Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs
Chicken thighs in a sticky, savory sauce of honey, soy sauce and lots of garlic. Thicken it at the end and spoon it over rice.
- Crockpot
- Slow cooker
- Chicken
- Dinner
- 255 min total
- Serves 6
Ingredients
Ingredients for servings
Enter a number of at least ½, in steps of ½.
Original recipe serves 6. Ingredient amounts adjust automatically. Cooking times and pan size may need adjusting separately.
- 2 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/3 cup soy sauce, low sodium
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp cold water
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 1 tsp sesame seeds, toasted
- cooked rice, to serve
Steps
Step 1: Whisk the honey, soy sauce, ketchup, garlic, vinegar, ginger and pepper flakes together in the slow cooker.
Step 2: Add the chicken and turn it to coat.
Step 3: Cover and cook on Low 4 hours or High 2 hours, until the chicken reads at least 165°F.
Step 4: Move the chicken to a plate. Whisk the cornstarch and cold water together, stir it into the sauce and cook on High uncovered 10 to 15 minutes, until thick and glossy.
Step 5: Slice or shred the chicken, put it back in the sauce and stir to coat.
Step 6: Serve over rice, topped with green onions and sesame seeds.
Swaps
- Soy sauce: Tamari for gluten-free.
- Ketchup: Hoisin sauce for a deeper, more savory flavor.
- Veggies: Steam some broccoli and toss it in the sauce at the end.
Tips
- Use low-sodium soy sauce. The sauce cooks down and regular soy can get too salty.
- Thighs stay tender in the sauce; breasts get dry faster.
- Fresh garlic is the point here. Don’t swap in garlic powder.
The story
HAM Cooking. Let’s fire it up.
This is a takeout-night favorite that costs a lot less than takeout. You don’t have to wait for a delivery driver who can’t find your house, either.
The sauce is a perfect example of balancing flavors. Honey brings sweetness. Soy sauce brings salt and that deep, savory flavor. Vinegar and ketchup add a little tang to cut the sweet. Then there’s the garlic, six cloves of it. Long, slow cooking mellows garlic’s sharp bite into something sweet and almost buttery, so it doesn’t overpower.
The slow cooker has one weakness: it doesn’t let liquid evaporate. Chicken releases juice as it cooks, so the sauce ends up thinner than you want. That’s why the last step matters. A cornstarch slurry turns that thin sauce glossy and thick. Just mix the cornstarch with cold water first. Cornstarch hitting hot liquid by itself forms lumps that never dissolve.
Spoon it over rice and grab a fork. Chopsticks are optional.
HAM out.
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