Looking for a family favorite slow cooker meal? These Slow Cooker Honey Garlic BBQ Chicken Thighs come out tender, juicy, and packed with flavor with just a few minutes of prep!
The sauce is easy to make and flavorful, made from honey, soy sauce, ketchup, and plenty of garlic. It’s my favorite kind of easy comfort food! All you do is toss it all in, set it, and come back to tender, perfectly cooked chicken to serve. We love it over Jasmine rice.
You’ll love how the slow cooker does all the work, the sauce thickens, the chicken gets tender, and dinner basically makes itself. It’s a crowd-pleaser, meal-prep favorite, and picky-eater win all in one dish. I like to sear my chicken a little since we use the GreenPan Slow Cooker, it adds even more flavor!
Quick Bites About This Recipe
Flavor: Sweet, tangy, garlicky, and just a little smoky from the ketchup-based BBQ-style sauce.
Skill Level: Beginner. Quick and easy set up, just mix, pour, and let the slow cooker handle it.
Swaps: Use boneless chicken breasts instead of thighs if you prefer leaner meat.
Make Ahead: I like to buy chicken thighs in bulk and trim the fat from them so they’re easy to just dump right in. I will say I find a lot of bone fragments and joints in my “skinless and boneless chicken thighs” so for me this is a must.
Freezer Friendly: Freeze cooked chicken with sauce for up to 3 months.
Variations & Substitutions: Give it more of a BBQ kick, stir in a teaspoon of smoked paprika, a sprinkle of chili powder, and even a dash of liquid smoke.
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic BBQ Chicken Thighs Ingredients
Chicken thighs: Boneless, skinless thighs stay juicy and soak up the sauce beautifully. You can use chicken breasts, but they’ll be a bit leaner.
Low Sodium Soy sauce: Adds that salty umami balance to the sweetness, use Coconut Aminos for soy free.
Ketchup: The secret to that BBQ-style tang and gorgeous color.
Honey: Brings sweetness and helps the sauce caramelize as it cooks.
Garlic: Six cloves give a deep, rich flavor! And fresh minced garlic makes this sauce chef’s kiss!
Rice wine vinegar: A tiny splash brightens the sauce and keeps it from being too sweet.
Cornstarch: Thickens the sauce into that glossy, sticky glaze you’ll want to drizzle over everything.
Water: Helps make the cornstarch slurry and thins the sauce just enough to coat the chicken evenly.
How to Make Slow Cooker Honey Garlic BBQ Chicken Thighs
In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, ketchup, honey, minced garlic, minced ginger, and rice wine vinegar until smooth and glossy. This will be your flavorful BBQ-style sauce.
Place the chicken thighs in the bottom of your slow cooker. Optional, brown the chicken prior to cooking and then place them into the slow cooker and pour the sauce evenly over the top. Flip each piece so it’s completely coated and ready to soak up all that flavor.
Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours, until the chicken is tender and reaches an internal temperature of 165°F (USDA-safe temp for poultry).
In a separate bowl, whisk the cornstarch and water together until smooth to make a quick slurry. Stir it into the sauce right in the slow cooker.
Switch to sauté mode if your slow cooker has one, or cook on high for about 15 minutes until the sauce thickens into a sticky glaze that clings beautifully to the chicken.
Once the sauce has thickened, give everything a gentle stir to coat the chicken evenly. Serve it warm over rice or noodles and drizzle with extra sauce from the slow cooker.
Storing and Reheating (If There’s Any Leftovers!)
Refrigerate: Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Freeze: Freeze chicken and sauce in a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 3 months.
Reheat: Warm gently in a skillet over medium heat or microwave until heated through. Add a splash of water if the sauce has thickened too much.
How to Serve Slow Cooker Honey Garlic BBQ Chicken Thighs
Serve these juicy chicken thighs over steamed rice, mashed potatoes, or noodles. Don’t forget the veggies!
Recipe Tips and Notes
- You can also make this with chicken breast or chicken tenderloins.
- Garnish with chopped green onions or sesame seeds for a pop of color and texture.
- If you want more BBQ kick, stir in a teaspoon of smoked paprika, a little chili powder, and even a dash of liquid smoke.
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic BBQ Chicken Thighs
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step by step recipe video
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup soy sauce 120 ml
- 1/2 cup ketchup 120 ml
- 1/2 cup honey 170 g
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2-1 teaspoon ginger minced, or 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar 5 ml
- 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs about 1 1/2 lbs
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch 16 g
- 2 tablespoons water 30 ml
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, ketchup, honey, garlic, ginger and rice wine vinegar until smooth.1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup honey, 6 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar, 1/2-1 teaspoon ginger
- Place chicken thighs in the slow cooker and pour the sauce evenly over the top. Turn each piece so it’s fully coated. Alternatively, you can sear the chicken prior and even saute the garlic a little to release that rich garlic flavor!8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- In a separate bowl, whisk cornstarch and water until smooth, then stir into the sauce.2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons water
- Add the cornstarch slurry to the chicken and mix into the sauce. Let it cook until it thickens. You can use saute mode on your GreenPan slow cooker or cook on slow cook mode for 15 minutes on high.
- Serve as desired. We like it over rice or noodles.
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Notes
- Substitutions: You can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs. Add a pinch of smoked paprika or a dash of hot sauce for more BBQ depth.
- Storage: Keep leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat: Reheat gently in a skillet with a splash of water or in the microwave until warmed through.
Nutrition
The nutritional information is automatically calculated and can vary based ingredients and products used. If the nutrition numbers are important for you we recommend calculating them yourself.
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