Sticky Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs (2024)

By: Denise Bustard44 Comments
Posted: 8/20/20Updated: 8/24/20

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Sticky slow cooker honey garlic chicken thighs are simple to throw together and have a deliciously sticky sweet and savory sauce that is perfect for spooning over rice and vegetables. Great as a weeknight dinner or meal prep recipe.

The slow cooker can be such a dinner lifesaver! When it comes to chicken, we have crock pot teriyaki chicken and crock pot BBQ chicken on repeat- they are simple 'dump' recipes that are flavorful and kid-friendly.

This sticky slow cooker honey garlic chicken is another meal that is on repeat. It is loved by all, and we can also make it in the oven or in the Instant Pot.

Serve this recipe up with Instant Pot broccoli and turmeric yellow rice for a delicious, healthy meal.

Reasons you’ll ♡ slow cooker honey garlic chicken

no sautéing means you can get the ingredients into the slow cooker quickly
it has a delicious, sticky sauce that you can spoon over everything
you can meal prep it in 2 different ways (details below)

Recipe video

Watch the video below to see how simple it is to throw this recipe together. It’s so easy! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel.

Don't forget to pin this recipe to save it for later!

Ingredients you'll need

chicken thighs- I recommend boneless skinless chicken thighs as they won't release much fat into the sauce as they cook. You may swap for boneless skinless chicken breasts and reduce the cook time to 3-4 hours on low.
honey- adds the sweetness to this sauce; in a pinch you could swap for maple syrup
soy sauce- I prefer reduced sodium soy sauce as it is not so salty; for gluten-free use tamari or coconut aminos
garlic- adds flavor and dimension to the sauce
apple cider vinegar- brings out a subtle tanginess; swap for rice vinegar if you don't have apple cider vinegar
worcestershire sauce- adds umami and enhances all the flavors in the sauce- do not skip!
sesame oil- adds a subtle layer of flavor
cornstarch- to thicken the sauce at the end of cook time

Cooking this recipe

The beauty of this slow cooker honey garlic chicken thighs recipe is that there is no saute step. This means you can get the recipe into the slow cooker and ready to cook in under 10 minutes!

To cook the recipe, assemble the honey, soy sauce, garlic, apple cider vinegar, worcestershire sauce and sesame oil in the base of the slow cooker. Stir to combine, then add the chicken thighs. Turn to coat, then cook the recipe on low for 3-4 hours.

Thickening the sauce

During the last hour of cook time, we will thicken the sauce by making a cornstarch slurry. Combine the cornstarch with a few tablespoons of cold water, mix to combine, and stir into the slow cooker.

Place the lid back onto the slow cooker quickly- you do not want to leave the lid off for extended amounts of time as this will mean it takes longer for the slow cooker to come back up to temperature.

Set the slow cooker to 'high' and cook for 30 min- 1 hour more. Sauce should bubble and thicken.

Adding vegetables to the sauce

You have the option of adding vegetables to the slow cooker when you add the cornstarch slurry. Make sure you fully mix the cornstarch into the sauce, then scatter vegetables over top. Do not stir in.

Our favorite vegetables to add in are broccoli and cauliflower florets, as well as green beans. Note that if you add in frozen vegetables, your sauce may take longer to thicken.

Halving the recipe

You may cut this recipe in half, however I highly recommend using a smaller slow cooker if you do so. Otherwise you run the risk of the sauce over-reducing and burning. Also, your chicken will not be as immersed in the sauce and may end up dryer.

If you are looking for a smaller crockpot, we love this 2.5 quart slow cooker and use it all the time!

Meal prep

This is a great recipe for meal prep, and you have two options to prep it ahead:

1. Cook ahead and reheat

You can cook this recipe all the way through, portion out with rice and vegetables in meal prep containers, and store in the fridge (4 days) or freezer (3 months).

Reheat in the microwave until steaming hot, and enjoy!

Find my favorite meal prep containers here!

2. Freezer crockpot meals

This kind of meal is assembled ahead but not cooked. Then when you go to cook, simply dump the ingredients into the slow cooker and cook as directed (no measuring required!)

Assemble the boneless skinless chicken thighs and all other ingredients in a gallon-sized freezer bag, meal prep container or reusable silicone bag.
Squeeze out as much air as possible.
Freeze flat for up to 3 months.

Find my favorite freezer containers here!

More slow cooker chicken recipes

Cilantro Lime Chicken Crockpot Tacos
7 No Sautee Chicken Breast Recipes
Crockpot Whole Chicken
Slow Cooker Honey Lime Shredded Chicken
Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup

Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!

Sticky Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs

4.83 from 29 votes

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 4 hours hrs

Total Time: 4 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Print Rate

Ingredients

▢ 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs roughly 10
▢ ⅓ cup honey
▢ ⅓ cup soy sauce reduced sodium
▢ 6 cloves garlic minced
▢ 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
▢ 1 ½ tablespoons worcestershire sauce
▢ 2 teaspoons sesame oil

after cooking:

▢ 2 tablespoons cornstarch
▢ 3-4 tablespoons water
▢ green onion to garnish

Instructions

Place all ingredients not marked 'after cooking' into the base of a slow cooker.
Cook on low for 3-4 hours
Mix together the water & cornstarch, then stir into the slow cooker. Turn the heat to high and cook for 30-60 more minutes, or until thickened. see note 1
Serve over rice, spooning the sauce over everything. Garnish with green onions.

To assemble ahead and freeze:

Place all ingredients not marked 'after cooking' into a gallon sized freezer bag.
Squeeze out as much air as possible, and freeze flat for up to 3 months.
To cook, thaw completely before cooking according to directions above.

Tips:

1- when adding the cornstarch, place the lid back onto the slow cooker as soon as possible and don't leave it off for extended amounts of time.

2- you may half this recipe, but must use a small 2.5 quart slow cooker to cook it

3- if you'd like to add vegetables to the slow cooker, add them when you add the cornstarch slurry. Broccoli, cauliflower and green beans work great. Frozen vegetables may affect the time it takes for your sauce to thicken.

Storage

After cooking, you may store the chicken in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Video

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1/6 of batch, Calories: 201kcal, Carbohydrates: 14g, Protein: 23g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 107mg, Sodium: 657mg, Potassium: 329mg, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 25IU, Vitamin C: 1.2mg, Calcium: 18mg, Iron: 1.3mg

Author: Denise Bustard

Course: Dinner

Meet Denise Bustard

Denise Bustard is the creator of Sweet Peas and Saffron, a meal prep-focussed food blog. With a PhD in biochemistry, Denise takes a scientific approach to perfecting her recipes. You can find Denise's work featured on Huffington Post, MSN, Self and more.

Reader Interactions

Melissa says
Posted on 2/2/21 at Posted on 2/2/21

Delicious! Made these over the weekend and I halved the recipe to be sure I would like it. Not a huge sesame oil fan, but this was yummy! Can't wait to make them for my boyfriend.
Reply
- Denise Bustard says
  Posted on 2/9/21 at Posted on 2/9/21
  Hi Melissa! I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed! Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to report back, I really appreciate it! <3
  Reply
Cathy says
Posted on 9/15/20 at Posted on 9/15/20
Hi,
Have you tried this with bone in chicken thighs? Skin removed.
Thanks
Reply
- Denise Bustard says
  Posted on 9/20/20 at Posted on 9/20/20
  Hi Cathy! I have not tried, but I think it would be a very similar cook time. You could add an extra hour on to be safe. Hope you enjoy!
  Reply
Candy says
Posted on 10/8/19 at Posted on 10/8/19
I’d love to know how to modify this recipe to trust it not to burn in a regular sized/6 quart crock pot if you have any tips!
Reply
- Denise says
  Posted on 10/16/19 at Posted on 10/16/19
  Hi Candy! I haven't tried this in the Instant Pot but I think it would work (even though it's just shy of the 1 cup requirement). I would do 10 minutes (for chicken thighs) with a quick pressure release. Then I would remove the chicken and add the cornstarch + water, select 'sautee' on the IP and sautee until thickened. Hope you enjoy!
  Reply
Keith Ross says
Posted on 8/29/19 at Posted on 8/29/19
This is listed in kcal's and I thought a kcal is equal to 1,000 calories?
Reply
- Denise says
  Posted on 8/29/19 at Posted on 8/29/19
  Hi Keith! I need to change the calorie settings on my card. It's 201 calories for this recipe. Hope this helps!
  Reply
  - Adriane Coutermarsh says
    Posted on 11/6/19 at Posted on 11/6/19
    I made this last night and it is very good--however, when I calculated the calories in the recipe using MyFitnessPal, the count is significantly higher than 201 calories, 469 per serving to be exact but without the green onions since I didn't have any.
    Reply
    - Denise says
      Posted on 11/13/19 at Posted on 11/13/19
      Hi Adriane! I just put this back through MyFitnessPal, and I do see the 469 calorie count, however I believe that it is pulling the wrong amount of calories for 2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken thighs. If you select any other brand of chicken thighs, it is half of what the original one says.
      Reply
Amie Kitch says
Posted on 8/11/19 at Posted on 8/11/19
This turned out wonderful, and was a definite hit with the whole family. It is definitely going on the meal rotation 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing.
Reply
- Denise says
  See Also
  Slow Cooker Sticky Chicken
  Posted on 8/20/19 at Posted on 8/20/19
  I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed them Amie! Thanks so much for reporting back 🙂
  Reply
Dalton says
Posted on 4/22/19 at Posted on 4/22/19
i followed this to a T and the sauce definitely wasnt thick or sticky. it was kind of just something to give the chicken flavor. it was still good but didnt come out as advertised. i added a green and red pepper, yellow onion, and asparagus about an hour before it was done and that was a good addition to the recipe imo.
Reply
- Denise says
  Posted on 4/23/19 at Posted on 4/23/19
  Hi Dalton! Did you add 2 or 3 tablespoons of cornstarch? I recommend 3 if you want it really thick.
  Reply
Catherine says
Posted on 2/7/19 at Posted on 2/7/19

I made this recipe exactly as stated. My sauce didn’t thicken at all and the liquid was no good anyways. I ended up eating the chicken plain with rice and I thought it was an OK recipe.
Reply
- Denise says
  Posted on 2/8/19 at Posted on 2/8/19
  Hi Catherine, I just retested this recipe a few weeks ago and my whole family enjoyed it, including my picky 5 year old, so I don't really get your review. If your sauce didn't thicken, sounds like you didn't leave it on high for long enough.
  Reply
Sara says
Posted on 1/22/19 at Posted on 1/22/19

This is a staple in our house! We absolutely love it! Even my picky kids will clean their plate. Thank you for the recipe!
Reply
- Denise says
  Posted on 1/22/19 at Posted on 1/22/19
  I'm so happy you enjoyed it, Sara! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
  Reply
Mark Andreasen says
Posted on 1/20/19 at Posted on 1/20/19

I'm about to try this, but you say about 1.5 pounds of chicken thighs or 10 of them. You must have skinny chickens, four of mine weight 1.8 pounds. Let's hope for the best.
Reply
- Denise says
  Posted on 1/22/19 at Posted on 1/22/19
  Hi Mark! Yes, they are boneless and skinless, so they're pretty small! Hope you enjoyed!
  Reply
Jodi says
Posted on 1/13/19 at Posted on 1/13/19

My sauce didn't thicken up as much as I would have liked and wasn't really as flavorful as I expected.
Reply
- Erin says
  Posted on 1/15/19 at Posted on 1/15/19
  I feel the same way. Not what I was hoping for at all.
  Reply
  - Denise says
    Posted on 1/15/19 at Posted on 1/15/19
    Thanks so much for your feedback, ladies! We are retesting this recipe as we speak 🙂
    Reply
    - Denise says
      Posted on 1/22/19 at Posted on 1/22/19
      Thanks so much for your feedback, Jodi & Erin! I have updated the recipe to address the sauce thickening issue and to increase the flavor. My 5 year old had seconds he loved it so much!
      Reply
lisa says
Posted on 1/11/19 at Posted on 1/11/19

This was terrific and fast! Made it in a crock pot and followed directions as written. My non-chicken liking teenager devoured it and asked for the leftovers to be put in a quesadilla today. Thanks so much for a fantastic recipe that I could whip together and get into the crock pot in about 15 minutes. can't wait to try more of your recipes!
Reply
- Denise says
  Posted on 1/15/19 at Posted on 1/15/19
  I'm so happy you and your son enjoyed! Thanks so much for your review, Lisa!
  Reply
Jac says
Posted on 1/5/19 at Posted on 1/5/19

Hi! This recipe sounds amazing! I am out of corn starch. Is there a substitute for it?
Reply
- Denise says
  Posted on 1/8/19 at Posted on 1/8/19
  Hi Jac! So sorry for my late reply. You can swap for arrowroot starch if you have some? I like to use about half of what I'd use for cornstarch so 1/2 tablespoon
  Reply
Rick says
Posted on 11/28/18 at Posted on 11/28/18
Most of the other recipes call for 1/2 cup of Ketchup. Would adding this help, or hurt your recipe?
Reply
- Denise says
  Posted on 12/5/18 at Posted on 12/5/18
  Hi Rick, I really can't say because I have only tried as written.
  Reply
Kathleen Rizzuto says
Posted on 11/12/18 at Posted on 11/12/18
Can I cook this on high in my crockpot?
Reply
- Denise says
  Posted on 11/22/18 at Posted on 11/22/18
  Hi Kathleen! So for this recipe I haven't tried, I *think* it would be OK on high for 3 or so hours, my only concern is that the honey may burn, so I'd keep an eye on it. Let me know if you try it!
  Reply
Kathleen says
Posted on 10/27/18 at Posted on 10/27/18
I'm out of apple cider vinegar. Is this a deal breaker. I have plenty of other wine vinegars. Is there a substitute?
Reply
- Denise says
  Posted on 10/29/18 at Posted on 10/29/18
  Hi Kathleen! It should be OK without it, just adds a little bit of tangy flavor. You might be able to do rice vinegar, but I haven't actually tried this.
  Reply
Amber Luchi says
Posted on 10/7/18 at Posted on 10/7/18
In crock now, added extra water, brown sugar and broccoli! Will let you know how it turns out! Did in a bigger crock than 2.5 and I am cooking on high for 4 hours at least until I see I need to add water or something.
Reply
- Denise says
  Posted on 10/7/18 at Posted on 10/7/18
  Hope you enjoy! Let me know how it turns out for you, Amber 🙂
  Reply
The Grey says
Posted on 9/24/18 at Posted on 9/24/18
It's in the crockpot and I doubled the recipe. Will follow up with the results
Reply
- Denise says
  Posted on 9/25/18 at Posted on 9/25/18
  I hope you enjoyed!
  Reply
Carike Steyn says
Posted on 5/14/18 at Posted on 5/14/18

I made this chicken tonight and my children even asked for seconds and they are NOT good eaters. My husband raved about this dish and all the pots are empty.
I made it in a pot on the stove and cooked the chicken for about 1.5 hours on kind of a low/medium heat. Then grilled the chicken to brown it a little bit on the skin.
This is definitely in my favourites recipes.
This was DELICIOUS!!!
Reply
- Denise says
  Posted on 5/14/18 at Posted on 5/14/18
  Wow, I am SO happy reading your comment, Carike! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such an amazing review 🙂
  Reply
Brittany Audra says
Posted on 4/30/18 at Posted on 4/30/18
Always love a new crock pot recipe! YUM
Reply
- Denise says
  Posted on 5/1/18 at Posted on 5/1/18
  I have been a bit of an Instant Pot addict lately but I can't quit my slow cooker 😉
  Reply
  - Cassie says
    Posted on 9/21/18 at Posted on 9/21/18
    I want to try this in my Instant Pot... I'm just trying to figure out the cook time!
    Reply
    - Denise says
      Posted on 9/25/18 at Posted on 9/25/18
      Hi Cassie! I'd try 10 minutes for boneless skinless chicken thighs and 8 min if you use boneless skinless chicken breasts. Hope you enjoy!
      Reply