Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken

5 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 5 minutes

Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken made with just five ingredients, you can set it in minutes and have the perfect weeknight meal!

Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken thighs cooked in slow cooker pot.

Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken is the slow cooker chicken version of one of the most popular recipes on my blog of all time, Brown Sugar Garlic Pork with Carrots & Potatoes.

Or if you’re looking for a slow cooker pork version of this recipe (minus the veggies and plus some bacon) here it is! Slow Cooker Bacon Garlic Pork Loin

Some notes about this Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken:

  • Yes, you can absolutely make this meal in the oven. Set it on a sheet pan just like you would in the slow cooker and roast at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes (you may want to use foil).
  • Want some spice? Add in crushed red pepper or a squirt of Sriracha.
  • If you want an even deeper caramel flavor, try dark brown sugar.
  • Do not add any liquid! I know it can be scary to cook dry in a slow cooker, the chicken will release a lot of liquids.
  • Serve with rice or potato wedges and roasted vegetables.

We LOVE this Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken, we've made it twice this week!

You can also swap out different cuts of chicken in the slow cooker.

  • Try using Chicken Breasts (brownie points for draping bacon on them to keep the chicken moist).
  • Double the topping and toss chicken wings with the same topping and cook for 6 hours on low.
  • Try rubbing a double topping amount over an entire chicken propped up on some foil balls to keep the chicken out of liquid.

Looking for more slow cooker chicken recipes?

5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken is AMAZING and EASY!

Looking for more awesome Brown Sugar Garlic Recipes?

Tools Used in the making of these Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken Thighs:
Slow Cooker: Love this slow cooker and how programmable it is, it has been a workhorse for me… until…
My New Slow Cooker: This recipe was made in this slow cooker. For larger roasts I also brown the meat in the insert and not lose a bunch of the flavor by transferring the meat and leaving the browned bits behind. If you’re thinking of a new slow cooker, consider it if your budget is open.

Pin this recipe now to remember it later

Pin Recipe

Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken

Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken made with just five ingredients from your pantry. Set it in minutes for the perfect weeknight meal!
Yield 5 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 5 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 5 chicken thighs , skin on, bone-in
  • 2 tablespoons garlic , minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar , packed

Instructions

  • Add the chicken, salt, pepper and garlic to the slow cooker.
  • Mix it up then flip the chicken skin side up.
  • Sprinkle on the brown sugar.
  • Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

Nutrition

Calories: 308kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 324mg | Potassium: 265mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 89IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg

Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken made with just five ingredients, you can set it in the morning in just minutes and have the perfect weeknight meal!

Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken made with just five ingredients, you can set it in the morning in just minutes and have the perfect weeknight meal!
Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken made with just five ingredients, you can set it in the morning in just minutes and have the perfect weeknight meal!
We LOVE this Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken, we've made it twice this week!
5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken is AMAZING and EASY!
Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken collage of zoomed out photo of thighs cooked and close up of one thigh. Recipe name in blue banner across center.

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

Categories

Leave a comment & rating

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. Thank you! This is my go-to when I’m short on time to prep the meal but still want a healthy dinner. My family loves it! I just add steamed broccoli and some bread and butter and it’s a delicious week night meal!

  2. Hi I’m Roger tried your Slow cooker Garlic Chicken yesterday, I cooked it for about 1/2 hrs, and the meat came right off the bone and the meat was nice and tender I followed the instructions yet they did not look like the picture. Did I miss something?

    1. I don’t think so? I have seen recipes vary depending on the type of Slow Cooker. I’m glad to hear the food tasted nice and tender.

  3. I haven’t tried this yet, but I showed my picky eater teen and she approves of us trying it. Is there a way to crisp up the skin? Do I have to put it under the broiler for a few minutes when done to do so?

    1. Maybe set it on a sheet pan in the oven just like you would in the slow cooker and roast at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes (you may want to use foil). Please let us know how your teen like the chicken!

  4. Any advice on adapting the recipe for Turkey thighs? Do they give off more or less liquid than chicken? I will be without an oven Thanksgiving.

  5. I would like to make this today, but have chicken breasts thawed and ready to go. Should I thaw chicken thighs instead? Or will the breasts work fine?

    1. Breast of Chicken will work fine; however, please watch the inner temperature of the breasts to not over cook. As you know breasts of chicken cook faster and are less tender if over cooked.

  6. This looks delicious and may be a stupid question but you suggested putting bacon on top of the chicken to keep it moist. Is it cooked or uncooked bacon?

  7. I have this in the crock pot right now. The brown sugar isn’t staying on top of the chicken like it looks like in the picture. Is that okay? Is there something I can do to make it stick next time?

    1. A bit more salt and pepper to taste and normally we do NOT add water believe it or not, but your carrots and potatoes will need a bit of liquid to cook. Consider using Chicken Bouillon/water mixture! Let us know how it turns out.

  8. This recipe is so simple and delicious, I am requested to make this often. The flavours are just right and the side dish possibilities are endless. The house always smells so good when this is cooking.

    1. You could check mid-way to see how much liquid your thighs are giving off and if needed add a little bit of boiling hot chicken bouillon or water. You’re right, there is a lot of liquid in the skin of the thighs.

  9. For all the great reviews you would think this was an amazing dish. It’s not. It lacks flavor. The skin is not crispy, as mentioned. I cooked My chicken in three different crockpots because I have A big family to feed. The chicken did not come out crispy in any of them. I will Say the chicken was very moist. It wasn’t bad but I won’t make it again. My family was not impressed. It was super easy to make though.

  10. Do I need to spray with Pam the bottom of my cooker so the thighs don’t stick ? I’m going to make this for our potluck at work. Looks and sound delicious

    1. You can of course, but I didn’t. The thighs release a significant amount of liquid so I haven’t burned them in the slow cooker.

  11. I made this last night and it was such a hit! I used chicken breasts and roughly chopped them up once done and put them back in the juices. Even my picky toddler tried a bite and said it was good. I’ll be adding this to my weekly rotation.

    1. Love hearing about picky toddlers enjoying a recipe! Thanks so much Sarah, and thank you for the five star review.

  12. SO DELICIOUS!!! This will definitely be one of my regular dinners now!! So easy to make!! Thanks for the Recipe!!

  13. You do not add any liquid to the slow cooker? No chicken broth? They don’t dry out and burn without liquid? I didn’t see broth in the recipe so I want to make sure before I make this!

    1. Do not add any liquid! I know it can be scary to cook dry in a slow cooker, the chicken will release a lot of liquids. Let us know if you try the recipe and what you think! Enjoy!

  14. Absolutely delicious after I took the chicken out I sprinkled some flour in the chicken juices to make a gravy. Highly recommend. One thing is that I would like to have the skin be more crispy, any recommendations for that or just put them on a pan for a few minutes after they’re done?

    1. Not sure how crispy you like your chicken, Yes, crisping them up on a pan would certainly work. Glad you enjoyed the recipe!

  15. My family does not like heavy garlic flavor. How garlicky are these? Can I reduce it by half and still get a good result? Can’t wait to try this recipe. Sounds delicious and so easy.

    1. I haven’t reduced the garlic in this recipe because we are fans of garlic; however, if you do I would be curious to hear what you think of the recipe!

  16. I made this and put it over rice, it was delicious!! One of my husbands favorites, definitely will make again!??

    1. Yummy! Thank you for the 5 stars and delighted to hear you enjoyed the Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken. We love it too!

    1. That depends on whether or not your guests/family are big eaters! In our family we typically give the children a 1/2 chicken breast. If everyone is an adult, 6 chicken breasts. Go to the recipe card and hover over the word “Yield” and move the bar from 5 to 6 and the recipe card will update it’s ingredients for 6 chicken breasts. Please let us know how you liked the recipe if you get a chance!

    1. So many answers to this questions! Take a moment to go to our Recipe Index and browse your favorite vegetable (Green Beans, Broccoli, Potatoes, Corn etc.). You’ll be able to view a plethora of side dish options to enjoy!

    1. You can use either. The recipe is tested and timed wit bone in chicken thighs. If you use boneless decrease cooking time by approximately 10 – 15 minutes.

        1. Do not add any liquid! I know it can be scary to cook dry in a slow cooker, the chicken will release a lot of liquids.

  17. Awesome recipe,! Add about 1 & 1/2 Oz. of Balsamic Vinegar if you’re going with white boneless. Keeps it moist and gives it a bite….

  18. Has anyone tried to make this using boneless skinless chicken thighs? If so, what was the cooking time? Thank you! 🙂

    1. Type of Poultry Cooking Times
      Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts 1 to 2 hours on Low
      Bone-in Split Chicken Breasts 2 to 3 hours on Low
      Chicken Thighs 3 to 4 hours on Low
      Whole Chicken 4 to 5 hours on Low

        1. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs cook quickly, in 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the size. Bone-in thighs, however, take a bit more time, between 25 and 30 minutes. Use a thermometer to measure the internal temperature of the thighs. They’re finished cooking when the temperature reads 165°F

  19. So incredibly delicious. We raise our own heritage breed chickens and they can be a bit tough with a different flavor than store bought which puts off my daughter sometimes. She LOVED this recipe. Admittedly I made a couple of very minor changes because of our birds. First, it was skinned which removed most of what little fat they have so I added about five tablespoons of butter to keep some fat in it. Second, I used the whole chicken broken down. Third, I added just a bit of red pepper flakes but I’m not sure it was enough to make a difference. We will definitely be making this again.

  20. This looks great but my family won’t eat chicken thighs. Could I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead?

    1. Yes you can. Just keep in mind that chicken breasts will cook faster. Let us know how your chicken turns out!

    1. Do not add any liquid! I know it can be scary to cook dry in a slow cooker, the chicken will release a lot of liquids.

    1. I don’t use chicken broth! Do not add any liquid! I know it can be scary to cook dry in a slow cooker, the chicken will release a lot of liquids.

  21. We loved it! Thank you so much for putting this out there. I don’t ever eat Chicken thighs but now I am in love.

    1. Wow! Impressed with your willingness to try something you never enjoyed before. Thanks so much for the 5 star review!