Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe

What's an easy-to-make dish that will nonetheless impress your guests? You guessed it. This one: Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken. As chef and recipe developer Susan Olayinka of The Flexible Fridge says, it can even be paired with anything from pasta to noodles or rice. "It's so delicious," says Olayinka, "and because it's slow cooked, all the flavors are really intermingled as if it's been marinating for days." 

With just about 15 minutes of hands-on work and then four hours of hands-off slow cooking, this dish comes together into something truly tender and tasty. And it will taste like it took you a lot more effort than it did.

Another nice thing about this recipe is the fact that despite the decidedly global taste of the finished chicken, it uses everyday ingredients. In fact, you may not even have to venture out to the store for anything, provided you keep a decently well-stocked kitchen. And because it takes four hours to cook, this is the perfect meal to whip together at the end of your lunchtime in order to have a tangy, sweet, savory, and versatile dish ready for enjoyment at dinner. No time to waste now, though. Let's cook!

As noted, there's really nothing rare here in this ingredient list. You'll need two chicken breasts, some honey, some soy sauce, some chicken broth divided into two measurements (a ½ cup and 4 teaspoons), garlic cloves, chopped green onion, butter, and a little cornstarch.

Like things with a bit of kick? "You can definitely add some spice to it," says Olayinka. "I would say some chili flakes, black pepper, or white pepper." 

One more note: Make sure to measure your broth with care. "One mistake to watch out for is not to put a lot of liquid in a slow cooker," Olayinka adds. "A lot of people get tempted to put in more liquid than needed." If you put in too much, your meal could end up being very watery and soggy.

Wash the chicken breasts and trim off any fat and gristle, then pat the meat dry with paper towels and, using a knife or kitchen shears, slice it into 1-inch cubes.

Now put that diced chicken, honey, soy sauce, butter, a ½ cup of chicken broth, and the garlic cloves into the slow cooker. Turn the slow cooker on to its low temperature setting and cook everything for 4 hours. Your work is almost done. When a few minutes of cooking time remain, chop the green onion. (Prep your rice, noodles, or other sides as needed to align with the end of the cooking time as well, of course.)

Once the four hours are done, transfer the contents of the slow cooker to a pot and place it on the stove over a burner at medium heat. Combine 2 teaspoons of cornstarch with the remaining 4 teaspoons of chicken broth and then quickly pour the mixture into the simmering pot. Start stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula and keep things moving as the sauce in the pan thickens.

Cook, stirring, for two to three minutes, then dish out the chicken and sprinkle the chopped green onion on top as a garnish. 

Somehow got some leftovers? "This can keep for three days in the fridge," says Olayinka, adding, "It can keep also about one month in the freezer."