Slow Cooker Honey Soy Shredded Chicken

This Slow Cooker Honey Soy Chicken is tender, juicy, and perfect for shredding. Made with simple ingredients and a sweet-savory sauce, it’s an easy dump-and-go dinner the whole family will love.

Looking for more easy slow cooker dinners? Then you’ll definitely want to make my Slow Cooker Parmesan Herb Chicken Orzo, Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala, and Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Why This Recipe Works

Healthier than take-out — If you find yourself craving Asian food but don’t want to go out to get it, order carry out, or are worried about the extra fat and calories in some takeout dishes, then this honey soy chicken is better than any restaurant version, and healthier too!

Delicious honey and soy chicken sauce — This sauce is so to-die-for yummy. Sweet from the honey, with a lot of garlic, and a hint of heat. I often find myself doubling it just to either have more of the sauce to pour over rice or to have extra for another dish or salad. 

Easy to make hot — or not —  If you don’t care for spicy food, leave out the sriracha (or crushed red pepper flakes). I swear it doesn’t make this dish a “spicy” one, but if you’re truly heat-averse, just leave it out for peace of mind and I promise the soy honey chicken sauce will still have you licking your fingers.

6 easy ingredients — This shredded honey soy chicken recipe only has 6 ingredients but the flavors are so amazing, you’d think it called for 60. Just 15 minutes of prep and a few hours in your trusty slow cooker will deliver thee best honey soy chicken of your life!

Ingredients

Chicken breasts — I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts but you can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs if you prefer. I love honey soy chicken thighs just as much as the breast. Sometimes more as it has a little more flavor in my opinion. 

Honey — This honey soy chicken recipe needs, well, honey as one of the main ingredients. Any kind of liquid honey will do. 

Low sodium soy sauce — I like to use low sodium soy sauce in this honey soy chicken breast recipe because I don’t want it to be too salty. I figure you can always add more salt later, if needed. 

Hoisin sauce — Hoisin sauce is like an Asian barbecue sauce, essentially. You can find it in the aisle with the other Asian or ethnic foods (same for the sriracha). 

Minced garlic — Mince your own from fresh, or use jarred or frozen. 

Sriracha sauce — Sriracha adds a kick of heat to this honey soy chicken in the slow cooker. You can always leave it out or add it at the end before you’re ready to eat. 

Optional — After serving, I like to add a few chopped green onions and some cilantro and crushed red pepper flakes or sesame seeds as a garnish and for a little more flavor to the slow cooker honey soy chicken. 

How to Make Slow Cooker Honey Soy Chicken

1. First, put the chicken breasts or thighs into the slow cooker. (Spray the inside of the crock first for easier clean up.)
2. Next, in a medium-size bowl, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, garlic, and sriracha sauce (or crushed red pepper flakes). Then, pour the sauce into the slow cooker. 
3. Add the lid and set the heat for high to cook 3-4 hours or cook on low for 6-8 hours. 
4. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a large bowl, then shred it using two forks, then cover the bowl with foil or a towel to keep the chicken hot. 
5. Carefully transfer the honey soy sauce from the slow cooker to a medium sauce pan and bring it to a boil. In a small container, stir together the cold water and cornstarch until it’s dissolved, then pour this mixture into the sauce pan and stir it all together until the sauce thickens. 
6. Take the pan off the heat and pour the sauce over the chicken. Serve this chicken over cooked rice if desired and top with optional sesame seeds, green onions, and/or cilantro.

Tips for Perfect Shredded Chicken

I usually use two forks to shred chicken that’s been cooked in the slow cooker. It’s incredibly easy to shred if it’s been cooked long enough. It should really fall apart. 

If you’d like to ensure your chicken is evenly shredded, you can shred the chicken breasts with a hand mixer or a stand mixer. Turn the mixer on low, allowing the beaters to pull the chicken apart. This won’t take long. Once it’s just pulled apart, it’s done

Variations and Substitutions:

• Create a honey garlic version by adding double the garlic to this sauce, then following the directions as-is. 
• Spicy honey soy chicken can be made spicier by doubling the sriracha sauce, adding in a different kind of hot sauce you like, adding red pepper flakes on top of the hot sauce, or adding jalapenos. 
• Use chicken thighs vs breasts — I often use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts because it’s either what I have thawed in the fridge or I am feeling a little more depth of flavor in this honey soy shredded chicken dish.
• If you’d like to add some low sodium and/or gluten-free swaps, use low-sodium soy sauce and don’t add extra salt to taste. Substitute tamari sauce for soy sauce to make it gluten free.

FAQs

Expert Tips & Tricks 

• If you’d prefer to control the heat in this dish, you can add red pepper flakes or sriracha when serving yourself, versus adding it to the sauce.
• This slow cooker honey soy shredded chicken will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

More Recipes You’ll Love 

Love making bowls? Then try these rice + bowl pairing options: 

• Pair my Cilantro Lime Rice with this slow cooker honey soy shredded chicken for a delicious Chipotle-like rice bowl. 
• Want it low-carb? Substitute regular rice for my Cauliflower Fried Rice 
• Add this honey soy chicken on top of my Pork Fried Rice for a high-protein meal.