Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe, Slow Cooker / Crockpot

This Honey Garlic Chicken recipe is made in the slow cooker for an simple, sweet, yet savory dinner. It is a flavorful high protein dish that is just right for busy weeknights!

The second Fall hits, our slow cooker comes out. Our kale and beef stew and Irish beef stew recipes are regulars in our crockpot rotation. And now we are adding this honey garlic chicken recipe!

All you need is a few minutes of prep and the crockpot transforms a handful of simple ingredients into satisfying shredded chicken covered in a sweet and savory honey garlic sauce. It is lighter takeout at its finest and pairs perfectly with rice, noodles, or veggies.

Why this recipe is great

• You need less than 10 ingredients to make this recipe.
• It comes together easily and quickly. Throw everything into the slow cooker and it cooks itself.
• This recipe is great for a weeknight dinner, meal prep, or to satisfy your “take out” itch.
• It is versatile! You can eat it with rice and veggies, on top of noodles, or in a wrap.
• It is high in protein, each serving has 49 grams of protein.
• It tastes like takeout but is made with lighter ingredients. Check out our coconut aminos fried rice and honey sesame skillet chicken for other lighter takeout at home recipes.

Recipe ingredients

• Chicken breast or chicken thighs– we personally prefer this recipe with chicken breast but we have made it with both chicken breast and chicken thighs and both taste great.
• Coconut aminos or soy sauce– we prefer using coconut aminos, but soy sauce works just as well here. Both add a nice umami flavor to this dish.
• Honey– this adds the sweetness to the dish and pairs well with the garlic flavor in this recipe.
• Tomato paste– this balances out the flavors in the sauce.
• Onion powder and ground ginger– both of these spices enhance all the other flavors in the dish.
• Hot sauce– this adds a bit of oomph and balances out the sweetness of the honey. Use your favorite hot sauce!
• Garlic– this gives one of the main flavors here.
• Tapioca flour or corn starch– this thickens the sauce.

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Step by step instructions

Step 1

Step 1: Put the raw chicken into the bottom of your crockpot.

Step 2

Step 2: Mix the coconut aminos or soy sauce, honey, tomato paste, onion powder, ground ginger, hot sauce, and minced garlic together in a small bowl.

Step 3

Step 3: Pour the sauce on top of the chicken in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 4-5 hours or high for 2-3 hours.

Step 4

Step 4: Mix the tapioca flour or corn starch into water.

Step 5

Step 5: Remove the chicken from the slow cooker, add the tapioca flour mixture and cook for 15 minutes on high heat.

Step 6

Step 6: Shred the chicken and add back to the sauce in the slow cooker and mix.

Expert tips

• To make sure this recipe is Paleo, use tapioca flour and not corn starch. And use coconut aminos and not soy sauce.
• To make sure this recipe is Gluten-free, use coconut aminos and not soy sauce.

How to serve:

• with veggies and rice
  • We like snap peas, baby corn, and carrots with this honey garlic chicken.
• with coconut aminos fried rice
• with noodles
• in a wrap
  • We love eating this shredded chicken in a wrap with shredded carrots and greens.
• on top of a salad

How to store:

• Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.