Slow Cooker Bourbon Chicken is a delicious weeknight dinner recipe. Chicken cooked in a sweet and spicy Chinese takeout-inspired sauce. It’s full of garlic, ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes.
Originally posted February 8, 2010. Updated August 10, 2025.
If you need an easy, no fuss, pantry ingredient dinner that turns out absolutely delicious, this bourbon chicken is it.
Getting ready to write this post, I spent a solid amount of time trying to determine the exact origin of bourbon chicken and I’m bummed to tell you that nobody really knows?
The story I saw the most is that a Chinese restaurant on Bourbon Street was the first to make it. It’s definitely a Chinese-American chicken so we’ll go with that one.
The chicken is cooked in a sweet soy sauce-based sauce with garlic and ginger and crushed red pepper flakes for some heat. We like to have it over white rice with a roasted green vegetable on the side.
Ingredients
- Chicken – I suggest using boneless, skinless chicken breasts in this recipe.
- Soy sauce – use low-sodium soy sauce if that’s an option.
- Brown sugar – this adds the sweetness to the sauce.
- Ketchup – this contributes to the sweetness but also gives that nice ketchup tang that we all know and love.
- Rice vinegar – just a little vinegar to give you that sweet and sour taste.
- Garlic – you can use garlic powder if you don’t have fresh garlic on hand.
- Ground ginger – you can use fresh ginger if you prefer.
- Crushed red pepper flakes – you can adjust the amount of red pepper flakes based on your spice preferences.
- Cornstarch – this is the thickener for the sauce. You’re going to dissolve it into cold water before you add it to the sauce.
How To Make Bourbon Chicken in the Crockpot
- Prep. Place chicken in bottom of slow cooker.
- Sauce. Top the chicken with soy sauce, brown sugar, ketchup, rice vinegar, garlic, ground ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes.
- Cook. Cook on low for 3 – 4 hours or high 5 – 6 hours.
- Shred. Remove the chicken to a bowl or plate. Shred the chicken. Set aside.
- Make slurry. Whisk cornstarch into cold water until dissolved.
- Thicken. Pour the cornstarch slurry into the sauce and whisk until incorporated.
- Cook. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir to coat the chicken. Cook another 5 – 10 minutes until sauce has thickened.
How Long Is It Good For?
Bourbon chicken is good for up to 3 days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
When you are ready to serve it, reheat in the microwave or on the stove. The sauce will likely be very thicken but a splash of broth or water will help to get it back to it’s original sauciness.
Can You Freeze It?
You can freeze leftovers for up to 3 months. Let it cool completely and then transfer to an airtight container, like a freezer ziploc bag.
When you are ready to serve it, let it defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat in the microwave or on the stove.
What To Serve With Bourbon Chicken
We like to serve bourbon chicken with plain white rice and then drizzle extra sauce over the rice. The rice really soaks up the sauce and becomes really flavorful. You could also do fried rice.
A green vegetable on the side it really nice, too. We usually do roasted broccoli or roasted green beans. Bok choy would also be delicious! If you are really in a hurry, just do a steam in the microwave bag of broccoli!
More Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes
- Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Tacos
- Slow Cooker Orange Chicken
- Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
- Slow Cooker Cool Ranch Chicken
- Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken and Rice
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Bourbon Chicken
Slow Cooker Bourbon Chicken is a delicious weeknight dinner recipe. Chicken cooked in a sweet and spicy Chinese takeout-inspired sauce. It's full of garlic, ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes.
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup apple juice
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons cold water
Instructions
- Put chicken in bottom of large slow cooker.
- Top with soy sauce, apple juice, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, garlic, ground ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes.
- Cook on low for 5 - 6 hours or high for 3 - 4 hours, until the chicken easily shreds. (If you are home during the cooking time, flip the chicken over a few times so the sauce gets all over the chicken.)
- When chicken is done, remove it to a bowl or plate and shred. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and cold water. Pour this slurry into the slow cooker and whisk to incorporate.
- Return chicken to slow cooker and toss to coat.
- Let cook for another 5 - 10 minutes, until sauce has thickened.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 184Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 64mgSodium: 878mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 0gSugar: 10gProtein: 25g
Vickie says
Could you sub the brown sugar for honey? If so how much do you think?
amanda says
Yeah, I’m sure you could. Maybe equal amounts? That sounds like a lot of honey though. I’d probably do a couple tablespoons and then test it at the end. Thanks for reading and commenting! :)
Steffanie says
For all those who dislike ketchup, maybe try a little Sriracha if you like spicy…just a thought.
Madelyn says
That’s an awesome idea!
Jessica Beyer says
Ok I want to make this but I don’t have apple juice… I don’t think I have any kind of juice actually, maybe a can of pineapples.. Would that work?
amanda says
Yeah, I’m sure a can of pineapples would be fine in this. Thanks for reading and commenting! :)
jtstewart says
Where’s the bourbon???
Jessica Beyer says
bourbon chicken doesn’t have bourbon in it, I read somewhere on pinterest i think that there was a street that was named Bourbon street and that is where the dish got its name… Or something like that.
Peggy says
I was also thinking…..this sounds yummy like one I always make but why call it
Bourbon Chicken? No Bourbon!
Jean says
How can I print your recipes? There is no way to print and I do not do facebook.
amanda says
Right next to the recipe there’s a little printer icon that says “print”. If you click on that, it’ll open up a new page with just the recipe. Thanks for reading! :)
Mary Johnson says
The little printer icon didn’t show up for me either. But when I copy pasted into word it showed the word print so it’s there somewhere but the way the website translated, I couldn’t see either!
Tarah says
I made this tonight & it was delicious! It will definitely be in the menu many more times!
b says
I saw this on Pinterest and it sounded so simple, I had to try it. I didn’t have some of the ingredients so I improvised, and it was super weird, but super tasty. I also thought the ketchup sounded kinda ick, so I left it out. If anyone’s curious, this is how I took the skeleton of this idea and ended up with an utterly bastardized version:
*Didn’t have any apple juice, so instead I threw in a can of apricots with their sauce. (I was a little dubious, but holy heck, was that a tasty addition.)
*Didn’t have any ground ginger. Hey, know what’s got ginger in it? Curry powder! Yup, threw that in there instead.
*The sugar seemed like a ton, so I just used a big spoonful.
*No ketchup for me, thanks. Added a little extra cider vinegar instead.
*Increased the water to a cup.
*Added WAY more crushed red pepper.
This turned out SO. GOOD. Will definitely make it again and again and again. The only thing I’ll change next time is less soy sauce, as I found it to be a little overpowering. Thanks for posting this!
JO says
i make this in a frying pan, its almost exactly the same, for lower sodium i use low sodium soy sauce. and usually add a little corn startch at the end to thicken the sauce its amazing. Cant wait to try in the crock, so much easier!
Christy says
I am currently in the process of preparing this dish! This sounded so damn good to me when I first read it that I knew I had to try it. I hope it’s as delicious as it sounds!!! I will certainly be back to let you know. I altered the ingredients just a bit since the original poster of the recipe said it was a bit on the sweet side. We shall see how it turns out, until then……..
Kathy says
Really good!! Made it this week, used boneless thighs because that’s what i had. Had all the ingredients but the ginger. Put it all on low when I left for work. When my daughter got home from school – she shredded a couple pieces and had 2 sandwiches – she said it was delicious!
Nathalie Smith says
I am going on a blind faith and cooking this right now for tonights dinner! I hope my kids like it! ….. I am glad there is no real bourbon since I don’t drink alcohol.
Crystal says
What you mean I can’t just throw some Bourbon in the crock pot with some chicken to make bourbon chicken? This sounds quite yummy except for the ketchup. I can’t stand ketchup. What could I substitute?
amanda says
I *hate* when recipes call for ketchup these days. I don’t even know how I made this one. :P As for substitutions, maybe tomato sauce? If you go that route, you might want to add extra sweetness though.
Thanks for reading and commenting. :)
Kristin says
I made this yesterday – got it going in the crock pot before I left for work, and when I came home, the house smelled amazing! Threw in a splash of bourbon after shredding the chicken (which was super moist and shred-able!) and let it simmer with the bourbon for a bit. Fantastic! Definitely going on my regular meal rotation!
Molly says
This is in the crockpot as I type. Hopefully not burning down my apartment (am I the only person who worries about this every time they leave the house with the crockpot on?). Looking forward to trying it for dinner tonight!
JO says
I worry about this all the time.,, so afraid to leave crockpot on and leave the house. Especially since my crockpot is a little older.
sharon says
Don’t worry about your slo-cooker…..been using them for 40 yrs. having gone through 5 of them, and they do not overheat!!
ProfToniK says
Thank you 4 your info about leaving slow cookers alone – started using recently & was afraid every time I left it alone !
It is a godsend for me – have bad back and cannot stand over stove & cook. It has been wonderful! Enabling me to cook again, after many years of having to have hubby do all cooking ! Now he won’t cook at all, since I started cooking – says I cook better than him. Now he is not well & am looking forward to him coming home and me cooking 4 him in my cooker again. Many thanks.
Toni
KBM says
I put the crockpot on my electric stove top when I leave it for the day. Nothing flamable in that area. When I had a gas stove I would place a metal cookie sheet on the stove top and leave it on that. My crockpot/deep fryer is over 30 years old and still working great.They don’t make anything like this now.
Teresa says
I never use mine when I’m not home for the same reason. We have a dog at home while we work and I would never forgive myself is she died in a fire that resulted from the crockpot!
Patricia says
I worry about it all day while at work or if cooking at night I keep waking up to make sure there is no fire. lol
I’ve been using mine for over 20 years with no problem but I still worry.
Christi says
I always worry about that too if I leave. I have started putting the crockpot in the center of my stove and when I plug it in, it is the only thing in that outlet and I clear everything around it. It helps a little, but, I still worry!
Anne says
Try adding a tablespoon or two of Bourbon
Anne D. says
I was thinking “what no Bourbon?”
Liz says
I’m always on the lookout for slow cooker recipes that look delicious, and this one fits the bill. I’ve only had bourbon chicken from the food court, so I’m looking forward to trying a homemade version.
.-= Liz´s last blog ..CEiMB: Crab Cakes =-.
tia says
this looks so easy and so yummy.
.-= tia´s last blog ..Orange Sour Cream Cake =-.
Renee says
Looks so good. Im going to make it!
Azusa says
This looks amazing—I can’t wait to try this! Your lovely photo is making me drool. Thanks for posting!
.-= Azusa´s last blog ..Fried Rice with Crispy Garlic and Ginger =-.
Sarah says
Oh this looks so good!
Have you stopped celebrating yet :)
.-= Sarah´s last blog ..Happy Birthday Tajiah! =-.