Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs & Slaw

The slow cooker makes dinner almost effortless—toss everything in, turn it on, and come back to a flavourful dinner. If you like, serve these saucy thighs with steamed rice and a quick slaw you can start with a bagged cabbage mix or veggies you shred yourself. Feel free to play around with ingredients you already have on hand—grated carrots are delicious, but so are grated raw beets, thinly sliced Brussels sprouts, chopped broccoli or cauliflower, or fresh snap peas. Who’s the boss of the slow cooker? You are!

Ingredients

For the chicken: 
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1/2 cup ketchup or tomato puree
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar or honey
2-3 garlic cloves, finely crushed
pinch red chili flakes

For the slaw:
1/2 bag prepared coleslaw or 6-8 cups finely shredded cabbage + a grated carrot
2 kale leaves, thinly sliced (discard stems)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar or honey
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
1/3 cup dried cranberries (optional)

Directions

To make the chicken, arrange the chicken thighs on the bottom of your slow cooker, whisk together the remaining ingredients and pour overtop; cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or until the chicken is very tender. 

When you’re ready to eat, prepare some rice (if you like), and make the slaw by finely chopping the cabbage (if you didn’t buy it prepared), and tossing in a bowl with the grated carrot and kale. In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar or honey, with some salt and pepper to taste. Toss with the greens, and top with cilantro and dried cranberries. Serve the chicken and sauce over rice, with slaw on the side.

Originally published in March 2023