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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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!