Easy Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken
Posted Jul 29, 2020, Updated Feb 10, 2024
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This crock pot Teriyaki Chicken recipe only takes 5 minutes to prepare. Slow cooker teriyaki chicken is a flavorful main dish, perfect for busy weeknights! Serve with stir fry vegetables and fried rice.
This crock pot teriyaki chicken recipe is an easy main dish that’s simple to prepare, then it cooks low and slow so the flavors infuse the chicken.
Teriyaki chicken is made from scratch with all of my favorite Asian flavors, it is a fantastic fix-it-and-forget-it meal option for busy weeknights. Serve it with stir fry vegetables, fried rice, vegetable lo mein or on top of an Asian salad.
It’s is also a great recipe if you like to meal prep. The hardest part about planning meals (for me) is choosing a protein. This Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken recipe makes enough chicken to feed my family and have leftovers, and it freezes well.
Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken: Ingredients & Substitutions
Let’s chat about the ingredients and possible substitutions in this teriyaki chicken recipe.
- Chicken breasts. Chicken thighs are a great substitute in this recipe.
- Soy Sauce. Both regular and low-sodium soy sauce work well. To make this slow-cooker teriyaki chicken gluten-free, be sure to choose a gluten-free soy sauce. To make it paleo, use coconut aminos.
- Honey: I have substituted sugar for the honey in the past with delicious results.
- Cornstarch: Tapioca flour and arrowroot powder both work well in this recipe if you don’t have cornstarch.
- Powdered spices: You can use the real thing (e.g. diced onion, minced garlic, grated fresh ginger) if you prefer. I find this dish much more kid-friendly if the flavor from the spices can be dissolved and therefore not detected by my little ones.
- Mirin: Please do not omit or substitute any ingredients for the mirin. It is a sweet Japanese cooking wine that’s found in the Asian section of most major grocery stores. Mirin is a key ingredient to make the most delicious teriyaki sauce you’ve ever had/
How to make Chicken Teriyaki
This slow cooker teriyaki chicken recipe is easy to make, but as always we’ll walk through the process step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video.
Make the sauce
Begin by whisking together the sauce ingredients in the container of a crock pot. Making the sauce directly in the crockpot helps reduce the amount of dishes you have to clean!
Coat the chicken
Next, place the chicken in the sauce, then turn it to coat it with the sauce in the crockpot.
Cook
Cook the teriyaki chicken in the crockpot for 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low, or until it’s fork-tender. If I have the time, I prefer to cook it on low.
Shred
Remove the chicken breasts from the crockpot and shred with two forks. You can also place the teriyaki chicken in the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and shred it that way. I prefer not to dirty more dishes, but shredding chicken in a standing mixer is very fast.
Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Sauce
Make sure you do not discard the sauce! Strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a saucepan and thicken with a touch of cornstarch or tapioca flour.
When you’re ready to serve, toss the shredded chicken with half of the thickened sauce, and save the rest for serving.
Serve
Serve the teriyaki chicken with veggies and rice! Here are some great recipes that pair well with this crockpot teriyaki chicken:
- The best fried rice ever! Tastes better than takeout!
- Serve it with an appetizer like fresh spring rolls and peanut sauce or asian chicken lettuce wraps!
- Roasted broccoli and roasted carrots pair really well with this chicken teriyaki recipe!
- Serve it on top of this asian quinoa salad! YUM!
Store
Store this crock pot teriyaki chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Recipe FAQS
Both are good options, if you have the time I prefer cooking chicken on low for the best texture and flavor.
Yes, it is safe to cook raw chicken in the slow cooker. The heat from the crokpot gets high enough to cook it thoroughly.
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Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts
Sauce:
- ½ cup honey
- ¾ cup soy sauce*
- 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
- ¼ cup mirin
- ½ teaspoon powdered ginger
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
To thicken:
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon cool water
Instructions
- Grease the container of a large slow cooker.
- Add the sauce ingredients in the order listed into the prepared container of a slow cooker and whisk to combine. DO NOT ADD the cornstarch and water mixture!
- Place chicken breasts into the slow cooker and turn to coat.
- Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours or until chicken is easily shred with a fork.
- Remove chicken from the crockpot and place into a medium serving dish. Do not discard the sauce.
- Shred the chicken with two forks. Cover and set aside.
- Set a fine mesh strainer over 4-quart saucepan and carefully pour sauce through the strainer into the saucepan.
- Mix cornstarch in water and add to the sauce, stir or whisk until fully incorporated.
- Bring sauce to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce is thickened.
- Mix half of the sauce into the shredded chicken, and save half of the sauce for serving.
- Serve with rice, stir-fried veggies or your favorite Asian salad!
Video
Notes
- Chicken breasts. Chicken thighs are a great substitute in this recipe.
- Soy Sauce. To make this recipe gluten-free, use gluten-free soy sauce.
- Honey: granulated sugar or brown sugar are good substitutes for honey.
- Cornstarch: Tapioca flour and arrowroot powder are good substitutes.
- Powdered spices: You can use the real thing (e.g. diced onion, minced garlic, grated fresh ginger) if you prefer. I find this dish much more kid friendly if the flavor from the spices can be dissolved and therefore not detected by my little ones.
- Mirin: Please do not omit or substitute any ingredients for the mirin. It is a sweet Japanese cooking wine that’s found in the Asian section of most major grocery stores. Mirin is a key ingredient to make the most delicious teriyaki sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can you put frozen chicken in the crockpot?
I don’t recommend it, but if you try it, you have to cook it on low. Chicken can become rubbery if it changes in temperature too quickly (e.g. goes from frozen to hot). I always thaw my chicken in the refrigerator or on the counter before putting it in the crockpot.
I made it and I loved it.
Hi Laura!
I am using chicken tenderloins for this recipe. Do you think it would be ok to leave it on low for 8 hours? I am trying to base it off my my work schedule!
Just wondering if you can throw in the veggies while you cook the chicken or best to do separate. Thanks!!
You can do that towards the end of cooking, just be sure they don’t overcook!