Hey guess what? I made you a new recipe with your three favorite words in the title — slow cooker chicken.
That’s right. Without fail, requests for slow cooker recipes and chicken recipes seem to far outweigh all other topics in surveys and your emails. So today I’m doing a two-for-one and also introducing a healthier new take on a classic — Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken!
This version includes all of the delicious sweet and savory teriyaki flavors you love. But this easy homemade teriyaki sauce is naturally sweetened with honey instead of refined sugar. And since your slow cooker is going to do most of the work for you, there is very minimal prep time required. I think we can call that a win-win.
Speaking of winning, we’re also giving away not one but two amazing new Crock-Pot slow cookers in a giveaway below. Yep, the winner will receive one to keep and one to give to a friend. How cool is that?! So read on for this tasty recipe and take a minute to enter the giveaway too.
I mean, really, just look at that chicken drenched in that thick, sweet teriyaki sauce. It’s calling your name.
Here’s how to make it happen.
First we begin by making the teriyaki sauce base. Simply whisk together the ingredients.
Then lay your chicken breasts out in a single layer in your slow cooker and pour the sauce over them. Cover and cook on high for about 4-5 hours, or until the chicken basically falls apart when shredded with a fork. Get ready, because your home is going to smell a-ma-zing.
Once the chicken is cooked, remove it with a slotted spoon and shred it on a separate plate or in a bowl.
Then transfer the remaining teriyaki sauce to a small saucepan, and whisk a cornstarch slurry. Bring it to a boil and let it thicken. Then pour the sauce on top of your shredded chicken.
Gently toss to combine. And then comes the hardest part — deciding how you’re going to enjoy it!
I actually enjoyed my first serving on a little teriyaki chicken slider. So simple!
But of course, the classic way would be over rice. Or quinoa. Or even just on its own, with a side of veggies. I’m pretty sure you can’t go wrong any way you choose, especially with that heavenly homemade teriyaki sauce. You’re gonna love it!
Here’s the recipe (and be sure to also check out the giveaway below!)
Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup chopped white onion
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup soy sauce (use low-sodium if desired)
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh ginger
- 1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
- (optional toppings: sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds)
Instructions
- Add the chicken breasts to the bottom of your slow cooker in a single layer.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the garlic, onion, honey, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger, and black pepper until combined. Pour the mixture on top of the chicken breasts. Cover slow cooker, and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or until the chicken is cooked through and shreds easily with a fork. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon to a separate bowl and shred it using two forks. Transfer the remaining teriyaki sauce from the slow cooker to a medium saucepan.
- Meanwhile in a separate bowl, whisk together the cold water and cornstarch until the cornstarch is dissolved and no longer lumpy. Pour the cornstarch slurry into the teriyaki sauce mixture, and whisk to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, and let it boil for about 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat, and pour the sauce on top of the shredded chicken. Toss to combine.
- Serve topped with scallions (green onions) and toasted sesame seeds if desired.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Crock-Pot Giveaway
Giveaway Prize:
One winner will receive two (2) Crock-Pot® Digital Slow Cookers with iStir Stirring Systems — one for you, and one for you to give to a friend. And get ready, because they are going to knock your socks off! And here’s why:
iStir™ does the stirring for you so you don’t have to. With the slow cooker’s countdown digital timer and automatic stirring, you are provided the convenience of preparing food with perfect results, even if you are not in the kitchen. Simply prepare ingredients, set cook time and attach the motor housing with proper paddle in place. Choose the general purpose paddle for soup and chili or the stew paddle for thick stew and more dense dishes. After an initial 2-hour delay, the stirring self-activates every 30 minutes to ensure thorough mixing and even heating until turned off. Pretty darn cool.
I especially stirring system when making dips and chilis. It’s really handy, especially when just keeping the slow cooker on the “warm” setting while entertaining, to not have to constantly be stirring my recipe. But this Crock-Pot is also a pro at making all of your other favorite slow cooker meals that don’t need stirring. It pretty much does everything. :)
How To Enter:
Follow the Rafflecopter instructions below.
Disclaimer: This giveaway was sponsored by Crock-Pot. I received a complementary slow cooker to test and review, but was not paid and all opinions are 100% my own as always. Thanks for supporting the brands that make this site — and great giveaways — possible!
I’m absolutely in love with this recipe! But I’m going to start dieting and I was wondering how many calories are in this meal per serving.
Thanks Jamie — we’re so glad to hear you love the recipe! Unfortunately though we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
I was crock potting plain chicken wings, and had no idea what to do with them. I saw your recipe, and made the sauce, then added the cornstarch. Let it simmer for a bit, then decided to shred the chicken wings. Combined all together. There was nothing left! I really don’t cook much, everyone kept saying I ordered out, and said I made it. The sauce had so many flavors, will be following you from now on!
Thank you for your comment Darleene — we’re so glad you enjoyed this! :)
I tried this Over the weekend and I cooked for 4.5 hours on high and the sauce was beyond burnt and chicken dried out :( what happened?
Hi Elyce! Oh no! We’re so sorry about this. :( Different slow cookers sometimes performing differently. It sounds like yours must be extra hot. If you tries this again, we would begin at 3 hours, and watch it from there to see when the chicken is tender and pulls apart easily with a fork. We hope this helps!
Hi! I was wondering what a substitute could be for rice wine vinegar? Hubby is allergic to vinegar and wine. Even if it’s cooked out, he still has a reaction. TIA. :)
Hi Sophia! Hmmm, thats a tough one. We think we would maybe try a little lemon or lime juice, since that would provide the acidity that’s needed. We hope that helps!
Hi I was wondering if you have ever used this with beef instead of chicken? I’ve always loved beef teriyaki…wondering how this recipe would be with beef instead of chicken?
Hi Michelle! We haven’t tried this particular recipe with beef, so we can’t say for sure, but we think it would be yummy! Perhaps you could try it with some beef chuck roast?
Want to try this but 2 lbs is too much for one meal for us. Do you think it would be ok freezing half of the cooked chicken after it’s been tossed with the teriyaki sauce or should I freeze the shredded chicken and extra sauce separately?
We think it would be fine to freeze this with the chicken and teriyaki mixed together — we hope you and your family enjoy! :)
There are so many comments some has probably asked this but how would this work with bone-in chicken thighs?
Hi Becca! We’re honestly not sure how this recipe would work with bone-in thighs. However, we think the chicken thighs would definitely work, and they’d probably need 4-5 hours (or until tender) on low, versus high. Otherwise, you should be able to follow the recipe as written. We hope you enjoy! :)
Making this for 6 what adjustments should I make on the ingredients?
Also no slow cook would a Pyrex oven dish work?
Hi Sean! For six people, we would recommend doing 1 1/2 times the recipe. Unfortunately this recipe was written for a slow cooker. We think the next closest thing would be to roast some chicken (or buy roast chicken, cook the sauce on the stove, and mix it in). We hope this helps!
Want to try this but don’t have a slow cooker will it work in a Pyrex oven dish.
Also cooking for six what would u recommend for ingredients adjustments?
I love this recipe! My husband has celiac disease (gluten free) so I altered the recipe by using Tamari-Lite gluten free soy sauce and it turned out great! Thanks for putting together an easy and delicious recipe that can taste great even if some of the ingredients are modified!
Thanks for sharing with us Brittany! We’re glad you could modify it for him, and that you guys enjoyed it! :D