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Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken – a new go-to family dinner. Easy, slow-cooked chicken tossed in a spicy-sweet and tangy honey garlic sauce. Serve this dish with broccoli cooked up right alongside the chicken. It’s the easiest crockpot dinner. Add a side of rice for a main and lots of fresh herbs to finish. And if you’re short on time, you can bake this chicken too!
My Nonnie was the queen of a sweet and tangy honey garlic chicken. She used to make this meal the day guests would arrive to visit them in South Florida. She knew that everyone always enjoyed the dish!
Nonnie’s sauce included some 1000 Island dressing and, I believe, an entire jar of orange marmalade, plus soy sauce. It may not sound that appealing when you say it out loud, but you can’t deny that the dish she made with delicious! She would serve the chicken and sauce with rice and roasted asparagus or broccoli.
I drew some inspiration from my Nonnie’s dish and made a variation in the crockpot. My sauce is much, much less sweet, with no dressing and a lot more garlic. Pretty different but very delish!
Since the weather has been so chilly and life is always busy, I wanted to make this in a crockpot. I slow-cooked the chicken in the sauce with the broccoli right on top.
This has to be one of my most effortless crockpot dinners. Nothing fancy to it! Which is often what we need most. While my Nonnie’s recipe inspired me, this also reminds me of a cozy Sunday night dinner my mom would serve. If you’re looking for a cozy dinner that’s still elegant enough to serve for Valentine’s Day, give this dish a try!
Here are the details
Ingredients
- Chicken breast or thighs – you can also use a mix, which is exactly what I do!
- Garlic – and lots of it!
- Tamari or soy sauce
- Ketchup – ideally, this is organic with no added sugars, or at least very little sugar. I love the Rao’s homemade ketchup. Primal Kitchens makes an unsweetened and one sweetened with honey. If you’re using Heinz ketchup, use the organic, it does not include any corn syrup.
- Honey
- Chili paste
- Rice vinegar
- Broccoli
- Fresh herbs – scallions and cilantro
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Steam or crispy rice – for serving
Special Tools
For this recipe, you’ll need a crockpot, or you can bake the chicken in a baking dish instead.
Steps
Step 1: the chicken
Arrange the chicken in the bowl of your crockpot. Sprinkle the garlic over the chicken.
Step 2: the sauce
I like to mix this in a glass jar first, but you can also add all the ingredients directly to the crockpot and then stir it up with the chicken.
The sauce is a mix of tamari (or use soy sauce), ketchup, honey, chili paste, and rice vinegar. I like to add black pepper too. Pour the sauce over the chicken.
Step 3: add the the broccoli
You can add the broccoli now, like I do, or you can wait until the end and add the broccoli before serving. I love that the broccoli gets super saucy, but some prefer to cook the broccoli for less time. Choose whatever you will enjoy!
Slow cook for 3 to 4 hours on low, then remove the lid and cook on high to thicken up the sauce.
Step 4:
Serve the chicken and sauce over bowls of crispy sesame rice. Steamed rice is great too! Then I love to add fresh scallions and cilantro for some freshness. It’s so yummy!
Looking for other busy weeknight-night recipes? Try these!
One Skillet Saucy Chicken Tortilla Enchilada Rice Bake
Crockpot Crispy Chicken Tinga Tacos with Avocado Jalapeño Crema
Sheet Pan Honey Mustard Salmon with Caesar Roasted Potatoes
One Skillet Cheesy Green Chile Chicken
Lastly, if you make this Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken and Broccoli
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 605 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts or thighs
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 cup tamari or soy sauce
- 1/4 cup organic ketchup
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2-3 tablespoons chili paste
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- black pepper
- 3 cups broccoli florets
- 1/2 cup fresh chopped herbs scallions/cilantro
- toasted sesame seeds, for serving
- rice, for serving
Instructions
Crockpot
- 1. In the bowl of your slow cooker, add the chicken and garlic. 2. In a bowl, mix the tamari, ketchup, honey, chili paste, rice vinegar, and pepper. Pour the honey sauce over the chicken. Add the broccoli. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high for 1-2 hours.3. Crank the heat on the slow cooker to high. Remove the lid. Cook for 25 minutes to thicken the sauce. 4. Serve the chicken, broccoli, and sauce over bowls of rice topped with herbs and sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Oven
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425° F. 2. In a rectangular baking dish, add the chicken and garlic. 3. In a bowl, mix the tamari, ketchup, honey, chili paste, rice vinegar, and pepper. Pour the honey sauce over the chicken. Add the broccoli and cook for 25-30 minutes until the chicken is cooked and coated in sauce.4. Serve the chicken, broccoli, and sauce over bowls of rice topped with herbs and sesame seeds. Enjoy!
This post was originally published on February 13, 2025
Really yummy and easy to prep!! My chicken was very tender and well seasoned. Delicious!!!
Hey Tia,
Fantastic!! I am so glad to hear this recipe was a winner, thanks for making it and your comment! x
This looks nothing like the picture. I ended up with sweet, soupy chicken. My family didn’t care for it. This was the first time one of your recipes wasn’t a hit.
Hi Michelle,
So very sorry to hear this. If there is anything that I can help with, please let me know. Thanks for trying the recipe! xx
Honestly not great. It has a very overpowering flavor of just soy sauce.. which I love soy sauce! But it’s just too much of that flavor alone. You can’t really even taste garlic. Chicken came out a little dry so I would cook it closer to the 3 hours on low, not 4. The sauce also didn’t thicken like other comments said. I tried adding a corn starch slurry but it didn’t really do much. Despite other comments, I loved the broccoli. I put it on top for the whole cooking time. I just started following some of these recipes so hopefully I have better experiences going forward.
Hi Alexandra,
Thanks so much for trying this dish and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! xx
Because of some of the feedback I made a cornstarch slurry like you recommended but then I did not have enough sauce so I made more and added it. Spicy goodness better than at a Chinese restaurant. Next time I will try with shredded carrots and toasted peanuts like kung pau chicken!! So glad I tried the recipe
Hey Diana,
Thanks so much! Love to hear this recipe turned out well for you, I appreciate you giving it a try! xx
I made this follow directions exactly (crock pot) . Mine also came out runny sauce. Flavor is decent, but definitely nothing like the video on IG and the picture here.
Hi Leora,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! Sorry to hear your sauce was runny. Glad you enjoyed the flavors. xx
Does the dish get covered in the oven?
Hey Ailina,
You do not need to cover this dish in the oven:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
This does not look like the photo whatsoever. I followed the recipe as written, and ended up with chicken that I had to scrape a thick layer of salt off of and no sticky sauce as shown in the photo. Tried adding flour to thicken the liquid, but it didn’t save it much.
I would also agree to not toss the broccoli in from the start unless you like mush.
Hi Lauren,
I’m so sorry to hear this recipe was not enjoyed. Next time, I would try a cornstarch slurry, adding flour isn’t going to thicken this. Again, my apologies and thanks for giving the recipe a try! xx
Family enjoyed it but the sauce was very thin. I expected better consistency on the sauce- it was like water.
Hi Julie,
Thanks so much for making this recipe and your feedback! Sorry to hear your sauce was super thin, next time you could add a cornstarch slurry to thicken. I hope this helps! xx
We really liked this very spicy dish. I saw all the comments complaining about a sauce that was too thin, but I decided to make it according to the recipe rather than adding cornstarch, figuring that a liquid-y sauce would better for cooking the chicken and broccoli. It was actually perfect when served on rice since the sauce was able to percolate down to coat all the rice. I did cut the chicken breasts into cubes since we don’t like whole breasts served on rice, and they worked out well. I also used 3 TBS of gochujang for the hot chili sauce, which gave it some welcome heat. Definitely one I’ll be making again!
Hey Helen,
Fantastic! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, I appreciate you making it! xx
I followed the recipe and this did not turn out. The chicken was undercooked as was the broccoli. I enjoy a crock pot meal for those hectic nights as a family but this one ended up needing a lot of triage to salvage.
Hi Karen,
So very sorry to hear this. How long did you cook in the crockpot for? Please let me know how I can help! xx
Flavor was nice but the broccoli was complete mush. Do not cook the broccoli that long. I would maybe put the broccoli in 30 minutes before serving at most.
Hey Lincoln,
Thanks so much for trying this dish and sharing your feedback! So sorry to hear about your broccoli! xx
Hey Tieghan! I know I had a recipe flagged for crispy rice from you but can’t find. Can you please link here?
Hey Camille,
You bet!
https://fett-weg.today/chipotle-honey-salmon-rice-salad/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Good flavor but want wasn’t my favorite. I tend to like my chicken thighs with the skin on to be nice and crispy so I should have browned the chicken on both sides before putting it in the oven or in the crockpot. So ultimately, I cooked it in the oven but was dissatisfied so I ended up shredding the chicken into pieces and then the sauce down even more on the stove and so far it’s better this way over rice in a bowl. So the way I did it was similar to the April 2024 sheet pan version of this meal.
Hey Jodi,
I appreciate you giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback! So sorry to hear you didn’t love it. Thanks again! xx
This is my first HBH recipe that did not turn out. 🙁 I always follow her recipes to a T. I also had the issue where the sauce did not thicken up, even after adding a cornstarch slurry as suggested in the comments section. Still giving three stars because it smells great and I bet it would have been good if the sauce were sticky as shown in the photos and videos.
Hey Christina,
Thank you so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! So sorry to hear the sauce did not thicken for you! Next time, you could try simmering some on the stove top, but I know that would be an extra step. Again, my apologies! xT
Excellent flavors! I baked it in the oven,I wasn’t sure if the broccoli would be to mushy in a crockpot,so I chickened out in the oven it went.I added a cornstarch slurry to the sauce before pouring it over the chicken and broccoli,it came out perfect.Served over a blend of wild and brown rice.
Will make this again,simple and fast.
Hi Mary Ann,
Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! Glad to hear it turned out well for you! xxT