Crock Pot Bourbon Chicken is easy and delicious! Tender juicy chicken is cooked in a rich bourbon ginger sauce for a delicious meal. The whole family will love it. Serve it over rice, with a side of steamed broccoli, or inside some dinner rolls for a delicious bourbon chicken sandwich!
This Crock Pot bourbon chicken recipe takes all the work out of making dinner, making it perfect for busy weeknights. We love coming home to fall-apart, flavorful and tender chicken. It’s great just about any way you serve it!
Bourbon Chicken
Bourbon chicken received its name because it was created by a Chinese cook who worked in a restaurant on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Regardless of the name or how it came to be, this dish is absolutely delicious! This recipe creates a sweet and tender chicken that is perfect served over rice and it’s easy to make at home in the slow cooker!
The bourbon chicken sauce takes just a few minutes of prep the marinade and then it simmers in the slow cooker all day! The result is insanely tender chicken with a sweet Asian inspired sauce and lots of flavor.
How To Make Bourbon Chicken
To make this Crock Pot bourbon chicken:
- Combine sauce ingredients together and pour over chicken thighs.
- Turn the Slow Cooker to HIGH for 3 hours or LOW for 6-7 hours.
- Shred the chicken and create a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce.
A few notes about this recipe… this dish is sweet as Bourbon chicken is a sweet dish (similar to sweet and sour). Do not use light soy sauce, the results and flavor are not the same. Chicken thighs are best in this recipe as they won’t dry out like slow cooked chicken breasts sometimes do!
5+ Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes You NEED in Your Life
- Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings – a classic!
- Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken – sweet and savory
- Crockpot Chicken Tacos – uber flavorful
- Slow Cooker Whole Chicken & Gravy – great for entertaining!
- Slow Cooker Chicken Chili – so easy
- Crock Pot BBQ Chicken – juicy shredded chicken!
Did you enjoy this Crock Pot Bourbon Chicken? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup sliced green onions or more to taste
Sauce
- ½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ⅓ cup apple juice
- 1 ½ tablespoons honey
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup Bourbon
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix all sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
- Place chicken in slow cooker, pour sauce over top. Cover and cook on low 6-7 hours or on high 3 hours.
- Remove chicken and chop into bite sized pieces and cover to keep warm.
- Meanwhile, combine 3 tablespoons water with cornstarch. Turn slow cooker up to high. Whisk cornstarch slurry into the sauce. Cover and allow to thicken, stirring occasionally (about 10 minutes). Stir chicken back into the sauce and add in green onions.
- Serve over rice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner
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I plan to make this recipe tomorrow with chicken breast. Can I put everything together tonight and store it in the fridge before I cook it? I just want to wake up and start the crock pot before I go to work in the morning.
Yes, that should work just fine!
Just made it. I was worried it would be bland because it wasnt very fragrant..
but its a full of flavor! I will definently make again. My bf thought it was a good frozen dinner lol. The heat from the red pepper really helped balance the sweetness.
DE~LISH
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Kaitlyn!
This is my families most favorite dinner. I have made this dish at least 5 times over the past 3 months. Great dish.
I am so glad your family has enjoyed this recipe Tom!
Mine came out terrible! My caregiver put too much grated ginger and spoiled the whole dish. Be careful with the ginger. Too much tastes bitter! lol
This looks Absolutely delicious! My question is my family gets a little bored with all the chicken recipes that I make, so what type of beef would you suggest me using for this recipe?
Holly, I made this Bourbon Chicken last night and it was wonderful! I am an experienced cook but followed the ingredients as you stated I did not want to pull out the slow cooker as the pressure cooker was already on the counter. I set it for seven minutes and the chicken was perfect. I took the chicken out to cut up and thickend the sauce on the browning setting, added the chicken to get everything hot again and served over rice. The green onions gave it that spark and it was 6 perfect servings. 1 meal last night and 2 meals in boiler bags. Thank you!
I am going to try this in a pressure cooker following your steps for a quick dinner! Thanks for sharing Ruth!
We don’t drink and have any alcohol here. Any ideas what I could substitute for the bourbon? Thanks Ann
I have only tried this as written however you could try apple juice or water but it would certainly change the flavor of the dish.
I’m garlic intolerant, so if I made this, I would have to leave out all the minced garlic. Would this still be worth making without the garlic, do you think? It looks so good and I’m dying to make it! I just don’t know how heavily the sauce flavor relies on the garlic.
Hi Carly, I think it will be fine without the garlic. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Is it okay to leave it in the crook pot for three more hours after the 7 hour
You can certainly leave it in the slow cooker longer at warm. Changing the cooking time can change the consistency or dry out the chicken if it is left too long.
I was looking for something easy and a little different to make in crock pot and came across this. I have to say I was very impressed. The flavor was amazing. I used organic ingredients and Woodfood reserve bourbon. Loved it thank you very much.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Holy cow. This is an amazing dish! I’m making it again!
So glad you loved it!
This sounds awesome! Thanks so much for sharing!
Can you substitute something for the bourbon?
You could try apple juice although this would definitely change the flavor of the dish.
Very good! I love a good set it and forget it recipe, sometimes I just don’t want to spend a bunch of time in the kitchen.
I love bourban chicken. Going to try this recipe. Looks good..
I hope you enjoy it Bambi!
Just made it about two minutes ago and wolfed it down! delicious!
Can I make this in a Dutch oven instead of a crock pot?
I made this tonight but used my Instant Pot instead. I kept the sauce ingredients the same EXCEPT I omitted the water. I threw in the sauce and the chicken thighs and cooked on manual for 15 minutes, then did natural pressure release. When it was done, I removed the chicken, added the corn starch, and set it to sauté while I shredded the chicken. My whole family (even the picky kids) LOVED this dish!
Aren’t instant pots wonderful!? I am so glad your family liked this recipe Jennie!
Made this on the stove top tonight….it is delicious…will definitely make it again.
Awesome! :) Glad to hear it!
I apparently do not have the patience of a saint like Holly. So many nay-sayers about the bourbon. That is the name of the recipe – and actually it has been proven that the alcohol cooks out but the flavor or whatever alcohol you are using remains. I am so looking forward to trying this recipe. I am also following you on Pinterest and look forward to trying many, many of your recipes! Happy Cooking!
<3 Thank you Deb, I'm so happy to have you joining me!! Happy Cooking!