Sweet, salty and umami collide in this easy crockpot honey sesame chicken recipe. 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 would be a great option 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.
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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.
Video
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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!
YAY!! I am so glad you liked it. I haven’t made it in a while, I need to change that! Maybe this week 😋
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?
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.
I can just taste that great honey sesame flavor now! This sounds so easy and looks so yummy! Happy new week my friend!
It really is both, thank you!
Hi Carlee, I love slow cooker recipes and this looks like a winner!
Thanks for sharing at Cooking and Crafting with J & J.
Oh this sounds so amazing! Pinned!! 🙂
Carlee, this is perfect for a busy night – we have so many of those with all the end of school craziness! I pinned for later. Thanks so much for sharing it with us and we hope you'll link up with us again at You Link It We Make It! – Kim @ knockitoffkim.com
It is really tasty and easy, my favorite kind of meal. Good luck with all of the end of school craziness! Our schools have been out for almost a month already and I've been missing the days when I got a summer break too! 😉
Hi Carlee, just wanted to let you know that I tried this recipe today and it's gone down a treat. Will be making it again for sure, thinking of trying it with pork too.
xx
Yay! I am glad you enjoyed it! I bet it would be lovely with pork. I'll have to give that a try too!
This sounds sooo delicious!! I'm loving all that flavor! 🙂
Thank you and it is so darn easy too! Win-Win!
This is perfect! And easy. That' the best dinner ever. I love putting the crock pot to work when I'm busy doing other things. And the house smells so good, doesn't it?
The smell is a great part and a terrible part all at the same time, it makes me hungry! Thanks, Nikki!
Always love new slow cooker recipes. Pinned and shared!
Me too! I really need to get in the habit of using mine more often! Thanks, Quinn!