This Crock Pot Garlic Chicken Thighs recipe is super simple. Yet, the flavor and tenderness of the chicken can’t be beat!
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Aunt Lou here.
The other day, Michael made his legendary (at least in our house) grilled garlic chicken. That got me thinking…how would this be as a crock pot recipe. So, I gave it a try! The results? Wonderful. Tender. Juicy. Need I say more? You’re gonna love this!
Crock Pot Garlic Chicken Thighs
Note: Scroll to the bottom for the printable recipe.
How to Make Garlic Chicken Thighs in a Crock Pot
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium/high heat. Brown all of your chicken thighs, about 3 minutes on each side. Place your browned chicken thighs in a 6-quart crock pot, pouring the remaining butter/cooking juices over top. Whisk together your melted butter and spices and immediately pour evenly over your chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. If you would like to brown up your chicken, place the thighs on a cookie sheet with a large, wide, slotted spoon and place in your oven on broil (Hi if you have the option of Hi/Lo) for 60-90 seconds, watching it closely.
Crock Pot Garlic Chicken Thighs Notes:
- When you are browning your chicken, let it be for the 3 minutes on each side. Don’t bother it at all. It will make the browning process work much better.
- If you choose to use your broiler to brown up your chicken, do NOT walk away. Your broiler can take a recipe from perfection to ruined in the blink of an eye.
- This recipe makes a bunch of chicken, so it would be perfect for taking to a pitch-in or potluck. However, if you want fewer portions, you can easily cut this recipe in half.
- As with any of our recipes, carb counts, 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.
Crock Pot Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 5 lbs bone-in chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup butter melted
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon parsley flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried cilantro leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
Instructions
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium/high heat.
- Brown all of your chicken thighs, about 3 minutes on each side.
- Place your browned chicken thighs in a 6-quart crock pot, pouring the remaining butter/cooking juices over top.
- Whisk together your melted butter and spices and immediately pour evenly over your chicken.
- Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
- If you would like to brown up your chicken, place the thighs on a cookie sheet with a large, wide, slotted spoon and place in your oven on broil (Hi if you have the option of Hi/Lo) for 60-90 seconds, watching it closely.
Notes
- When you are browning your chicken, let it be for the 3 minutes on each side. Don’t bother it at all. It will make the browning process work much better.
- If you choose to use your broiler to brown up your chicken, do NOT walk away. Your broiler can take a recipe from perfection to ruined in the blink of an eye.
- This recipe makes a bunch of chicken, so it would be perfect for taking to a pitch-in or potluck. However, if you want fewer portions, you can easily cut this recipe in half.
- As with any of our recipes, carb counts, 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.
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So many of your recipes use chicken thighs. We prefer chicken breasts. Can they usually be used instead of the thighs?
Absolutely! We are dark meat people, but know that some people prefer white meat. It may change the cooking time a bit. You will want to watch it closely the first time you make it and use a meat thermometer to know how to adjust the cooking times for chicken breast.
This was sooo good! The whole family loved it and I served it with oven roasted potatoes and carrots. The only tweeks I made were- I used 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter to sauté the chicken and only 1 stick of melted butter poured into the crockpot. The flavor was delicious and the meat was so tender! Very easy recipe thank you!
I’m so glad to hear it Melissa! Thank you for taking the time to let us know you enjoyed this recipe. It really brightens our day to hear a reader likes a recipe we have posted.
Family raved. So savory. I let the skin get nice and brown.. Meat falls off the bone.
Probably a silly question, does this shred well? Recipe sounds amazing and I’ll be trying today. Hoping it shreds well for freezer/meal prep. Thanks!
Hi Jessica!
I haven’t tried shredding it, but it is super tender, so I bet it will! Enjoy!
~Aunt Lou
I made this last night and it was delicious! I added some fresh garlic and oregano (we don’t like cilantro) I did reduce the butter liquid down and add some cream cheese, heavy cream and parmesan cheese to make a wonderful cheese sauce that we put over the chicken, bacon wrapped asparagus and fresh steamed broccoli… the family loved it so I will be making this a regular…
So glad you enjoyed it Lynette! That sauce sounds so yummy!
How much of each of the added I ingredients
Did you reduce butter liquid down & add cream cheese, etc. before or after cooking? Also half recipe did you use1 stick or leave at 2 sticks of butter?
I made this with 2.5 lbs of bone-in, skin on thighs. I left the garlic salt out and left everything the same with the exception of the butter. I used only one stick. Did do the broiler at the end and watched closely. This was perfect! Will make again definitely. Thank you, Cris.
Hi Deborah!
I am so glad to hear it turned out wonderful for you! Thanks so much for taking the time to drop by to let us know!
I love this recipe very easy and fast.
We are so glad you enjoy it as much as we do, Phyllis! Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and let us know 🙂
Can I use boneless skinless chicken thighs for this? My husband doesn’t like bone-in. How long would I cook this for then?
Thanks…
Hi Karen!
I haven’t tried this with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, but it should work. It might not have to cook quite as long, so I would start checking it around the 3 hour mark with a meat thermometer. Enjoy!
Aunt Lou
would like to print the recipe for crock pot garlic chicken. I receive your e-mails, so why doesn’t my computer print this recipe out? Looks yummy!!
Hi Carol-
At the bottom of every post is a recipe card. Right under the little square image of the recipe is a print button. Some printers automatically print from that button, others will load a new printer friendly page and you will then need to go and print that page like you would any page on the internet. Hope that helps!
Chicken thighs with skin are pretty moist usually. 1 cup of butter seems like a lot, at least health wise. Do you think this would turn out ok with just one stick of butter instead of 2? Thanks, I’d really like to try this..’
Hi Cat!
I haven’t tried it with just one stick of butter, but if you do try it, let me know how it goes!
Aunt Lou
Question:
I’d like to make this recipe using boneless, skinless, chicken breast. Could you please tell me how to adjust according to the switch of the legs/breast. Tnx Cris
Hi Pennie!
I haven’t tried this recipe with any of those types of chicken, but the cooking time should be similar. Be sure and watch it closely the first time you make it so you know how your crock pot cooks this recipe. Enjoy!
Aunt Lou
This chicken looks great. I will try it tomorrow, thanks
Hi Robert!
Hope you enjoy!!