These Crock Pot Chicken Thighs with Honey Balsamic glaze are sweet and sticky with just the right amount of tang and spice! A melt in your mouth tender, crockpot dump meal that the whole family will love!
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I’m busting the crockpot back out for these easy Crock Pot Chicken Thighs, and let’s be honest — no one is mad about it.
They are so juicy and tender, and covered in the most flavorful sweet and sticky sauce.
We are no stranger to the amazing honey balsamic combo here — this Slow Cooker Honey Balsamic Pulled Pork is our all time favorite, and this Honey Balsamic Instant Pot Beef Stew recipe has such incredible flavor (as does it’s sister this Honey Balsamic Slow Cooker Beef Stew).
Just a bit of balsamic vinegar adds a fun punch of tangy, acidic flavor that balances out everything else we’ve got going on in here.
The sauce is perfect over rice, but these slow cooker chicken thighs are just as good on their own with a side salad and steamed veggies.
And for those of you who are running out the door — to work, to drop off or pick up kids, or on your way to extra curricular activities, meetings or the gym — these are a dump and go crockpot meal, meaning you don’t have to worry about chopping or shredding or browning.
Who has time for that anyway?
How to cook Crock Pot Chicken Thighs:
- Throw your chicken thighs in the slow cooker.
- Stir together your sauce
- Dump your sauce over your chicken
- Turn it on
- Go to work, the soccer game, or have a dance party, because your dinner is basically cooking itself.
What type of chicken thighs are best in the slow cooker?
You can cook any kind of chicken thighs in the crock pot, and we have our favorite for our own reasons.
Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
These are our preferred chicken thighs, just because they are so easy to cook and eat.
They stay moist and juicy (more so than chicken breasts), and yet we’re not dealing with eating around the skin and bones — which we don’t enjoy anyway.
Bone-in, skinless chicken thighs
You can absolutely use bone-in, skinless chicken thighs as well.
Bone-in meat typically takes longer to cook, so I would add an hour to the cook times below and double check your internal temperature with a meat thermometer (safe to eat is 165 degrees F).
Bone-in, skin on chicken thighs
Because we’re not browning or broiling the chicken thighs before or after slow cooking, I wouldn’t recommend leaving the skin on, unless you enjoy soggy chicken skin.
If you cook the chicken thighs with the skin on but then remove it to eat, you won’t get as much of the sauce seeping into the meat as it cooks and it won’t be as flavorful.
Can I use chicken breasts in this recipe?
Yes!
You can absolutely use boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs, and you likely won’t need to change the cook time at all.
Be sure to check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer before serving — 165 degrees F is what you’re looking for!
What to serve with these Honey Balsamic Crock pot Chicken Thighs:
We love these over plain rice or noodles, but if you want to go all out, here are a few more ideas:
More crockpot chicken recipes you’ll love:
- Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken (Crockpot)
- Crockpot Chicken and Noodles recipe
- Slow Cooker Chicken Breast
- Crockpot Shredded Chicken (Slow Cooker)
Honey Balsamic Crockpot Chicken Thighs
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1/3 cup tomato ketchup
- 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup liquid honey
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Place chicken thighs in a 2.5-4 quart crockpot.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together ketchup, chicken broth, balsamic vinegar, honey, brown sugar, corn starch, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pour over chicken in crockpot.
- Put the lid on and cook on low for 4 hours, or high for 2 hours.
- Serve over rice, mashed potatoes, noodles, or as you like!
Notes
Nutrition Information
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MT says
Can you add little potatoes to the crockpot with the chicken and also can you substitute apple cider vinegar? I’m wanting to make this tomorrow.
Thanks
Danielle says
Are the calories and nutrition based on 2 chicken thighs or 1? I saw that it said 4 servings that’s why I was wondering if it was based on 2 thighs.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Danielle! You’ll be using 8 thighs in the recipe with 4 servings, so it would be 2 per serving. Hope this helps!
Michaella says
This recipe was simple and delicious! I did add 2 extra tbsp of corn starch at the end to thicken up the sauce. I paired it with coconut jasmine rice and roasted broccoli tossed in olive oil and soy sauce. It was a hit and I will definitely be making this again!
Gianna says
Was delicious! Couldn’t have been easier to make. I actually put in more than 8 thighs, probably around 12 and there was STILL plenty of extra sauce! With white rice and steamed broccoli? Easy winner!! Ty. Will be trying the creamy chicken potatoe soup tomorrow!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Gianna! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Jessica Gilbert says
Had this tonight for dinner and got a thumbs up from everyone. I did add an extra TBSP of corn starch to thicken it up a bit bc we had it over egg noodles with steamed veggies. Was very good and super easy to make.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Jessica! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Kellyn D says
Can these chicken thighs be frozen to enjoy later if we have leftovers? If so, do you know how long they would be good for? 1-2 months?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Kellyn! I haven’t tried freezing this specific recipe but typically I do freeze my cooked chicken for up to 2 months. Hope you enjoy it!
Annie says
Followed the recipe as written and it turned out plain bad. The chicken was bland, the sauce was watery and lacked flavor. I am so disappointed that I wasted a pack of chicken thighs on this.
The Recipe Rebel says
I’m sorry to hear you had trouble with this recipe Annie. Did you add the corn starch at the end? If it’s not as thick as you’d like it, you can double the corn starch and that should help.