Chicken Crockpot Recipes: Dump & Go Honey Garlic Chicken

Oct 15

3 min read

Updated: 15 hours ago

Shredded honey garlic chicken in a slow cooker with glossy sauce, sesame seeds and green onions

Five ingredients in, 8 hours later shred and serve

There is no browning, no sautéing and no step where you stand at the stove. Chicken breasts go into the slow cooker with honey, soy sauce, garlic and a squeeze of ketchup, and eight hours later you shred them into a sticky glaze. It serves six, freezes well, and the hands-on time is about four minutes.

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Why this one works

Ketchup sounds odd and does something clever — the tomato and vinegar in it balance the honey so the sauce does not read as dessert.
Breasts on LOW for 8 hours shred beautifully; on HIGH they tighten and go stringy, so resist the shortcut.
Thickening the sauce at the end with a cornstarch slurry is what makes it cling instead of pooling.

At a glance

Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 8 hr
Total time: 8 hr 5 min
Yield: 6 servings
Protein: 43g per serving
Calories: 368 per serving

Ingredients

Into the crockpot

2.5 lb (1.1kg) boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp black pepper

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To thicken and serve

2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp cold water
Toasted sesame seeds
Sliced green onions
Cooked rice and steamed broccoli

Instructions

Dump everything in. Lay the chicken breasts in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker in a single layer. Whisk the honey, soy sauce, ketchup, garlic, rice vinegar, ginger, red pepper flakes and black pepper in a bowl and pour it over the top.
Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours, or HIGH for 4 if you are short on time. Do not lift the lid partway through — every peek costs about 20 minutes of cooking.
Shred in the pot. The chicken should fall apart under light pressure. Shred it directly in the slow cooker with two forks so every strand picks up sauce.
Thicken the sauce. Push the chicken to one side, whisk the cornstarch slurry into the liquid, then switch the cooker to HIGH. Leave the lid off for 10 to 15 minutes until the sauce reduces into a glossy glaze that coats the back of a spoon.
Toss and rest. Stir everything together so the chicken is fully coated and let it sit 5 minutes off the heat — it thickens a little more as it settles.
Serve. Spoon over rice with steamed broccoli alongside, and finish with sesame seeds and green onions.

Notes and swaps

Freezer prep: combine the raw chicken and sauce in a freezer bag and freeze flat for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight and tip straight into the cooker.
Chicken thighs work and are even more forgiving — same timing.
Leftovers make excellent sandwiches on soft rolls with a handful of slaw.