Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken

This easy and sticky crockpot teriyaki chicken breasts or thighs is amazing and a healthy meal! Keep it sweet or add a bit of spicy with just a pinch of Sriracha. Of course you can love our Instant Pot teriyaki chicken dish too but if you love low and slow prepping in the morning, this is the answer.

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken

I first made these Instant Pot spicy teriyaki chicken thighs and they were so amazing I thought it would work just as well in the slow cooker. We all loved the little bit of heat to this one and the homemade sauce that was simple to throw together. You could use bottled too.

Frozen Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken

It Crock pot teriyaki chicken just looks amazing right??!! I know…you can spice it up as much as you like or leave the Sriracha out and just have a sweet dish served over rice. We love to shred it and put into soft tacos with avocado and cheese. If you are forgetful you can even start with our Crockpot frozen chicken directions, shred when done, mix together this sauce and pour it in.

Yes we have made a lot of different Crockpot chicken recipes and continue to add more week after week. If you are forgetful (like me) you may not remember to take your meat out the day before so it has time to defrost. If this happens you can still make this really with pieces that are frozen and still rock sold. Doesn’t even change the cook time.

Either way you do it the best thing to make for when it is done is a fluffy batch of brown rice. I mean we go with white too but the other is healthier. In our recipe card below you will find the homemade sauce we used. Veri Veri is one of our favorite bottled sauces if you just basically want to make a 2 ingredient recipe.

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts boneless skinless, thawed is best – you could use chicken thighs too
• 1/2 onion
• Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
• Soy sauce
• Minced garlic
• Brown sugar
• 2 tbsp Sriracha or more for added heat
• Cornstarch to thicken, optional
• 1/4 c hoisin sauce
• Chopped fresh ginger is best, you can find jarred, ground ginger is last choice
• 1/4 c honey optional – added sweetness

with Bottled Sauce

These are the ingredients I used to make this incredibly flavorful homemade sauce. Yes you can buy some Veri Veri (our favorite brand) like we use in our Teriyaki Chicken Recipe Using Bottled Sauce but really this doesn’t take long and it’s so worth whisking it together beforehand.

Heat can easily be adjusted. I like just a little bit so if you like a lot of heat then use more than I recommend below. If you need it to be gluten free you’d need to check all ingredients to ensure that brand is. Alternatively you could use a labeled safe bottled sauce too. This is over the top delish though.

Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

Want to use thighs with brown meat instead of breasts? NO problem. I would choose boneless skinless if possible. Since those are smaller and not as thick you could cut down the timing on that one too. You can check out our Slow Cooker boneless chicken thighs for that option.

Once you make this easy homemade teriyaki sauce I guarantee you’ll never buy bottled again, but you could substitute for a jar of your favorite blend. I buy the jars of chopped ginger and minced garlic so I always have it on hand. If I have fresh it is great but it will likely go bad quickly.

I found this way is easier and it’s already chopped up for me so it speeds up the process too. Love my crockpots! Yes, I have many because depending on what I am making. I like to have the option of what size I use.

For this sticky teriyaki chicken I like my middle sized crockpot so the chicken is submerged as much as possible. Using a larger one will make it a bit drier. Want to try another one pot meal with a dry rub instead of a wet sauce? Try our Crockpot jerk chicken next. Here’s a quick step by step look at how you’ll make this super easy meal. There is a printable recipe card below too though.

How to Cook Teriyaki Chicken in Slow Cooker

• Put chicken breasts on bottom of crockpot. Mix all other ingredients for your sauce together in a bowl well. Only use 2 tbsp of cornstarch (rest can be used at the end if desired).
• Pour liquid over chicken.
• Turn crockpot to cook on high for 3-4 hours or 6-8 hours on low until the chicken basically falls apart (timing will vary depending on how thick your pieces are).
  • or low for 6 hours, cook time depends on sizing
• If you want sauce to be thicker remove breasts when done and in a small bowl whisk another 2 tbsp of cornstarch with some of your hot liquid. 
• To get the chicken to be really soaked in the yummy sauce shred it in the pot about 30 minutes to an hour before it should be done and leave it in to simmer and soak up the juices.

Remove and you could shred, or leave whole. Serve over rice or quinoa with more sauce poured on top. If shredding you could serve in small tortillas with cheese and avocado, or on small rolls with coleslaw on top for sliders. That is what we do when making air fryer teriyaki chicken during the week.

How to save leftovers

You know how I hate wasting food so make sure you have an airtight container to use when done. If you do have leftovers save that sauce!! That is the key to keep it moist and tender. Coat the outside and store in a container in your fridge for up to 3 days. Transfer to a microwave safe dish and heat for 1 minute or so.

I would make a fresh pot of rice and not save those leftovers as there is not a great way to warm that back up. It is just going to get dry no matter what and fresh grains are always best, period. This is great just thrown on to small Hawaiian buns though, shredded. That is typically what we do on day 2.