This honey lime shredded chicken is an easy and delicious slow cooker recipe with only 6 ingredients and takes only 10 minutes to throw together. Use it on sandwiches, tacos, salads and more. Gluten-free, meal prep- and freezer-friendly.
When I cook chicken breasts in the slow cooker, I like to make sure it simmers in a delicious sauce. This Slow Cooker Sweet Chili Chicken is a personal fave, as is this Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken. And I have a real soft spot for this slow cooker honey lime chicken because it is just so versatile!
This honey lime shredded chicken has just six simple ingredients and does not require sauteeing, which makes prep super duper easy.
Not only that, but you can enjoy your honey lime chicken straight from the slow cooker or enjoy it in a variety of meals. In fact, I have a meal prep plan + shopping list for you here!
Reasons you’ll ♡ this honey lime chicken
- You need just 6 simple ingredients; no marinade is required!
- There is no sautee step, so you can get it cooking quickly
- It's delicious and extremely versatile- use it in various meals!
- Super versatile! You can use this recipe to make honey-lime chicken thighs, or other proteins as well.
Recipe video
Watch the video below to see exactly how I prepped this slow cooker honey lime chicken. It’s so easy! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel, or on Facebook.
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Let's talk ingredients
- chicken- we are using boneless skinless chicken breasts, but you could easily swap for 2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken thighs (increase the cook time to 4-5 hrs on low)
- stock- use chicken stock or homemade bone broth
- garlic- six cloves, but don't worry, this is not overly 'garlicky' in flavor
- lime- juice two limes. Use fresh for the best flavor, but don't worry, bottled lime juice works as well. This is great served with lime wedges as well.
- honey- for a touch of sweetness
- salt- to bring out all the other flavors
This slow cooker honey lime chicken works amazingly well for meal prep. Here are some tips to get you cooking: Find my favorite slow cookers, meal prep containers, and other kitchen equipment in my shop!Meal prep tips
Variations
- This dish has so much flavor already, but you can add one tablespoon sriracha for a spicy version or garnish with red pepper flakes.
- Garnish with cilantro to compliment that tart citrus tang and serve alongside cilantro lime rice for a fantastic burrito bowl.
- Adding one teaspoon of chili powder and black pepper to taste gives a more intense, sweet, and savory version that makes amazing chicken tacos.
Recipe FAQ
You will need some sweetener, maple syrup will work. However, if you need to cut carbs, I would advise looking for a low-carb sweetener instead (monk fruit is my fave).
Yes, you sure can! Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes, followed by a quick pressure release. Shred the chicken and toss in the glaze to serve.
Yes, this works great as a freezer crockpot meal. Simply combine all ingredients in a freezer bag, meal prep container, or reusable silicone bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before cooking as directed.
Use your crock pot honey lime chicken in
More slow cooker chicken recipes
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Slow Cooker Honey Lime Chicken
Ingredients
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup chicken stock (or water)
- 2 limes (juiced)
- 6 cloves garlic (minced)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (roughly 4-5 chicken breasts)
Instructions
- Whisk together honey, stock, limes, garlic and salt in the bottom of a 4-6 quart slow cooker.
- Add the chicken breasts and turn to coat in the sauce.
- Cook on low for 3-4 hours, until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Remove chicken from slow cooker and transfer to a bowl. Shred with two forks or an electric hand mixer.
- Toss with cooking liquid and enjoy.
Storage
- Before cooking- this recipe can be assembled as a freezer crockpot meal. Combine all ingredients in a freezer bag, meal prep container or reusable silicone bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before cooking as directed above.
- After cooking- this recipe can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Tips:
Video
Nutrition Information
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Megan M says
So good! Made this today and paired it with a slaw from another blogger and put it on tacos. So yummy!
Denise Bustard says
Yum!! I'm so glad you enjoyed, Megan! Thanks for reporting back 🙂
Sherry says
Delicious recipe! So simple yet so good. I used this over your yaki soba salad recipe and was not disappointed. My toddler who is very picky was gobbling this chicken up. Thank you for sharing!
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Sherry, that sounds like a delicious combination with the soba salad. Glad to hear that even your picky eater loved it! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a rating and review.
luv2horses1 says
i used date syrup from Israel instead of honey it tastes excellent/// thank u for recipe oh yea threw in a piece of a jalapeno pepper & smidgen habanero sauce 4 a kick it worked xoxo
Denise Bustard says
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you so much for coming back to leave a review, I really appreciate it!
Wendy says
I made this today and it is DELICIOUS!!! And it was SO easy!!
Denise Bustard says
Hi Wendy! I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thank you for coming back to leave a review, it's so helpful 🙂
Debbie says
Can you use pork tenderloin instead of chicken? If so, how long in the crockpot?
Denise Bustard says
Hi Debbie! I have not tried this recipe in with pork tenderloin, but it might be really tasty! I would try low for 6 hours. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Alicia Gross says
This recipe is delicious and so easy! I love how many recipes you can use this chicken with!
Jojo says
I’m using this as a base for several meals. This is great for chicken tacos, chicken enchiladas, chicken and rice, chicken and dumpling. Great recipe and very easy to make.
Denise says
Hi Jojo! I'm glad you've enjoyed the recipe. Thank you so much for coming back to leave a review!
Ciera says
I’m freaking out because my meal doesn’t look right what a waste of meat! My garlic doesn’t look moldy at all just purchased it yesterday and I go to check on the crock pot and my garlic pieces are blue/green moldy looking!! 🙁 I followed the EXACT recipe. Help?!
Denise says
Hi Ciera! On occasion I've found the lime juice causes the garlic to turn blue (how weird!!) but it still taste great. Hope you enjoy your meal 🙂
Liz says
The acid from the lime causes the garlic to turn green/blue. It’s harmless. You can still eat it.
Christina Greening says
Made this in the Instapot. The 8 minutes ended up with raw chicken... Instapot cheat card mentions 8 minutes for every one pound of chicken, just FYI. Other than that this was a success in the instapot.
Denise says
Hi Christina, So sorry to hear this! It sounds like you have large chicken breasts. 8 minutes works perfectly for 7 oz chicken breasts, and you will need to increase the cook time for larger than that.
And no, you do not need to add 8 minutes per pound, this will way overcook them! BUT if you have a ton of chicken breasts stacked into the pot on top of each other, you probably will need to add on a bit more time to allow the pressure and heat to penetrate through a large block of them. I hope that makes sense! Please let me know if you need more clarification 🙂
Emily says
Hi, I'm absolutely loving your recipe series here! I made these two weeks ago, and am looking at making them next week again because they were so good! I'm just wondering whether you had any other 3-in-1 recipes hanging around? I I can't seem to find a tag for them on your website, and its been great for meal prep.
Denise says
Hi Emily! I'm so happy you've enjoyed these recipes! I do have more 3-in-1 recipes, actually this is an older series and I am revamping it a bit right now.
Here are some of the others:
https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/slow-cooker-sweet-chili-chicken-3-ways/
https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/slow-cooker-maple-pulled-pork-3-ways/
https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/slow-cooker-honey-garlic-beef/
https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/slow-cooker-sweet-potatoes-3-ways/
https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/chickpea-meal-prep-3-ways/
https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/whole-chicken-meal-prep/
Katrina says
Can you make this in the instant pot?
Denise says
I haven't tried but it should work! I'd do 8 minutes high pressure with a quick pressure release. Enjoy!
Katrina says
Thanks Denisw I will try it out!
Susan says
When you use your slow cooker to cook something and you have to be away from the house longer than the 5 or 6 hours cooking time in the recipe, what happens to your meat/recipe if you have to leave it sitting on warm for say 2 hours?
Denise says
Hi Susan, it really depends on the cut of meat and the recipe. Large cuts of beef and pork that simmer in larger volumes of liquid are pretty forgiving, but chicken breasts are really un-forgiving. I don't recommend leaving them on 'warm' for long, because (at least in my crock pot) it keeps simmering and the chicken overcooks (which basically disintegrates the chicken breasts). For this recipe in particular, since there is sugar in the form of honey, I wouldn't risk leaving it on warm at all after the chicken cooks, because I'd worry about the sugar burning while you're away (although I can't say for sure because I've never tried).
Sabine says
Hello how can I convert this to cook in the pressure cooker?
Denise says
Hi Sabine! Unfortunately I've never used a pressure cooker and have no idea about how to use them. So sorry about that.
Shelley says
This looks amazing! Do you think it would work to dump it all together into a ziploc bag and put in the freezer before cooking? I am always trying to figure out what to do with my big warehouse packs of meat when I buy them. If I can do all the prep work at one time, then it become easy peasy for the rest of the week (or month)!
Denise says
Hi Shelley! I think that should work, although I've never tried it. I have some articles that suggest putting frozen food in a crockpot can be dangerous for food safety, but if you thaw it first it should be fine. Let me know how it works for you!
Tammy says
This looks very delicious...love all the recipe ideas! I really have to try this next time we have chicken 😀
Toodles,
Tammy<3
Denise says
I hope you like it, Tammy! Toodles! (ha ha love it!)
Rich says
Thanks for the recipe! Did you mince the garlic before adding it to the liquid?
Denise says
Hi Rich! Yes I did, thanks for catching that! I'll update the recipe ASAP.
Denise says
Thanks so much, Jessica!
Denise says
It is SO simple! Thanks, Arpita!
Rachel @ Bakerita says
I absolutely adore they way that you do these posts. They're so informative and all of these recipes are drool-worthy. I want a bite of that sandwich right now! And I got a slow-cooker last week - so trying this.
Denise says
Thanks so much, Rachel! How exciting that you just got a slow cooker! Hope you like yours as much as I like mine 🙂