Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken (Aldi Budget Dinner)

If your family loves takeout but your grocery budget doesn’t, this Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken is such an easy dinner to add to the rotation. Tender chicken cooks slowly in a sweet and savory honey garlic sauce, then gets served over rice with broccoli for a simple meal that actually feels like dinner without needing a huge ingredient list.

This is one of those recipes I love for busy days because there’s very little prep involved. Add everything to the slow cooker, let it cook, shred the chicken, and dinner is pretty much handled.

And because we’re using simple ingredients like chicken thighs, rice, frozen broccoli, soy sauce, honey, and garlic, you can grab everything you need at Aldi without spending a fortune.

Why You’ll Love This Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken

There is a lot to love about this one, especially on a busy weeknight.

• It’s easy. Most of the work is just adding everything to the Crockpot.
• It uses simple ingredients. Nothing fancy or difficult to find.
• It’s budget friendly. Chicken thighs, rice, and frozen vegetables help keep the cost down while still making a filling family dinner.
• It’s family friendly. The honey gives the sauce a little sweetness without making the dish complicated or spicy.
• It’s great for busy days. Get it started earlier in the day and come back to chicken that’s ready to shred.
• It makes a complete meal. Add rice and broccoli and you’re done.

Ingredients You’ll Need

You only need a handful of ingredients to make this easy honey garlic chicken.

Chicken thighs: I use about 2 pounds of chicken thighs. They’re perfect for slow cooking because they stay tender and juicy.

Soy sauce: This gives the sauce its salty, savory flavor and balances the sweetness from the honey.

Honey: Honey makes the sauce sweet and sticky and gives us that classic honey garlic flavor.

Garlic: Don’t skimp on this one! I use four cloves of minced garlic.

Rice vinegar: This is optional, but I recommend it. A little acidity helps balance the sweet and salty flavors in the sauce.

Cornstarch: Also optional, but helpful if you want a thicker honey garlic sauce. Mix it with water before adding it so you don’t end up with lumps.

White rice: Serving the chicken over rice helps stretch the meal and gives all of that sauce somewhere to go.

Frozen broccoli: One of my favorite budget shortcuts. It’s inexpensive, easy to keep in the freezer, and there’s no chopping involved.

Why Chicken Thighs Work So Well in the Crockpot

You can make plenty of slow cooker recipes with chicken breast, but chicken thighs are especially good for this one.

They contain a little more fat, which helps them stay tender during the longer cooking time. They’re also often an affordable option when you’re trying to make a family dinner on a budget.

Once they’ve cooked in the honey garlic sauce, they should be tender enough to easily shred.

How to Make Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken

This really is an easy dump-and-go dinner.

Start by placing the chicken thighs in the bottom of your slow cooker.

In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, honey, minced garlic, and rice vinegar. Pour the mixture over the chicken.

Cover and cook on LOW for about 6 hours or HIGH for 3–4 hours, or until the chicken is fully cooked and tender. Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165°F.

Remove the cooked chicken and shred it using two forks.

If you like a thicker sauce, whisk together the cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Stir it into the sauce and allow it to thicken before returning the shredded chicken to the Crockpot.

Serve the honey garlic chicken over cooked white rice with steamed broccoli.

That’s dinner!

How to Thicken Honey Garlic Sauce

The cornstarch in this recipe is optional.

If you’re happy with a thinner sauce that soaks into the rice, you can leave it alone.

If you want more of that sticky honey garlic texture, combine 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl until completely smooth.

Stir the slurry into the hot sauce toward the end of cooking and give it a little time to thicken.

Always mix cornstarch with cold water before adding it to your sauce rather than dumping the cornstarch directly into the Crockpot.

Easy Substitutions

I always want my recipes to work with what you actually have at home, so don’t feel like you’re stuck with every ingredient exactly as written.

Chicken thighs: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts can work, but keep an eye on them because lean chicken can dry out more easily in a slow cooker.

White rice: Use brown rice or whatever rice your family normally eats.

Frozen broccoli: Fresh broccoli works too, or swap it for another vegetable your family likes.

Rice vinegar: If you don’t have it, you can leave it out. It adds balance to the sauce, but the recipe will still work without it.

Fresh garlic: Garlic powder can work in a pinch, although fresh garlic gives the sauce better garlic flavor.

What to Serve With Honey Garlic Chicken

My favorite way to serve this is exactly how the recipe is written: over white rice with broccoli.

It’s simple, inexpensive, and the rice soaks up the honey garlic sauce.

You could also serve it with:

• Brown rice
• Fried rice
• Steamed mixed vegetables
• Green beans
• Roasted broccoli
• Cauliflower rice
• A simple cucumber salad

If you’re trying to keep dinner as inexpensive as possible, rice and frozen broccoli are plenty. You don’t need a bunch of extra sides.

Can I Make Honey Garlic Chicken With Chicken Breasts?

Yes. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts can be substituted for chicken thighs.

Because chicken breasts are leaner, however, I wouldn’t automatically give them the exact same cooking time. Check them earlier and remove or shred them once they’ve reached 165°F and are tender.

That’s especially important with slow cooker chicken because cooking it longer doesn’t necessarily make it better.

Can I Put Frozen Chicken in the Crockpot?

I recommend thawing the chicken before putting it in your slow cooker.

Starting with thawed chicken helps it reach a safe cooking temperature more predictably and also gives you better control over the cooking time.

Can I Add the Broccoli to the Crockpot?

You can, but I prefer cooking the broccoli separately.

Frozen broccoli can become very soft if it spends hours in the slow cooker. Steaming it shortly before dinner keeps the broccoli from getting mushy and lets everyone add as much or as little as they want.

And if you have kids with opinions about broccoli, keeping it separate isn’t exactly a bad thing. 😂

How to Store Leftovers

Store leftover honey garlic chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

I like keeping some of the sauce with the chicken so it doesn’t dry out when reheated.

You can store the rice separately and reheat everything for an easy lunch or dinner the next day.

A Simple Crockpot Dinner for Busy Nights

Budget-friendly dinners don’t have to mean eating the same boring thing every week.

Recipes like this are exactly why I love keeping inexpensive staples like rice, frozen vegetables, soy sauce, and garlic around. Add a package of chicken and suddenly those basic ingredients become an entire family dinner.

And on a day when you don’t want to stand over the stove at 5 p.m., letting the Crockpot handle most of the work is even better.