The Ingredients
- Chicken. I opted to make this a juicy and flavorful boneless skinless chicken thighs slow cooker recipe, but you certainly can make this a honey garlic chicken chicken breast slow cooker recipe. Either will be tasty!
- Honey and Garlic. This is a seriously under appreciated ingredient combination. The honey gives the sauce its signature sweetness and stickiness, without the need for any additional sugar.
- Soy Sauce. The salty ying to balance the honey’s sweet yang.
- Tomato Paste. Wait, don’t go. I know that tomato paste sounds odd in a takeout-type recipe, but it gives the sauce richness and a touch of acidity. Don’t skip it.
- Chili Paste. (Also known as sambal oelek.) You can find it in the Asian or international food aisle of most major grocery stores (and even Target). If you don’t have it, swap red pepper flakes. This dish isn’t spicy, but you can always add more if you like a good kick.
- Rice Vinegar. To make the sauce punchy and addictive.
The Directions
- Add your chicken to the slow cooker. In a mixing bowl, whisk your sauce ingredients together, and pour over the chicken. Cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours or HIGH for 2 to 3 hours, until the chicken is done. The chicken will bathe the yummy sauce!
- Remove the chicken to a plate to cool. Whisk the cornstarch directly into the slow cooker and cook until your sauce thickens.
- Shred the chicken, and return it to the slow cooker. Stir and coat your chicken in the sauce. Serve as desired (I like to serve it over rice topped with green onions and sesame seeds), and ENJOY!
As noted above, after the chicken has cooked, I add cornstarch directly to the slow cooker to thicken the sauce further because we like our sauce nice and thick.
If you are in a hurry, you can 1) skip the cornstarch step entirely and live with a thin (but still flavorful) sauce or 2) speed things along by transferring the sauce to a small saucepan, adding the cornstarch, then it on the stove instead. See recipe instructions below for tips.
