Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken
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Dump everything in the crockpot for a family-friendly meal! Best served over rice. Sweet, savory & so easy.
Featured Comment
This crockpot honey sesame chicken has saved me so many times. Even with the busiest of days, nights, and lazy weekends, this slow cooker recipe is always coming to the rescue, and has never failed me.
reasons to make slow cooker honey sesame chicken
- Set and forget. This is one of those great slow cooker recipes that you can simply dump-and-go – there’s no searing, no cooking beforehand, no nothing. Come home from a long day to the coziest (and easiest), sauciest sesame chicken with zero hands-on cooking. The hardest part is shredding the chicken!
- Short ingredient list. Chicken, onion, soy sauce, honey, ketchup, garlic, ginger, s+p – most are pantry staples. And I have definitely been guilty of skipping the onions and garnishes half the time (and it still turns out oh-so-perfect).
- Flexible recipe. Use breasts or thighs and add in as little or as many vegetables as desired (perfect for those picky eaters). Serve over rice or your favorite grains with all the juices to sop up all the saucy goodness.
- Leftovers taste even better. The leftovers make for great lettuce wraps, and the leftover chicken + juices can be frozen as needed for quick meal prep for the busy weeks ahead!
tips and tricks for success
- Use reduced sodium soy sauce. Reduced sodium has less sodium and less salt without compromising flavor.
- Use dark or white meat. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs can be used interchangeably here but thighs are much fattier (and thus more flavorful).
- Add vegetables. Mushrooms, carrots, bell peppers or snow peas can be added during the last 30 minutes of cooking time for a more heartier meal.
- Serve with your favorite grains. White rice, brown rice, fried rice, cauliflower rice, quinoa or farro are all great options.
what to serve with slow cooker honey sesame chicken
Tools For This Recipe
6-qt slow cooker
Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, chicken breasts can absolutely be used here but chicken thighs have more dark meat and a higher fat content which will yield juicier, more flavorful chicken.
You can serve this with white rice or our favorite no-fuss sheet pan fried rice!
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. Leftovers are also great as lettuce wraps!
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop until warmed through.
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
Equipment
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 6-qt 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.
Video
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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.
Also works with a hand mixer! Life-changing indeed.
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!