This quick and easy dinner is perfect for a low maintenance weeknight meal – and you won’t have to be slaving over a hot stove all night. Thanks to the help of the trusty slow cooker, this dish is perfect for when you have guests over as it can be whipped up the morning of and simply thrown on a plate whenever you’re ready.

One of the best things about this recipe is how simple the method and ingredients list is so, if you’re feeling adventurous, why not try throwing in some extra spices to see what you’re tastebuds prefer. We’ve also fleshed this out into a complete meal below, with proper instructions for the steamed greens and rice, plus a mash alternative if you’d rather go that way instead. Enjoy!

Simple Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

Serves 4 | Prep: 15 minutes | Cook: 6 hours (slow cooker)

Ingredients

• 8 (about 1.5kg) chicken thigh cutlets, skin on
• 60ml (1/4 cup) honey
• 60ml (1/4 cup) light soy sauce
• 60ml (1/4 cup) tomato sauce
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• Fresh coriander sprigs, to serve

Method

1. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken, skin-side down, and cook for 3 minutes or until golden brown. Turn and cook for a further 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
2. Meanwhile, combine the honey, soy sauce, tomato sauce and garlic in a small bowl.
3. Pour 125ml (1/2 cup) water into a slow cooker, to just cover the base. Arrange the chicken, skin-side up, and as close to a single layer as you can manage. Brush generously with the sauce mixture, then pour in the remaining mixture.
4. Cover and cook on Low, carefully rearranging the chicken pieces halfway through cooking to place any that were on top underneath, for 6 hours.
5. Sprinkle chicken with coriander before serving.

To serve: steamed greens and jasmine rice

Steamed greens: Trim and halve 200g baby bok choy and top and tail 150g snow peas. Steam over boiling water for 3-4 minutes, until just tender and still bright green. Toss with a small splash of soy sauce or sesame oil before serving alongside the chicken.

Jasmine rice: Rinse 1.5 cups jasmine rice under cold water until it runs clear. Combine with 2.25 cups water in a saucepan, bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.

A mash alternative

If you’d rather swap the rice for something heartier, this honey garlic sauce works beautifully spooned over creamy mashed potato instead. Peel and chop 800g potatoes, boil until tender, then mash with a generous knob of butter and a splash of warm milk, seasoning well with salt and pepper.

Tips

• Browning the chicken skin before it goes into the slow cooker isn’t essential, but it makes a real difference to both flavour and texture, so it’s worth the extra 10 minutes if you have time.
• This sauce reduces and thickens nicely over the long, slow cook — if you’d like it even thicker, transfer the sauce to a small saucepan once cooking is done and simmer for a few minutes before spooning over the chicken.
• Leftovers keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days, and the chicken freezes well too, making this a great one to batch-cook.