Slow cooker honey chicken – Super easy recipe to make and absolutely delicious! The healthy crockpot chicken comes out tender every time.
I love to have lots of quick and easy slow cooker recipes on hand, especially for those busy weeknights. This crock pot honey garlic chicken is one of my favorites, along with slow cooker ribs, taco lasagna, slow cooker carnitas and slow cooker cabbage soup.
Crock pot honey garlic chicken
If you know me, I’m all about quick and easy DELICIOUS recipes! This slow cooker honey sesame chicken is one of those recipes. The chicken has such a unique flavor and leaves your family begging for more! They’ll think you slaved all day in the kitchen. Shh! Don’t tell. They don’t have to know it only took you five minutes to make. ;) This dish is also pretty healthy as well. You can cut back on the honey to make it even more healthy.
Look at all the juicy flavor! It makes the healthy crockpot chicken so tender.
How to make slow cooker honey chicken
This slow cooker honey garlic chicken recipe really is so simple and only requires 5 basic ingredients for the sauce that I’m sure you already have in your pantry:
- 1/2 cup soy sauce (I like to use low-sodium)
- 1/2Â cup honey
- 1 TB olive oil
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
All you need to do is mix those ingredients together, add a little salt and pepper and pour over the healthy crockpot chicken. Then you let the slow cooker do all the work.
Slow cooker honey chicken variations
We love to serve this crock pot honey garlic chicken over rice or quinoa, but it also taste great in lettuce wraps or over a salad. To top it off you can add sesame seeds and sliced green onions on top. Sometimes with the leftover chicken we’ll even make tacos or nachos. The possibilities are endless.
Slow cooker honey chicken
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauceÂ
- 1/2Â cup honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- Cooked quinoa or rice ,for serving
Optional: sliced green onions, sesame seeds for topping
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in a crock pot. Combine soy sauce, honey, olive oil, onion powder, garlic, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Stir until combined. Pour sauce over chicken. Cook on low for 3-4Â hours, or until the chicken easily falls apart.
- Serve chicken over cooked quinoa. Add extra sauce and top with green onions and sesame seeds if desired.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Mmm… tasty! I hope this crock pot honey garlic chicken will become a family favorite in your home! Enjoy!
So are you a slow cooker fan? What are some of your favorite healthy chicken crockpot recipes?
I love quinoa and am always looking for new recipes. Thanks so much for sharing this! make a really good cold quinoa salad where I make a batch of quinoa and to it I add a grilled chicken breast or two, some red onion, a can of tropical fruit (drained) and a can of chunk pineapple (drained). I add sesame oil and some soy sauce and it is delicious!
That salad sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing! Mmm…
I still haven’t decided if I like quinoa yet but the chicken looks amazing. At the very least it would be great over rice.
Yes, you could definitely substitue it with rice. :) It took my family awhile to get used to quinoa too. They don’t notice the difference now.
That looks amazing! I need to make it asap.
Quinoa is such a nutrient-packed grain and many people are not familiar with it. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! I will definitely try it.
I’m always looking for new slow cooker recipes. This looks delicious!! Thanks for the recipe!!
Yum, this looks delicious, always up for more quick and easy recipes!
This looks amazing!
I upped the ante on the garlic, just because we like it so much, and I used something called coconut aminos, instead of soy sauce. I also sauted some onions and sweet peppers on the side, for whoever wanted to add them. We used brown rice, as I was out of quinoa. Thawed chicken breasts (about 2#) were cooked nicely in three hours, and I did 1-1/2x the sauce recipe to allow for that much chicken. Delicious! Thank you!
Your changes sound great! Thanks for sharing! So glad you enjoyed it. :)
Dumb question, but do I need to add water to the crock pot or does it just dry cook? Thanks!
I’ll usually add about 1/8 cup water to the bottom just to give it a little bit of moisture. :)
I used liquid aminos instead of soy sauce and this is delicious. Hubby is having it with quinoa and I’ll probably have it with rice leftover from yesterday.
Yum! I’m so glad you and your hubby enjoyed it! :)
Trying this tonight! Sounds wonderful after a cold day!
Hope you enjoyed this! I love cooking with quinoa!
It turned out great!
Made this for dinner tonight and the chicken is absolutely to die for! Was soooo yummy!!! Thanks for the recipe :)
Thanks for your nice comment Justine! I’m glad you liked the recipe!! :)
I made this the other night and it was so awesome! I’m going to double it for a small dinner party in a few weeks – SO easy and delicious! We ate it with jasmine rice and broccoli.
I’m so glad you liked it Lisa! Thanks for stopping by again to leave a comment! Sounds like the perfect meal with jasmine rice and broccoli…yum!
Jamielyn, I’m concerned about all the sodium in this recipe. According to the bottle of reduced sodium soy sauce I have, 1 Tblsp. contains 575 mg of sodium, so 1/2 cup would have 4600 mg, and the 1 tsp of salt has nearly 2400 mg, meaning the recipe has 7000mg of sodium just in those two ingredients. Divided into 4 servings, that’s 1750 mg per person which is a lot for just one dish of a meal and exceeds the daily allotment for many diet plans. Please be careful what you label a “healthy” recipe.
Hi Pat, thanks for your concern. Everyones level of healthy is different so you could definitely use less than it calls for in the recipe. Also, there will be quite a bit of sauce left that you don’t use when serving…it mainly just helps marinate the chicken.
I agree about the sodium. Â Most of it may be in the liquid but the chicken ends up really, really salty. Â Everyone may have different ideas about what’s healthy, or have different health needs, but if it ends up tasting that salty (even with half the salt it calls for), then it’s probably too much sodium. Â It was definitely quick and easy but not healthy. Â I definitely wouldn’t feed this to someone with heart disease unless I didn’t like that person very much. Â Out of the four people in my family only one of us liked it. Â
Making this as my first attempt with quinoa tomorrow – hoping it comes out great! Don’t have quite that much soy sauce and honey left, so hopefully what I have will make a nice marinade!
Hope you enjoy it Danielle, we love it around our house! :)
Hi Jamielyn, How many servings does your original recipe feed? I’m looking to feed seven. Thanks!
Hi Kristi! This recipe feeds between 4-6, so I would probably double the recipe and you will have a little bit of yummy leftovers! :)
I wanted to let you know we’ve made this recipe several times and have loved it every time! It’s also good to serve to low-key company since you don’t have to slave away in the kitchen right before they arrive. I just set the crockpot early in the day and then whipped up the quinoa and a salad right before they came. Perfect!
Ohhh, your comment made me smile! I’m so glad you have loved this recipe. I agree, recipes that can just be thrown in the crock pot are the best. :)
What is the story on “amino” I see people substituting them for soy sauce???
I haven’t used it before, I just googled it and seems to be a healthier substitute to soy sauce!
Fantastic recipe, I have made this several times and my family loves it. So fast, too! Thank you!
I’m glad your family loves it! Thanks for your comment Anjel! :)
I searched for a healthy recipes this morning and I liked this recipe a lot so i captured a screen shot to do it to the dinner,arrived home after work did it all then I recognized it needs 3 to 4 hours :D and my hubby is waiting.. should I really wait for 4 hours. But seems gorgeous.Â
I hope you enjoyed this recipe Sylvia! Thanks for giving it a try. :)
Making this for the second time today. It is one of my favorite crockpot recipes ever! The sauce that the chicken cooks in all day is one of the best tasting and best smelling things ever! Tonight I’m serving it over brown rice because that’s what I had on hand. Cannot wait to chow down!
Could I cook quinoa in the crockpot as well at the same time? I am looking at recipes to take to a potluck and this chicken looks fab, and I know I’ve done a chicken and rice recipe in crockpot before that turned out fine, but wasn’t sure about quinoa. I think it’d be too much hassle to take with me if not all in the crockpot, but it looks really good.
I have not yet tried cooking quinoa in the crockpot. From what I’ve read, it’s one cup quinoa to two cups fluid, so you could certainly try but I can’t say how it will turn out.
If you try it, let me know! :)
Hi , could this cook all day on low? I leave for work at 7:30 and don’t get home until 4????
Since it cooks on low for 3 to 4 hours, I’m afraid it would scorch if cooked that long. :(
If I wanted to serve broccoli with this dish, could I put it in the crock pot in the last 30 minutes of cooking? I want the broccoli to absorb the flavor and juices ^_^
You might want to add a little more liquid or the chicken would be too dry! I always add my broccoli to my rice cooker. :)
Amazing. I’m trying to make it
Hope you enjoy! It is a delicious meal!
This would be awesome over Jasmine rice!
Yes! It would be delicious!
Have you ever used chicken thighs? If so, did you change the recipe? Thanks!
Hi Nicie! I’ve never tried chicken thighs in this recipe, but I think it will definitely work! It will just slightly change the flavor and texture.
This is delicious! Would you be able to estimate how many calories per serving this is?Â
Hi Julia! I’m not sure the exact calories, but I typed the recipe in a calorie counter and it looks like the chicken would be about 300 calories per serving. Then you would add the calories for the rice or quinoa. Hope that helps! :)
This looks amazing! I will definately give it a try!
I hope I will manage as I am not a great cook!
Hope you enjoy! Just put it all in the crock pot and let it do all the cooking! ;)
Hi,
     is this boneless chicken? Also, would this recipe still work if it was cooking for about 10 hours?
thanks,
Lindsey
Hi Lindsey! Yes, this is boneless chicken. Unfortunately 10 hours would be too long, it would dry the chicken out.
I like the look of this and will definitely be making it soon. I’m thinking of subbing some of the chicken out for pak choi and carrots, though slow cooked pak choi can be a bit rubbery in my experience.
You can always cook the pak choi first and then add the sauce and heat on the stove! :)
Hi there! Trying this for the first time this evening, hoping it turns out well! Do you think mashed potatoes would go well with this chicken? We had rice the other night, and I have a ton of potatoes that need to be used. Thanks!
Hi Katelin! Mashed potatoes would go fine on the side but I probably wouldn’t serve the chicken on top of the potatoes. I hope you enjoy this chicken, it is a family favorite! :)
I love this recipe! I was just curious what the calories, macros were for this meal. I ameal.
I’m not sure the exact calories, but I typed the recipe in a calorie counter and it looks like the chicken would be about 300 calories per serving. Then you would add the calories for the rice or quinoa. Hope that helps! :)
Wanna try this tomorrow for dinner  but can you use garlicÂ
powder instead?
That should work fine! :)
Probably a dumb question here, but do you put the chicken breasts in whole or cut them? Thanks. Anxious to try this!
You can put them in whole! :)
Is this recipe using fresh chicken breasts or frozen?
I usually use fresh chicken breasts, but you can increase the cooking time if you are going to use frozen. :)
What size crock pot did you use?
Judging by the picture it looks just like an average sized crock pot to me. I actually didn’t even know there were different sizes.
If you start with frozen chicken, how much longer do you cook it?
I would recommend cooking 5-6 hours instead.
I didn’t care for this. I used chicken thighs with the skin removed and it came out runny and some what bland. I think it would be better with the optional green onions and sesame seeds; I didn’t use them.
We loved it! Even my picky 2 year old devoured it! Yummy flavors. We paired it with rice and riced cauliflower….delicious! We’ll be making this again!!!
I’m so glad it was a hit! :)