Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken

overhead photo of shredded teriyaki chicken over a bed of white rice on a plate.

5 from 5 votes

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken

This teriyaki chicken is cooked in a delicious homemade ginger teriyaki sauce, then the chicken is shredded, and the sauce is cooked down to become thick and luscious. Combine it all and serve over some rice, and you're on the way to a hearty weeknight dinner the whole family will love!

Prep Time15

Cook Time6 10

Total Time6 25

Course: Entree, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Asian

Keyword: easy chicken recipe, slow cooker chicken recipe

Servings: servings

Calories: 268kcal

Author: The Chunky Chef

Ingredients

3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts about 2 lbs.
3/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic minced
2 tsp chili garlic sauce
1 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 tsp black pepper

Slurry

3 Tbsp cold water
3 Tbsp cornstarch

Garnish

sliced green onions
sesame seeds

Instructions

Prepare

If needed, trim chicken breasts of excess fat. Place chicken breasts in the bottom of a slow cooker insert.

Combine sauce

In a small mixing bowl, add soy sauce, light brown sugar, rice vinegar, honey, fresh ginger, garlic, chili garlic sauce, sesame oil, and black pepper. Whisk to combine well.

Cook and shred

Pour over chicken and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours.
Remove chicken to a cutting board and shred.

Reduce sauce

Skim excess fat from the cooking liquid, then transfer the liquid to a saucepan. Heat over MED heat.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the slurry ingredients (water and cornstarch) until smooth, then stir into saucepan. Continue heating and stirring over MED heat for a few minutes, until sauce has thickened a bit.

Combine

Add shredded chicken back to the slow cooker. Pour sauce over chicken and toss to coat.

Serve

Serve hot, over rice, sprinkled with green onions and sesame seeds.

Notes

I've estimated this recipe serves approximately 6 people, however feel free to divide it up into as many servings as you'd like.
It's important to mix the cornstarch and cold water as directed, rather than just adding plain cornstarch to the hot liquid. Add plain cornstarch, without whisking it into a cold liquid first, will cause it to clump up into a bunch of tiny pieces that won't taste good. Mixing it with water allows it to incorporate into the sauce and thicken it as it cooks, with no clumping.

Nutrition