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Chicken thighs coated in a glossy brown sauce, garnished with chopped green onions, in a white slow cooker.
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5 from 2 votes

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

🍗🍯🧄  Minimal ingredients yet layered with depth of flavor! Smoky, savory, and a little bit sweet, this tender chicken melts in your mouth! It's so EASY and truly a set-it-and-forget-it recipe to keep on hand when life is too busy to cook!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time3 hours
Course: Chicken, Dinner, Slow Cooker
Cuisine: Chicken, Slow Cooker
Diet: Gluten Free
Keyword: honey garlic chicken slow cooker, slow cooker honey garlic chicken, slow cooker honey garlic chicken thighs
Servings: 6
Calories: 348cal

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups barbecue sauce (your favorite such as Sweet Baby Ray's, Trader Joe's, mild, spicy, garlicky, etc.)
  • ¼ cup honey
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic or to taste (about 4-5 cloves, finely minced)
  • 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 8-10 thighs; boneless skinless chicken breasts may be substituted - if they're very thick, pound them thinner)
  • Green onions sliced into thin rounds; optional for garnishing
  • Sesame seeds optional for garnishing

Instructions

  • I recommend spring, the insert of your 6-quart or 7-quart slow cooker with cooking spray, although it's optional.
  • Add the barbecue sauce, honey, garlic, and stir to combine.
    BBQ Sauce Tip - I've used barbecue sauce with honey in it, but the finished chicken has almost no honey flavor, which I feel distracts from it.
    A white slow cooker with honey, barbecue sauce, and minced garlic inside, photographed from above.
  • Remove approximately 1/2 cup of the sauce, cover, and place in the refrigerator for use later.
    A hand holds a small white bowl of dark barbecue sauce over a slow cooker containing more of the same sauce.
  • Add the chicken, toss it around in the sauce to coat it evenly, and on all sides, and then arrange the chicken so it's in as even of a flat layer as possible.
    Raw chicken thighs in a white slow cooker with a dark marinade or sauce at the bottom.
  • Placed the lid on top and slow cook on HIGH for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or on LOW for about 5 to 6 hours, or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165F.
    Slow Cooking Tips - Since all slow cookers have different heat output, and variables such as how crowded your slow cooker is, the exact amount of chicken you're using, etc. the cooking times will vary so I recommend checking early.
    Raw chicken thighs covered in a brown marinade sit in a white slow cooker on a light surface.
  • Optionally, after the chicken has fully cooked through if you want to shred it, you can now. Place it on a cutting board and shred it with two forks. Then place the shredded meat back into the slow cooker.
    Cooked chicken thighs in sauce arranged inside a white slow cooker on a white surface.
  • Add the reserved 1/2 cup sauce mixture, and toss the chicken in it, to ensure it's nice and saucy.
    Cooked chicken pieces topped with barbecue sauce inside a white slow cooker, photographed from above.
  • Optionally, garnish with green onions, sesame seeds, salt and pepper if desired, red pepper flakes if desired for heat, etc.
    Chicken pieces coated in a thick, glossy sauce topped with chopped green onions and sesame seeds, served in a white oval dish.
  • Serve over rice, mashed potatoes, with veggies, in enchiladas, tortillas, or sliders.
    A plate of white rice topped with glazed chicken thighs, garnished with chopped green onions and sesame seeds, with a fork on the side.

Notes

Storage: Chicken will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat gently in the microwave for about 30 seconds, or as desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 348cal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 144mg | Sodium: 872mg | Potassium: 549mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 35g | Vitamin A: 197IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 2mg
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