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 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.
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?
- Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken
- Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken
- Slow Cooker Jerk Chicken
- Crisp & Juicy Slow Cooker Chicken
- Slow Cooker Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken
Looking for more awesome Brown Sugar Garlic Recipes?
- Brown Sugar Garlic Oven Baked Pork Chops
- Brown Sugar Garlic Pork with Carrots and Potatoes
- Bacon Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken
- Slow Cooker Bacon Brown Sugar Garlic Pork Loin
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.
Ingredients
- 5 chicken thighs
- 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.
Has anyone tried to make this using boneless skinless chicken thighs? If so, what was the cooking time? Thank you! 🙂
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
So delicious!! Turns out perfect every time.
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.
This looks great but my family won’t eat chicken thighs. Could I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead?
Yes you can. Just keep in mind that chicken breasts will cook faster. Let us know how your chicken turns out!
Can you put the chicken thighs in while frozen or do they need to be thawed?
I would thaw then Ali. Let us know if you try the recipe and how it turned out!
Can one use skinless thighs??
Yes you can!
How much water do you use
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.
How much chicken broth would you use for the recipe?
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.
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.
Wow! Impressed with your willingness to try something you never enjoyed before. Thanks so much for the 5 star review!