a salad. My husband said, "I hope you wrote this down". I did, and will make it again and again.
Thanks for the great recipe! 5 stars from us!!
Carol Chiasson
I've put this in the crock pot for tonight's dinner and I've slightly amended it as others have. Instead of basil, I used Clubhouse Signature salad herbs. I also added just a bit of water because I sliced up some mini red potatoes, green onion that needed to be used up and skinny carrots and put them on the bottom of the crock pot. It smells delicious and I can hardly wait to dig in! Next time I might sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top when I serve it onto individual plates.
Shae
I followed this exactly as written, save for I didn't have sodium reduced soy sauce, just used a tad less of regular. I had two boneless skinless chicken breasts, and cooked on low for 5 hours.
If they would have had bones in them, the meat would have been falling off them. Delicious. There was enough sauce to go on the rice, and plates were almost licked clean.
Thank you for this recipe, so easy and my husband said it was a keeper!
Lauren
Out of soy sauce, do you think I could use Worcestershire sauce? thanks so much!
DrDan
Hi Lauren,
Worcestershire is spicier and will change the taste profile. Having said that, some will suggest a 1 to 1 substitute or a 3/4 to 1 substitute.
I believe there is too much taste difference and would not do it in this recipe since it is a major part of the recipe.
Dan
Crystal
Thanks for the recipe. Do you think that it could be cooked on high taking less time?
DrDan
Hi Crystal,
I'm concerned about the sauce cooking at a higher temperature and "burning". If you do it, please report back.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
CeCe
Made this for the fourth time today in less than a month. I love how simple the ingredients and instructions are, and it doesn’t break the bank to make. I’ve tried it with chicken breast or some boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Both seem to work out well, I just have to adjust the cooking time a smidge. I also love the slurry trick to thicken the sauce so it’ll sit on the rice and won’t sink to the plate.
I have noticed that it needs some more time to get to temp. Not sure if it’s just my crockpot being wonky or because I use a disposable liner. Whatever the case, I just keep checking with my meat thermometer so I know when it’s done.
The only modifications I’ve done are using coconut aminos instead of soy sauce and minced garlic from a jar. The coconut aminos are a necessity for me because of family food allergies, but it’s got a great flavor and less sodium, so I don’t have to worry about it turning into a salt lick. The minced garlic was my goof because I didn’t do proper notes on my grocery list and was buying ingredients for 3 different recipes at the same time. My family seems to like it, and I like the convenience of using the jar method. I also put a little of the garlic juice in the recipe when measuring it out.
Another note is that I prefer using clover honey. Because I was making it so much, my little honey bear squeeze bottle was depleting rapidly, so my mom was nice enough to pick up a bottle of honey from Sam’s Club before they closed our stores. The only option was raw and unfiltered honey. I can taste a difference, but I think I’m the only one. A family member that is notoriously picky (doesn’t like meat on the bone, only likes white meat, loads of dietary restrictions, hates leftovers) ended up getting second helpings and finishing off all my leftovers. This recipe is a definite keeper and one I will happily share with others. Thanks!
Lois
The original recipe for this with the boneless, skinless chicken thighs said it takes 6 hours on low to cook. Your version with boneless, skinless chicken breast says cook on low for 4 hours. Why the difference in cooking times?
DrDan
Hi Lois,
I can't speak to their time. 4 hours is about the max you want or they start drying and the internal temp was 170 plus.
Hope that helps.
Dan
DrDan
Fast second reply. Chicken thighs should be cooked to about 185. The is when they are tender. They are safe at 165 but need 185 to be tender. They can also tolerate over cooking better. So add the two an they may be their 6 hours. I think better in the morning.
Denise
Can you make this with frozen chicken breasts?
DrDan
Food safety recommendations are to not do frozen chicken in a crock pot. Also, ceramic pots can crack with the cold and heat going at the same time.
Dan
SassyLady
I added my own twist as I always do to slow cooker recipes...
1. 3 frozen chicken breasts thawed, seasoned with salt and pepper and seared on both sides for flavor
2. 1/3 white onion julienned, sauteed in 1/2 packet of soy and 1/2 ounce water in same skillet chicken seared in
3. one 4 oz. can of diced green chili peppers for extra flavor (1/2 bell pepper julienned will do the same) added to sauce
4. one packet of siracha sauce added to 10 packets (= 1/2 cup) of ketchup (needed to get rid of packets)
5. increased honey to 1/3 or 1/2 a cup
6. placed half the onions on the bottom of chicken, rest on the top then added the sauce
I must say that the garlic honey soy sauce is delicious to me...not sure what else went wrong for everybody else...I don't cook with basil so I excluded it...basil is more for European dishes.
DrDan
Hi there SassyLady,
Thanks for the note and modifications.
Something can go wrong with any recipe so I don't take it personally. If you read the comments on the major recipe sites, it gets quite entertaining. Somebody changes almost every ingredient and cooks it differently then gives a one star and bad review.
Dan