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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.

slow cooker chicken thighs

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

Crock-Pot chicken thighs ingredients

Ingredients

3 lbs bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp honey
Juice of one small lime
Zest of one small lime
1 Tbsp minced garlic (about six cloves)
1/2 Tbsp sesame oil (optional but recommended)
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp 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.

chicken thighs on a baking sheet

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.

zesting a lime

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

crock-pot garlic lime chicken thighs

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…

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

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5 from 4 votes

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!
Course dinner
Cuisine Chicken
Keyword chicken, chicken thighs, crock-pot, easy recipe, slow cooker
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 5 hours 3 minutes
Total Time 5 hours 23 minutes
Servings 4
Cost $5

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs bone-in skin-on chicken thighs trimmed
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp honey
  • Juice of one small lime
  • Zest of one small lime
  • 1 Tbsp minced garlic about six cloves
  • 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil optional but recommended
  • 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
  • 1/4 tsp 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

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, you can also pick up a similar one over on Amazon.

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Recipe Rating




Amy Smith

Monday 31st of May 2021

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!!!

Natalie

Sunday 30th of May 2021

delicious and family fav! Making it to a freezer meal for when the days are crazy

Heather

Friday 12th of March 2021

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!

rachel

Friday 12th of March 2021

Fun! Let us know how it comes out. :)

Maran

Tuesday 9th of March 2021

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.

Molly

Sunday 27th of September 2020

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!