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Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken + VIDEO

This slow cooker honey garlic chicken is the perfect blend of sweet & savory, with tender chicken simmered in a homemade honey garlic sauce. The best part? It’s very easy to make! Toss the ingredients into your crockpot, sit back and let it work its magic. Warning, this is one of those crockpot recipes that will have your kitchen smelling amazing as it cooks. Instructions to make this easy chicken recipe in the Instant Pot are also included.

close up shot of cooked honey garlic chicken in a black slow cooker garnished with fresh parsley

 

Ingredients For Honey Garlic Chicken

  • Chicken 
  • Honey
  • Garlic
  • Soy Sauce (or Coconut Aminos for gluten free)
  • Ketchup
  • Seasonings: salt, pepper, dried parsley
  • Sriracha (optional)

collage of ingredients for slow cooker honey garlic chicken (

What Cut Of Chicken To Use

As with a lot of my recipes, you can use your favorite cut of chicken with this recipe whether it be chicken thighs, breasts, or even legs. What you see in the pictures is boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Below are a few notes about the using different types of chicken:

  • If you use chicken breasts, be aware that white meat is easy to overcook & dry out. When it’s done cooking, I suggest you turn off the appliance or remove the food immediately. Don’t let the chicken sit in the appliance on the warm setting because it will continue to cook.
  • If you use skinless chicken with the Instant Pot, you do not have to saute the meat first. Add the meat directly to the pressure cooker raw.
  • If you use skin-on chicken, whether using the slow cooker or Instant Pot, you have the option to broil the chicken afterwards to crisp the skin. When the chicken done cooking, remove it from the appliance, place it on a baking sheet & then under the broiler for a few minutes until the skin is crisp.
overhead shot of uncooked honey garlic chicken in a black slow cooker

before

How To Make Honey Garlic Chicken In The Slow Cooker

Making honey garlic chicken is very easy, especially when you use the slow cooker or Instant Pot. 

Slow Cooker

  1. Add chicken to the slow cooker.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together sauce ingredients until well combined. Pour sauce on top of chicken.
  3. Cook HIGH 2-3 hours or LOW 4-6.

Instant Pot

  1. SKIN-ON CHICKEN ONLY: Turn on the Instant Pot and select sauté. Once hot, add oil to the pot. Add the chicken, skin side down and cook a 3-5 few minutes on each side (or until nicely browned). Turn off the Instant Pot. Remove the chicken & set aside. Add 1/4 cup water into the pressure cooker and deglaze the bottom by scraping all the bits off with a wooden spoon. Add the chicken back to the Instant Pot. SKINLESS CHICKEN: Season the chicken with salt & pepper and add to the Instant Pot. Do not sauté.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together sauce ingredients. Pour sauce on top of the chicken.
  3. Close lid and seal valve. Set high pressure for 12 minutes. Quick release pressure.
overhead shot of cooked honey garlic chicken in a black slow cooker

after

Homemade Honey Garlic Sauce

All about the sauce. The sauce is what makes this recipe. It’s flavorful but easy to make and you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry already. Honey combined with soy sauce is the base. Like a lot of my sauces, you can make this recipe work for you. I suggest tasting the sauce before adding it to the slow cooker. If you want it more garlicky, add more garlic. Like things sweet? Add more honey.

close up shot of cooked honey garlic chicken in a white bowl on top of brown rice

served with brown rice

Adding Vegetables & Potatoes

Make this more of a complete meal by adding in vegetables and/or potatoes. When I do this, I keep things simple and use bell peppers (one green, one red) and onions. You can add up to one pound of vegetables to this recipe like carrots, celery, asparagus, squash, green beans etc. For the potatoes, I tend to use one pound of baby red or yellow potatoes. Waxy potatoes work better for the slow cooker but you can absolutely use another potato like russet or even sweet potatoes. Cut your vegetables and potatoes into larger chunks than you usually would. This will help them hold their shape better during the cooking progress.

close up shot of cooked honey garlic chicken in a black slow cooker garnished with fresh parsley

 

Slow Cooker Honey Recipes

 

FAQs & Tips

  • If you use white meat (chicken breasts), lower the cooking time by an hour in the slow cooker & 3 minutes in the Instant Pot. Do not let the white meat sit in the slow cooker on the warm setting. 
  • Store leftover honey garlic chicken in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. 
  • If you use skin-on chicken and would like it to have crispy skin, after the chicken is done cooking, remove the it from the slow cooker or Instant Pot and place it in the oven under the broiler for 3-5 minutes.
  • I used a 6-quart slow cooker or Instant Pot.

Chicken Recipes

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close up shot of cooked honey garlic chicken in a black slow cooker garnished with fresh parsley

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

This slow cooker honey garlic chicken is the perfect blend of sweet & savory, with tender chicken simmered in a homemade honey garlic sauce. The best part? It’s very easy to make! Toss the ingredients into your crockpot, sit back and let it work its magic. Warning, this is a crockpot recipes that will have your kitchen smelling amazing as it cooks. Instructions to make this easy chicken recipe in the Instant Pot are also included.

  • Total Time: 3 hours 10 mins
  • Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 pounds chicken, any cut
  • 1 tbsp oil (For Instant Pot if using skin-on chicken)
  • 1/4 cup water (Instant Pot only)

SAUCE

  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos (gluten-free)
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons sriracha (optional)

Instructions

Slow Cooker

  1. Add all the sauce ingredients to the slow cooker and whisk until well combined.
  2. Add the chicken and toss until evenly coated.
  3. Cook HIGH 2-3 hours or LOW 4-6.

Instant Pot

  1. SKIN-ON CHICKEN ONLY: Turn on the Instant Pot and select sauté. Once hot, add oil to the pot. Add the chicken, skin side down and cook a 3-5 few minutes on each side (or until nicely browned). Turn off the Instant Pot. Remove the chicken & set aside. Add 1/4 cup water into the pressure cooker and deglaze the bottom by scraping all the bits off with a wooden spoon. Add the chicken back to the Instant Pot. SKINLESS CHICKEN: Add to the Instant Pot. Do not sauté.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together sauce ingredients. Pour sauce on top of the chicken.
  3. Close lid and seal valve. Set high pressure for 12 minutes. Quick release pressure.
  • Author: Shannon Epstein
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 4 hours

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 438
  • Sugar: 37.8 g
  • Fat: 9.7 g
  • Saturated Fat: 2.4 g
  • Carbohydrates: 42.9 g
  • Fiber: 0.4 g
  • Protein: 43.9 g
  • Cholesterol: 206.3 mg

 

 

 

 

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[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”6t3iU33x” upload-date=”2019-11-16T04:45:18.000Z” name=”Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken” description=”null”]

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

Emily

Monday 12th of September 2022

Is the calories including the rice too or just the chicken ? I didn’t know how much the calories would be just for the chicken and about how many oz to use

Mary

Wednesday 3rd of February 2021

This was AMAZING! This sauce is going to become a staple in our home.. I used drumsticks since I didn’t have thighs, and threw them in the broiler to get more of a crispy skin after done cooking. Set the instant pot to “sauté” and threw in a bunch of green beans to cook down in the sauce for 5-6 minutes. Definitely on rotation now!

Erina

Sunday 28th of March 2021

Such a great suggestion I’m going to do the same!

Shannon

Thursday 11th of June 2020

I made this for dinner tonight and it was amazing!! Love easy dinners. My husband loved it, too, and we’ll definitely be making this again!

Sharon Frazier

Monday 8th of June 2020

Delicious and easy to make dinner! Very savory!

Stewart

Tuesday 14th of May 2019

If I'm using boneless, skinless thighs should I saute?

Fit SlowCooker Queen

Tuesday 14th of May 2019

I did not when I made this with boneless skinless thighs. I tend to only saute with the IP when using skin-on chicken but that's just me (I'm a lazy cook). Sauteing beforehand surely won't hurt.