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Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

Slow cooker honey garlic chicken with impossibly tender, fall-apart chicken thighs and a thick, glossy honey-garlic sauce. Set-and-forget dinner method: simmer low in the Crockpot, then thicken the sauce with a cornstarch slurry for clingy coating.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours 20 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 620
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 5 boneless skinless chicken thighs Use 4–6 thighs
honey
  • 0.5 cup honey
soy sauce
  • 0.333 cup soy sauce
garlic
  • 6 garlic minced
ketchup
  • 2 tbsp ketchup
apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
ginger
  • 1 tsp ginger grated
red pepper flakes
  • 0.5 tsp red pepper flakes
cornstarch
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
water
  • 2 tbsp water for slurry
steamed rice
  • 1 steamed rice for serving
sesame seeds
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds for serving
green onions
  • 2 tbsp green onions thinly sliced, for serving

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet
  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Make the honey-garlic sauce
  1. Whisk honey, soy sauce, garlic, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, ginger, and red pepper flakes until the mixture looks evenly combined and glossy.
Slow cook the chicken
  1. Place chicken thighs in the slow cooker and pour the honey-garlic sauce over them so the chicken is submerged as much as possible.
  2. Cook on Low for 4–5 hours, or High for about 2.5 hours, until the chicken is very tender and can be pulled apart easily.
  3. Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred it with two forks until the pieces look uniformly fall-apart.
Thicken the sauce and serve
  1. Whisk cornstarch with water to make a slurry, then whisk it into the sauce to remove any lumps.
  2. Turn the slow cooker to High and cook for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the sauce thickens to a thick honey-garlic coating.
  3. Return the shredded chicken to the sauce and stir until every piece is coated and steaming hot.
  4. Serve over steamed rice and top with sesame seeds and green onions for a fresh finish.

Notes

For best texture, shred the chicken while it’s hot so it falls apart in longer strands, then stir it back in right after thickening. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 4 days; reheat gently in a covered container until steaming. Freezing is okay for up to 2 months, though the sauce may thicken more after thawing—stir in a splash of water or soy sauce to loosen. For a lower-sugar option, use a sugar-free honey-style syrup (or blend honey with a sugar substitute) while keeping the rest the same.