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 3 hours or LOW for 5-6 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.
Great recipe! I did sub the honey for maple syrup since it’s what I had on hand. I reduced the honey to 2 tablespoons and reduced the brown sugar to 2 tablespoons since I prefer less sweet dishes. I also used tamari instead of soy sauce and reduced it to 5 tablespoons to cut down on the sodium. I figured I could always add more if needed more sweetness or saltiness.
This was very good! I did use chicken thighs and maple syrup in place of the honey & brown sugar. Added some vegetables after about 2 hours of cooking and I really enjoyed this recipe! Thank-you,
BK
Excellent recipe. Much appreciated.
What would be the actual serving size for this recipe. Like how many ounces? I’m asking because I’m a Bariatric patient and would like to know so I can adjust the servings to my needs.
Again, thanks for posting this.
A serving is a cup, which should be about 5 ounces of chicken.
This is one of the simplest meals to prepare & tastes absolutely fantastic! This will be added to our Go To recipes!! Thank you.
Can you freeze this? How would you reheat it and would it be good for 3 months frozen? Preparing for surgery and need freezer meals.
You could freeze it, then thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat on the stove top.
I’m trying this recipe today. I only have ground ginger though. How much should I use in place of minced ginger?
I’d use 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger!
Hi! Considering making this (today, if you see this comment), but my kids have sesame allergies. Any suggestions for keeping the flavor but removing the toasted sesame oil (and seeds)? Thanks!
There’s not really a great substitute so I’d just omit the sesame oil and seeds.
My son is allergic to sesame too so we just crush up walnuts very finely and use toasted walnut oil
Hi, I am excited to try this recipe! If I wanted to reduce the sugar content what ratios might you advise? What result could I expect? Thanks!!
You could do 3 tablespoons of honey and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar!
Can this be made ahead of time and then reheated in a crockpot?
Yes that’s fine!
If I have double the chicken do I double all other ingredients?
I wouldn’t double the soy sauce as it could be overly salty, everything else you can double.
I doubled everything in the recipe except for the soy sauce and it turned out great. Thank you!
The Ingredients section of the recipe has handy 1x 2x & 3x buttons. The 2x button doubles every ingredient and the 3x button triples everything. I’m not sure if there is a way for you to adjust it manually, but it might be handy if you recommend not doubling or tripling the soy sauce. I was planning to make a 3x recipe for a group next week, but now I’m questioning the amount of say sauce to use. Any advice would be great. Thanks!
I’d do 1.5 times the soy sauce for triple the servings!
Is there an alternative to the sesame oil? This looks amazing!
There’s not a great substitute for sesame oil, you could omit it, the flavor will just be slightly different!
Delicious !!! Very good. Thank you
What if I want to have lots of extra sauce to spoon over the rice and steamed broccoli? and using chicken thighs?
Chicken thighs should work, this recipe makes a fair amount of sauce. If you want more sauce you could use 1.5 times the ingredients in the sauce, except I would not add more soy sauce than the original amount.
How much earlier before cooking time completed should I add frozen stir fry veggies?
I’d add during the last 30 minutes!
Made this for dinner tonight! Absolutely delicious. I used thigh meat instead of breast.
Hello! Does anyone know if the cooking time changes if using boneless/skinless thighs? I’d like to make it tomorrow when I’m away for the day but want to make sure I don’t overcook it! TIA!!
It should be the same!
I’ve made this a few times for my family and also when we’ve had company. We all LOVE it! It’s been a great hit so thank you for sharing this recipe!
I doubled the recipe and did not use all the sauce, but I loved it although next time I would not double the honey and brown sugar. It was a bit sweet.
Hello Sara,
Thank you for your delicious recipe – Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken.
Would love to use this recipe on the weekend for a family affair, but using a whole chicken approx 2.5kg, serving with stir fry vegetables and rice….. I have some little fussy eaters so have to cook and serve separately…..lol!
Prior to cooking would you suggest I chop the chicken meat in smaller chunks first or cook the chicken whole and cut later? What adjustments to the recipe would You suggest I need to consider?
Thanking you for your assistance in this matter.
I’d cut the chicken into 8 pieces – 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, and then cut each breast in half so 4 breast pieces. Then proceed as directed, and remove the skin and bones after the chicken is cooked before you thicken the sauce.
I don’t have a slow cooker and wanted to cook this with a Dutch oven, what temp and how long for? Thanks!
In the oven or on the stove?
This sounds delicious and easy. Hope to make it this week. Thank you for the recipe.
Brook
I’d like to use already shredded chicken and stove top.
Any changes recommend ?
I’d recommend just making my teriyaki sauce recipe then adding the shredded chicken: https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/teriyaki-sauce-recipe/