Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken - Make-Ahead Recipe (2024)

Delicious sweet and savory teriyaki sauce is drizzled over chicken breasts and cooked until tender for this easy slow cooker teriyaki chicken. This tasty recipe could be served on its own over rice or combined with crisp vegetables for a stir-fry-style meal.

Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken Ingredients

The key ingredients in this recipe, including soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, garlic, and ginger, come together to create a mouthwatering teriyaki sauce.

Tender chicken breasts slow-cooked in the sauce result in a delicious dish, enhanced with green onions and crunchy sesame seeds when served over rice.

You’ll need:

• ½ cup of soy sauce
• ½ cup of honey
• 3 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
• 3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts – about 2 pounds total
• 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
• ¼ cup of water
• green onions for garnish
• sesame seeds for garnish
• cooked rice for serving

Substitutions And Additions

VEGETABLES: Saute veggies such as chopped bell peppers, broccoli florets, and snow peas, and stir them in with the shredded chicken before tossing it in the sauce.

CHICKEN THIGHS: Instead of chicken breasts, you could use boneless skinless chicken thighs in this great recipe.

PINEAPPLE: Pineapple is a natural choice alongside Asian-inspired flavors; add it to the slow cooker while the chicken cooks for an extra pop of sweetness.

RICE WINE VINEGAR: If you don’t have rice wine vinegar on hand, try apple cider vinegar as a substitute.

It will add a pleasant tanginess to the sauce while maintaining a similar acidity level.

COOKED RICE: While white rice is the traditional choice, you can make this dish with brown rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice for a different option.

How To Make This Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken Recipe

Once you mix up the savory sauce, all the ingredients go in your slow cooker to simmer away while you go about your day.

STEP ONE: In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, rice vinegar, garlic, and ginger.

STEP TWO: Place the raw chicken breasts in a single layer at the bottom of the slow cooker and pour the sauce mixture over the top.

STEP THREE: Cook on low for five hours or high for three hours until a meat thermometer reads 165°F.

STEP FOUR: When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the slow cooker, place it into a large bowl or on a platter, and shred it using two forks.

STEP FIVE: Carefully pour the remaining sauce from the crockpot into a small saucepan.

STEP SIX: Mix the cornstarch into the water to make a slurry.

Pour the cornstarch mixture into the sauce in the saucepan and heat on the stovetop over medium heat for about five minutes until the sauce has thickened.

STEP SEVEN: Pour the thickened sauce over the top of the shredded chicken and toss gently to coat.

How To Serve This Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken

Once your honey teriyaki crockpot chicken is cooked, you have a few options for how to serve it.

The traditional option is to serve the chicken over brown or white rice or lo mein noodles for a complete meal. Garnish with chopped green onion and sesame seeds.

An alternative would be to pile the saucy tender chicken onto a crusty bun with a salad on the side. Add our broccoli salad or coleslaw for two classic choices.

We have plenty of Asian-inspired dishes featuring chicken, including our honey garlic chicken and chicken lo mein.

Storage

Whether you’re planning to make this recipe ahead or have leftovers, here’s what you need to know:

MAKE-AHEAD: If you would like to make this slow cooker recipe as a freezer meal, mix the sauce together as in step one.

Place the chicken breasts into a gallon-sized freezer bag. Pour the sauce mixture into the bag with the chicken and shake gently to coat the chicken.

Remove as much air from the bag as possible and seal it shut.

Label the bag with the recipe’s name, the date, and cooking instructions, and place it in the freezer for up to three months.

To use the freezer meal, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight, put the contents of the bag into the slow cooker, and continue from step three in the recipe.

IN THE FRIDGE: Store any leftovers of the crockpot chicken with teriyaki sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.

IN THE FREEZER: Once cooked, you can freeze this slow cooker teriyaki chicken recipe for up to three months.

REHEATING FROM FROZEN: Thaw in the freezer overnight.

Place the chicken teriyaki in a large pot on the stovetop over medium heat, and cook until heated through. You can also reheat it in the microwave.

Why We Love This Recipe

EASE OF PREPARATION: With minimal prep work and the convenience of a slow cooker, you can have a delicious homemade meal without much effort.

FLAVORFUL TERIYAKI SAUCE: The homemade teriyaki sauce in this recipe is a star on its own. It strikes a perfect balance between sweet and savory, with hints of garlic and ginger.

JUICY CHICKEN: Slow cooking the chicken breasts ensures they turn out tender and juicy. They absorb the flavors of the teriyaki sauce, resulting in a melt-in-your-mouth experience that’s hard to resist.

With just a few minutes of prep time, let your crockpot do the work and come home to this amazing-smelling slow cooker teriyaki chicken simmering and ready to serve.

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