Diamonds might be a girl’s best friend, but the slow cooker is everybody’s best friend for $50.00 or less! Today we’re using it to make a new meal prep, some Hot Honey Garlic Chicken! This one takes 10 minutes or less to prep, uses simple ingredients, and is packed with PROTEIN.

The first thing you’ll need for this is (can you guess?)…a slow cooker! If you don’t have one and you want easier meal preps in your life, now’s the time. You can either drive to Walmart or check out the one I use below in the recipe card. No, this isn’t an ad, I still use the same cheap one I’ve been using for years (see below, it’s basically an antique now!).

Add into the bottom of it, 3 pounds of either fat trimmed chicken breast or boneless chicken thighs. I’m using chicken breast however if you’ve never had chicken thighs? They’re almost impossible to overcook, don’t have that much more fat than chicken breast for the tender ratio, and are likely either the same price of cheaper. They were once always cheaper until the majority figured this out!

Now in a mixing bowl, add 1/2 cup of hot honey (or regular if you don’t want the heat), 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup of a low sodium soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of sugar free syrup, 1/4 cup of water, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, and 2 tablespoons of a chili sauce if you want even more of a kick.

Lower Sugar

If you think there’s too much sugar in the recipe or you’re looking to lower your sugar intake, you can use more sugar free syrup and less honey. I’d go 1/4 cup of honey and 6 tablespoons of sugar free syrup. I’ll put the nutritional breakdown for this below.

Mix those ingredients together until smooth.

Pour that mix into your slow cooker over your chicken. If there doesn’t appear to be enough liquid, you can add in a bit more water. All of your chicken should at least be partially submerged.

From here, cover and turn your slow cooker on low heat for 6-7 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours. Once your chicken reaches 165F/73C, the slow cooker honey garlic chicken is ready to portion!

Shredded Honey Garlic Chicken

Depending on how you plan to portion this slow cooker honey garlic chicken out, you can optionally shred your chicken using 2 forks 10-15 minutes before it’s done. You’ll know it’s ready if it breaks apart with almost no effort.

Additionally, if you want a thicker sauce you can accomplish this by removing your chicken once it’s done and using 2-4 tablespoons of corn starch. My preferred ways?

• If you made it on low heat, add and mix your corn starch directly in your slow cooker. This way may be controversial though I’ve never had an issue.
• Make a “slurry” by mixing your corn starch with 1-2 tablespoons of cold water prior to mixing it in your slow cooker. This way is 100% fail-proof!

Let the sauce cook on high for 20-30 minutes after you introduce your corn starch or until you reach your desired thickness.

Ready to eat it? Here are some versatile ways you can use this meal prep.

• Eat it as is!
• Over rice or make a rice bowl with black beans and corn
• Add it into some quinoa or farro
• Mix it into your mashed potatoes
• HOT Honey Garlic Chicken salad!
• Lettuce wraps
• Fajita style (all your favorite fajita vegetables)
• Use it in our quesadillas
• Protein up your mac and cheese!

You can keep this in the fridge for around 5 days, or stash it in the freezer if you made it in bulk. Best reheated in the microwave for 1-2 minutes depending on the size of your portion/if your chicken is shredded or not.

Ready for dessert? Try an Easy Protein Cannoli!