Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken is a Crock Pot recipe that’s easy to make, cheaper than takeout and tastes better too! It’s a family-friendly recipe that will become a favorite.
For some reason, when I think about using my Crock Pot, I think about it in the cold months filled with soups, stews and pot roast. But I’ve come to realize that using a slow cooker in the summer makes a lot of sense!
First of all, I don’t have to turn my oven on and heat up the house. On a day like today, when the high was 90 degrees and the humidity was 75, the air conditioner is working hard enough. I could always go fire up the grill, but I really am enjoying the cool air inside the house.
Another great reason is that summer is such a busy time. I spend my days running errands, bringing my kids here and there, meeting friends at the park and trying to prepare blog posts in between.
So, I love it when I remember to put dinner in the Crock Pot and voila…it is ready when we want to eat! Last week, I made honey sesame chicken in my slow cooker and loved it.
Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken Recipe Tips:
1. Choose chicken thighs over chicken breasts for this recipe. I’ve tried it with both but the chicken thighs are dark meat and have more fat. This will help keep the chicken moist if that has been an issue for you.
2. Get to know your slow cooker. Every brand and every price point varies significantly. Check the chicken after two hours to see if it is done.
3. If the sauce isn’t thick enough, continue adding water and cornstarch in a 1:1 ratio (for example, dissolving 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in 1 tablespoon cold water) until it is as thick as you want it.
4. If your sauce is too thick, thin it out with a tablespoon of hot water at a time until it is as thin as you want.
Steps For Making Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken:
Step One:
Cut the chicken into 1 to 1 1/2 inch cubes and place in a slow cooker.
Make cleanup easier by using a slow cooker liner.
Step Two:
Mix together honey, low-sodium soy sauce, sesame oil, olive oil, garlic, onion, barbecue sauce and crushed red peppers in a small bowl. Pour the sauce mixture over the chicken and stir to coat.
Step Three:
Cook on low for 2 to 4 hours or until the chicken is fully cooked.
Step Four:
Remove the chicken from the crockpot while reserving the sauce. Pour the sauce into a saucepan. Mix together cold water and cornstarch and stir into the sauce.
Cook sauce over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. This only takes a couple of minutes.
Turn the heat down to low, add chicken to sauce and break any large pieces into smaller chunks. Stir to coat while simmering.
Step Five:
Remove from heat and sauce will thicken more as it cools. Serve over rice. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions.
Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lbs chicken breasts or chicken thighs
- 1 cup honey
- ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoon minced onion
- ¼ cup barbecue sauce
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red peppers
- 3 tablespoon cold water
- 3 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon sliced green onions
Instructions
- Cut chicken into 1 to 1 1/2 inch cubes and put into a crockpot.
- Mix together honey, low-sodium soy sauce, sesame oil, olive oil, garlic, onion, barbecue sauce and crushed red peppers in a small bowl. Pour the sauce mixture over the chicken and stir to coat.
- Cook on low for 2 to 4 hours, depending on your slow cooker, or until cooked.
- Remove the chicken from the crockpot while reserving the sauce. Pour the sauce into a saucepan over medium heat. Mix together the cold water and cornstarch and stir into the sauce. Cook sauce over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. This only takes a couple of minutes. Turn the heat down to low, add chicken to sauce and break any large pieces into smaller chunks. Stir to coat while simmering.
- Remove from heat and sauce will thicken more as it cools. Serve over rice. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and sliced green onions.
Nutrition
Here are a few more slow cooker recipes you’ll want to try:
Kathy says
I’m so excited to try this! I put soy sauce on my list. I have everything but that. I mixed all of the ingredients for the sauce up except for the soy sauce and threw it in a freezer bag with the cut up chicken. I will add the soy sauce when I make it next week! The reviews look awesome and it sounds DELICIOUS!!! I hope my 4 year old likes it like Kerri’s kids did! I think I will serve it with rice and broccoli. 🙂
mark says
do I use the low or high setting on my crock pot thank you
Tonia says
Hi Mark,
Cook it on low for 3 1/3 – 4 hours. Happy Crocking!
~Tonia
Kerri says
I made this tonight and it was amazing! I didn’t have to tell my kids to sit down and eat, not once! They are 6, 4 and 2 and cleaned their plates!! New favorite! Thanks!!
Tonia says
Yay! That makes me so happy to hear!! Thanks Kerri!
mark says
Tonia,do I use the low or high setting on my crock pot ?
Judy Thurston says
Mark i am not Tonia, but i think you use the low setting and cook for 2-4 hours, hope this helps! Good luck, Hope you enjoy it!
Shendy says
This does look yummy, but when I cook it, I will debone chicken thighs as they are more moist to start with.
Judy Thurston says
Shendy, Can you buy boneless chicken thighs anywhere doing that would probley be easier than buying them with bones in them? Hope that answered your question, Good luck?
Deborah says
I made this tonight and it is very tasty. I cooked the chicken on high for about 2 hours and then followed the sauce direction. Then returned it all into the crockpot to cook a little more until dinner time.
Deb says
Question before trying…You have “add chicken to sauce” in step 9 and in step 11. Which is it?
Tonia says
Thanks for the heads up, Deb! I added it in step 9.
Jessey says
Have you ever used frozen chicken breasts?
Tonia says
Hi Jessey,
I have not, but I’m sure they would work. You would just have to adjust the cook time and cut the chicken into pieces after they cook. Let me know how it turns out!
~Tonia
Lindse Mowery says
I can’t wait to try this!!!!……one question do you think that you could sub like a pork tenderloin in for the chicken if you want red meat instead? Thanks!!
Tonia says
Thanks Lindse! I’ve never tried it with pork tenderloin, but I’ve seen people make it with steak. I think it would delicious that way and I would love to hear how it turns out.
Jessica Young says
Hello… I just made this for dinner tonight, and it was AH-mazing!!! A total hit with the hubby, and we are putting it on the list of favorites to make on a regular basis. My chicken came out super juicy and the sauce was perfection! The only thing I did different from your recipe was leaving the sauce in the crock pot after removing the chicken, I added in flour and wisked it to get it ever-so slightly thickened. I cooked it for 4 hours on low and it was awesome!
Thanks so much for adding to my crock pot arsenal 🙂
PS… I use Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce too 😉
Melissa says
I made this for dinner tonight and followed the recipe exactly and the chicken was crazy dry!!!! First thing I’ve made in years that my husband did not like! So disappointed because it LOOKED like it would have been delicious!
Tonia says
What a disappointment! It’s so hard when a meal doesn’t turn out the way you were expecting, especially when those you are serving it to don’t like it. I’ve made it twice and my family loved it both times. I’m trying to figure out why it didn’t work for you. Would you mind telling me what size and brand slow cooker you used? And did you cook the chicken on high or low?
Melissa says
I cooked it on low for 3.5 hours and I used a Rival, 4-QT.
Tonia says
Thanks for the information! I’m using my Crock-Pot from the 1990’s since my new one cracked. Once I buy a new Crock Pot, I’ll try making this again to see if I get the same results or if there is a difference in how the two cook.
Katie says
What size crockpot did you use?
Tonia says
I used a vintage 5 quart crockpot. Happy crocking! ~Tonia
Dominique says
I made this tonight for dinner and it was DELICIOUS! I will definitely be making it again for my family and I. The only thing I had a problem with was the sauce thickening. I even added extra cornstarch and even after us eating and being off the heat for 20+ minutes it still wasn’t thick. It really didn’t make a difference because it was still so good. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Vicky says
Hi Tonia,
This looks amazing! I’m definitely going to try this. I was just wondering if you think I could freeze the leftovers. Would you leave out the cornstarch step and do it after defrosting?
Thanks.
Tonia says
Hi Vicky,
I don’t have a lot of experience with freezing food because I have a tiny freezer and we usually eat our leftovers from the fridge. When I do freeze leftovers, I often forget about them in the freezer. 🙂 But I think that it would work better to freeze it with the sauce to keep the chicken moist in the freezer. Best of luck!
~Tonia
Heidi says
So found this recipe online last night and decided to make this tonight for dinner. I went strictly by the recipe and it the chicken is so dry, I’m having to make a Chinese dinner run for dinner. My husband came to the conclusion it was the BBQ sauce. What BBQ sauce did you use for the recipe? I used what we had in the fridge, which is probably not the same as what you used. My suggestion would be adding the brand names to the items you used. By version came out looking NOTHING like what yours looks like in the picture. My first meal disaster, ever.
Tonia says
Hi Heidi, I’m so sorry that it didn’t turn out for you like it did for us! I used Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce and I changed the cooking time in the recipe for now. I have a really old Crock Pot (because my new one cracked) so I wonder if that has anything to do with it? I will try making it again this week to double check my recipe and report back.
~Tonia
Heidi says
That’s interesting, we used the same brand. So it probably is the difference in crock pots. I probably should’ve let cook for less time. I will be trying this again!!! Feel free to let me know if you figure out the timing!
Tonia says
Alrighty, I made this chicken again and I think there are two reasons for the overcooked chicken. The first is the cooking time. It was ready in 4 hours. (The first time I made it, I cooked it for 6 hours, but that is overkill and probably has to do with my antique Crock Pot.) It only needs 3 1/2 – 4 hours on low (depending on your Crock Pot) so keep an eye on it. The second is the size of the chicken pieces. The smaller you cut them, the faster it will cook. Mine were 1 – 1 1/2 inch cubes when I put them in the Crock Pot. The pieces that were still big after being cooked, I cut into smaller pieces when I added them to the thickened sauce in the saucepan. Thanks for letting me know about the issue, Heidi, and I hope it turns out for you the next time!
Nicole @ Or Whatever You Do says
This looks like dinner to me! I love crock potted Asian meals. I’m usually so stuck in my usual go-to sauce, this honey sesame will be an outstanding change!
Tonia says
Thanks, Nicole! This was my first one and I can’t wait to try more.
Liz says
Nice and easy. Thank you.
Tonia says
Thank you, Liz!
Amy | Club Narwhal says
Tonia, I’m always looking for good crock pot recipes (especially when it’s too hot to turn on my oven) and this looks perfect! I love the flavors you use in this 🙂
Tonia says
Thanks, Amy! I agree! I love it when I remember to put something in the crock pot in the morning!
Megan @ Our PInteresting Family says
One of my favorite dishes. I cannot wait to try this slow cooker version. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Tonia says
Mine too! Thanks, Megan!
Jenna says
this is right up my alley Tonia, thank you!
Julie @ Julie's Eats & Treats says
The Crock Pot is such a forgotten tool in the summer but we should embrace it more! This looks terrific!
Tonia says
Thanks, Julie!
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) says
Oh man, I wish I didn’t wake up to this! Now I will be craving it all day!
Tonia says
LOL! So true! Thanks, Jocelyn!