About This Teriyaki Chicken

This tasty slow cooker teriyaki chicken is sweet, sour, and sticky. Every piece of chicken is covered in the thick sauce, so every bite is full of flavor.

• Made with Things You Already Have: You should have most of the things you need for this recipe in your pantry, like soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, rice vinegar, and sesame oil.
• Great Alternative to takeaway: This quick teriyaki chicken recipe will taste just as good as your favorite takeaway teriyaki, whether you’re looking to save money or just cut back on takeout in general.

Ingredients and Key Notes

• Chicken Breasts: The ideal meat for this recipe is boneless, skinless chicken breasts. It shreds easily after the chicken is done cooking, and it doesn’t take long to cook.
• Low-Sodium Soy Sauce: This recipe calls for a lot of soy sauce, so using low-sodium soy sauce makes the meal less salty. If you don’t have low-sodium soy sauce, use half as much regular soy sauce and add water instead.
• Light Brown Sugar: Add some sugar to the dish to balance out the saltiness and savory flavor. This dish tastes great using brown sugar since it has a deeper flavor than ordinary sugar.
• Rice Vinegar: Rice vinegar is manufactured from fermented rice and is used in a lot of Asian recipes. It tastes less strong and a little sweeter than conventional white distilled vinegar.
• Sesame Oil: Sesame oil is derived from sesame seeds and has a nutty, tasty flavor. It has a really strong smell, so a little bit goes a long way.
• Ginger: You can use fresh minced ginger instead of ground ginger in this recipe. If you’re using fresh or jarred ginger, add one more tablespoon.
• Garlic: Fresh minced garlic can add some flavor to your teriyaki sauce. You can also use garlic that comes in a jar. If you need to use something else instead of garlic powder, use half a teaspoon.
• Honey: Add some honey to this slow cooker chicken teriyaki to make it sticky and sweet. This makes the dish sweeter and better in texture.
• Cornstarch: Adding cornstarch toward the end of cooking makes the sauce thicker and gives it a shiny look.

For exact amounts of each ingredient, nutritional information, and step-by-step instructions, see the recipe card below.

• Four chicken breasts without bones or skin
• 1/3 cup of soy sauce with low sodium
• Two tablespoons of packed light brown sugar
• two-thirds of a cup of water
• 2 tbsp of vinegar made from rice
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 3 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp of cornstarch
• ⅓ cup of water

Use Chicken Thighs: For this dish, boneless, skinless chicken thighs work well. Dark meat has more fat and flavor, and it doesn’t dry out as rapidly as chicken breasts. It can take longer to cook.

I like to add broccoli, carrots, snap peas, peppers, and zucchini to my chicken teriyaki. You could even add pineapple to make it a little sweeter. A frozen stir-fry mix or fresh vegetables work well.

Coconut liquid aminos are a good substitute for soy sauce if you don’t like it or are allergic to it. It has less sodium than soy sauce and is created from salted and fermented coconut flower buds.

How to Cook Chicken Teriyaki in the Slow Cooker

1. In a medium bowl, mix together soy sauce, water, brown sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and honey. Mix everything together with a whisk and put it aside.
2. Put the chicken breasts in the slow cooker and pour the sauce over them. For 3½ to 4 hours, cook on low.
3. Take the chicken out of the slow cooker and shred it. Set it aside.
4. Put the water and liquid from the slow cooker into a pot. Then, over medium-high heat, bring to a boil. Add cornstarch a bit at a time while swirling the liquid until it thickens. Stir it every so often and let it boil for one minute.
5. Pour the sauce over the shredded chicken and mix it all together.
6. Put on rice and top with sesame seeds and green onions.

Make a cornstarch slurry instead of adding cornstarch directly to the sauce, which could cause lumps. Mix the cornstarch with ⅓ cup of cold water in another basin. While stirring, slowly add the cornstarch slurry to the sauce that is boiling. It makes the sauce thicker and glossy.

Don’t overcook the chicken: When you cook chicken in a crock pot, make sure you don’t overcook it. A lot of liquid and low heat will keep the chicken from being dry and rough.

Less Mess: Use a crock pot liner or coat the pot with a nonstick cooking spray to make cleaning up easier and less messy.

If your sauce gets too thick, you can slowly add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until it gets to the right thickness.

Storage and Tips

You can keep leftovers in the fridge for up to three days in a container that doesn’t let air in. You can freeze leftovers for up to eight weeks if you put the chicken in a container that can go in the freezer.

To reheat, put the dish in the microwave on medium heat for 30 to 60 seconds at a time until it is hot all the way through. You may also put big pieces of leftovers in a baking dish and heat them in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes. If you want to reheat frozen leftovers, you should let them thaw in the fridge for 24 hours first.

You can create the teriyaki sauce a day or two ahead of time and store it in the fridge in an airtight container until you’re ready to make this slow cooker teriyaki chicken breast recipe.

Conclusion

Sometimes, after a long day, you just want a home-cooked meal, but you don’t want to have to make it yourself. With this simple teriyaki chicken breast recipe, you can make that perfect dinner. It doesn’t need much prep or cooking, and your whole family will want it every week.