Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken and potatoes is an easy one pot meal resulting in sweet and savory delicious tender chicken. This simple slow cooker recipe is ideal for weeknight meals and special occasions alike!
If you’re like me and you love when sweet and savory flavors play well together in recipes, you’ll absolutely adore this slow cooker honey garlic chicken recipe!
With a handful of basic ingredients, we transform simple inputs into the most delicious meal!
Set it up in the morning and have incredible, flavorful, fall-off-the-bone delightful chicken by the time dinner hits.
I love that this recipe is easy enough to prepare for weeknight meals but also fancy enough to serve for a special occasion.
Slow cooking chicken in a sweet, tangy, savory sauce results in a fabulous chicken dinner the whole family will love. And this crockpot honey garlic chicken tastes even better the next day!
For those of you who love crispy chicken skin, I have included an optional step for making crispy skin at the end of the cooking process.
I have also included a simple step for turning the sauce into a gravy. Trust me, you’ll want to douse everything in the delicious sauce!
Each ingredient serves an important role here, so let’s go over the simple ingredients list in detail. You can find each ingredient at any grocery store!
Ingredients for Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken:
Bone-In Skin-On Chicken Thighs: Pick up 3 to 4 pounds of bone-in chicken thighs, which is about 8 large thighs.
You can also use other cuts of chicken, including boneless skinless chicken thighs, drumsticks, bone in chicken breasts, boneless chicken breasts, etc.
The cooking times will be about an hour less for boneless pieces so take that into consideration when setting the cooking time on your crock pot.
For shredded chicken, use boneless chicken thighs or a combination of boneless thighs and boneless skinless chicken breasts.
Yellow Onion: Bringing that classic bold rustic flavor to the meal, fresh onion pairs beautifully with chicken and enhances the flavors here.
Baby Yukon Gold Potatoes: To make a complete meal, we add baby potatoes to the crock pot so that we don’t even need to prepare another side dish.
You can use any type of potatoes you like.
I use baby potatoes or fingerling because they can be tossed in whole, but you can chop up russet potatoes, red potatoes, or regular sized Yukon potatoes as well.
Sea Salt and Black Pepper: The chicken gets seasoned with sea salt and pepper so that it is nice and flavorful.
For the Honey Garlic Sauce:
Honey and Pure Maple Syrup: The sweet components of the sweet and savory sauce is honey. This results in the most delectable flavor to counterbalance the otherwise savory meal.
I like combining pure maple syrup and honey so that the honey flavor is prominent but not overbearing. You can also use brown sugar instead of some of the honey or maple syrup.
Lemon Juice: A little burst of citrus flavor is always welcome in a chicken dish.
Rice Vinegar: Rice vinegar provides a tangy acidic touch, similar to the lemon juice. I love the way rice vinegar pairs with sweet ingredients like honey or brown sugar, which is why I selected it for this recipe.
Liquid Aminos or Soy Sauce: Providing umami flavor, we use liquid aminos or soy sauce to bring that savory flavor full circle.
Sriracha: Of course we need a slight kick of heat to provide a little spice so that all of our flavor bases are covered!
Red chili sauce or sriracha are marvelous in the sauce and the result is not overly spicy. Nevertheless, if you prefer your food mild, skip the sriracha.
Fresh Garlic Cloves: Garlic and chicken play so nicely together, so we mince up some garlic and toss it into the sauce.
Tapioca Flour, All-Purpose Flour, or Cornstarch (optional): Used to thicken the sauce in an optional step. If you plan on using the crock pot juices for gravy, add your favorite thickening agent like a cornstarch slurry, tapioca flour, or gluten-free all-purpose flour.
I love using sauces in recipes like this to pour over the chicken and potatoes. The sauce is also phenomenal over rice.
These simple ingredients come together in full flavor harmony in this crockpot chicken recipe to really give your tastebuds something to celebrate.
Recipe Adaptations:
- You can toss in extra vegetables like carrots or even green beans or broccoli. For less hardy vegetables, add them when there is 2 hours left of cook time. Hearty vegetables like root vegetables should be added from the beginning.
- If you love hoisin sauce, add 3 to 4 tablespoons to the recipe and omit the pure maple syrup.
- Add in 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger if you love Asian flavors.
- For a little kick, add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes to the sauce.
Let’s make crock pot honey garlic chicken!
How to Make Crock Pot Garlic Honey Chicken:
Transfer the chopped yellow onion and whole baby gold potatoes to the bottom of your crock pot.
Remove the chicken from its packaging and transfer to a large cutting board or large plate. Pat off any excess moisture using paper towels.
Sprinkle both sides of the chicken thighs with sea salt and pepper.
Add the avocado oil to a large cast iron skillet and heat over high heat. Once the skillet is sizzling hot (350 degrees or hotter), add the chicken, skin-side down. Cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the skin is golden brown.
Carefully flip the chicken to the other side and cook for another 2-3 minutes (no need to cook the chicken through just yet).
You’ll likely need to do this in 2 to 3 batches depending on the size of your skillet and the amount of chicken you use. Transfer browned chicken thighs to a plate to make room for more chicken between batches.
Once all of the chicken has been seared, transfer the chicken to the slow cooker, skin-side up.
In a small bowl, stir together all of the ingredients for the sauce except for the tapioca flour (honey, lemon juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, pure maple syrup, sriracha, and garlic).
Note: you can also use a small blender like a Magic Bullet or NutriBullet to combine the sauce ingredients.
Pour the sauce into the crock pot with the rest of the ingredients and use tongs to move everything around until it appears as though the ingredients are fairly well-distributed.
Cook on High heat for 3 to 4 hours or Low heat for 6 to 8 hours. For boneless chicken thighs, cook on High heat for 2-3 hours or low heat for 5 to 6.
Chicken is considered fully cooked once it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Because the object of slow cooking is to cook for a long period of time, the chicken will be much higher than this once it has finished cooking.
Nevertheless, feel free to insert a digital thermometer (or a meat thermometer) into the thickest part of the thighs to check for doneness.
If you’d like to thicken the sauce, 1 hour before the chicken has finished cooking, combine 2 tablespoons of tapioca flour, gluten-free flour, or cornstarch with 3 to 4 tablespoons of water until dissolved and pour this mixture into the crock pot and give everything a stir.
Cook for 1 additional hour or until the sauce has thickened to your desired level. If you’d like, you can skim the chicken fat off of the surface using a spoon or do as I do and leave it in.
If you love crispy chicken skin, you can transfer the chicken thighs to a large baking sheet using tongs and broil them under the high broil setting in the oven for 5 to 8 minutes or until they reach your desired level of crisp.
Note that at this point, the chicken will likely fall from the bone so moving it can be a bit tricky as it will love to fall apart. As an alternative, you can use a hand torch to get a good crisp on the chicken skin if you have one.
Garnish the chicken with sesame seeds and chopped green onions if you’d like. You can also serve the chicken with steamed brown rice, white rice, or cauliflower rice for an extra side dish.
Serve chicken and potatoes with extra sauce spooned over it, and enjoy!
Store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
If you prefer cooking easy chicken recipes in the Instant Pot over crockpot recipes, feel free to prepare this slow cooker honey garlic chicken thighs recipe using your Instant Pot.
Ideal for busy weeknights, you’ll love putting this family favorite on repeat! This easy crock pot recipe requires minimal effort with only a few minutes of prep time. It is the kind of recipe you’ll want to keep on constant rotation for a hearty weeknight meal.
Looking for more side dishes to serve with this meal? I recommend my Garlic Herb Roasted Vegetables, Apple Broccoli Salad with Walnuts, and my Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash.
For those of you who love Asian-inspired foods with sweet and tangy sauces, you’re bound to love this simple hearty recipe.
If you have any picky eaters in the house, I’m willing to bet they will find the succulent chicken to be absolutely delicious. It is a great recipe for meal prep the next time you’re wondering what to make for weeknight dinners.
Double the recipe if you’re serving a crowd or if you love having lots of leftovers.
If you love slow cooker recipes, also check out these reader favorites.
More Healthy Crock Pot Recipes:
- Crock Pot Steak and Potato Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
- Crock Pot White Chicken Chili
- Slow Cooker Beef Short Ribs
- Crock Pot Thai Chicken Curry
- Slow Cooker Lentil Soup
- Crock Pot Chile Colorado
The ideal method for tender chicken thighs, this easy honey garlic chicken recipe has great flavor thanks to the amazing sticky sauce.
May all your thighs be sweet!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 lb mini yellow potatoes
- 3 ½ to 4 lbs bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, about 8 thighs
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1 tsp sea salt, to taste
- ½ tsp black pepper, to taste
Sauce Ingredients:
- ½ cup honey
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce or liquid aminos
- 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup, or more honey or brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp sriracha, optional
- 6 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 to 2 Tbsp tapioca flour, gluten-free all-purpose flour, or cornstarch, optional
Instructions
- Transfer the chopped yellow onion and whole baby gold potatoes to the bottom of your crock pot.
- Remove the chicken from its packaging and transfer to a large cutting board or large plate. Pat off any excess moisture using paper towels.
- Sprinkle both sides of the chicken thighs with sea salt and pepper.
- Add the avocado oil to a large cast iron skillet and heat over high heat. Once the skillet is sizzling hot (350 degrees or hotter), add the chicken, skin-side down. Cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the skin is golden brown. Carefully flip the chicken to the other side and cook for another 2-3 minutes (no need to cook the chicken through just yet). You’ll likely need to do this in 2 to 3 batches depending on the size of your skillet and the amount of chicken you use. Transfer browned chicken thighs to a plate to make room for more chicken between batches.
- Once all of the chicken has been seared, transfer the chicken to the slow cooker, skin-side up.
- In a small bowl, stir together all of the ingredients for the sauce except for the tapioca flour (honey, lemon juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, pure maple syrup, sriracha, and garlic). Note: you can also use a small blender like a Magic Bullet or NutriBullet to combine the sauce ingredients.
- Pour the sauce into the crock pot with the rest of the ingredients and use tongs to move everything around until it appears as though the ingredients are fairly well-distributed.
- Cook on High heat for 3 to 4 hours or Low heat for 6 to 8 hours.
- If you’d like to thicken the sauce, 1 hour before the chicken has finished cooking, combine 2 tablespoons of tapioca flour, gluten-free flour, or cornstarch with 3 to 4 tablespoons of water until dissolved and pour this mixture into the crock pot and give everything a stir. Cook for 1 additional hour or until the sauce has thickened to your desired level. If you’d like, you can skim the chicken fat off of the surface using a spoon or do as I do and leave it in.
- If you love crispy chicken skin, you can transfer the chicken thighs to a large baking sheet using tongs and broil them under the high broil setting in the oven for 5 to 8 minutes or until they reach your desired level of crisp. Note that at this point, the chicken will likely fall from the bone so moving it can be a bit tricky as it will love to fall apart.
- Serve chicken and potatoes with sauce spooned over it, and enjoy! I love making steamed white rice or brown rice to soak up some of the delicious sauce.
Video
Notes
- If you’d like to sauté the onion before adding it to the crock pot, feel free to do so but this step isn’t mandatory.
- To save time or cleanup, you can skip the step where you sear the chicken in a skillet and add it into the slow cooker raw.
- If your honey seems crystallized or isn’t very runny, microwave it for 10-second intervals until it is runny.
Nutrition
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Michele
Sunday 3rd of December 2023
Can I use boneless skinless thighs, and if so would the cooking time be the same? Thank you
Julia
Monday 4th of December 2023
Hi Michele! You can use boneless thighs! I would do the same amount of time to be sure the potatoes are cooked through. :) Hope you enjoy!