This easy crock pot teriyaki chicken is a family favorite with only 5 minutes prep. A homemade teriyaki sauce slow cooks with chicken breasts for a flavorful weeknight meal.
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Easy Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken
A good slow cooker recipe is easy, stress-free and requires little clean up. A few of my other weeknight go-to’s are slow cooker honey garlic chicken, 3-ingredient BBQ chicken and kalua pork.
Instead of ordering takeout, make this slow cooker teriyaki chicken recipe instead! Just like my crock pot beef and broccoli it is ready with minimal prep and then it cooks all day in the crockpot until the meat is tender and the flavors in the homemade teriyaki sauce make it so flavorful!
Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken breasts: I used boneless skinless chicken breasts but chicken thighs will also work in this recipe.
- Cornstarch: This will thicken the teriyaki sauce.
- Honey: If you are out of honey try sugar as substitute.
- Light brown sugar: Adds sweet taste.
- Soy sauce: I prefer low-sodium soy sauce but regular or coconut aminos can be substituted.
- Apple cider vinegar: Balances the sweet taste while not overpowering. Rice wine vinegar can be used.
- Garlic and ginger: Freshly minced garlic and grated fresh ginger. Ground ginger can also be used.
- Pepper: Or for a little spicy heat try red pepper flakes.
How to Make Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken
- Add meat to slow cooker: Place the chicken in a slower cooker with 1/4 cup water over low-heat.
- Make the sauce: Whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup water and cornstarch in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk in the honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, cider vinegar, garlic, ginger and pepper. Then pour over chicken.
- Cook in crockpot, then shred: Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours, or until the meat easily shreds. Remove any fat and begin shredding. Stir shredded chicken together with sauce and turn crockpot to warm until ready to serve.
- Serve and enjoy: Serve over cooked rice or quinoa with steamed vegetables. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions, if desired.
Tips and Substitutions
- Frozen chicken: Want to make this recipe even easier? Use frozen chicken! You may need to add an extra hour of cooking time and ensure chicken pieces are separated before slow cooking.
- Less sweet: To make this slow cooker chicken teriyaki a little lighter and less sweet, you can leave out the brown sugar.
- Add in veggies: This teriyaki chicken tastes perfect with steamed vegetables! You can even add veggies like broccoli in the crockpot during the last hour or so of cooking.
- Freezer meal: I’m always on the hunt for easy freezer meals, and this crock pot teriyaki recipe is great for freezing. Add any leftovers to an airtight container or bag and store in the freezer for 1-2 months.
Serving Suggestions
We love to serve this easy crock pot teriyaki chicken with cooked rice and steamed vegetables.
You could even serve over cooked quinoa or cauliflower rice to make it even healthier. In the summer, use it in this mandarin spinach pasta salad recipe!
Other recipes that make skipping takeout easier include this honey sesame chicken recipe, General Tso’s chicken and Kung Pao chicken.
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Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts
- ½ cup water
Teriyaki Chicken Sauce:
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2-3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
- ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce , or coconut aminos
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2-3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger , or 1 Tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- ¼ teaspoon pepper , or red pepper flakes
For serving: Cooked rice or quinoa, sliced green onions, sesame seeds
Instructions
- Place the chicken in a slower cooker with 1/4 cup water over low heat. Whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup water and cornstarch in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk in the honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, cider vinegar, garlic, ginger and pepper.
- Pour sauce over chicken and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours, or until the meat easily shreds. Remove fat and shred chicken. Stir together with sauce and turn slow cooker to warm until ready to serve.
- Serve over cooked rice or quinoa with steamed vegetables. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
I prepared the recipe exactly as written. We felt that apple cider flavor was too strong for us. Everything else was great. I may not use any apple cider the next time I make this or use just a little bit. I think 2 T should be enough.
Thanks for the review, feel free to adjust to your preferences.
Fabulous recipe!! The whole house smelled wonderful and it tasted out of this world. I chose to place it on a pizza pan.. spread it out and stick it in a hot oven for 15 min. It got a light crunch on it and it looked decadent when I plated and served it!!! I served it with steamed broccoli; carrot curls and rice noodles!! 🥰
Sounds delicious! So glad you enjoyed the teriyaki chicken!
This had a really strong apple cider vinegar taste. When I make it again, I am going to half the amount of vinegar and use regular vinegar instead. Otherwise, the chicken was really moist and good.
This was a huge hit at my house! A new favorite meal for weeknights!
This was super easy to make! Loved how we could just throw everything in and leave it! Served it over rice and it was a perfect dinner!
This Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken needs to happen at my house very soon!!
Do I mix the sauce with the chicken right away or do I wait to add the sauce until the end?
Pour the sauce over the chicken in the crockpot, then cook on low for 4 to 6 hours. Then once you shred the chicken, mix it back together with the sauce :)
This looks so yummy and it’s perfect for a busy weeknight!
So great to have the slow cooker doing the work! This looks fantastic!
I love how easy this is, I am going to try it tomorrow!