Sweet, salty and umami collide in this easy slow cooker sesame chicken. Serve it over rice for a flavorful weeknight meal.
Slow cooker recipes are such a lifesaver for busy families. There is nothing better than chucking some ingredients into the crock in the morning and coming home to a tasty meal.
This recipe cooks whole chicken breasts in all of the things you would expect in sesame chicken. The honey, vinegar and touch of ketchup cook into a thick and well balanced sauce.
Serving your sesame chicken
After the chicken is nice and tender, it easily breaks apart with a couple of forks. I like to keep the chunks bite sized, but you can shred it as much as you would like.
Sprinkle on some sesame seeds if you have them and give it all a quick stir. That thick sauce will coat everything in goodness.
Serve it over some rice with a nice veggie on the side and dinner is ready to go. We especially like some steamed broccoli or sauteed zucchini on the side.
Roasted green beans or garlic soy green beans in the instant pot would be great options as well. Any of your favorite veggies would round out the plate nicely.
Original Recipe from 2016
I have been wanting to make a slow cooker version of honey chicken for a while now. The problem is every recipe I saw involved browning bites of chicken and then putting them in the slow cooker for 3 hours.
That may work in some situations, but when your work day is 8 hours long a 3 hour cook time isn’t exactly convenient.
The problem is, cooking chicken in the slow cooker for too long leaves you with mealy meat. It goes from fall apart tender to falling apart so much it is disintegrating and nobody wants their chicken to be mush.
So, I made a few adaptations that make getting this ready in the morning super easy. You get to throw in whole frozen chicken breasts!
All you do when you get home is shred it and stir in some sesame seeds. It’ll be done before you can make the rice to serve it with… even if you use instant!
My husband instantly fell in love. He said I can make it whenever I want.
Sweet of him to give me permission, isn’t it? 😉 Of course I am glad he likes it, and it is so darn easy to make I will be happy to make it every time he requests it.
More Great Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes
If rich creamy alfredo is a favorite at your house, you are going to love slow cooker chicken alfredo with pasta and broccoli. The prep work is almost non-existent and dinner cooks while you go about your life.
Andi’s slow cooker chicken and rice is another great easy meal that requires almost no prep work. All you have to do is add a vegetable and dinner is ready.
Creamy buffalo chicken chili is super simple to make with the help of your slow cooker. It has just the right amount of buffalo chicken spice making it perfect for a weeknight dinner or a game day tailgating staple.
Honey Sesame Chicken in the Slow Cooker
Equipment
- OXO 9-Inch Locking Tongs
Ingredients
- 4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts frozen
- 3 Tablespoons corn starch
- ½ cup cold water
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 5 Tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 Tablespoons ketchup
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider or rice vinegar
- 3 Tablespoons sesame seeds
- Rice for serving and optional green onions
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in your slow cooker.4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts
- In a small bowl, stir together corn starch and cold water. Add all of the remaining ingredients, besides the sesame seeds and stir to combine. Pour over chicken.3 Tablespoons corn starch, ½ cup cold water, ⅓ cup soy sauce, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 5 Tablespoons honey, 2 teaspoons minced garlic, 2 Tablespoons ketchup, 1 Tablespoon apple cider or rice vinegar
- Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8 hours.
- Using two forks, lightly shred the chicken. Then stir in the sesame seeds.3 Tablespoons sesame seeds
- Serve over rice with green onions if desired.
Conni
Friday 20th of October 2023
Hi, getting ready to try some of you delicious sounding crockpot chicken recipes. As a general rule do you find much difference in the meat quality when it’s on high as opposed to low? Thanks
Carlee
Friday 20th of October 2023
Both give good results. The only caveat would be if you are going to cook it longer than the recipe suggests. The high setting on crockpots can be as much as 100 degrees hotter, so leaving it in too long on high can result in overcooking much faster than on low.
Debbie
Sunday 27th of August 2023
This was a yummy recipe and was perfect to make on a rainy day off, cause my kitchen smelled fabulous! I had extra sauce that I froze in smaller portions to use as dipping sauce for eggrolls and potstickers. This will be going in my rotation list of dinners!
Carlee
Sunday 27th of August 2023
YAY!! I am so glad you liked it. I haven't made it in a while, I need to change that! Maybe this week 😋
Diane
Thursday 13th of May 2021
The recipe looks delicious! Any suggestions could I make this for 50 people? I have an electric roaster that would be large enough but wonder about time and temperature?
Carlee
Thursday 13th of May 2021
Ooooh, how fun! I haven't tried it, but it should work. It looks like slow cookers cook between 170-280F. So you could set your roaster really low and give it a go. Or set it up a little higher and reduce the cook time. I'm not sure, but I have a hunch more steam might escape in the roaster (at least in ours, the lid is much more flimsy than the glass crock pot lid) so you may need to add just a touch of water if you see it getting dry. I can't wait to hear how it turns out.
Andrea Nine
Monday 8th of March 2021
I can just taste that great honey sesame flavor now! This sounds so easy and looks so yummy! Happy new week my friend!
Carlee
Monday 8th of March 2021
It really is both, thank you!
Julie's Lifestyle
Thursday 16th of June 2016
Hi Carlee, I love slow cooker recipes and this looks like a winner! Thanks for sharing at Cooking and Crafting with J & J.