Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken
Simply throw everything in the crockpot and you’re set for a family-friendly meal – it doesn’t get easier than that!
You know how you get a song stuck in your head and you sing it over and over and over for a week and a half until a new song gets stuck in your head? Well, my current song is Boy Dance Party by Bruce Willis and the boys from SNL. Ever since they played that skit, I’ve had it stuck in my head non-stop! I’ll go around the house singing it at the top of my lungs.
But enough about what the guys do when their ladies aren’t around. Let’s talk about this easy crockpot dish!
It’s such a simple, effortless dish that comes together so easily in the slow cooker. Simply throw everything into your slow cooker and that’s it! There’s just one tedious part shredding the chicken. But other than that, it’s an easy-peasy, no fuss dish with a sweet honey flavor that even the pickiest of eaters will enjoy!
Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 small onion, diced
- ½ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine onion, soy sauce, honey, ketchup, vegetable oil, garlic, ginger and red pepper.
- Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper, to taste. Place chicken thighs into a slow cooker. Add soy sauce mixture and gently toss to combine. Cover and cook on low heat for 3 hours and 30 minutes.
- Remove chicken thighs from the slow cooker and shred the chicken before returning to the pot with the juices. Cover and keep warm for an additional 30 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with green onions and sesame seeds, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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Very easy to make! And Delicious!
I accidentally grabbed boneless chicken breasts instead of thighs. I cut the breasts into big chunks (each breast into 3 chunks). Should I adjust the time?
Does using frozen chicken affect cooking time in the slow cooker?
I generally defrost the chicken first, but on occasion have placed still frozen chicken breast in to make a dish and it has come out just fine. I imagine it should be the same, but I never cook dark meat.
This was easy to prep and tasted really good!
Oh yum … so easy and it was delicious!!
Meat shredding tip: You can shred meat in 2-3 seconds with a stand mixer. I’m not kidding. Google it. Life changing. You’re welcome.
Can you substitute thighs for tenders
I’m making it sounds delicious
Could I substitute coconut aminos for the soy sauce?
In case anyone’s wondering. I substituted coconut aminos for the soy sauce and it was still delicious!
wowww I can’t believe how good this looks. Definitely trying this weekend.
Hi! This looks delish! I don’t have any vegetable oil. I was thinking one tbsp sesame oil (love the flavor) and 1 tbsp of sunflower or avocado oil. Your thoughts?
This one is a hit in our house! Easy peasy and the hubby + 3yr & 7yr old ate it right up. Only modifications I made were instead of 2tbsp of veg oil I did 1tbsp of veg oil and 1tbsp of sesame oil (because I love the flavour). I also added a bit of cornstarch in the last 15mins just to thicken the sauce up a bit. Turned out great. Served w/ rice and steamed green beans.
Literally just found this recepe online and ran to the market to grab the ingredients. Hope it comes out good
We loved this! We ate it in 3 servings rather than 6! Served over cauliflower rice. Also steamed frozen broccoli in the microwave and stirred it in with 10 min left. I also did the last 30 min on low rather than warm to make sure the chicken cooked.
Great! A little spicy for our taste–we are wimps and should have used less red pepper. Still great flavor though! Will make again!
This recipe is a favorite in our family. Have you ever tried making it in an Instapot? I was hoping you could share instructions on cook time, etc.
I did this in my Instant Pot tonight. I added about a 1/2 cup of chicken broth as I was worried there wouldn’t be enough liquid to pressurize. I also cut the thicken thighs up before putting them in. Then cooked on high pressure for 9 minutes with quick pressure release. Turned out great.
I have made this in a regular sized but crockpot and it’s delicious! I just got a new crockpot that is 2 quarts and I am trying to figure out the best way to make it in a smaller scale!
I love this recipe so much! My whole family, even the picky two year old, agrees! I have company coming and would like to make it for them, was wondering if I could prepare the night before and keep in the fridge. Would I need to adjust cooking time?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Made this at work for me and my co-workers. Delicious!!!! And so easy. The only thing I may change when I make it again is to cut back a little on the soy sauce and add a touch more honey. The chicken tasted great, but just a little salty for my personal taste.
This is my family’s favorite slow cooker dinner. I usually put it together in the morning when I’m making lunches. I put the crock in the fridge and have my husband take it out and start it on low around 1:00. (He always eats lunch at home.) When I get home I make the rice and steam whatever vegetable is in season (usually asparagus or broccoli). I have four kids and they all love this meal!
I’ve made this recipe a few times. I follow it exactly as instructed and its a hit! I serve it over jasmine rice. We usually have steam broccoli or roasted carrots as a side. Found on Pinterest and forever grateful.
That’s awesome!
Very good 5 starts as usual! My 2 year old just devoured it and my hubby said it’s a keeper! All of your recipes are nothing short of amazing!!!
Aw that’s so great to hear, Alicia! Thank you!
Hi. Is 3 hours really long enough on a low setting to cook 2 pounds of chicken? I’m a total novice when it comes to this stuff, but that doesn’t sound nearly long enough to me?
Hi Ryan, that’s how we cooked it and it turned out great.
Thanks Jana. I just cut some open after the 3hr 3o mark…still a little pink for me so I’m gonna give it another hour or so to be safe.
Lol I now realized the other recipe was from this website. I love that honey sesame chicken! Good to have this option with veggies too!
I realized this was my comment which doesn’t make a lot of sense I must have meant to put it on the other recipe. The other recipe is the honey garlic chicken recipe. I like this one the most though.
You can use boneless skinless chicken breast for this recipe if you prefer them. My husband is a strange man and doesn’t like the texture of chicken thighs.
Hello my family loves all your recipes. I have a tomato intolerance – so many yummy recipes that require tomatoes sigh. Was wondering if you have a suggestion for a replacement to the ketchup for this recipe? Or in general really if a recipe calls for ketchup or tomato paste – of welcome suggestions.
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
This was absolutely delicious! I made it today on the @livestrong_com insta story and credited you 🙂
Chicken cooked in the crock pot shreds easily in a stand mixer. This recipe doesn’t have to have ANY tedious parts. (My kids love it and now that I can fast forward through chicken shredding so do I.)
I try to avoid using ketchup in recipes because it adds extra sugar and I prefer not to used processed goods. Do you think I can substitute tomato paste or pureed tomatoes for the ketchup? thanks!
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Jennifer,
Primal Kitchen makes ketchup without sugar. Here are the ingredients (from their website:) Organic Tomato Concentrate, Organic Balsamic Vinegar, Less than 2% of Salt, Organic Onion Powder, Organic Garlic Powder, Organic Spices If that is still too processed, tomato paste sounds like a good substitute.
I’m making this tonight, so can’t comment yet on how it will taste with this brand of unsweetened ketchup, but I have a feeling it will be great! I’ll let you know!
I have everything but honey :(. Would molasses be ok to substitute?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Hi, 3hrs and 30 mins is not a convenient cooking for me. Unfortunately I did not ask for advice in advance and I’m about to experiment the menu right now using the same ingredients but I will use this Instant Pot instead of slow cooker. I’m hoping it will turn out right. But I don’t really know exactly how long I will for cook it with this pot. 🙁 please help.
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Can you leave it in the crockpot for longer than 30 mins after shredding the chicken?
Yes, preferably on the WARM setting, if applicable.
I can’t get the video to play. It says it is private, but the recipe looks yummy.
I made this as a freezer meal. So all ingredients in freezer bag, pulled out another day to make. I learned something through this recipe. I don’t care for a lot of soy sauce, nor do I like ketchup and soy together. I generally never use ketchup in a recipe so that one had me wondering.
Overall I didn’t care for this, it was overly salty and just didn’t taste good. May have been the freezer to crock pot, I don’t know. Will not make again.
If I want to double the recipe, would you recommend cooking on low for six hours instead of three, or should I go somewhere in the middle?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
If I wanted to put this in a freezer bag would I just put it all in there lay flat then freeze? Or do I not need to put anything together? Sorry new to crockpot dump meals.
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
Very tasty and very easy! I swapped the thighs for breasts since they were on sale. 🙂
Made this for dinner tonight. Swapped thighs for b/s chicken breasts. SO DELICIOUS!! Thanks for the recipe!
Delicious Looking!
I’m going to try this with bone-in thighs.
It is all I have on hand.
I’ll skin them first, before putting them in the slow-cooker, the just take off the bone.
Can’t wait to try them!
Would this be good with Black Sesame seeds?
Yes, absolutely!
Ok, thanks for getting back to me. I will try it and see how it goes.
Hi
. Just wondering how well this recipe freezes after cooking?
Thanks
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
Hi! This is in the slow cooker right now. 2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breast, whole. The liquid isn’t covering all the breasts-is that an issue? Also, any suggestions on when to addFROZEN broccoli? I know you said 30 mins prior to the end of cooking time, it I’m not sure if that was for frozen or thawed broccoli. I’m a new cook so I’m just trying to get my head around the sciences of cooking! Thanks!
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
Hi Sara!
If it was me I would double the sauce. I like sauce.
IMO I think that fresh broccoli would have more taste than the frozen.
Frozen tends to have a watery taste to it.
I made this tonight and it was soooooo delicious! Our picky eater scarfed it down and loved it! So glad I found your blog! I have tried several of your recipes and every one has been a huge hit! Thank you!
Do you think you could make this with chicken wings? I’m searching for possible Super Bowl recipes
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
Would it be OK to add sliced green and red peppers? Should I put them in with the chicken in the beginning or add them partway through ? Thanks!
Yes, those sound like great additions! You can try adding them in halfway as needed so that they are not overcooked. But as always, please use your best judgment.
You can easily shred chicken with a mixer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utn4rqfogIE
What if I wanted to add a veggie like broccoli? Could I just use less chicken and throw in a veggie? Or should I use the same amount of chicken and more sauce?
Yes, you can add less chicken.
Help!! I am making this right now but there is not enough liquid to cover the chicken in the slow cooker. What liquid should I add to it so it doesn’t get too dried out? Thanks!
Diana, you can try to double the sauce as needed.
Made this tonight. It turned out wonderful! My husband loved it. I’m definitely keeping this recipe for later.
Do you have Nutrition Information for this? Making tonight!
Nutritional information is provided only for select and new recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, I recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”) to obtain such information.
Just made this in my slow cooker and considering how little fuss the recipe is it was absolutely delicious!
I used chicken thighs with the bones still in and skin still on (very cheap cut of meat in the UK), the meat was SO tender after cooking the skin came right off and the bones pretty much fell out, making the shredding a piece of cake.
The fiancée was thrilled and this will be made frequently 🙂
To freeze cook what would you recommend?
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
Good afternoon,
I apologize in advance if this question has already been asked…I did not take time to read all the comments.
I was just reading through some “crock-pot freezer meals” posts from another site, and really liked the concept of preparing a meal ahead-of-time…she compared it with, “cooking a store pizza that had been taken from the freezer, just much better/healthier.” So, I was wondering if it could be done with this recipe?
Many thanks,
Michele
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
Where is the Sesame in the Honey SESAME Chicken? Just the seeds sprinkled on at the end?
That’s exactly right!
I poured the extra sauce over fresh baby spinach leaves making an instant bed of wilted spinach for the chicken…amazing!! Thanks for the recipe!
I am not a fan of soy sauce, would it be possible to omit the soy or replace with something else?
Denise, the soy sauce is a crucial part of this dish so if you are not a fan of this ingredient, then I do not recommend this recipe for you. But please feel free to browse through my other slow cooker recipes here that may better suit your preferences.
If I wan add broccoli and rice do I have to Cooke separate or can broccoli go in slow cooker
I recommend adding the broccoli during the last 30 minutes of cooking time.
Hi, just to mention about the tedious part of shredding the chicken, if you own a stand mixer with a flat beater it’s now real easy, just put the chicken breast in the bowl (or boneless thigh) in the bowl and let it run on the lowest setting for about 30 to 90 seconds, voila instant perfect shredded chicken !
All week I have been wondering what to make on Monday night for our life group meeting from church. This is it!! Looks super easy and will feed our group of twelve. Thanks for all your delicious recipes. I have made a few of your one pot recipes and they always turn out yummy!
White onion? Thanks again for all the great recipes 🙂
Can something be used in place of vegetable oil?
Canola oil should also work just fine.
I absolutely love this recipe but was wondering if there would be anyway to pressure cook this? If so for how long and what setting
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried using a pressure cooker myself. Please use your best judgment.
Have you or anyone else successfully cooked this on low for 8 hours? I so want to try it for a meal during the work-week but will have to wait until the weekend if it can’t cook for 8 hours.
I have left it for 7 hours and it was fine, so i think 8 hours on low will be fine.
This was delicious! I sauteed broccoli and added it at the very end. I’ll be making this again for sure.
My family loves this. With the kids going in all directions for practices, I make this all the time. After it’s shredded and back in the crock pot, all they have to do is put it on some cooked rice, add the green onions and sesame seeds if they want. This is a good meal for nights we can’t eat together. Thank you!
I made this and it was wonderful! The chicken thighs kept it from being dry. I will make this again . Thanks!
I’m not an onion fan…do you think skipping them in this dish will ruin the flavor? Thanks in advance!
If you are not an onion fan, it would be best to omit.
Mine burned
Alicia, could you provide more information? I’m not entirely sure how it’s possible for the chicken to burn on low heat only after 3 hours and 30 min as directed in the recipe. Did you set your slow cooker to high heat?
I am gone all day. Would this turn out ok bring cooked on low for 8-10 hours?
I’m not entirely sure – at 8-10 hours, the chicken may dry out and be overcooked.
Hello,
I would like to know if you recommend adding a vegetable(s) to the crockpot to cook with the chicken in the sesame sauce. if so, what kind would you recommend?
Thank you,
You can add broccoli but I recommend adding it 30 min before the end of cooking time. If you add it with the rest of the ingredients in the beginning, it will turn into mush!
thank you for this delish recipe ,made it tonight and even got my 10yr old grandson to try it ,he cleaned the plate ,made it with some healthy brown rice ! will be making this again ,thanks once again : )
I was going to do stir fry tonight. I thought, nope! Too lazy this day. There must be a slow cooker recipe for really good sesame chicken (which by a miracle, I had all the ingredients). And look what I found and with great reviews. I used Teriake sauce and added fresh pineapple. Cooking now! Thank you all. Hugs and much love.
Chicken breasts should be fine instead of thighs, right?
By the way, we have made 4 or 5 of your dishes and they were all great! Definitely keepers!
Thanks so much!!
Yes, chicken breasts are fine.
Looks delicious! Do you have a calorie count for this recipe??
Unfortunately, as I am not a registered dietician, I am not comfortable sharing nutritional information for any of my recipes. I recommend utilizing online calorie counters at your discretion to obtain such information.
When you put it in the slow clooker, was it on low or high??
It is best to cook on low heat for 3 hours and 30 minutes.
Thank you!!
Can you do this recipe without a slow cooker? It looks amazing and I don’t have enough space for a slow cooker in my kitchen!
Lucy, please understand that it is very difficult to give exact conversion information to translate a traditional slow cooker recipe to be used on the stovetop without further recipe testing. I recommend using your best judgement to convert this recipe to be made without a slow cooker.
Hi! I have a question!
Could I substitute the vegetable oil for olive oil since that is all I have ?
You can certainly try substituting olive oil but without further recipe testing, I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish. It is always best to use the ingredients listed in the recipe to obtain the best results possible.
I made this yesterday using boneless, skinless chicken breast. I seasoned my chicken and added the wet mixture to a zip-lock bag and mixed it around for a little bit. I put my slow cooker on low, dumped the bag contents in the crockpot and went to class. Coming back to my apartment smelling delicious is rare with my cooking skills. This was sooooo good and tasty and yummy! Thank you so much for this great recipe.
Did this today! Used boneless skinless chicken breasts. Ohhhhh myyyyy goooodness! This is amazing! We think it’s better than the restaurant version! Definite keeper and soooo easy!
Can you use chicken breast with it? Do you also double the sauce part?
Yes, you can certainly use chicken breast. And if you are using the same amount (2 lb), there would be no need to double the sauce.
Dark soy sauce or light soy sauce? Clear honey or the other kind? (Food noob!)
Kelly, please use standard ingredients – light soy sauce and the regular kind of honey.
Thankyou I really have no idea what regular ingredients should be but I guessed at light soy sauce and just went for the see through honey as that’s all I had it was very tasty! Was a bit watery what could i add to thicken it a tiny bit?
Thanks! 🙂
You can stir in a little bit of cornstarch mixed with water to thicken it up to taste.
How would you adjust this for chicken breasts?
You can follow the recipe as is for chicken breasts, although it is best to use chicken thighs to obtain the best results possible.
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I have everything except ketchup (I know. Weird.) How essential is it to the recipe?
As it requires 1/4 cup ketchup, I do not recommend omitting it. It is best to use all of the ingredients listed in the recipe to obtain the best results possible.
Can I prep the chicken and sauce in a bag the morning of and then have my nanny throw it in the crock pot at the 4 hour mark so it’s ready for dinner? Does that effect anything?!
I’ve never tried it myself but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. You can also just keep them separate (chicken and sauce in different bags) and ask your nanny to combine them in the slow cooker when it’s time.
I only have skin on,bone-in thighs. I’ve never cooked with thighs. Will they be ok to use? Would it change cooking time or anything else? Thanks for great website.Cant wait to try many of these recipes
That should be fine, but you may have to adjust cooking time as needed to ensure they are completely cooked through.
Just love this recipe, doing it again for tonight….xxxx
I made this last week and doubled the recipe. The time was just about the same. I also added in peppers. The peppers made the sauce a little watery. It was great over rice. I am thinking the next time I will add the peppers later in the cooking where they create water. I also had pineapple as a side and it was great. Thanks for the recipe. It is a definate keeper.
I have made this once and it came out great. Everyone loved it. I like the idea of adding peppers and pineapple. Has anyone tried doubling the recipe? I am going to try it this week. Just curious how much longer to cook?
Delicious! Love easy crockpot recipes in the summer. I halved the sauce without the oil and added a little chicken broth, and it was loved by my whole family. Thanks for another great recipe!
My family loves this recipe! I usually skip the shredding and slice the thighs when serving (my picky boys eat the chicken as “nuggets” that way. Also we love both rice & steamed veggies (especially broccoli) under this sauce. It’s really yummy! Thanks for sharing.
Oh and we make this gluten free using a gluten free soy sauce to accommodate those who need it.
I tried this recipe and it turned out great. 5 Star. Tasted great also.
How do I change number of yields on slow cooker honey sesame chicken from 6 to 12?
You can simply double the recipe but you may have to adjust cooking time as needed.
Have u ever cubed the chicken ahead of time? I was thinking maybe it would get better sauce coverage? Or do u think that will just dry it out? I am thinking about putting it all together tonight for someone to turn on tomorrow while I am at work
I do not recommend cubing the chicken prior to adding to the slow cooker. It will result in a very undesirable, dry texture.
Cubing the chicken will be undesirable? Which did you recommend?
Cubing the chicken prior to adding to the slow cooker is not recommended. It is best to leave the chicken thighs as a whole.
Would it be ok to use chicken breasts?
Yes, absolutely.
I’m going to make this based on the fact that the intro of this post was about the Boy Dance Party.
I love your reasoning for this 🙂
Can you please tell me wat a slow cooker is are u talking about pressure cooker. ….pls specify the slow cooker……I am from pakistani
Reem, a slow cooker, also known as a Crock-Pot, is a countertop electrical cooking appliance that is used for simmering, which requires maintaining a relatively low temperature, allowing unattended cooking for many hours of pot roast, stews, soups, “boiled” dinners and other suitable dishes, including dips, desserts and beverages.
This looks awesome! To make it even simpler, shred the chicken in a stand mixer. A minute like that, rather than all that effort doing it by hand, and you’re set. 🙂
After the success that was the sweet and sour chicken, I gave this recipe a try– more success! Picky boyfriend went back for seconds! Also my house smelled AMAZING all day.
Success! My husband and I loved this dish.
Found you by chance googling for a crockpot honey chicken recipe. Yours hands down looks the best AND I actually have all the ingredients. I can’t wait to try it.
I made this recipe as part if a freezer meal party with friends. We combined all of the ingredients (except the sesame seeds and green onions) and froze in gallon-sized freezer bags. I thawed mine last night and cooked it in my crockpot today. SO DELICIOUS. I will never cook chicken breasts in my crockpot again! The thighs were so tender and juicy! Awesome recipe!!!
Kelly, any chance you can let me know how long you cooked these for in the slow cooker and if it was on high or low? One of my friends is about to adopt so I’m trying to make her some freezer meals and I want to add this to what I will be giving her.
Nevermind. Just saw you thawed it the night before. I will recommend they do that 🙂
I added tons of veggies, it was amazing!
I am eating this as I type……..it is DELICIOUS!! I will definitely be making it again soon. And I love how easy it is. Thanks for sharing this 🙂
I want to make this for a group, but was wondering if it was good heated up the next day?
We absolutely loved the leftovers the next day.
I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious. My picky 2 year old (who doesn’t really love to eat meat) had 3 servings! I was nervous that 3.5 hours on low wasn’t long enough to cook the chicken, but it turned out perfect.
Oh, man, I love sesame chicken! I really wish we had a slow cooker right now.
This is my new favorite recipe! Its a big hit with the family and I have shared it with friends as well. I’m getting ready to make it again today! I can’t wait for dinner tonight! The kids couldn’t believe their dad actually made this!! Thanks for making me look good! Lol
I made this last night. It was the best new recipe I’ve had in a long time!! So excited for leftovers tonight!!!
Thanks!!
Finally making this tonight! Super excited!!! 😀 And…I’ve had Boy Dance Party in my head for 3 days now. Haha! I love it!
I tried this and it was an instant hit! Love how easy it was and yet so soo tasty.. Served it with egg noodles .. Ps. I didnt use a crockpot i used the stove .. Ready in 20mins
I’m short on time to use the crock pot, did you follow the same recipe for cooking it on the stove top instead?
I have one of those HUGE crockpots (I don’t know the exact size). If I don’t have enough sauce to completely cover the chicken should I add chicken broth or water? I ran out of honey so I don’t have enough ingredients to make a double batch of sauce.
Kate, adding more liquid has a high probability of altering the flavor/texture of the dish. My recommendation is to double the recipe for optimal results, and to avoid the chicken from drying out.
Yum, yum, yum! I found you via Pinterest and made this recipe last night. It was SOOO delicious! I loved the sauce, it tasted exactly like sesame chicken from a Chinese restaurant (but healthier and actually tastier!). I substituted 3 small chicken breasts and the cooking time stayed the same. Thanks!!
Madeline, I’m so glad you had a chance to make this. This is one of my favorite slow cooker recipes!
I only have Chicken Breasts. Do you think it would still do well at 3hours? I’m always drying out my breasts in the crock pot!
Erika, it really depends on the thickness of your chicken breasts – they may not be fully cooked through by the 3-hr mark.
If your chicken breasts are really thick (think Costco) then cut them in half horizontally.
I am preparing food in advance for when I have surgery and can’t cook easily and I would like to serve this dish. Do you think I could prep it all the way up to the part before it goes in the crock and freeze it until I need to cook it? Thanks for sharing–cannot wait to enjoy this!
I honestly have not tried freezing before cooking but advise against it.
You can absolutely freeze all ingredients together in one bag and then just dump it in frozen when you’re ready to cook it. I do this ALL the time- in fact, that’s what makes the slow cooker so convenient!! No need to thaw and in fact I find frozen chicken breasts come out better than fresh and don’t get stringy/mushy.
How long would you cook it if you start with it frozen?
I’m looking forward to making this for dinner tonight! Sounds both delicious and easy. I don’t have any sesame seeds (couldn’t find any at the local store), but do have sesame oil. Should I put some of that in? Thank you!
You can omit the sesame seeds if you do not have them on hand. I do not recommend adding sesame oil to the finished dish.
Could you sub sesame oil instead of vegetable oil?
You can but I cannot speak for how much this will change the taste/texture of this dish. For optimal results, I suggest using the ingredients listed here in this recipe.
This is a late reply, but I was just making this tonight and looking over the comments.
To boost the sesame-ness of my chicken, I add 1 tsp of pure sesame oil to the sauce. Replacing all the veggie oil with sesame oil may actually be overpowering, as pure sesame oil can be very strongly flavored.
Hope this is helpful to someone!
Tried this today and we liked it. I think next time I make it I might add some diced green pepper to the pot. Thanks for the recipe. (Hmm, maybe also some pineapple??)
The addition of pineapple sounds amazing!
AWESOME!!!! I love this recipe and your website! You are my new favorite, I am enjoying all the Asian inspired recipes. Thank you so much!
I made this for my boyfriend, his parents and his little sister (who is quite a fussy eater) tonight and the whole family LOVED it! Plates were licked clean and everybody raved about it. I cook for these guys every night and his sister told me it’s the best thing I’ve ever cooked for her! Definitely a winner that will be cooked again
I also served it with brown rice and it went together very well 🙂
I’m so glad it was such a hit with the family!
I am so making this this coming week, but subbing chicken with pork.
I love love slow cooker recipes 🙂 this honey sesame chicken looks fantastic, dying to get a taste!!
Oh no! “Boy Dance Party” is back, stuck in my head, again! If only my husband and his friends danced when the lady-folk WEREN’T around. Sigh. haha.
What a great combination of flavors in this dish, and I’m pretty sure it couldn’t be any simpler! Bravo!
Definitely would like to make this for dinner tonight but only have frozen chicken 🙁 Can I still make it but just cook it for longer? We’re doing carb free so might serve it over cauliflower rice instead!
Love the flavors here: all the garlic, honey, sesame seeds! Yum! I also like the idea of just throwing all of these ingredients in the crockpot and not worrying about them until they’re done! 🙂
I wish this was in my crock pot right now. My family does a teriyaki crock pot chicken, but I really can’t wait to try this. 🙂
This is in my crock pot right now! I can’t wait til dinner!!
Let me know how it turns out!
I made your crockpot honey sesame chicken and it was so easy and so delicious! My husband raved about it.
Crockpot Sesame Chicken?!?! HELL YEAH!
Yum! I love a good slow cooker recipe.
this looks outrageously good! I recently broke out my slow cooker and this is #1 on the list!
This sounds so simple and absolutely delicious! Thanks!
Absolutely amazing! My mouth is drooling looking at your pictures and thinking I might just have to make this for our dinner tomorrow night!
Oh great video haha….I missed that ep. gonna watch it now LOL!
I love the ease of this recipe, bring on the slow cooker!
I am now even MORE starving for our chicken dinner. Sadly, it’s not this crockpot honey sesame chicken. But that will be soon. This looks amazing, Chung-Ah.
Ohmahgosh, that video is HILARIOUS. Totally stuck in my head now. 😉
I love the addition of honey in this chicken dish!
So glad you enjoyed this slow cooker favorite of mine, Chung-Ah! Yours looks mouthwatering!
Thanks for the amazing recipe, Georgia! Jason and I gobbled this up for several nights!
Nice recipe. Thank you and have a great week.
love this! slow cooker recipes are the best and love the NEW bowl! so pretty!!
You’re so sweet to notice my new bowl. I was in desperate need of an Asian-type bowl!
This is a favorite in my house! It’s funny how many of us have made it – it’s taken over the internet!
Seriously! I think I might have even posted this years ago with my point and shoot camera!
This sesame chicken sounds so good!
I Love honey sesame chicken, but this healthier and easier version looks even better than any other I have seen! I love that you just throw everything in the crockpot and go! Yes, please!
It’s so easy! And everyone loves it too so it’s a double win!
Do You Put The Chicken In Frozen Or Thaw First?
Imam, I advise using thawed chicken breasts.
Thanks!
Hi there! I do not see a suggested serving size. I see that it makes 6 servings but what would one serving be considered? 1 cup?
Krista, you would have to divide the full amount by 6 servings to get the serving size. Hope that helps!
What setting on the crockpot for the 3 1/2 hours of cooking the honey sesame chicken?
Christine, please refer to the instructions:
Cover and cook on low heat for 3 hours and 30 minutes.
Hi there! I’m making this recipe for the first time and my slow cooker only has these settings: Low: 8 or 10 hours, High: 4 or 6 hours
Suggestions on how to modify the cooking time? I’m new to crock pot cooking!
That’s so weird that you are limited to only those functions! The recipe calls for about 4 hours on low so you may need to program your slow cooker manually.
Are there any veggies you could add to this to make it more of a complete meal??
missmary68123@yahoo.com
Carrots would be a great addition!
I used a fresh red pepper chopped finely