This sticky honey garlic boneless chicken is easy to make and scale from two to a crowd in a crock pot. A simple 4-ingredient honey garlic sauce of soy sauce, honey, ketchup, and garlic clings to every bite of the boneless chicken breasts or thighs.
Jump To (scroll for more)
Featured Comment by Paul D.:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Fantastic recipe! My family loves it. My wife thinks I'm a genius, lol."
🧾 TL;DR Recipe Summary
What: Boneless chicken breasts or thighs cooked in a sticky 4-ingredient honey garlic sauce.
Why: Easy prep, no browning, and scales from two to a crowd in any-size crock pot.
How: Mix the sauce, add the chicken, and cook on low for 3–4 hours. Thicken the sauce with cornstarch if desired.
🐓Ingredients
- Boneless Chicken – Skinless, boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- Honey garlic sauce – Soy sauce, honey, ketchup, and fresh garlic. Optional: basil and crushed red pepper flakes; cornstarch for thickening.
- For serving – Cooked rice, toasted sesame seeds, and sliced green onions
👨🍳 Quick Overview: Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken
1. Trim skinless boneless chicken (breasts or thighs) into serving-size pieces.
2. Whisk together the honey garlic sauce and combine with the chicken in the crock pot.
3. Cook on low for 3–4 hours. Breasts are done at 165°F; thighs are best at 180°–185°F. Start checking the temperature at 2 hours.
4. Spoon over rice with extra sauce. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.
👇For complete step-by-step instructions, scroll down to the printable recipe card or keep reading for tips, flavor options, and serving ideas.
🧂 Honey Garlic Sauce & Flavor Options
The 4-ingredient honey garlic sauce is made with soy sauce, honey, ketchup, and fresh garlic.
- Soy sauce – Use low-sodium soy sauce; use tamari for gluten-free.
- Honey – Adjust to taste for more or less sweetness.
- Ketchup – Adds flavor, sweetness, and seasoning.
- Garlic – Fresh is best. Substitute ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder per clove.
- Optional flavors – Add basil, crushed red pepper flakes, or fresh ginger. A dash of sesame oil or rice vinegar also works well.
Extra sauce: Double the sauce ingredients if you want more for serving over rice or vegetables.
Thicker sauce: Thicken with cornstarch near the end of cooking.
Save this recipe!
Enter your email address and we'll send the link straight to your inbox!
↕️ Adjusting the Recipe Size
This recipe scales easily for two or a crowd. The recipe card defaults to 4 servings; use the serving slider to adjust the ingredient amounts. The instructions do not adjust.
- 2 servings: 2- to 3-quart crock pot
- 4 servings: 3- to 4-quart crock pot
- 8 servings: 6-quart or larger crock pot
Keep the crock pot no more than about 75% full. Cooking time may vary with the amount and crock pot size. Cook to internal temperature, not by the clock.
🍽️ Serving Honey Garlic Chicken
Serve the chicken over rice with extra honey garlic sauce, green onions, and toasted sesame seeds. Steamed or roasted vegetables also work well.
For shredded chicken: Shred the chicken during the last 15–30 minutes and stir it back into the sauce.
❄️ Storage & Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 4 months.
Reheat: Warm gently in the microwave or covered on the stovetop with some of the sauce to prevent drying.
🍚 More Chinese-Inspired Recipes
❓FAQs
Yes. Use gluten-free tamari instead of soy sauce, and check the ketchup label to be sure it is gluten-free.
Yes. Boneless chicken thighs stay juicy and tolerate longer cooking. Boneless chicken breasts should be checked earlier and cooked to 165°F to prevent drying.
📖The Recipe Card
Crock Pot Sticky Honey Garlic Boneless Chicken
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds skinless chicken - breasts or thighs
- ½ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- 2–4 cloves garlic - crushed or minced
- ½ teaspoon basil - optional
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes - optional
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- cooked rice
- toasted sesame seeds
- sliced green onions
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep the chicken and sauce
- Trim about 1½ pounds of skinless chicken. If using boneless breasts, cut into serving-size pieces. Thighs may not need cutting
- In a medium bowl whisk together ½ cup of ketchup, ¼ cup of soy sauce (low sodium preferred), ¼ cup of honey, four cloves of crushed garlic, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional), and ½ teaspoon basil (optional).
Combine in the crock pot
- Spread the chicken across the bottom of a crock pot coated with cooking spray. Pour the sauce over the chicken and stir to coat.
- Optional: For a thicker sauce, mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water to form a slurry, and stir it in during the last hour of cooking.
Cook
- Cook on low for 3–4 hours. Chicken breasts should reach a temperature of 165°F; thighs are best cooked to 180°F for better texture. Begin checking the temperature at 2 hours, as slow cookers can vary.
Serve
- Serve over rice with extra sauce. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- Use low-sodium soy sauce. For gluten-free, use gluten-free tamari and check the ketchup label.
- For extra sauce to serve over rice or vegetables, double the sauce ingredients.
- Refrigerate leftovers for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 4 months.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
Originally Published January 4, 2015. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and editing to help with navigation.
Max says
I am trying near to recipe with a bit less soy sauce, a bit more ketchup and honey (using more chicken) and fresh basil leaves. We'll see but I expect it to be pretty darn good.
BTW some of the "adjustments" involve a completely new recipe - pretty funny to read!
Leona Ferranti says
You are so right about changing the whole recipe lol
JoJo says
Has anyone attempted this recipe without the basil ? My kids don't really care for it. And if so , any recommended substitutions for it would be greatly appreciated. About to attempt this for dinner tonight along with some home made fried rice . Fingers crossed!
DrDan says
Hi JoJo,
Just leave it out.
DrDan
Carol Chiasson says
Hi JoJo... I use Clubhouse Signature salad herbs or Garlic Plus for pretty much everything. But for this recipe I used the herbs because I already had mucho garlic in it. Just a thought.
Carol from Alberta, Canada :)
Jenn says
If the sauce is still runny maybe try pouring it into a sauce pan and bringing it to a boil and maybe doing a cornstarch slurry to thicken it up some
Megan Highfill says
This is really good! I made my own ketchup to cut down on sugar and sodium (and I think it tastes better). Next time, I would cut the soy sauce in half, add sriracha, and maybe compensate for the liquid with some chicken broth. But it's perfectly good as it is, too. I used 1 pound of chicken breast, cut into 4 pieces, cooked on low for 2.5 hours. My slow cooker runs hot. Also, I shredded the chicken 5 min. before serving. I don't love chicken breast, so this infused the sauce into the breast even more. Thanks for the recipe!
Marissa says
I was surprised at how easy and absolutely delicious this recipe is! I served this with jasmine rice and broccoli slaw for a little more asian flare. I will definitely be making this dish again when I am craving this flavor. P.S. I did not thicken the sauce at the end. I liked the consistency as is. Thanks for this recipe.
DrDan says
Thanks for the note. I have only thickened once as a test of concept for the many requests. I like the way the thinner sauce soaks into the rice. But some people want more of a "gravy".
Lew Lorton says
Easy to make, followed the recipe to the letter (although the note that says remewmber to turn up to high for the last 30 minutes was confusing because it wasn't clear that it was for the thickening note or for the entire origianl recipe.
Unfortunately this tasted terrible both to me and my wife. We both suffered through a bit, then I tossed it all. Use fesh ingredients and was scrupulous amount measurements but nothing.
I have no idea where I or the recipe went wrong.
DrDan says
So sorry it didn't work for you.
I would have suggestions but have no idea what when wrong for you. I'm looking at the wording for the last 30 minutes but really no matter what you did at that point, it did not cause the taste disaster you suffered.
Dan
Kathleen says
I made this recipe this afternoon, and I"ll update this post with how it comes out. I found the sauce to be thick (like a custard or pudding) before cooking. We'll see how it is cooked. I added 1/2 tsp. onion powder and black pepper. What recipe doesn't use black pepper?! It smells delicious, so I'm anxious to try it.
Kathleen says
Update: It came out wonderfully! I transferred the sauce to a saucepan on the stove, and added a corn starch slurry to thicken it up. It was wonderful. Juicy chicken, great flavor. I think I'll add real onions to it next time rather than the onion powder. Maybe some red pepper flakes as well to cut the honey.
Wonderful recipe!
Robin Cosden says
I have this cooking right now. It’s bitter, probably because of the basil. I searched for a cure. Lemon juice or vinegar sounded like a reasonable fix. Just added vinegar, letting it cook to see how it tastes after a bit.
Tara says
Made this tonight and it was good. 4 hours was plenty. I did add the cornstarch to thicken.
Kat says
Just tried this recipe. It's so delicious!! Turned out perfect. I didn't have corn starch so I used coconut flour to thicken the sauce. Will definitely be one of my go-to recipes. Thank you.
GetSirius says
How about pouring in a little bourbon? Think I'll give it try
Tara says
Can I use bar b q in place of ketchup. I don't have ketchup.,,what do you think I could sub this with..?t
DrDan says
That would change the taste some. I'm not sure I like the idea.
DrDan
Marzena says
I only added fresh grated ginger, delicious !!!!
Lynn says
I tried this recipe today, and while I followed the instructions exactly, the chicken breast pieces came out very dry. Any suggestions?
Thanks
DrDan says
If you're getting that then the chicken is over cooking. Your pot might run a bit hot. Cut down the time to 3 hours.
DrDan
Gigi says
I made this yesterday. It was very easy! I doubled the entire recipe. I wound up cooking it on low for 3 hrs (it seemed done by then) and then adding 4 tablespoons full of cornstarch mixed in a little cold water and turned it to high for another 30 minutes. I also towards the end added a few grinds of pepper and 1 tablespoon full of sesame oil. The sesame oil made all the difference. My whole family liked it - even my son who is the pickiest eater in the world. Will definitely make this again. Thanks!
pat says
Even low sodium soy sauce is really too salty, I have only found 1 in the mid 400s and that is the Sprouts brand. Walden Farms makes an asian salad dressing which I am going to try as a marinade on my wings salt content on that dressing is in the mid 200s-->WYI I am a nurse and I teach pt's low sodium diet as well as low fat
Rich says
Made this and it was great. Second time I substituted BBQ sauce and a shot of dijon mustard for the ketchup. Came out great both ways. Also seered the breasts before putting into crock to give it a bit of a crusty outer.