Crock Pot Honey Bourbon Chicken
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A little sweet and a little spicy, our EASY Crock Pot Honey Bourbon Chicken recipe is BIG on flavor and a dump-and-go meal. This fan-favorite is made with simple ingredients and is freezer-friendly.
You can also make Instant Pot Bourbon Chicken!
Reasons You’ll Love Crock Pot Bourbon Chicken
1. Like most of our easy crock pot recipes, it’s super simple to make.
2. Complex in flavor. This is thanks to ingredients like fresh ginger (just keep some in the freezer to have on hand), soy sauce (or gluten-free coconut aminos), honey, green onions, and, of course, bourbon.
3. My kids love it! It’s a little spicy, but you can always pull back on the spice if your family has a sensitive palate. Check out our other kid-friendly recipes.
4. It’s been very well-tested. Both of us, as well as our 500 person recipe-testing team for our Crock Pot Cookbook, tested this numerous times!
5. It’s dairy-free and can be made gluten-free. With our substitutions, this recipe will work for both dairy-free and gluten-free diets. (According to Beyond Celiac, most bourbon is gluten-free due to the distillation process.)
6. It’s freezer-friendly. Double the batch and freeze one for later.
Ingredients Needed
These easy-to-find yet high-impact ingredients create a delicious combo in the slow cooker…
Ingredient Notes:
- Chicken – You can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs for this recipe. Trim off any excess fat and diced into bite-sized chunks.
- Bourbon – Lends a smoky caramel-like sweetness that’s hard to replicate with another ingredient. If you have kids, don’t worry, the alcohol will almost entirely evaporate when cooked this long. Look for small bottles by the liquor counter, if you don’t have some at home. Subs: whisky, no salt chicken broth, apple juice or cider.
- Soy Sauce – Look for an all-natural brand with no preservatives like Kikkoman or San-J Gluten Free Tamari Soy Sauce. To avoid soy (and gluten), try Coconut Aminos instead.
- Ketchup – Look for organic ketchup to avoid additives and preservatives. This ingredient adds flavor and helps thicken the sauce some. Sub: a little tomato paste.
- Ginger – It’s best to use and grate fresh ginger. No need to peel it. When done, place it in a freezer bag, seal, and freeze for the next time. It grates even easier from frozen.
How to Make Bourbon Chicken in Crock Pot
Make Sauce & Slow Cook
In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, honey, ketchup, bourbon, oil, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, and green onions.
Place the chicken and sauce in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours or until cooked through. (The chicken is done when it is no longer pink inside and/or registers 165°F internally.)
Carefully transfer the chicken to a wooden cutting board, dice or shred the meat, and set aside.
Thicken the Sauce
In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water until smooth.
Carefully pour the juices from the slow cooker into a medium saucepan. Add in the cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring, until the sauce has thickened, about 3 minutes.
Finish & Serve
Return the chicken and sauce to the slow cooker. Stir gently to combine. Serve over rice. Garnish with green onions and serve with stir-fried vegetables, if desired.
Note: There’s a lot of sauce to spare, so whip up a big pot of Instant Pot Brown Rice or Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice and a pan of stir-fried veggies to help soak up all that delicious sauce. To save time, buy pre-made rice at the store and use the frozen stir-fry vegetable mix.
What to Serve with Bourbon Chicken
To make this a well-rounded meal, serve with some of these sides:
- Instant Pot Brown Rice or Cilantro Lime Rice
- Stir-fried vegetables (i.e. snow peas, carrots, water chestnuts, bell peppers, and onion)
- Asian Slaw
- Classic Fruit Salad
How to Freeze Bourbon Chicken
Like most of our freezer meal recipes, this freezer-friendly chicken dish is one you can easily double, eat one for dinner tonight, and freeze the other for later. Here’s how easy it is to make ahead and freeze:
Freeze For Later: Make the sauce. Pour the sauce and chicken into a gallon-size freezer bag or container. Seal and freeze. You can freeze alongside frozen stir-fry veggies and frozen rice for a meal kit.
Prepare From Frozen: Note: Have cooked rice, cornstarch, and (optional) stir-fried veggies on hand to complete this meal. Thaw using one of our safe thawing methods. Cook as directed starting in step 2.
FAQs
I personally don’t drink or enjoy the taste of bourbon. However, when used in cooking, I’ve found that the bourbon lends a smoky caramel-like sweetness that’s hard to replicate with another ingredient.
If you have kids, don’t worry, the alcohol will almost entirely evaporate when cooked this long.
Look for small bottles by the liquor counter, if you don’t have some at home in your cabinet.
Now here’s the key to delicious Bourbon Chicken: Do not overcook your chicken in the crock pot! If you follow our recipe (only 2 1/2 – 3 1/2 hours), you’re good to go. That’s right..any longer and your chicken will get dried out.
If you really want to get into the weeds, here is an article about How Long to Cook Chicken in the Slow Cooker.
Bourbon is often used in recipes to add a sweet, smoky flavor to the dish. If you don’t have bourbon or prefer not to use it, there are a few substitutes you can try:
Whiskey: Like bourbon, whiskey has a smoky, oaky flavor that can add depth to your chicken dish.
Brandy: Brandy is a type of spirit that’s made from distilled wine. It has a sweet, fruity flavor that can add complexity to your chicken dish. Use a dark, aged brandy for the best results.
Chicken Broth: If you don’t want to use an alcohol, a good bet is using low sodium or unsalted chicken broth to replace the liquid and add a little extra flavor.
Apple juice or cider: Another non-alcoholic option is trying apple juice or cider in place of bourbon. The sweet, fruity flavor will work well with chicken and give your dish a unique twist.
Remember, when substituting ingredients in a recipe, it’s important to taste as you go and adjust the seasonings as needed.
Our recipe is gluten-free is you use a gluten-free soy sauce or coconut aminos. According to Beyond Celiac, most bourbon is gluten-free due to the distillation process, however, you can omit bourbon/whiskey or use apple juice or no salt chicken stock/broth instead.
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Crock Pot Honey Bourbon Chicken
A little sweet and a little spicy, this Bourbon Chicken recipe is big on flavor and takes just minutes to throw in the slow cooker.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/4 cup organic or all-natural ketchup
- 1/4 cup bourbon or other whiskey
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (decrease to 1/8 teaspoon, if sensitive to heat)
- 1/2 cup sliced green onions, plus more for garnish
- 1 1/2 – 2 pounds boneless, skinless medium chicken breasts or thighs (trimmed of fat)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Cooked basmati rice or brown rice, for serving
- Stir-fried vegetables, for serving
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Instructions
Make It Now:
- Make Sauce: In the slow cooker, whisk together the soy sauce, honey, ketchup, bourbon, oil, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, and green onions. Add the chicken and turn to coat.
- Slow Cook: Cover and cook the chicken and sauce on Low for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours or until cooked through. (The chicken is done when it is no longer pink inside and/or registers 165°F internally.) Carefully transfer the chicken to a wooden cutting board, dice or shred the meat, and set aside.
- Thicken the Sauce: Turn the crock pot on High. (You may want to use a small strainer or slotted spoon to remove any random chicken pieces in the leftover juices.) In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water until smooth. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the juices and put the lid on. Let it cook for about 30 minutes, or until thickened into a glaze-like sauce. (Alternately, you can pour the juices into a pot on the stovetop, stir in the cornstarch mixture, and boil for 3 minutes.)
- Finish & Serve: Return the chicken to the sauce, and stir gently to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper, as needed. Serve over rice. Garnish with green onions and serve with stir-fried vegetables, if desired.
Freeze For Later: Follow step 1, placing all the sauce ingredients into a gallon-size freezer bag instead of the slow cooker. Seal the bag, gently toss and massage to combine, and freeze.
Prepare From Frozen: Note: Have cooked rice, cornstarch, and (optional) stir-fried veggies on hand to complete this meal. Thaw completely in the refrigerator. Follow steps 2 through 4.
Notes/Tips
- If you don’t end up using all the cooked rice in a recipe, you can freeze the leftovers. We’ve written an in depth post on how to freeze rice here.
- Gluten-Free Version:
- Use coconut aminos or GF Tamari soy sauce instead of soy sauce.
- According to Beyond Celiac, most bourbon is gluten-free due to the distillation process, however, you can omit bourbon/whiskey and use apple juice or no salt chicken stock/broth instead.
- Instant Pot Instructions: Use our Instant Pot Bourbon Chicken recipe.
- How to Replace the Bourbon: One of our readers tested this recipe without the bourbon and reported that their family thought it was still delicious. Another tester said it worked with chicken broth instead. Other recipes say to use apple juice instead.
- Where We Get Our Chicken: We get our meat from ButcherBox. The chicken is organic and curated from small, trusted farms. We highly recommend this service to source healthy meat–like uncured bacon, wild salmon, and grass-fed beef–and have used it for years ourselves.
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This is a delicious dish! Super easy and a family pleaser.
So glad you enjoyed this Leilani! Thanks for leaving a review.
It was easy and delicious! My family loved it!💕
Easy and delicious are two of our favorite words. Thanks for leaving a review Caroline!
Family favorite!
Yay! Love to hear this Amy. Thanks for sharing!
Honey Bourbon Chicken is a family favorite! There are never any leftovers when I serve this for dinner! For a shortcut, I use 2-3 cubes of frozen minced ginger from the grocery store as a replacement for the 1 tablespoon of minced fresh ginger. This helps make an easy recipe even easier!
Hi Helen. Glad to hear your family loves this! And thank you for sharing your shortcut.
Honey Bourbon chicken is a staple in our house! We love the crockpot version and its the best dump and go recipe. No cooking before hand really helps prep. It’s my favorite to bring to a freezer swap. We just get frozen stir fry and minute rice and it’s an easy after school recipe for this teacher. It is so yummy and delicious! Maybe one of the fastest preps on the whole website!
Thank you for sharing your shortcuts Tricia! This is one of the favorites at our house as well. I need to grab some frozen stir fry to save that chopping time! 🙂
Loved this recipe, the sauce has great flavor!!
Hi Julia! Thanks for leaving a review. It’s a favorite in my house too!
This was easy to make and SO delicious!
Glad you like it Mysti. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
Delicious!! Very easy to make and everyone loved it
Great to hear that! Thanks, Connie.
We absolutely love this! The flavor is so yummy and it got a 5+++( My husband has a 1-5 rating system – 5 being the best) and it is a keeper. So easy to prep and great over rice
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and review, Kelli!
Excellent and Easy!
I had bought extra chicken and used this recipe and stuffed it in the freezer. This dish was so good and smelled incredible! I used the instapot version and was delighted! Paired it with jasmine rice and steamed veggies. Way to go TH girls – you’ve knocked it out of the park!
Yum! I’m really glad you liked it, Gretchen!
Hi! Do you think it would be ok to mix the sauce and chicken in a ziplock the night before, so that it can be a dump and go foe dinner the next day?
Yes, I think that works.
I think that will probably be fine. But, if you want to assure the chicken doesn’t get over-marinated/mushy at all, you could just mix up the sauce the night before and then place the chicken and sauce in the slow cooker in the morning.
Would using frozen veggie mix be okay in this? If so when do you suggest/ how do you suggest adding for best flavor and texture ?
Hi Lyndsay. I love the idea of doing that, but I don’t think adding frozen veggies to the slow cooker will go well. It will cool the dish down to much and maybe not properly cook the chicken. And I think they will come out mushy unfortunately! I hate the idea of more dishes but would suggest sautéing the frozen stir fry mixture in a little oil over high heat for a few minutes for the best result. Or, you could always microwave them.
This recipe is so easy to prep and freeze for later and has ingredients I almost always have already. It cooks quickly in the instant pot and is delicious/very flavorful over stir-fry or rice!
Thank you for the feedback and review, Amanda!
I have been to two different stores already and I can’t track down any fresh ginger. Can I use ground? How much? Thanks! 🙂
Sorry you can’t find it! You can use ground but I’m not sure how much. Maybe 1/2 teaspoon to start? The bummer is that ground ginger is one of those spices that can’t easily replicate the fresh version.
This sounds delicious. I do not use chicken breast and would like to use a whole chicken. Do you have any suggestions on recipe quantity for a whole chicken? Or bone in chicken thighs? Thank you
You could definitely use a 4-5 pound whole chicken. Slow cook it for 4-6 hours on low, until a meat thermometer inserted need the thigh bone registers 165°F. For 2 1/2-3 pounds bone-in thighs, slow cook for 3-4 hours on low until registers 165°F. If you’d like our Cooking Times Chart for Slow Cooker, you can find it here: https://thrivinghomeblog.com/cooking-times-chart-for-slow-cooker/
Thank you so much. I will try this super soon!
I fixed this tonight for dinner. Only thing I didn’t have, but thought I did have and that was the bourbon. I had already been to the store to get green onion and ginger. So I looked in my cabinet and all I had was Peach Brandy so I used it instead. It was delicious! My husband even liked it. Just ask Jared Fenstermacher. He’ll tell you how picky a. Eater his dad is! Lol.
That’s so great to hear, Peggy! What a compliment.
I did order your new cookbook today too! Will arrive May 5th. Can’t wait!