Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken
Honey garlic sauce settles around tender chicken thighs, giving every bite a sweet, savory coating. A little oregano adds warmth to the sauce, and toasted sesame seeds bring a nutty finish where they meet the glossy chicken.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 300 min
- Total
- 305 min
- Original yield
- Serves 6
- Ingredients
- 8 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Dinner
- Primary protein
- Chicken
- Cuisine
- Asian
- Cooking method
- Slow cooker
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: over 60 minutes
A few quick notes
1. Lay the chicken in one layer
Set enough chicken thighs across the bottom of the slow cooker to cover it, then add the sauce. The chicken sits in the sauce as it cooks.
2. Watch your own slow cooker
The cooking window is a guide, and slow cookers can vary quite a bit. Start checking toward the early end, especially if yours tends to run hot. The chicken is done at 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. You can thicken the sauce
If you'd like a thicker sauce, stir in the cornstarch slurry 30 minutes before the chicken is done, then cover and keep cooking for the final 30 minutes.
Get to know the ingredients
Chicken thigh options
Boneless, skinless thighs are listed here, but you can use bone-in or boneless chicken, with or without skin. Chicken breasts work too. Whichever cut you choose, use enough to cover the slow cooker bottom.
Low sodium ketchup
The ketchup is part of the sauce, not a topping. Its tangy sweetness gets whisked with the honey, soy sauce, garlic, oregano, and parsley before everything goes over the chicken.
Low sodium soy sauce
Soy sauce brings the salty, savory side of the sauce, so the low sodium version matters here. It balances the honey and ketchup without making the sauce feel too sharp or heavy.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 6. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 5 steps completeMake room for Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
The last little job
Once the chicken is on the serving plate, spoon the sauce over the top and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. That final bit of sauce is where most of the honey-garlic flavor lands.
A little more help as you go
Mix the sauce before pouring
Whisk the sauce ingredients together in a bowl first, rather than adding them separately to the slow cooker. It helps the honey loosen into the soy sauce and ketchup so the chicken gets an even coating.
Parsley goes into the sauce
The parsley is whisked right into the honey garlic mixture before cooking. Save the toasted sesame seeds for the end, since they are added after the chicken is plated.
A few questions you might have
Can I use chicken breasts instead of thighs?
Yes, you can use chicken breasts. The chicken should reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit before serving.
Do the thighs need to be boneless and skinless?
No. Bone-in or boneless chicken, with or without skin, are all options alongside the listed boneless, skinless thighs. Use enough pieces to cover the slow cooker bottom.
Should I cook it on LOW or HIGH?
Either works within the recipe timing: 4 to 5 hours on LOW or 3 to 4 hours on HIGH. Since slow cookers vary, check doneness rather than relying only on the clock.
How do I thicken the sauce?
Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon cold water. Whisk the slurry into the sauce inside the slow cooker 30 minutes before the chicken is done, then cover and continue cooking.
When do the sesame seeds go on?
Add the toasted sesame seeds at the very end, after the chicken has been moved to a serving plate and the sauce has been spooned over it.
Any more cooking tips?
Use enough chicken thighs (bone-in or boneless, skin-on or without) to cover the bottom of your slow cooker. You can also use chicken breasts. **All crock pots cook at different times and temperatures. Some readers suggest to only cook the chicken for 3 hours, while others said it took 4 hours in their crock pot. More importantly, 165 degrees Fahrenheit is the safe internal temperature for both the white meat of the chicken and dark meat. If you would like to thicken the sauce, 30 minutes before the chicken is done, whisk a cornstarch slurry into the sauce; cover and continue to cook. How to make a Cornstarch Slurry Use 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water; mix it together until mixture forms a paste. 30 minutes before the chicken is done cooking, whisk the cornstarch slurry into the sauce inside the slow cooker; cover and continue to cook for 30 minutes.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: diethood.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
