Description
Slow cooker honey teriyaki chicken brings together tender meat and a glossy, caramelized sauce that comes together with minimal effort on your part. A few simple ingredients and your slow cooker handle all the work, leaving you with a delicious dinner that tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen.
Ingredients
Scale
Protein:
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Sauce and Seasonings:
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
Garnish:
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Arrange your 2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs in the slow cooker and sprinkle salt and pepper over them as you see fit.
- Whisk together 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup honey, 2 tbsp rice vinegar, 4 minced garlic cloves, and 1 tbsp sesame oil in a separate bowl until combined.
- Pour your sauce mixture directly over the chicken, making sure each piece gets coated evenly.
- Cover the slow cooker and let everything cook on the low setting for 6 to 8 hours, or if your schedule calls for it, use the high setting for 3 to 4 hours until your chicken shreds easily.
- Lift the chicken out of the slow cooker and use two forks to pull it apart into smaller pieces right there in the pot.
- Stir the shredded chicken back into the cooking liquid so it absorbs all those flavors.
- Transfer your finished dish to a serving plate alongside rice or noodles that work for your taste.
- Scatter 2 sliced green onions and 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds across the top before bringing it to the table.
Notes
- Chicken thighs hold up better than breasts during the long cooking time and stay juicier when finished.
- Whisk your sauce ingredients together before adding them to the slow cooker so the honey and sesame oil blend smoothly instead of settling at the bottom.
- If your sauce seems too thin after cooking, remove the chicken and simmer the liquid on high for 15-20 minutes to thicken it up before returning the shredded meat.
- For a gluten-free version, swap regular soy sauce for tamari or coconut aminos, and the rest of the recipe stays exactly the same.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 6-8 hours (low) or 3-4 hours (high)
- Category: Slow Cooked Chicken
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: Asian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
- Calories: 370 kcal
- Sugar: 21 g
- Sodium: 780 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 35 g
- Cholesterol: 120 mg