Fall is in full-swing at our house, which means we are on the run pretty much every day of the week. To complicate things, my friend Kami and I committed that we wouldn’t eat fast food during the entire month of September, AND I MADE IT. And I liked it so much that I still haven’t gone back, which means no more Hail Mary stops at the drive-thru on our way to and from activities in the evening–I really have to plan for dinner and make sure I follow through. That’s where recipes like this Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken save the day.
I’m using Tyson Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts that I picked up from Kroger. These are 100% all natural, minimally processed with no artificial ingredients.
why i love individually frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
I never actually knew about these until I went to college–I have many memories from my teenage years portioning out thawed chicken breasts into individual bags and freezing them, which was also when I briefly dabbled in vegetarianism. ???? When I got to school and my roommates pulled out a bag of individually frozen chicken breasts, the heavens opened. Because they’re individually frozen, there’s no prying apart frozen chicken breasts, not to mention way less messy (AND I can thaw them or cook them from frozen). I can pull out one or two or an entire bag depending on what I need and then seal the bag back up. I always have a backup bag in my freezer and don’t have to worry about it spoiling in 2-3 days.
about this recipe
This Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken is sweet and tangy that you literally drop into your crockpot and hit go. No sautéing, no pre-cooking, nothing. Plus, it calls for a handful of kitchen staples–no weird ingredients that you’re never going to use again! I cooked these from frozen and it was done in about 4 hours. Steam a pot of rice (I love using my Instant Pot–here are instructions for white and brown rice!)
how to make it
In addition to the chicken breasts, you’ll need soy sauce, honey, ketchup, Asian hot sauce, garlic, green onions, fresh ginger, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil.
Place chicken breasts in slow cooker.
In a small mixing bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine soy sauce,
honey,
ketchup,
hot sauce,
rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil.
Whisk until combined and then add the white ends of the green onions, garlic, ginger…
And stir to combine.
Pour over chicken breasts.
Cook on low 4-6 hours or until chicken shreds easily with a fork.
Transfer chicken breasts from to a serving platter or bowl and shred.
Pour the liquid into a medium saucepan and heat over medium until it simmers. While it’s heating, whisk together the cornstarch and water.
When it boils, add the cornstarch mixture and whisk until the sauce is thickened and clear. Pour over shredded chicken.
Serve over hot rice.
Top with chopped green onion tops and sesame seeds.
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
Description
This sweet and spicy slow cooker honey garlic chicken comes together in just a few minutes in the morning using a handful of pantry and freezer staples and then slow cooks to perfection! Can also be made in an Instant Pot.
Ingredients
2–2 1/2 pounds frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts (we used Tyson Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts)
1/2 cup soy sauce (low sodium, preferably)
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup ketchup
1+ teaspoon Asian hot sauce (we used Sriracha, but you can also use, sambal oelek, Go Chu Jang, or other favorite Asian hot sauce); start with 1 teaspoon and add more to taste if desired
6 cloves garlic, smashed or minced
1 small bunch green onions, chopped (use the white bottoms while cooking and reserve the green tops for serving)
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
for serving
1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
3 tablespoons cold water
Reserved chopped green onion tops
Hot rice
Sesame seeds
Instructions
Place chicken breasts in slow cooker. Whisk together soy sauce, honey, ketchup, hot sauce, garlic, white ends of green onions, grated ginger, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil. Pour over chicken breasts. Cook on low 4-6 hours or until chicken shreds easily with a fork.
Transfer chicken breasts from to a serving platter or bowl and shred. Pour the liquid into a medium saucepan and heat over medium until it simmers. While it’s heating, whisk together the cornstarch and water. When it boils, add the cornstarch mixture and stir until the sauce is thickened and clear. Pour over shredded chicken. Serve over hot rice. Top with chopped green onion tops and sesame seeds.
Notes
Instant pot instructions
Place chicken in Instant Pot and drizzle sauce over the chicken. Seal. If using frozen chicken, use the manual setting to cook for 14 minutes and then let the pressure release naturally (don’t open the valve) for about 10 minutes. (If using thawed chicken breasts, cook for 7 minutes, same release instructions.)
Remove chicken from pot and transfer to serving dish. Shred. Turn the Instant Pot setting to sauté and whisk together the cornstarch and water. Add to the sauce and stir until thickened and clear. Drizzle the sauce over the shredded chicken. Serve as directed above.
Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Kroger and Tyson, but all opinions, ideas, and recipes are our own.
Questions & Reviews
I have this in the slow cooker right now – left out the honey because my youngest is 9 months old…was going to add the honey after I take some chicken out for her later. But I just had the thought of using maple syrup instead of honey? Think it would change the flavour too much? Thanks!
I think that would probably be good- but I’ve never tried it so you’d have to experiment!
Could you just leave out the hot sauce or would it ruin the taste?
You can leave it out, but the amount I called for is VERY mild—in fact, for my family, I’ll probably add a little more.
I made this in the Instant Pot for lunch and we all loved it! So fast and easy!