This Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken is made with just FIVE ingredients and cooks on low all day in the slow cooker – it’s perfect for meal prep!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil like canola or avocado oil.
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts – you can use boneless skinless chicken thighs, but you’ll want to cook on low for 6 hours instead of 8 hours.
- Low-sodium soy sauce – coconut aminos or tamari are the best substitutes here.
- Hoisin sauce – garlic teriyaki sauce would also work here.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic is best but jarred minced garlic can be used in a pinch.
- Scallions – green onions would also work or you can leave this off altogether.
- Sesame seeds – black or white sesame seeds would both be good.
- Rice – serve your teriyaki chicken with a side of brown rice, quinoa or cauliflower rice instead.
- Broccoli – or another vegetable of your choice.
How to make teriyaki chicken in a crock pot
Step 1: Add everything to the crockpot.
Add the olive oil, chicken, soy sauce, hoisin sauce and garlic to the crockpot in order.
Step 2: Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours.
Step 3: Make any sides.
Cook the rice in a pot on the stovetop and steam the broccoli.
Step 4: Shred the chicken then serve!
Shred or dice the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Serve over rice with a side of broccoli and dig in!
What to serve with teriyaki chicken
Wondering what goes well with this crock pot teriyaki chicken recipe? I like to keep things simple by serving it with a side of rice and steamed broccoli. Here are some more side dish ideas you can try:
- Sushi rice or brown rice
- Glazed carrots
- Bok choy
- Roasted red peppers or steamed veggies
Frequently Asked Questions
Teriyaki chicken sauce is traditionally made with soy sauce, sake or mirin and sugar or honey as a sweetener. Nowadays, there are many different variations in use but almost all teriyaki sauces include soy sauce and some kind of sugar (for sweetness). I like making my own using soy sauce, hoisin sauce and garlic. It has the best flavor without any of the preservatives!
You can add veggies right to the chicken mixture, but you'll only want to add them during the last 30 minutes of cooking time for fresh vegetables or the last 1 hour of cooking time for frozen vegetables. You can add in bell peppers, mushrooms, snap peas, green beans and more.
Yes, as long as you follow the general food safety rules shown below, it's perfectly safe to cook raw chicken in your slow cooker. It's so much faster than cooking your chicken ahead of time too, and makes this crockpot teriyaki chicken a great hands-off meal idea!
If you want the sauce to be even thicker, stir in a cornstarch slurry after you remove the chicken to shred and let the sauce simmer for a few minutes until it reaches it's desired consistency.
If you want to add a bit of kick to your chicken teriyaki, top it with red pepper flakes, sriracha or another hot sauce of your choice.
Storing and reheating
This crock pot teriyaki chicken is great for meal prep. You can store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I like to store individual serving sizes in meal prep bowls for easy reheating! When you’re ready to enjoy, sprinkle a bit of water over top so the rice and chicken don’t dry out, then microwave for 1 to 2 minutes.
Can you freeze teriyaki chicken?
Yes, you can! You can freeze this crockpot teriyaki chicken recipe for up to 3 months in glass bowls or Ziploc bags, either fully cooked or raw and marinated in the teriyaki sauce.
When you're ready to reheat the cooked chicken, sprinkle a little bit of water over top then microwave on high for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring halfway through. If you’ve frozen the chicken raw in the marinade, let it defrost in the fridge overnight then cook as normal.
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More crockpot chicken recipes
Meal Prep Tools
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this crock pot chicken teriyaki into your weekly lunches.
- I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Get a meat thermometer to make sure your chicken is cooked through.
- Use these Ziploc bag holders if you're marinating the chicken then freezing it.
- Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months.
- **Get my full list of tools here**
Easy Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 chicken breasts
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 scallions, sliced (optional, for garnish)
- Sesame seeds (optional, for garnish)
Optional side dishes
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 1 bunch broccoli, steamed
Instructions
- Add olive oil, chicken, soy sauce, hoisin sauce and garlic to Crock Pot in that order, then cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 6 hours.
- Meanwhile, make side dishes if desired. To steam broccoli, I usually use a steamer or boil in water for 2 minutes on the stove before draining.
- To make rice: Add 1 cup dry white rice, 2 cups water and 1 tsp of butter to a rice cooker.
- When chicken is done cooking, shred or dice into bite-sized pieces then add overtop of rice and serve with broccoli. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Comments & Reviews
Mindy says
Love this recipe so much! It’s so easy, and tasty.
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you love it 🙂
Tayler says
Even using low sodium soy sauce I found it way too salty. Next time I’ll try less soy sauce and maybe add some water.
shannon seglin says
I only had 1/4 cup of hoison sauce! I hope it turns out okay.
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Shannon – I’d recommend adding 1/4 cup water or chicken broth. You may end up needing more liquid to cook the chicken!
Samantha says
Can we get instant pot instructions for this?
Taylor Stinson says
You can add everything to the Instant Pot and then pressure cook for 8 minutes. Let it naturally release and then shred the chicken and toss in the sauce. Hopefully that helps 🙂
Lauren says
I found this very salty. Could I add less soy?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Lauren – so sorry about that! Everyone tastes are different. You can always cut the soy sauce in half!
Harriet says
Taylor, do I use 3 whole chicken breasts, or 3 halves like I usually find in the grocery? Thanks
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Harriet! It’s 3 chicken breasts, or approximately 1lb of chicken.
Colin says
Love your recipes. I fondly remember Bloor and Yonge in 1957. By following YouTube I cook all my meals in a Crockpot and microwave. At any time I’ve gotten 20 to 30 meals in my freezer. Here in the uk energy costs are high , the savings by using the above are considerable. Plus the challenge keeps me up to the electronics age.
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you stopped by Colin, and so glad you enjoy my recipes!!! I love your strategy of making so much food in the crockpot, it saves so much time and money. I can’t imagine what Yonge and Bloor would have looked like in the 50s…I know it has changed drastically just in the past 10 years alone!
Colin says
First east of Bloor and Yonge is Church St. close by was a joint called the. Evereen. It was a favourite watering hole for around 12 of us guys and girls. Ah happy 😃 days guess it’s changed a bit. Sorry to get away from your recipes, I look forward with interest.