Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken features tender chicken breasts or thighs coated with sticky honey garlic sauce. It's easy to make with only 10 minutes of prep time. Let your slow cooker do the work for the perfect sweet, savory, and spicy weeknight dinner.
🐓Ingredients
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
Jump To (scroll for more)
- 🐓Ingredients
- 👨🍳How to Make Honey Garlic Chicken in a Crock Pot—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
- 👨🍳Make it right every time
- 🐓What chicken to use
- 🥣Honey garlic sauce—tips and variations
- ↕️How to make this a "for two" or "family size" recipe
- 🍲Suggested crock pot sizes
- 🍽️Serving
- 🍚Chinese Recipes
- ❄️Storage of leftovers
- ❓FAQs
- 📖The Recipe Card with Step-by-Step Instructions
Featured Comment by Paul D.:
"Fantastic recipe! My family loves it. My wife thinks I'm a genius, lol."
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Everybody needs more easy chicken recipes. With a sticky honey sauce, this is one of my easiest and best crock pot chicken breast recipes.
It is super easy to make with the step-by-step photo instructions. You can use almost any size slow cooker, 1 or 2-quart mini crock pots, or larger. Use either chicken breasts or thighs. And make it a complete meal by adding stir-fried vegetables and rice.
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.
Serve with rice, like Egg Fried Rice or Baked Rice.
👨🍳How to Make Honey Garlic Chicken in a Crock Pot—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
1. Trim and cut chicken breasts.
2. Mix the honey garlic sauce.
3. In a smaller crock pot, stir the chicken with the sauce until coated.
4. Cook on low for 3-4 hours, but check at 2 hours. Breasts are done at 165° and thighs at 180°-185°.
5. If you want a thicker sauce, add a cornstarch slurry for the last hour of cooking.
6. Serve with rice and use the sauce as gravy. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
👨🍳Make it right every time
Cutting the chicken breasts into smaller pieces will help them cook more quickly and evenly, resulting in serving-sized portions and allowing more sauce to flavor the chicken.
Towards the end of cooking, you can shred the chicken and mix it back into the sauce.
Cook chicken breasts to 165° and thighs, although safe at 165°, are tenderer at 180°+. Bone-in chicken takes a bit longer to cook. Remove any skin before cooking.
If you want a thicker sauce, add a slurry of cornstarch mixed in cool water until smooth before adding slowly.
Many people want more sauce for rice; adjust to the amount you wish. I usually double it.
🐓What chicken to use
Skinless boneless chicken breasts are recommended. You may use skinless chicken thighs, which 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.
🥣Honey garlic sauce—tips and variations
Soy sauce: Regular soy sauce has lots of salt, so I suggest using low-sodium soy sauce to decrease the sodium level.
Honey: The sweetness of the sauce is from the honey. You can adjust to your taste.
Garlic: I prefer fresh crushed or minced garlic. You could use garlic powder. Use ⅛ teaspoon of garlic powder in place of each clove of garlic.
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The basil is usually used in this recipe, but I no longer use it, so it is optional. Some will use oregano to replace the basil.
A touch of fresh ginger, sesame oil, rice vinegar (some may contain gluten), or crushed red pepper flakes are good. I added red pepper as my option.
↕️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 or larger crock pot.
- Use the recipe card and change the number of servings.
- Use the amount of ingredients in the ingredient list, not the instructions—those do not adjust.
🍲Suggested crock pot sizes
A half recipe will fit in a 1 quart, but crock pots smaller than 2 quarts are notoriously inaccurate in cooking. So, you can use one at your own risk and watch the temperature.
For a full-size recipe, generally use a 2 to 4-quart crock pot, although bigger may be used. You can use a bigger slow cooker 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.
🍽️Serving
Serve with rice, like Egg Fried Rice or Baked Rice. Add some stir-fry vegetables or steamed broccoli for a complete meal.
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.
🍚Chinese Recipes
Check out these other easy Chinese take-out recipes: Chinese Boneless Ribs, Beef and Broccoli, General Tso Chicken, Cashew Chicken, and Chicken Stir Fry.
❄️Storage of leftovers
Store in the refrigerator for 4 days or freeze in an airtight container for 4 months.
Reheat in the microwave or a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add a small amount of chicken broth or water to the sauce if needed.
❓FAQs
To make honey garlic chicken gluten-free, use Tamari to replace the soy sauce. Most Tamari is gluten-free but check the label.
No. There are two issues with adding frozen chicken to a cooking crock pot.
First, the internal temperature of the chicken may not reach the safe final internal temperature of 165°.
Second, there have been a few reports of ceramic crock pots breaking due to temperature differentials.
📖The Recipe Card with Step-by-Step Instructions
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 preferred
- ¼ cup honey
- 2-4 cloves garlic - crushed or minced
- ½ teaspoon basil - optional
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes - optional
Optional thickening
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 2 tablespoons cold water
For serving
- rice
- toasted sesame seeds
- sliced green onions
Step-by-Step 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-quart 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 Notes
Pro Tips:
- Use low-sodium soy sauce for lower sodium.
- It will fit nicely in a 2 qt or bigger crock pot. See the recipe post to discuss increasing or decreasing amounts and crock pot size options.
- If you add vegetables to the crock pot, 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 4 days. Good frozen for 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 a table of contents to help 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.