This 5-ingredient slow cooker hot honey chicken is all about ease and big flavor. With just a few pantry staples, it simmers into sweet, spicy, juicy perfection, it’s perfect for sandwiches, bowls, or however you like to pile it on!

A hand holding a bun filled with chicken and pickles.

5 star review

“I made this today. It was very delicious. I shredded the chicken thighs and it made really good sandwiches. My husband even put some in a tortilla with the pickle slaw. Yum! PS It’s not too spicy if you’re worried.”

– Laura
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Delightfully Easy Hot Honey Chicken At Home

I love a good hot honey chicken sandwich, but honestly I don’t usually want to deal with the hassle and effort of frying chicken at home. To fix that problem and to create a lighter, fresher version, I came up with this slow cooker hot honey chicken, which totally hits the hot honey spot, and can be made with just 5 ingredients! Yes, you miss the crunchy element of fried chicken, but you still get super juicy and meaty chicken covered in a craveable sweet, spicy, and sticky honey sauce. 

And if you top it off with crunchy pickles and coleslaw (I HIGHLY recommend my top-rated dill pickle slaw for such an occasion), you won’t even miss the crispy fried coating! As always, I’m all about ease, so the prep time for this recipe is only 5 minutes, annnnnd there aren’t any specialty or highly processed ingredients (no packets here).

Now, if you’re new to hot honey sauce, well let me just tell you, you’re in for a treat — the sweet and spicy combo will have you coming back for seconds. And if you are already addicted like I am, you are going to love how easy it is to have a hot honey chicken sandwich at home without very little effort.  For the my take on homemade hot honey sauce, all you need to do is whisk together regular honey, brown sugar, garlic, red chili flakes, and white vinegar into a perfectly balanced sweet-hot sauce.

This zippy sauce permeates the chicken thighs with so much flavor and tenderness while they cook in the crockpot, and then before serving you’ll brush the thighs with reserved sauce for a fresh burst of flavor. Just like my reader favorite slow cooker BBQ chicken thighs, if you want to take the hot honey chicken to the next level, pop them under the broiler so the glaze gets all caramely – in my opinion, an extra step that’s totally worth it!

Chicken thighs are truly the way to go with this recipe, but if you want to use chicken breasts, you can make shredded hot honey chicken instead. For shredded chicken, once the chicken breasts are finished cooking, take them out of the crock pot and shred, then return the meat to the cooking liquid and mix with the remaining glaze.

Welcome to My Kitchen! Let’s Make Crockpot Hot Honey Chicken

Jump to Recipe Instructions
A person whisking a brown sauce in a glass measuring cup.
1. Whisk hot honey sauce ingredients until combined.
A person placing raw chicken thighs into a slow cooker.
2. Add chicken to slow cooker & sprinkle with salt.
Brown sauce being poured into a slow cooker with raw chicken thighs.
3. Cover chicken with half of the sauce.
A slow cooker with raw chicken thighs covered in a brown sauce, chopped garlic, and red pepper flakes.
4. Cook chicken.
A foil lined baking sheet with cooked chicken thighs.
5. For Sticky Glazed Chicken, broil chicken.

A Great Meal Prep Protein

Hot honey chicken thighs (or hot honey shredded chicken) are a great meal prep protein to have on hand for super quick meals since they keep so well in the fridge and freezer. The chicken with sauce can be stored covered, in the fridge for 3-4 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.

A slow cooker with raw chicken thighs covered in a brown sauce, chopped garlic, and red pepper flakes.
A slow cooker with raw chicken thighs covered in a brown sauce, chopped garlic, and red pepper flakes.
4.88 stars (8 ratings)

Slow Cooker Hot Honey Chicken (5-Ingredients & Juicy!)

Developed and tested by A woman with long blonde hair, smiling, holds and pours a bottle of oil in a modern kitchen setting.Robyn Conley Downs
Servings: 6 servings
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 2 hours
Total: 2 hours 5 minutes
This 5-ingredient slow cooker hot honey chicken is all about ease and big flavor! With just a few pantry staples, it simmers into sweet, spicy, juicy perfection, it's perfect for sandwiches, bowls, or however you like to pile it on.
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Ingredients

Hot Honey Sauce

  • ⅓ cup honey
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Chicken

  • 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Equipment

Instructions 

  • Make the hot honey sauce by whisking together the honey, brown sugar, vinegar, garlic, ¼ teaspoon salt, and red pepper flakes until well combined.
  • Add the chicken to a 6-quart slow cooker. Sprinkle evenly with ½ teaspoon salt. Pour half of the hot honey sauce (about ¼ cup) over the top of the chicken, tossing the chicken to coat evenly in sauce. Cover the remaining sauce and set aside.
  • Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours, or low for 4-5, or until the chicken is very tender.
  • For Sticky Glazed Hot Honey Chicken: Preheat the broiler to high. Carefully remove the cooked chicken thighs to a foil lined broiler safe pan, and discard the cooking liquid. Thinly brush each thigh with the reserved hot honey sauce. Broil 3-4 minutes, until just browned, keeping a close eye to avoid burning.
  • For Shredded Hot Honey Chicken: Carefully remove the cooked chicken to a cutting board and shred with two forks. Discard all but 1/4 cup cooking liquid from the slow cooker. Add the shredded chicken back to the remaining cooking liquid along with the reserved hot honey sauce. Stir to warm through and serve.
Course: dinner
Cuisine: American

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 1 (of 6), Calories: 255kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 30g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 144mg, Sodium: 429mg, Potassium: 391mg, Fiber: 0.1g, Sugar: 19g, Vitamin A: 61IU, Vitamin C: 0.4mg, Calcium: 20mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition disclaimer
Did you make this recipe?If you do, be sure to share it on Instagram and tag me at @realfoodwholelife so I can see!

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