This Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken is sweet and tangy. You literally drop the ingredients into your crockpot and hit go. No sautéing, no pre-cooking, nothing. Plus, it calls for a handful of kitchen staples–no weird ingredients that you’re never going to use again! I cooked these from frozen and it was done in about 4 hours. Steam a pot of rice (I love using my Instant Pot–here are instructions for white and brown rice!)
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
For the Chicken
- Frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts – You can use any boneless, skinless chicken you want here, really, but I like frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts because of how easy they make this recipe. Because they’re individually frozen, there’s no prying apart frozen chicken breasts, and I always have them in my freezer for meals like this. You could also use fresh chicken breasts or fresh or frozen chicken thighs. See the notes in the recipe card at the end of this post for specific cooking times.
- Soy sauce – Regular or low sodium will work.
- Honey
- Ketchup
- Asian hot sauce – We use Sriracha, but you can also use, sambal oelek, Go Chu Jang, or other favorite Asian hot sauce; start with 1 teaspoon and add more to taste if desired. This does not make the dish spicy, just adds a nice kick of flavor. Feel free to leave it out if you’re extra sensitive to spice.
- Fresh garlic – Or garlic powder in a pinch, but fresh ingredients provide the best flavor here!
- Green onions – You’ll use the firm, white ends in the crock pot. Save the green tops for serving.
- Freshly grated ginger – Same as the garlic. Fresh is best but dried ginger will work if that’s what you have.
- Rice wine vinegar – Regular or seasoned will both work. Seasoned rice wine vinegar just has a little salt and sugar added to it, but the amounts are so small they won’t affect the overall recipe one way or another! Find rice wine vinegar near the other vinegars on the condiment aisle or near other Asian ingredients and sauces.
- Dark sesame oil – Also labeled “Toasted Sesame Oil.” This is usually sold in small bottles near other Asian ingredients. It’s used more like a seasoning than an oil. If you find sesame oil by the cooking oils it’s likely going to be light sesame oil for sautéing things. It will have a light color and light taste. We want the good, dark, toasted kind!
For Serving
- Corn starch – This will thicken up the sauce right before serving.
- Reserved green onions
- Hot rice
- Sesame seeds – Regular or toasted.
How to Make Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
- Are you ready for how easy this one is? Place those frozen chicken breasts in the slow cooker.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine soy sauce, honey, ketchup, hot sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil. Whisk until combined and then add the white ends of some green onions, fresh garlic, and fresh ginger. Stir that up and pour it over the chicken breasts.
- Cook on low 4-6 hours or until chicken shreds easily with a fork. Transfer the cooked chicken breasts from the slow cooker to a serving platter or bowl and shred.
- Transfer the cooking liquid to a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. To that you’ll add a slurry of cornstarch and water to thicken up the sauce.
- Pour that thickened sauce over the chicken and serve over hot rice, sprinkled with sliced green onions and sesame seeds for garnish.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store leftover, cooled chicken in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within 4-5 days for best results.
- You can also freeze leftovers in individual portions for an easy meal when needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Definitely! Saucy chicken recipes like this work really well for planning ahead. Make the recipe completely, allow to cool, and store in an airtight container in the fridge or freeze in individual portions to enjoy as needed.
Yep! Prep everything as directed but pop it all straight into a freezer bag. Remove as much air as possible from the bag, seal, label and pop it in the freezer, laid flat, for up to 2-3 months. When ready to cook, transfer the entire contents of the frozen bag directly to the slow cooker (run the bag under the faucet briefly to make it easier to remove if necessary) and cook as directed. You can also thaw the bag overnight in the refrigerator before transferring to the slow cooker. Follow cooking times in the notes of the recipe card for thawed chicken breasts.
Yes, a little. Chicken thighs will take a little longer than breasts. See the cooking times for thighs vs breasts and frozen vs thawed in the recipe card below.
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 2-2 ½ pounds frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts we used Tyson Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
- ½ cup soy sauce low sodium, preferably
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 1 + teaspoon Asian hot sauce we used Sriracha, but you can also use, sambal oelek, Go Chu Jang, or other favorite Asian hot sauce; start with 1 teaspoon and add more to taste if desired
- 6 cloves garlic smashed or minced
- 1 small bunch green onions chopped (use the white bottoms while cooking and reserve the green tops for serving)
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
for serving
- 1 ½ tablespoons corn starch
- 3 tablespoons cold water
- Reserved chopped green onion tops
- Hot rice
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in slow cooker.
- Whisk together soy sauce, honey, ketchup, hot sauce, garlic, white ends of green onions, grated ginger, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil. Pour over chicken breasts. Cook on low 4-6 hours or until chicken shreds easily with a fork.
- Transfer cooked chicken breasts from the slow cooker to a serving platter or bowl and shred.
- Pour the liquid into a medium saucepan and heat over medium until it simmers. While it's heating, whisk together the cornstarch and water. When it boils, add the cornstarch mixture and stir until the sauce is thickened and clear. Pour over shredded chicken.
- Serve over hot rice. Top with chopped green onion tops and sesame seeds.
Notes
Alternate Cooking Instructions
Chicken Breasts – Frozen
- Slow Cooker: Low 4-6 hours or high 2-3 hours
- Electric Pressure Cooker: 14 minutes high pressure, natural release for 10 minutes
Chicken Breasts – Thawed
- Slow Cooker: Low 3-4 hours or high 2-3 hours
- Electric Pressure Cooker: 7 minutes high pressure, natural release for 10 minutes, use sauté function to finish sauce
Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs – Frozen
- Slow Cooker: low 5-6 hours or high 3-4 hours
- Electric Pressure Cooker: 10 minutes high pressure, natural release for 10 minutes, use sauté function to finish sauce
Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs – Thawed
- Slow Cooker: low 4-5 hours or high 2.5 – 3.5 hours
- Electric Pressure Cooker: 10 minutes high pressure, natural release for 10 minutes, use sauté function to finish sauce
Nutrition
Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Kroger and Tyson, but all opinions, ideas, and recipes are our own.
Questions & Reviews
I have this in the slow cooker right now – left out the honey because my youngest is 9 months old…was going to add the honey after I take some chicken out for her later. But I just had the thought of using maple syrup instead of honey? Think it would change the flavour too much? Thanks!
I think that would probably be good- but I’ve never tried it so you’d have to experiment!
Could you just leave out the hot sauce or would it ruin the taste?
You can leave it out, but the amount I called for is VERY mild—in fact, for my family, I’ll probably add a little more.
I made this in the Instant Pot for lunch and we all loved it! So fast and easy!