Honey Garlic Chicken {Slow Cooker or Instant Pot}

Easier than take-out! Our easy Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe made in the crockpot or instant pot is simple, delicious, and only five ingredients!

These Easy Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs are going to wow your family. Rich with slow cooked savory garlic, sweet honey, and a touch salty. Mmmmmmm, now I’m craving it for dinner. Serve them with roasted broccoli, yum.

Honey Garlic Chicken

Honey Garlic Chicken Ingredients

• Chicken thighs – With bone and skin.
• Seasoned salt – Whatever brand you like (we are partial to Lawry’s)
• Garlic – Whole peeled cloves.
• Honey – Any brand is fine.
• Soy sauce – If you are making this gluten-free, be sure to check labels as not all soy sauces are gluten free.
• Optional– Toasted sesame seeds, green onion, cornstarch.

How do you make honey garlic chicken? (step-by-step)

⭐ First, place chicken into slow cooker and sprinkle with seasoned salt.

⭐ Next, toss garlic cloves in, and make sure they get in between the chicken and into the crevices.

⭐ Then, pour honey and soy sauce over top.

⭐ Finally, cover and cook.

Preparation

How much garlic for honey garlic chicken?

When you see how much garlic this recipe calls for, you’re going to wonder if it’s a typo.  It’s not a typo.  Then you’re going to wonder how on earth you’re going to come up with that much peeled garlic.  I like to purchase mine pre-peeled from the grocery store.

They have smaller packages at most regular markets (in the produce section), or big bags at places like Costco and Sam’s Club.  They’re so super convenient.  Especially when making something like honey garlic slow cooker chicken.

Should chicken be in a single layer in the crock pot?

If you’re making a small enough batch of the slow cooker honey garlic chicken thighs, then you should go ahead and place them in a single layer.  But if you’re feeding a crowd, or have a giant family like mine, then it’s not a big deal to pile them in.  Just try to keep things as evenly distributed as possible.

How do you brown honey garlic chicken thighs?

If the chicken doesn’t come out browned to your liking, no big deal – just throw them on a sheet pan and under the broiler for a couple minutes.  Watch closely though because you wouldn’t want all that honey garlic yumminess going to waste!

Leftovers and storage

How long does honey garlic chicken last?

This will keep in the refrigerator for 3 – 4 days if stored in a sealed airtight container. 

Can you freeze honey garlic chicken?

The leftovers can be frozen.  Allow them to cool, then pack tightly in a freezer-safe container and store for 3 – 4 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. 

What to eat with honey garlic chicken? (serving suggestions)

We love to enjoy this with other Asian inspired dishes like our stir fry noodles recipe, easy fried rice, Asian coleslaw, or oven roasted broccoli. For dessert some quick oreo fluff or Italian sodas!

More Chicken Thigh Recipes

Crispy Chicken Thighs | Peanut Butter Chicken Recipe | Baked Honey Mustard Chicken | Sweet Sriracha Grilled Chicken | Slow Cooker Chicken Fricasee | Chicken and Teriyaki Pineapple Skewers | Slow Cooker Sweet Chili Chicken | Satay Inspired Chicken Thighs | Italian Dressing Chicken Thighs | See all our quick chicken recipes!

Other slow cooker favorites

• Cheesy hashbrown casserole
• Taco soup
• Apricot ham
• Grape jelly meatballs
• See all our slow cooker dinner recipes!

More recipes to try in the instant pot

• Coconut rice
• Instant pot shredded chicken
• Lasagna soup
• Sloppy joes
• See all our easy instant pot recipes!

More delicious Asian inspired recipes

• Healthy egg roll in a bowl
• Rice wrap summer rolls
• Chow mein soup with leftover chow mein
• Quick fried rice
• See all our Asian recipes!

Tools we love

• Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker – This pressure cooker is fantastic because it can be used as a pressure cooker ,a slow cooker, or just a regular pot if you run out of burners!  
• Crock Pot Cook and Carry – If you’re not in the market for pressure cooking capabilities, this 6 quart crock pot is the way to go.  Another one you’ve seen on the website many times, it’s a great basic slow cooker, but it gets bonus points for a sealing lid that allows you to travel without making a giant mess!
• Stainless Steel Spider Strainer – Sounds strange, but after you get one of these you’ll wonder how you lived without it!  This big webbed scoopy thing is perfect for reaching into pots of hot liquid and removing the goodies.  Like these delicious honey garlic chicken thighs, for instance!
• Slow Cooker Liners – These are like the silpats of slow cookers.  Crock pot recipes are so easy, why not make the clean up a breeze too! They’re a must-have if you don’t love doing dishes. (So, pretty much for everyone).

How to Make Honey Garlic Chicken

Honey Garlic Chicken

These Easy Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs are going to wow your family. Our Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe made in the slow cooker or instant pot is simple, delicious, and only five ingredients!

5 from 10 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: honey garlic chicken

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours hours

Total Time: 4 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 198kcal

Author: April Woods

Ingredients

• 6 chicken thighs with bone and skin
• 1 tablespoon seasoned salt
• 1 heaping cup whole peeled garlic cloves about 60 cloves
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• optional: toasted sesame seeds, green onion, cornstarch

Cook ModeToggle to green to prevent your screen from going dark while you cook!

Instructions

• Place chicken into inner pot and sprinkle with seasoned salt.
• Toss garlic cloves in, and make sure it gets in between the chicken and into the crevices.
• Pour honey and soy sauce over top.
• SLOW COOKER: Cover and cook 4 - 5 hours on high or 7 - 8 hours on low.
• INSTANT POT: Add additional 1/4 cup broth or water, seal and cook on manual (high pressure) 10 minutes, then allow a 5 minute natural pressure release.
• Optional: To thicken remaining sauce, stir in a cornstarch slurry (2 tablespoons cornstarch + 2 tablespoons water) and simmer. Repeat until desired consistency is reached.

Video

Notes

Calories are automatically generated. For best results calculate based on your exact ingredients.

If you'd like to brown/crisp the thighs, place them on a parchment lined baking sheet after cooking and broil for 3 - 4 minutes, watching carefully to avoid burning. 

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Nutrition

Calories: 198kcal

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Still want more chicken ideas?  How about this crack chicken made with cream cheese and ranch!

Recipe FAQS

I don’t know about you, but I really truly immensely appreciate food that you can just throw in a pot and walk away from for hours at a time.  I think that’s why I make so many soups and stews.

In the pot they go, and when I come back from my day, there’s a delicious meal just waiting for us.  Short of hiring a cook, it doesn’t get a whole lot better!

This Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken recipe definitely fits in that category.  And the smell it will fill your house with is kind of incredible.

Chicken, honey, garlic, a touch of soy sauce – it’s reminiscent of my favorite childhood Chinese food restaurant.  It’s not really an Asian dish, but we served it with instant white rice and roasted broccoli.   Mmmmmm.

 03-11-15