Slow cooker teriyaki chicken is chicken breasts cooked with garlic, ginger, soy sauce and honey, then shredded and drizzled with sauce. Serve over rice for an easy yet satisfying crock pot dinner!
I always order teriyaki chicken when I go to my local Japanese restaurant. This slow cooker recipe is SO simple to make at home and has all the same great flavors of the restaurant version.
Being able to throw a meal into my crock pot for dinner is something I have always been extremely thankful for. This slow cooker teriyaki chicken is one of my go-to dinner ideas because it’s quick and the entire family loves it. Plus, because it utilizes the slow cooker I can throw dinner on earlier in the day and forget about it.
HOW DO YOU MAKE SLOW COOKER CHICKEN TERIYAKI?
Thankfully, this teriyaki chicken is as easy as tossing all your ingredients in a crock pot and leaving it to cook. Chicken breasts are cooked with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and honey, then shredded before being drizzled with sauce. Serve your crock pot teriyaki chicken over rice and you’ve got a satisfying dinner!
Depending on your preferences, chicken thighs or breasts can be used to make teriyaki chicken. One of the best parts about this recipe is that it can easily be doubled to feed a crowd if need be. Not to mention, it only takes about 5 minutes of prep time which makes for a quick meal all the way around.
You can eat crock pot teriyaki chicken as is, but it’s best when served over steamed rice. If you love this slow cooker chicken teriyaki, you’ll also love this chicken teriyaki stir fry which has similar flavors but is ready in 30 minutes.
IS CHICKEN TERIYAKI HEALTHY?
Chicken teriyaki is made with mostly healthy ingredients. That being said, soy sauce is salty, and too much sodium is not good for you. Be sure to use a low sodium soy sauce in this recipe!
CAN YOU COOK RICE IN THE CROCK POT?
Yes, you can cook most things in the crock pot. However, you would have to cook it separate from the teriyaki chicken. Cooking rice in a crock pot makes it take much longer than just making it on the stove, however, it can be done if desired.
CAN VEGETABLES BE ADDED TO SLOW COOKER TERIYAKI CHICKEN?
Vegetables can definitely be added to this recipe. Most popular stir fry vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus, snap peas, bell peppers, etc. can be added to this dish to personalize it. However, be aware, those most vegetables will need to be added later in the cooking process or they may get soggy.
If you’re dreading school because weeknight dinners are so stressful, I’m with you. However, I have started preparing for busy nights by pulling out as many slow cooker recipes as possible. I’m definitely adding this slow cooker teriyaki chicken to the weeknight dinner rotation!
MORE CHICKEN SLOW COOKER RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
- Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
- Slow Cooker Orange Chicken
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tortellini Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
- Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala
Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Video
Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons ginger minced
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons sliced green onions
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts in a slow cooker.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, ginger, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce sesame oil and rice vinegar.
- Pour the soy sauce mixture over the chicken.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 4-5 hours or LOW for 8 hours.
- Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred with two forks.
- Pour the teriyaki sauce from the slow cooker through a strainer into a saucepan.
- Place the saucepan on the stove over medium high heat and bring to a simmer.
- In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with the water until dissolved.
- Pour the cornstarch into the pan and bring a boil. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until sauce has just thickened.
- Pour the sauce over the shredded chicken and toss to coat the chicken. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions, then serve.
Anna says
I have been using this recipe for a year now and I got to say thank you!!! Its so delicious and packed with flavor I always triple the recipe and add more sugar bc I like mine sweeter 😋 . I’m also a garlic fan so I put a lot in but it turns out amazing everytime!
Shiny says
Super easy and the chicken was so flavorful! i doubled the sauce and it was just perfect – the whole family loved it and most of them had seconds. Def going to be making it again!!
Kenya G says
Just made this dish tonight. Turned out amazing!!! I agree it’s not enough sauce to drizzle over the finish product and would have to double up.
graziella says
Awesome recipe! it does taste like restaurant-style too. My husband and I loved it the kids are picky especially my little one and he wouldn’t try it with the sauce. I didn’t mix the sauce with chicken instead I kind of plated it with rice, chicken then grizzled sauce on top with green onion and sesame seeds.
I didn’t have toasted sesame oil on hand so I substituted with tahini which I had. It is a make again dinner for sure.
Nicole says
This recipe looks fantastic, but I am allergic to honey. Is there a recommended substitute? Or can I omit the honey altogether?
Sara says
I would use 2 more tablespoons of brown sugar instead!
Jessica says
Hi
Please could you tell me the cup conversion to ml?
Thank you 🙂
Lelia says
I made this for dinner for today and everyone said it was amazing! I used Bragg aminos instead of soy sauce. It is less salty!
Carolyn says
So, I need advice! I made this recipe and my chicken burnt and it was SO SALTY! I know the recipe is fine as written, so I’m wondering if you could help me figure out what happened? I’ve only used my crockpot on low thus far and have never burnt any meat, even cooking all day. Today I decided to try cooking it on high for four hours as the recipe suggested. Also, our grocery store was out of low sodium soy sauce, so I substituted tamari which the internet assured me was less salty 😆. My only suspicion was that some of the liquid may have cooked off, leaving that salty flavor behind. But with the lid being on the whole time, I don’t know if that makes sense… any thoughts? I want to try it again, but don’t want to make the same salty mistake!
Sara says
Did you use regular tamari or low sodium tamari? And what kind of crockpot is it? I have 6 crockpots and I find they all cook a little differently, some run hotter than others so it could be that your crockpot runs really hot on high heat, especially if this was the first time you used that setting!
Veronica says
I burnt my chicken too on the low setting. I think since the sauce didn’t cover the chicken completely it got dried out quickly. Mine was overdone at 3 hrs set on low. I’m hoping the sauce will help. Flavor is excellent, so I’m still serving it tonight.
Hazel Benson says
Amazing! I added onions, peppers and brocolli 90 mins befor the end and it was so tasty!
Nancy says
Very yummy! It was a hit! Thank you!
YoungCheese says
How long would u recommend to add something like broccoli to the crockpot?
Sara says
Add during the last 90 minutes!
COsmina says
Can’t I just skip steps 6-9 and add the cornstarch later, in the Crock pot?
Sara says
I haven’t tried it that way. You’ll need to let it cook for at least 30 minutes so that the cornstarch can thicken the sauce if you skip the stovetop steps.
Nina says
Light or dark brown sugar? The recipe doesn’t specify but they are very different. Thanks!
Sara says
I use light!
Brielle Smith says
Can you put the chicken in frozen or does it have to be thawed first?
Sara says
You can put it in frozen but it may take longer to cook!
Brielle Smith says
Thank you! I’m trying this tomorrow!
Emma says
After how many hours would you recommend adding in veg like broccoli? 🙂
Sara says
Add broccoli during the last hour!
Heidi says
Hi Sara,
If I don’t have the toasted sesame oil, could I sub it with another oil? Do you have a suggestion? Thanks!
Sara says
There’s not a great substitute for sesame oil so I would just omit it!
Heather says
What about regular sesame oil?
Sara says
That’s fine!
Leslie says
I followed the recommendation to cut down on the honey and only included half of what the recipe called for. I also didn’t have rice wine viegar so I substituted 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar, which is what I had on hand. I added a little extra soy sauce and garlic and also used corn starch instead of flour (same measurements). Cooked for about 4.5 hours and served with some roasted broccoli… AMAZING! The flavor and texture of the chicken is so yummy! Going to have leftovers tonight for dinner 😉
Jena says
Absolutely delicious; I will be making it again.
Christian Anthony Salazar says
The chicken marinade didn’t cover both my chicken breasts so it came out dry I do I prevent this from happening again?
Sara says
What size slow cooker are you using?
Angela says
This recipe was amazing! I doubled the sauce recipe just because I love a lot of sauce. I butterflied the breasts so more flavor would be in the chicken. Every recipe I have tried on your website has been a total winner! Thanks!
Cyndi says
Try chicken thighs as an alternative. They tend to be more moist. It is also helpful if you have a meat thermometer to check temp periodically when trying new recipes. My slow cooker runs aa little hot, and my experience has been that chicken thighs cook in 1.5-2 hours on high in the crock pot I use.
Hope this is helpful
Julia says
Do you leave the thighs whole and cut/shred afterwards as well?