Slow Cooker Soy Honey Garlic Chicken
Salty soy sauce, sweet honey and rich garlic—all in one easy-to-make dish! Our Slow Cooker Soy Honey Garlic Chicken is a family favorite and only takes 5 minutes to prepare! Use it as a meal prep dinner or assemble it before work and come home to a restaurant-quality, gourmet meal.
If there's one thing we agree on as a couple, it's simplicity. Unfortunately, with meal planning, simplicity often times takes precedence over quality. But, not with this recipe! You can prep this Slow Cooker Soy Honey Garlic Chicken in just 5 short minutes! And it's soooo tasty! The depth of flavor in this dish is simply unbeatable, thanks to the perfect combination of savory sweetness, salty soy and rich, earthy garlic.
Start with approximately 2 pounds of chicken breasts, which is usually 4 large pieces. We've also used chicken thighs in this recipe with great results. If you're meal prepping, place the chicken breasts in a large Ziploc bag. If you're making this the same day, place the chicken directly into the slow cooker.
Now it's really as simple as adding the ingredients, one by one. Begin by adding 1 cup of reduced sodium soy sauce. We love the Bragg Liquid Amino as it has 2/3 less sodium than traditional soy sauce. Also, if you feel like the dish is too salty, you can use 1/2 cup of soy sauce and 1/2 cup of water.
Next add 1/2 cup of honey, 1/4 cup of hoisin sauce, 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar and 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil. If you don't have hoisin sauce in your pantry (which most people don't) you can easily omit it and still end up with a flavorful dish. But, given the choice, we would use it every time. The hoisin sauce just adds a little unique flavor you can't get otherwise.
Minced garlic is next on the list. Our recipe calls for 6-8 cloves of garlic depending on your taste preferences. Yes, it sounds like a lot, but in the slow cooker, the strong flavors of soy and honey balance out the garlic perfectly. Also, we like to use pre-minced garlic in a jar. (Remember, we like simplicity.) If that's the case for you, 1 clove of garlic = 1 teaspoon of pre-minced garlic.
Finally, add salt and pepper to taste and mix the ingredients thoroughly, ensuring each chicken breast is coated completely. Place the lid on the slow cooker and set to low heat. You'll want to cook the chicken on low for 6-7 hours, turning the chicken breasts over halfway through the cooking time if possible.
If you're in a time crunch, you can also cook this dish in the slow cooker on high for 3-4 hours. Just don't expect the chicken to be as tender. Serve over steamed white rice and garnish with scallions and sesame seeds. Voilà! The perfect blend of simplicity and delicious flavor—all prepped in just 5 minutes!
What we like about this Slow Cooker Soy Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe!
Nicole - Simplicity is my middle name! Well, actually, I don't have a middle name, but whatever. If I don't have the energy to put together a new and creative meal, this is one of my go-tos. I just throw the ingredients in the slow cooker, turn it on, and go about my day.
Mike - Our daughter makes fun of us for always eating some combination of chicken and rice. And, yes. We do make it often. But what's not to like about this combo? It's healthy, easy to make and tastes great. No complaints here!
Slow Cooker Soy Honey Garlic Chicken Ingredients
2 lbs (4 pieces) of chicken breast
1 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
½ cup honey
¼ cup hoisin sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
6-8 cloves of garlic
2 scallions
1 tsp sesame seeds
¼ tsp salt, or to taste
¼ tsp black pepper, or to taste
How to make Slow Cooker Soy Honey Garlic Chicken
Grate your garlic. (Skip this step if you're using pre-minced garlic like we do.)
In your slow cooker add the chicken, soy sauce, honey, hoisin sauce, garlic, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, and salt and pepper. Stir until well combined.
Cook in the slow cooker for 3-4 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low. Make sure to flip the chicken breast over when cooked halfway.
Once fully cooked, shred the chicken. We use a hand mixer for easy shredding, or you can just use 2 forks.
Serve with rice and top with scallions and sesame seeds.
Tips and Tricks
If you want to cut down on the sodium in this dish, there are a couple of options.
Instead of using 1 cup of soy sauce, just use 1/2 cup of soy sauce and 1/2 cup of water.
Replace the soy sauce with Bragg Liquid Aminos to cut the sodium but 2/3!
If you're in a hurry, you can cook this dish on high in the slow cooker for 3-4 hours. The chicken won't be quite as tender, but it'll still be delicious.
This dish is wonderful when garnished with scallions and sesame seeds. Sometimes, we also put a drizzle of Bachan's Japanese Barbecue Sauce on top as well.
We typically shred our slow cooker chicken with a hand mixer. But if you don't have one, you can easily shred the chicken with a pair of forks.
FAQs
Can I use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts? Absolutely! We've used chicken thighs in this recipe many times with great results. We like the boneless, skinless variety for simplicity. They even turn out a little juicier than the chicken breasts!
What should I serve with Slow Cooker Soy Honey Garlic Chicken? The easy answer is steamed white rice. But you can also serve this recipe over veggies, quinoa, Asian coleslaw or even as filling in lettuce wraps.
What if I don't have Hoisin Sauce? Don't sweat it. While we always prefer to have it, this recipe will turn out great without the hoisin sauce.
