Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken

Sticky Crockpot teriyaki chicken with bottled sauce with chicken breasts is a healthy meal that can be spicy with just a pinch of Sriracha. If you loved our Instant Pot teriyaki chicken this is how to make it with whole pieces low and slow.

I always used bottled teriyaki sauce until I tinkered with the flavors I love and came up with an easy homemade teriyaki sauce.  I used this to make our crockpot sticky teriyaki chicken recipe. One of our favorite crockpot recipes now.

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.

Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken with Frozen 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.

Ingredient Notes

I like to add about 4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, thawed is best – you could use chicken thighs or our teriyaki chicken wings this way too but those take less time.

Of course yellow or white onions are optional but add a lot of texture and flavor super cheap

If you want to make things easier and use bottle of teriyaki sauce go for it, you just don’t want one that is super thick, typically one used as a marinade is better. We will talk more about that below

Best Bottled Teriyaki Sauce for Chicken

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.

Can you make this with homemade teriyaki sauce?

Absolutely. I have shared a post on how to make Homemade Teriyaki Sauce here which is nice if you have some time on your hands. You can then adjust the flavors to your liking, more gingery or add heat easily. In the recipe card I will share the measurements for this as well.

Is it better to slow cook bone-in or boneless chicken breasts?

You technically can use either but my recommendation is boneless skinless for a few reasons but the top is so that the meat can soak in the sauce flavors more. I also feel with bone in that the whole breasts get dry on the thinner ends than the other and is harder to cut up when served too.

Can you make this with 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.

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.

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 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.