Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken requires minimal preparation and is great for lunch or dinner. Delicious chicken drumsticks cooked with a tasty sauce have so much flavor!

Why get take out when you can make it at home in no time? Try chicken asparagus stir-fry, Chicken Egg rolls with Sweet and Hot Sauce or Orange Chicken Salad and enjoy them at home. I love making this sticky honey garlic chicken at home, it's easy and very tasty! 

About this slow cooker chicken with honey garlic sauce

This is an easy chicken recipe that you can make any day of the week. It calls for a few ingredients that you probably already have at hand and takes just a few minutes to prepare. All the work is done by the slow cooker and in a few hours you'll have delicious honey garlic chicken with a sweet and tangy sticky sauce that you'll want to slurp. 

What I love the most about this honey garlic chicken recipe is that it's very simple and it comes together very easily. It tastes great and goes well with many side dishes. 

Honey garlic chicken ingredients

The list of ingredients for this homemade garlic honey chicken is ridiculously short:

• Chicken legs
• Honey 
• Garlic 
• Soy sauce
• Ginger
• Sriracha 
• Sesame oil 
• Cornstarch and water for slurry 

The amount of ginger and sriracha used in this recipe completely depends on how spicy you would like the dish to be. All of these ingredients together will make an absolutely flavorful slow cooker chicken legs in no time and you'll be making this slow cooker honey garlic chicken recipe over and over again! 

Using chicken drumsticks, thighs or breast

You can make this easy honey garlic chicken with any of these pieces, however, there is a difference in the method and cooking time:

• If using chicken drumsticks like I did for this recipe, make sure they are skinless. Follow the recipe as instructed and cook the chicken on low for about 3-4 hours. 
• To make slow cooker chicken breast with honey garlic sauce, use boneless skinless chicken breasts and cook in the slow cooker on low for about 4-6 hours. 
• If cooking with bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, I advise you to remove the skin as the fat will render and the honey garlic sauce will be very greasy. The cooking time will be about 4-6 hours on low. 
• You can also make boneless skinless chicken thighs in the slow cooker. Follow the recipe and cook on low for about 5 hours or on high for 3 hours. 

I personally prefer using drumsticks or boneless skinless thighs because dark meat is easy to work with and usually doesn't get dry. 

How to make honey garlic chicken in the slow cooker

First, place the chicken drumsticks in the slow cooker. Then mix honey, garlic, soy sauce, ginger , sriracha and sesame oil in a bowl and pour it all over the chicken drumsticks. Place the lid on a cook the drumsticks in the slow cooker for about 3-4 hours on low. 

Take the drumsticks out and pour the slurry into the slow cooker. Cook for another 30 minutes on high and then serve. 

Cornstarch and water slurry 

The slurry helps thickening the sauce. This is what makes the honey garlic sauce sticky an thick which adds so much flavor to the chicken and the dish. To make slurry, all you need to do is to mix cornstarch and water in a small bowl and pour it into the slow cooker, mix well and cook for some more minutes so it thickens. 

Can I use frozen chicken legs for this recipe?

To cook chicken in the slow cooker, you can use frozen chicken but make sure it's fully thawed before you start cooking. Do not put frozen meat in the slow cooker as it would spend too much time at room temperature and probably won't be safe to eat. 

What to serve with slow cooker chicken 

You can turn this dish into a full meal by making a slow cooker honey garlic chicken and vegetables: Saute broccoli, carrots, onions and snow peas with a tablespoon of olive oil and a splash of soy sauce. Add these veggies and honey garlic chicken over some instant pot brown rice or white rice. Serve with some garlic soy edamame or Asian green beans for a delicious feast. 

Instant pot honey garlic chicken

Now that we have covered every bit of cooking drumsticks in slow cooker, it's time to talk about making this honey garlic chicken in instant pot. 

Place the saute button and once it's hot, add soy sauce, honey, chili flakes, ginger, sriracha and sesame oil to the instant pot and cook for a few minutes. Add in the drumsticks and lock the lid. Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes until fully cooked. If the sauce is not thick enough, make the slurry and add it to the chicken and honey garlic sauce. Press the saute button and cook for 5-7 minutes until the sauce thickens. 

Tips and notes about making this slow cooker honey garlic chicken:

• To thicken the sauce quicker, transfer it from the slow cooker to a sauce pan and add the slurry. Cook on medium heat and let it simmer for a few minutes until it thickens. 
• I prefer to always use skinless chicken when making slow cooker chicken because the skin always renders which means the sauce will become very greasy and also the skin will be soggy. 
• If you like to make your honey garlic sauce spicier, add more sriracha. 
• Try to always use fresh garlic and ginger in slow cooker chicken recipes. The freshness of these ingredients add so much more flavor compared to the pastes. 

More delicious chicken recipes for you:

• 4-ingredient Baked Honey Mustard Chicken
• Honey Sriracha Meatballs
• Easy lemon butter chicken

Step-by-Step Recipe

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

Shadi HasanzadeNemati

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken requires minimal preparation and is great for lunch or dinner. Delicious chicken drumsticks cooked with a tasty sauce have so much flavor!

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 4 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs 5 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Asian

Servings 4 servings

Calories 500 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ ½ cup soy sauce
• ▢ 2 tablespoon honey
• ▢ ½ teaspoon chili flakes
• ▢ 6 garlic cloves minced
• ▢ 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sriracha
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• ▢ 8 pieces chicken drumsticks
• ▢ 2 tablespoon cornstarch
• ▢ 4 tablespoon water

Instructions

 

• In a bowl, whisk soy sauce, honey, chili flakes, garlic cloves, ginger, sriracha and sesame oil together until combined.
• Put the drumsticks in the slow cooker, pour the sauce on the drumsticks, cover and cook for 3-4 hours on high. Flip half way through.
• Once cooked, take the drumsticks out.
• Mix cornstarch and water in a bowl and pour it in the sauce. Stir and cover. Cook for 30 minutes on high.
• Serve honey garlic chicken with white rice.

Video

Notes

Instant pot honey garlic chicken:

Place the saute button and once hot, add soy sauce, honey, chili flakes, ginger, sriracha and sesame oil to the instant pot and cook for a few minutes. Add the drumsticks and lock the lid.

Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes until fully cooked. Do a quick release. If the sauce is not thick enough, make the slurry with cornstarch and water and add it to the chicken and honey garlic sauce. Press the saute button and cook for 5-7 minutes until the sauce thickens. 

Nutrition

Calories: 500kcal

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