Slow Cooker Garlic Lime Chicken Thighs
Slow Cooker Garlic Lime Chicken Thighs are full of flavor -- let your Crock-Pot do all the work for you, then simply brown these up under the broiler to finish!
So what do you do when you have a big pack of cheap chicken thighs, but it's too warm to want to run the oven for long? Enter the Crock-Pot to save the day: These Slow Cooker Garlic Lime Chicken Thighs just need a brief finishing under the broiler to brown them up nicely, while the Crock-Pot does all of the heavy lifting for you.
Cooking low and slow in the Crock-Pot infuses garlic-lime flavor throughout these chicken thighs, while the soy sauce adds just the right kick of umami saltiness to contrast with the faint touch of sweetness from the honey. It's a nice little marinade that holds up well to slow cooking; just be sure not to skip the few minutes of browning at the end to help bring everything together.
Slow Cooker Garlic Lime Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
3 lbs bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
Juice of one small lime
Zest of one small lime
1 tablespoon minced garlic (about six cloves)
½ tablespoon sesame oil (optional but recommended)
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
¼ teaspoon ginger
Black pepper, to taste
Directions
Trim the chicken and place it skin-side up in the bottom of the slow cooker.
Combine all of the other ingredients in a small bowl. Pour the soy sauce mixture evenly over the chicken thighs, then cook on low for five hours.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Use tongs to remove chicken thighs from the slow cooker, then arrange them skin-side up on the prepared baking sheet.
Broil on high for about three minutes to brown the thighs and crisp up the skin a little, then serve.
Note: This handy little IKEA grater with container is one of the best kitchen investments I ever made -- MUCH easier to deal with than a box grater for cheese, zesting and more. If you don't have an IKEA near you, pick up something similar on Amazon.
This simple slow cooker chicken recipe is super affordable
This simple Crock-Pot chicken recipe is easy enough to throw together, right? These are just tangy enough, and talk about super affordable: Bone-in chicken thighs are always an economical choice, but watch for them to go on sale so that you can save even more. (Mine here were on sale for just $.77 a pound at my local grocery store, which also had a $1.50 coupon available.)
Just pair these garlic lime chicken thighs with veggies of choice to make a complete meal. Middle School Guy was a particular fan -- although he was expecting them to be much more lime-y,and actually requested additional lime wedges on the side of his!
More recipes for bone-in chicken thighs?
Sure thing! How about...
- Italian chicken thighs with zucchini & red potatoes
- Roasted chile-lime chicken & potatoes
- Fajita inspired sheet pan chicken thighs & peppers
- Slow cooker chicken chickpea stew
You know, just for starters. This is such a versatile cut of chicken, that lends itself easily to so many recipes. 🙂
Slow Cooker Garlic Lime Chicken Thighs, printable recipe
Slow Cooker Garlic Lime Chicken Thighs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 lbs bone-in skin-on chicken thighs trimmed
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Juice of one small lime
- Zest of one small lime
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic about six cloves
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil optional but recommended
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Trim the chicken and place it skin-side up in the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Combine all of the other ingredients in a small bowl. Pour the soy sauce mixture evenly over the chicken thighs, then cook on low for five hours.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Use tongs to remove chicken thighs from the slow cooker, then arrange them skin-side up on the prepared baking sheet.
- Broil on high for about three minutes to brown the thighs and crisp up the skin a little, then serve.
Notes
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Could I sub out chicken breasts? My husband does not like thighs - only the chicken breasts - he does not like to deal with the bones. Also, if you used chicken breasts, what would the different in the baking in the crock pot be and broiler?
I have not tried it with boneless breasts. Those will cook through in about the same 5 hours in the Crock-Pot, but will more be falling apart and shreddable than bone-in, while the broiling at the end is meant to brown up the skin. You'll get the flavor, but it will be a different texture and experience if you use b/s breast. Let us know if you try it. 🙂
We typically buy boneless chicken thighs. Would boneless work too? Or would this turn out similarly to the chicken breasts like you stated above?
They would turn out similarly to the boneless chicken breast, yes.
I don't usually comment on recipes, but this one is exceptionally good! I made this for the second time tonight & it reminded me just how delicious it was the first time I made it. As I always do, I added a couple of extra garlic cloves, but it's plenty garlicky as it is. The combination of that w/ the soy sauce mixture is the bomb! I hope I remember to double the recipe next time so that I have leftovers for days!
I made this in the air fryer instead of the crock pot because I wanted it to come out crispy and it was SO good this way. I left the skin on and marinated overnight. I cooked them for 15-20 minutes at 400 in the air fryer. The skin was crispy and the chicken was juicy. If you have an air fryer, I highly recommend trying this recipe in there. My family raved about how good it was and gobbled it up.
I’m using boneless skinless chicken breasts. I will shred the chicken and top jasmine rice with it. I’m hoping it will be amazing! Stay tuned!
Fun! Let us know how it comes out. 🙂
Tip: shred the chicken and let it sit in the slow cooker for another half hour to soak up some of the sauce. It was a nice subtle taste and went well with the rice. For extra flavor, pour the sauce over the chicken and rice on the plate. It worked well! Thanks for the recipe!
delicious and family fav! Making it to a freezer meal for when the days are crazy
I've got mine in the crock pot now. I plan to crisp them up in my air fryer. My broiler doesn't have the heating element on the top of the inside of the oven, and nothing ever crisps well. I'm also going to use the juices as the liquid in basmati rice. Wish me luck!!!
This has been in our rotation now for years! It is amazing and turns out perfectly every single time. The only thing I do differently is not add salt or red pepper flakes. I make your Carrot and Green Onion stir fry on the side as well as instant pot Jasmine rice. So good! Thanks for the recipe!