This easy slow cooker honey mustard chicken is made with chicken thighs, carrots and peas simmered in a homemade honey mustard sauce without mayo (adjusted for the slow cooker). Unlike many similar recipes, I don't add cream. After testing the sauce, I preferred the sharper honey mustard flavour.
If you've made my baked honey mustard chicken breasts with vegetables, don't expect exactly the same dinner in a different appliance. The baked recipe stays more structured; this one becomes more like a honey mustard chicken stew, with the thighs breaking apart and the sauce getting into every bit of chicken and carrot.
It makes for more of a cosy winter meal vibe and because the slow cooker can handle a number of serves, I have a big batch that can also be frozen for those Plan B meals where I just cannot fathom cooking anything (plus, you can mix-and-match what you serve it with which I really like!)
TL;DR
- Servings: 8
- Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 3 hours (high), 5 hours (low)
- Meal prep: Great for meal prep because the saucy chicken thighs stay moist when reheated and can be paired with rice, mash, pasta or potatoes throughout the week.
- Fridge storage: 3-4 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Freezer storage: Up to 3 months for best texture and flavour. Freeze the chicken mixture separately from rice, mash or other sides.
- Reheating: Small splash of water and then 1 minute intervals (for approx. 3 minutes), stirring each time.
- Customise: Change the vegetables, use chicken breast for a more shredded texture, mix-and-match what you serve it with.
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Why you'll love this recipe
Slow cooker. For when you want a set-and-forget dinner without sacrificing flavour - check out my other crockpot recipes
Versatile base. I've served this with rice, but it's just as good with mash, roast potatoes or even pasta for something different.
No cream. The honey and mustard flavours stay more pungent without it, and the sauce is easier to reheat for meal prep as it doesn't split.
Ingredients
Chicken thighs. Boneless chicken thighs give this recipe its tender, stew-like texture and richer flavour, similar to my slow cooker apricot chicken thighs.
Carrots. I tested thicker pieces and approximately 1 cm slices and preferred the 1 cm slices because they absorbed more honey mustard flavour while still holding their shape after the shorter chicken-thigh cooking time.
Peas. Add these at the end rather than at the beginning so they stay green and retain some texture instead of cooking for several hours.
Chicken stock. Stock loosens the sauce and adds savoury depth without diluting it with plain water. I use my homemade chicken stock because I've found it much more flavourful; if using store-bought, choose a lower-salt version so you can control the final seasoning.
Honey. Honey provides the sweetness, balancing the sharpness of the mustards. If you prefer a sweeter version, experiment with increasing the honey.
English mustard. I tested Dijon in the slow cooker and found its flavour became too muted, whereas English mustard still gives the finished sauce the mustard punch I'm looking for.
Wholegrain mustard. Wholegrain mustard adds visible mustard seeds, a little texture and another layer of mustard flavour without relying entirely on the stronger English mustard.
Lemon. Lemon adds acidity to balance the honey's sweetness and keeps the sauce from tasting heavy or one-dimensional.
Dried oregano. Oregano adds a savoury herbal note that works underneath the honey and mustard rather than competing with them.
Paprika. Paprika adds colour and a mild earthy flavour that helps round out the sweeter honey mustard base without substantially increasing the heat.
Please check the recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantity. See below for substitutions and variations.
Can I use dry mustard powder?
Yes. I tested this successfully without mixing it into a paste first (also because I was a little lazy, but you really should mix it into the stock); the slow cooker provides enough moisture, although you'll want to stir the finished sauce thoroughly if any powder has clumped.
I found the final result to be a little creamier than when I used the jarred version of mustard as you can see in the image above.
Use approximately 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder for every tablespoon of prepared mustard being replaced.
Substitutions and variations
Chicken breast. You can substitute chicken breasts but they shred rather than remain in stewy chunks - see the texture in my slow cooker Mexican chicken breasts for comparison.
They'll also take longer to cook as they're often thicker so allow roughly 3-4 hours on HIGH or 5-6 hours on LOW depending on their size, and cook until they are completely cooked through.
Other vegetables. Firmer vegetables such as potato, sweet potato, pumpkin or parsnip can be added near the beginning, cut into similarly sized pieces so they cook evenly.
Faster-cooking vegetables such as broccoli, green beans, spinach or frozen peas are better added towards the end so they don't turn overly soft.
Different serving options. My main serving suggestion is often rice because it's affordable, easy to cook and freezer friendly. But you can mix-and-match by serving this with some roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, pasta or crusty bread.
How to make slow cooker honey mustard chicken
Step 1: Heat the sauté function of a searing slow cooker or a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the brown onion and cook for approximately 3-4 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant and the onion has softened.
Step 2: Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Sear on the stove for 1 minute each side or in the slow cooker for approx. 3 minutes each side (mine doesn't get as hot as my gas stove) until lightly golden on the outside. If using a separate frying pan, transfer the onion, garlic and chicken to the slow cooker.
Step 3: Combine the chicken stock, honey, English mustard, wholegrain mustard, lemon, dried oregano and paprika.
Step 4: Add the carrots and sauce to the chicken and stir to coat.
Step 5: Cover and cook for approximately 3 hours on HIGH or 5 hours on LOW. The chicken should be completely cooked through and tender enough to separate easily into large chunks with a spoon or fork.
Note - the sauce will look quite loose coming from the slow cooker but will thicken when stored. If you want it thicker now, make a cornflour slurry using 1 tablespoon cornflour + 2 tablespoon of the liquid from the slow cooker and cook with the lid off for 30 minutes at the end.
Step 6: Stir through the peas at the end and allow them to heat through in the hot sauce for several minutes. Frozen peas don't need hours in the slow cooker; adding them now prevents them becoming overly soft and dull.
Step 7: Taste the sauce before serving: add a little extra mustard if you want more sharpness, honey if your mustard is particularly strong, lemon if it needs more acidity, or salt and pepper as required.
Lauren's Top Tips
Cut the carrots to around 1 cm. I tested chunkier carrots as well, but the thinner pieces absorbed noticeably more of the honey mustard sauce without becoming mushy during the shorter cook. You could also dice them! They won't go mush in a lower slow cook
Taste at the end, not just at the beginning. Slow cooking changes the balance of sweet, salty, acidic and mustard flavours, so use the final taste test to decide whether it needs extra mustard, lemon, honey or seasoning.
Recommended Equipment
A slow cooker is the only essential piece of equipment, although I prefer a searing slow cooker because I can sauté the onion and brown the chicken in the same pot. If your slow cooker doesn't have a sauté function, use a large frying pan first and transfer everything across.
Meal prepping slow cooker honey mustard chicken
This slow cooker honey mustard chicken is a balanced meal prep with your fave source of carbs - I had it with mash first and then used rice for the prep component later in the week as I found it's easier to reheat as mash can sometimes lose its creaminess.
Storing
The honey mustard sauce will look slightly runnier immediately after cooking than it does once chilled. As it cools in the fridge, it thickens and clings more closely to the chicken and vegetables.
Divide the cooked chicken into meal prep containers and refrigerate promptly once it has stopped steaming. For best texture, store the honey mustard chicken on one side of the container and rice or another grain on the other rather than spooning all of the sauce over the rice immediately. This prevents the grains absorbing the sauce for several days and becoming mushy.
Store refrigerated leftovers for up to 3-4 days in airtight containers.
Lauren's Meal Prep Tip
Lauren's meal prep tip: I wouldn't automatically portion all eight serves with exactly the same side. Keep some of the honey mustard chicken separate and you can have it with rice one day, mash the next and roast potatoes or pasta later without actually cooking another main dish.
Bulk meal prepping
For bulk meal prepping, I can fit around 15 serves in my 6L slow cooker, so I usually double the recipe. It can get a bit crowded when searing that much chicken, so I do it in batches or brown some on the stove and transfer it across.
When I needed 20 serves, even that was pushing the slow cooker a little too far, so I cooked another batch in my Dutch oven instead. If your slow cooker is quite full, add roughly an extra hour of cooking time because everything is stacked a little more tightly.
Reheating
Add a small splash of water to loosen the chilled sauce, cover loosely and microwave for on 1 minute intervals, until steaming hot (this will take around 3 minutes). Stir in between so the chicken and sauce heat evenly.
You can also reheat the chicken and sauce component in a saucepan over low heat. This will take approx. 5 minutes.
Freezing
Freeze the honey mustard chicken separately from rice, mashed potato or other sides wherever possible. The chicken mixture is quite saucy, and keeping it separate means you can choose a fresh side when you defrost it rather than having the sauce soak through your grains during freezing and thawing.
I portion mine into 1 cup Souper Cubes, which I've found is a practical serving amount alongside approximately another cup of rice, mash or extra vegetables. I don't recommend storing the rice or mash on top of the honey mustard chicken (something I do with some of my other recipes) because it is quite runny and will still seep into the rice a little too much and the texture will go mush.
For best quality, use frozen portions within approximately 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge before reheating, or use your microwave's defrost setting if you haven't planned that far ahead. You can also reheat the block directly on the stove.
If you want more meal prep information, check out my Meal Prep for Beginners post and my Meal Prep Basics E-Book.
FAQs
Slow cookers retain steam rather than allowing moisture to evaporate, and chicken and vegetables also release liquid as they cook. Don't immediately add extra thickener while the dish is piping hot-the sauce naturally becomes thicker after refrigeration, particularly when you're making it for meal prep.
You can technically put the chicken straight into the slow cooker, but browning gives the finished dish a more savoury flavour and is worth the extra few minutes for this recipe. If you're using a searing slow cooker, you can do it directly in the insert and avoid another pan.
I prefer a combination of English mustard and wholegrain mustard. In testing, Dijon became too mild after several hours in the slow cooker, whereas English mustard retained enough sharpness and wholegrain mustard added texture and a more complex mustard flavour.
I also tested it using a dry mustard powder and that worked to provide a bit more of a creamier final texture. I still combined this with the wholegrain though because I like the bite from the little grains.
Other slow cooker recipes you'll like
Or, you can have a browse through my easy slow cooker meal preps for more delicious eats.
Recipe
Slow Cooker Honey Mustard Chicken
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Equipment
- Rice Cooker, optional
Ingredients
- 1 kg (2 lb) boneless chicken thigh, approx.6 large
- 1 brown onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 6 carrots
- 1 cup peas, fresh or frozen
Sauce, or 1 ½ cups store-bought, see note 1
- ¾ cup honey
- ½ cup English mustard, see note 2
- ¼ cup wholegrain mustard
- 1 lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- ½ cup chicken stock, see note 3
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Serve with:
- 2 ½ cups rice, rice, yields approx.8 cups cooked, adjust depending on serving. See "serve with" note for other options
Instructions
Preparing
- Dice the 1 brown onion, mince the 4 cloves garlic and slice the 6 carrots into approximately 1 cm rounds (you can also dice these if you want)
- In a small bowl or jug, combine the ¾ cup honey, ½ cup English mustard, ¼ cup wholegrain mustard, 1 lemon juice, 2 tbsp dried oregano, 1 tbsp paprika, ½ cup chicken stock. Mix until well combined.
- Pat the 1 kg (2 lb) boneless chicken thigh dry and season with Salt and pepper to taste.
Cooking
- Heat the sauté function of a searing slow cooker or a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the brown onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened, then add the garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant.
- Sear the chicken thigh until lightly golden on the outside, approximately 1 minute per side on the stovetop or 3 minutes per side in the slow cooker. If using a frying pan, transfer the onion, garlic and chicken to the slow cooker.
- Add the carrots and prepared honey mustard sauce. Stir until the chicken and carrots are well coated.
- Cover and cook for approximately 3 hours on HIGH or 5 hours on LOW, until the chicken is cooked through (70C/160F - it'll continue rising while resting) and tender enough to separate easily into large chunks with a spoon or fork.Note - The sauce will be quite loose while hot and will thicken as it cools. For a thicker sauce immediately, combine 1 tablespoon cornflour with 2 tablespoon liquid from the slow cooker, stir it through, then cook uncovered for a further 30 minutes.
- In the last 30 minutes, prepare 2 ½ cups rice according to packet instructions or follow my tips and tricks.
- Right before serving, stir through the 1 cup peas and allow them to heat in the sauce for a few minutes.
- Taste before serving and adjust with extra English mustard for sharpness, honey for sweetness, lemon juice for acidity, or salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve or portion with rice into meal prep containers. Or see my "serve with" note for other serving suggestions.
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