Do you love Bourbon Chicken? Well, then you are just like my dear hubby. So when he said he wanted Bourbon Chicken, I was on a hunt for a recipe and came up with this Crock Pot Bourbon Chicken!
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UPDATED with a video from Mikey.
Aunt Lou here.
When I say I was on a hunt for a recipe, I mean I was on a HUNT! Of course, I started with my favorite Gooseberry Patch Cookbooks. I didn’t find Bourbon Chicken, but I did find Kentucky Wildcat Chicken in What’s For Dinner?. It looked pretty yummy, but not exactly what I had in mind…although, I do think I will be seeing if I can figure out how to convert it to a crock pot recipe!
Then I looked online and did a little research. It seems there is a little bit of a feud over how this dear chicken recipe got its name. Some say it is because it was created by a chef on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Others say it has its origins in Kentucky, the state with all the bourbon. Regardless, bourbon isn’t a drink of choice in this family, so I opted to use chicken broth. If this highly offends you or you just have bourbon in the house, feel free to use bourbon instead of chicken broth.
So just where did I find this recipe? I didn’t. I wanted to make it right. then. So I took a little bit of creative license on this one and gave it a try! Now, I know that can be dangerous at times, but this time it was awesome! I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out and the hubs and Ryder agreed!
Crock Pot Bourbon Chicken Printable Recipe (Updated)
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
- ½ c teriyaki sauce
- ½ c chicken broth (or bourbon)
- 2 T honey
- 1 t mustard
- ½ c brown sugar
- 1 t garlic powder
- 2 T dried minced onions
- ⅛ t ground ginger
- 1 T corn starch
- 1 T water
- rice, prepared
- Spray your crock pot with cooking spray
- Place your chicken pieces in your crock pot
- Mix together remaining ingredients (except for cornstarch, water and rice) until well blended
- Pour over chicken
- Cover and cook for 2-4 hours on low.
- *Note: If you need a longer cook time, don't cut your chicken until just before serving - Also, if your sauce is not as thick as you would like, please see the note at the bottom of this post.*
- Remove your chicken from your slow cooker and keep warm
- Mix together your cornstarch and water in a coffee cup
- Pour your sauce and cornstarch mixture into a skillet on your stove over medium-high heat and bring to a boil
- Turn your stove down to a simmer, stirring your sauce frequently until your sauce reaches the desired thickness
- Serve your chicken on a bed of rice drizzled with the sauce
Slow Cooker Recommendation
- For this quick and delicious Crock Pot Bourbon Chicken, I used my 3 qt crock pot. It was the perfect size for this smaller portion meal.
- As with any of our recipes, calorie counts and nutritional information varies greatly depending on which products you choose to use when cooking this dish.
- All slow cookers cook differently, so cooking times are always a basic guideline and should always be tested first in your own slow cooker and time adjusted as needed.
*Note: For those of you who read the recipe before it was corrected, I am sincerely sorry that I forgot to put low as the cooking setting! And, of course, it had to be on one of the two days Michael and I actually go out on a date each year, so I didn’t have a way to correct it immediately. For that, I am truly sorry! I hope ya’ll can forgive me!
This recipe sounds great but you do not specify if you are cooking it 2-4 hours on low or high?
It says low
Is the mustard prepared mustard or dry?
Cooked on low or high?
Hi Fran!
The recipes I saw just said mustard, so I used regular mustard instead of ground mustard. Cook on low. Enjoy!
Aunt Lou
Would light brown sugar work or would it be a different taste ?
Hi Morgan!
Light brown sugar should work just fine. Enjoy!
Aunt Lou
I would love to make this but have no bourbon on hand. Can a blended Canadian whiskey be substituted?
Hi Carolyn!
I don’t know my alcohols well enough to know if blended Canadian whiskey would be a good substitute or not. You can use chicken broth though, and it turns out really well! Enjoy!
Aunt Lou
You can use all sorts of whiskey. Doesn’t have to be bourbon. I use some cheapo whiskey that is about $5 for a fifth and it works great!
looks delicious, just wondering if the cook time is on low or high? Thanks for sharing 🙂
Can you tell me what setting you used? Mine is an older pot, and has high and low, no digital settings. Sounds like a recipe my husband and I would like, and I’d like to try it this, one day. Thanks! Marsha
On the Crock Pot Bourbon Chicken you did not list High or Low temp.
What temp on Crock Pot?
Did I miss it? Should the crock pot be on high or low? Thanks!
Sorry guys… Lou was away from the computer it has been fixed. The setting is low… Enjoy!
Read the directions it doe’s say 2-4 hours on LOW
The recipe sounds good I think I will try it
Didn’t look anything like this. Very thin broth. Did you leave something out? Cornstarch? Tasted okay, but I was looking for a thick yummy sauce. Please advise.
Hi Laurie!
I am SO sorry your sauce didn’t turn out as thick! If you ever need to thicken up a sauce or liquid (on any recipe), Michael’s Great Aunt T taught me an awesome trick! Put the liquid in a deep skillet and bring to just a boil, then turn down to simmer. While you are bringing the liquid up to a boil, mix one tablespoon of cornstarch into one tablespoon of water. When your liquid/sauce is simmering, slowly add in your water/cornstarch mixture and stir while it simmers until your liquid/sauce thickens. She even did this with some V-8 Splash for us to use over pancakes. It is one of my favorite tricks she taught me!
Aunt Lou
Thanks! I figured next time I would do the cornstarch trick (I use that, too, a lot).
2 – 4 hours is a significant time difference. Why so broad? Is it just the size of the pieces you cut up or something else?
Hi Wendy!
The timing will differ based on size, age, shape and manufacturer. As always, our times are only a basic guideline and will vary from unit to unit. It is best to always try a new recipe for the first time when you have time to watch it and make note of how quickly your unit cooks the dish. Enjoy!
Aunt Lou
Tastes amazing, I used chicken broth not bourbon. However it wasn’t a dark sticky sauce like I started out with, but more of a watery soupy tan sauce. Perhaps next time cut down on the broth since the chicks releases its own juices and why it watered down. Even if I add cornstarch I won’t attain that thick dark bourbon stickiness.
Hi Sylvia!
I’m so glad you liked the taste! This is one of our favorites. I’m not sure what happened with your sauce. We do not keep bourbon on hand at our house, so I used chicken broth (we ALWAYS have that on hand!) Did you try putting it in a skillet on the stove with the cornstarch? When I did that, it darkened up my sauce and also gave it the stickier texture.
Aunt Lou
How do I get the dark sticky looking sauce like in the picture? Mine is very light in color and thin even after adding the corn starch .
Thanks
Hi Wendi!
Did you add the cornstarch to the crock pot like Mikey or do it in a skillet? If you add the cornstarch to the crock pot, it will thicken some, but not become the “sticky” sauce. On the stove, the sauce reduces down to become thicker, and in my experience, it darkens it up as well.
Aunt Lou
Sorry stupid question,but i cook the chicken in the sauce and then remove the chicken and use the juice from it cooking to the make a sauce with the water and cornstarch?
Hi Kari!
Not a stupid question at all! You are correct. The chicken and the juices will cook together in your crock pot. Then you will remove your chicken, pour your juices into a skillet and use the cornstarch and water mixture to thicken it up. Then you will serve your chicken on a bed of rice with the thickened juices/sauce over top. Enjoy!
Aunt Lou
I made this dish the other day but my sauce did not look anything like yours. How didyou get yours so dark?
Hi Tannie!
My teriyaki sauce added most of the dark coloring, but it did darken up a bit more when I put it in the skillet with the cornstarch and water solution. Hope this helps! Enjoy!
Aunt Lou
Omg!! Thank you so much!! I have tried recipe after recipe to find a bourbon chicken even close to the ones at the mall!! You guys nailed it!! The first time I made it I was so happy that the taste was right! We used the chicken broth and it was so good! Now we soak the chicken in the sauce overnight and then cook it and it’s perfect!! Thanks again! 😁
Hi Teresa!
I’m so glad you like it! We love it too! I’ll have to give marinating it overnight a try! That sounds wonderful!
Aunt Lou
What kind of mustard? Yellow,brown or dry?
Hi Shawna!
Just regular yellow mustard. If it is dry or a special kind of mustard, I’ll let ya know in the ingredient list. I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!
Aunt Lou
If I wanted to add vegetables to the skillet any recommendations: timing, amounts of vegetables, should I make more sauce to accommodate the extra vegetables, would doubling the sauce ingredients be good for the extra vegetables, I was thinking of cooking vegetables in the skillet? We had bourbon chicken in a restaurant and my daughter loved it so I wanted to teach her how to make it (she is 16). Thanks you for any help.
Hi Annette!
I haven’t tried adding veggies to this, but I think it would work. If you are like me and like a ton of sauce, I would double up the sauce. As for how many veggies you should add, I would add a little of each kind of veggie you want until your skillet is about 3/4 full. That way you can stir the sauce and veggies without worrying about any spilling out. Hope this helps! Let me know how it goes and what your daughter thinks! Enjoy!
Aunt Lou
You don’t say whether or not you use the juice from the chicken for the gravy besides the cornstarch mixture.Rosi
Hi Rosie!
The sauce I refer to in the directions is the sauce from your crock pot, which will have the juice from the chicken in it. Enjoy!
Aunt Lou