Make this super easy crock pot teriyaki chicken in your slow cooker, and serve over warm white rice for a delicious teriyaki bowl!
Forget Friday night asian takeout! Make this teriyaki chicken in your slow cooker any day of the week. Serve it with some egg rolls and fried rice for a complete meal. You can also try our baked Teriyaki Chicken too!
TRIED + TRUE TERIYAKI CHICKEN
I LOVE chicken and I LOVE Asian food, so it’s probably no surprise that I absolutely loved the Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken my mom tried out a few weeks ago.
We’ve tried a few Teriyaki Chicken recipes and all were pretty good, but this one has been my favorite, by far. Even the hubby who doesn’t like Asian food liked this one {which is saying A LOT!}
And what’s great about this is it’s all made in the Crock Pot, which means – SUPER EASY!! I’m all about easy and yummy recipes, and this one is one of those.
Tips and FAQ
Can I cook frozen chicken in the crock pot? It’s not usually recommended to cook frozen meat in a slow cooker because harmful bacteria can have time to develop before the chicken reaches a safe temperature.
However, if you do decide to cook frozen chicken, you can use the following times as a reference. Once the chicken hits an internal temperature of 165 degrees F it’s safe to eat.
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- Thawed: high for 3-4 hours and low for 4-5 hours
- Frozen: high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8 hours
Adding Veggies. There are many vegetables such as broccoli, snap peas, bell peppers, and asparagus that can be added. If you’re worried about them getting too soft, add the vegetables when there is about 2 hours left on High or 4 hours left on Low. You can also cook the vegetables in the microwave, or saute them, and add right before serving.
Keep leftovers fresh. Be sure you don’t leave the chicken out for more than two hours. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can also freeze it for later. Just use a freezer safe airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat in the microwave or in a pan on the stove.
Make it in the Instant Pot!
Typically if you can make it in a slow cooker it can also be made in an instant pot, but much more quickly. So if you forgot to thaw that frozen chicken, don’t worry! You’ll have it cooked in no time.
- Place the chicken in the Instant Pot. Combine sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, garlic and pepper in a separate bowl. Mix it and pour over the chicken.
- Close and seal the lid. Set to “manual/pressure cook’’ on high. Cook for 7 minutes if chicken is thawed, 12 minutes if frozen.
- Allow the pressure to release and carefully remove the lid.
- Take out the chicken and shred it. Use a mesh strainer or a spoon to remove any fat from the broth in the pot.
- Press Saute on your instant pot. In a separate bowl, combine the cornstarch and water. Mix until smooth then add it to the instant pot. Allow the liquid to come to a boil then add the shredded chicken back in.
- If you are adding vegetables, cook separately and add it to the chicken.
Hope you like it as much as we did! It really is so simple and so flavorful!
We like to serve our teriyaki chicken with:
For more Asian chicken recipes, check out:
- Orange Chicken and Asparagus
- Slow Cooker Almond Chicken
- Lemon Chicken
- Honey Chicken
- Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken
Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
Make this super easy crock pot teriyaki chicken in your slow cooker, and serve over warm white rice for a delicious teriyaki bowl!
Ingredients
- 3-4 lbs boneless chicken thighs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 6 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 4 tsp corn starch
- 4 tsp cold water
- cooked rice
Instructions
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Place chicken in crock pot on lowheat.
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Combine sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, garlic and pepper in a separate bowl. Mix and pour over the chicken.
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Cook on low for 4-5 hours until chicken is tender. Remove chicken, place on a plate and shred with a fork.
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Take the fat out of the reserve liquid left in the crock pot by pouring it through a mesh strainer into a saucepan (or scoop out the fat with a slotted spoon).
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Place liquid in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth and gradually stir into saucepan until it is thick.
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Pour chicken over cooked rice and cover with your thickened teriyaki sauce. ENJOY!
Recipe Video
Adapted from Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom.
Well, you know that if the hubby likes something than it’s a for sure hit. What a great recipe!
I love Asian food…sure have to try this!
Mmmm…looks SO good! Is it shameful to say that I’ve never tried cooking my own teriyaki sauce?? It always intimidates me. But, this one looks relatively simple compared to some of the weird ones out there, and looks absolutely delicious. I’m going to have to try it! (great photos, too!)
Teriyaki chicken is a really, really basic thing in Japan (it isnt Chinese). The “weird ones” are westerners who don’t know anything about Japanese cuisine thinking that putting their messy fingerprints all over everything will make it better. This isn’t teriyaki sauce, either. The essential ingredients are soy sauce, sake, and mirin and you can add brown sugar, honey, ginger, and/or garlic if you want. But without sake and mirin, it isn’t teriyaki.
We love chinese food! I can’t wait to try this!! Love that it is a crock pot recipe. Thanks for the recipe!!
This looks so yum! Pinning it 🙂
This looks great! I love crop pot recipes and this has such a simple list of ingredients! Pinned!
This looks amazing! I love Teriyaki; definitely have to try this when I have the time.
Teriyaki is Japanese NOT Chinese.
Love this kind of thing. Something I can let it cook all afternoon. But we don’t like rice so what else would you used to put this over top of.
Do you guys like Noodles?
Do you do step 3 before step 2 (does the sauce go into the slow cooker with the chicken)? I’m also confused about the liquid that goes into step 4 and how you get that.
Really?
Could you substitute the apple cider vinegar for something else? Say white vinegar?
Would that be regular granulated sugar…not brown sugar? Can’t wait to try it tomorrow!! YUMMM!
Yes, regular granulated sugar. 🙂
Can I start with frozen chicken?
Just made this and it came out AMAZING!! I subbed refined sugar for organic coconut sugar, and added a can of “La Choy Fancy Mixed Chinese Vegetables” about an hour before serving. I served it over brown rice and topped with La Choy crunchy chinese noodles, and it was better than any takeout I’ve had!! Thanks for the great recipe!!
I LOVE to hear that, Claire. Sounds like it was delicious!!
Looks like a yummy recipe. Just thought I’d point out that Teriyaki is Japanese not Chinese.
Made this for dinner tonight and it was awesome!! The only thing I did different was that I used bone-in chicken thighs. It made it really flavorful and the chicken fell right off the bone once it was done! Served this with broccoli mixed in and sauce poured overtop. Yum!
Ooooh, I will have to try adding broccoli next time. Sounds delicious! Thank you for stopping by. 🙂
Just put it all in the slow cooker now. Doesn’t look a lot though. How many servings should this make please?
We were able to feed about 6-8 adults with it. Hope that helps. 🙂
Recipe looks delicious!! I am making this tonight for dinner but had a quick question…. I opted to use boneless/skinless chicken breasts vs. thighs, so I am wondering if I should still cook on low for 4-5 hours? or if I should bump crock pot to High? Thanks!
Can the thighs be frozen? or will that double the cooking time?
Not sure how long it would take to cook if they were frozen, but I always un-thaw mine first. 🙂
If I use boneless skinless breasts does the cooking time and level change? If so, how?
Do you think it will still be as good w breasts??
I don’t think it should change. To be honest, I haven’t tried chicken breasts but think they would be just as good. 🙂
oh em gee, I added cornstartch into the crock with all the ingredients. It is still cooking, but I hope I didnt mess it up. ughh…..
I have a child who is allergic to garlic. Do you have a suggestion for a substitution or do you think I could just leave it out?
I’m about to try this recipe and ran out of garlic. I think a little ginger would be good substitute.
That should be fine. I might also add a tid bit of garlic salt if you have some. 😉
Hi, Laura,
I use a powder called [gonna spell it like it sounds cuz I don’t know how to spell it] ass-o-tevia powder. I buy it at my local health food store. It takes the place of onion and garlic in cooking. Onion and garlic are in the same family. BEWARE- It stinks! It taste better than it smells. Hope this helps.
Sincerely, Laura
I’m guessing the TB stands for tablespoon??
Yes. 😉
Tried the teriyaki chicken last night…. loved it except a little too sweet for our likes. Anything you suggest to make less sweet?
I just made this recipe and used 1/2 the amount of chicken the recipe called for and it was way too dry. Next time I will double the sauce recipe….. very disappointed.
Hi Barbara. I’m sorry you didn’t like it. We’ve made it several times and it’s turned out perfect. If you like more sauce I definitely recommend doubling the sauce recipe. 😉
I’m cooking it now! Can’t wait to try it. How long should I coke it for if I do it on High? Thanks
Try it tonight with bone in thighs and everybody loved it. I will be making this again. Thanks!!!
This was delicious! My whole very picky family liked this one, so I’ll definitely be making it again. I think next time, though, I’ll double the sauce, since we like a lot of it on our rice. I might also add some broccoli.
I’ll have to double the sauce too because my kids LOVE it and sometimes just want the sauce with rice. Adding broccoli would be great too – will have to try that myself. Thanks for stopping by. 😉
I’ve made this twice and both times were so good!! I used frozen chicken breasts and cooked them on low for 5 hours and they turned out great!
I made this for my family’s dinner tonight. Now the chicken was absolutely very tender. But the taste itself was really really sweet. It smelt delicious but a little too on the sweet side for my family. Idk maybe lessen the sugar amount if you plan to make this. Good luck.
BTW I said 2 stars my phone won’t let me undo
My first Pinterest recipe! SUCCESS!
I added 1/4 cup water and used flour instead of corn starch and it turned out perfect!! It had to sit for 8 hours because of work but it made it SO flavorful!
This was awesome! My family loved it. Came home for lunch and started it. Chicken was tender an juicy just 4 hours on low. Thanks! Will be having this several times over the next year.
I’m so glad!! Thank you for letting me know!! We love it, too!
For the slow cooker teriyaki chicken can you substitute boneless chicken breasts? My family doesn’t like dark chicken meat. Thanks!
I haven’t tried, but I bet it’d work. Let me know if you give it a try…thank you!!
Ooooo….This looks awesome… Yummy ❤
Ooooo..it is 🙂 You’ll have to try and let me know what you think!
This recipe looks amazing, I will definitely be giving this a try.
Thank you & it is!! Let me know what you think 🙂 Thank you!
I LOVE this recipe, Teriyaki chicken at its finest!
It’s my favorite!! Thanks for stopping by!
I like this recipe a lot. It’s a bit heavy on the apple cider for my liking. I’d love to use fresh ginger next time as well. Is there a way to use mirin instead of so much sugar? I also wanted to add some broccoli. Do you think I could “steam” it the last 30 minutes in the crock pot? Do you think the broccoli flavored water that is released during cooking would change the taste of the sauce too much? Do you think I would need to add more sauce to accommodate for the broccoli? Anyway, love the recipe and have made this several times as is. I just wanted to see what you thought. My husband loves my cooking but hates the fact that they never taste the same because I substitute a lot with what I have and it’s sort of an art to me. But, I am making dinner tonight and have everything already going, just trying to see if I should do broccoli separate or not… don’t really feel like experimenting tonight lol.
Love that you experiment!! Sorry to not have responded sooner! Adding broccoli would be a great idea. I don’t think it would change it too much 🙂 I haven’t tried adding mirin, so I am not sure about that. I’d love to know how it all turned out 🙂
It worked out. I added 1/4 of sliced raw onion at the bottom. Then an hour before cooking was finished, I added 3 heads of broccoli florets. It was quite delicious. My husband said “You out did yourself!” #Win. Thanks for the recipe and replying.
I’m glad it did! 🙂
I’ll be making the Teriyaki Chicken. Sounds and looks real good. Looks like you have some green onion on top. I will be using fresh ginger root. It is so much better then the canned stuff. If you don’t use it much, you can freeze it and slice it off when needed. YUM!
Perfect!! I hope you love it, as much as we do! Enjoy!!
I just made this last night and it was absolutely delish!
Thank you so much for trying it & for letting me know 🙂 I am so glad you liked it!!
I make this reciePe often! The family
Loves it. If i needed to rUsh the reciepe and Cook onhigh how long Should i go?
Half the time, so maybe 2-2 1/2 hours 🙂
I made this as a new recipe the same night we had company over — it was a hit! My husband told me that it’s going to have to become a staple recipe. He likes a lot, but not generally enough to eat it twice, so I KNOW this is good!
I love hearing that!! I am so glad you let me know! Thank you!
I would like to use chicken breast for this recipe. How long should I cook them?
I would use the same amount, but you could always add more time. It would be on the longer side of cooking. Enjoy!!
nice recipe .. i will try it soon
Hope you like it!
Awesome Recipe. Tried last night with bone-in thighs and everybody loved it. Thanks so much.
Fantastic, best I have ever made…
Awe, thank you so much for saying that!