Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken
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This Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken takes less than 10 minutes to prepare and is incredibly delicious – tender and juicy chicken thighs are cooked in a mouthwatering sweet and savory teriyaki sauce.
Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken is the crock pot chicken version of Teriyaki Chicken. The chicken thighs simmer to perfection in the slow cooker, becoming so tender they literally melt in your mouth. You can drizzle the sauce over rice or noodles to make a complete meal.
This is one of my favorite teriyaki recipes along with Teriyaki Shrimp and Teriyaki Salmon.
How to Make Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken
This Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken is really easy to make, and it takes less than 10 minutes prep time – a perfect delicious weeknight meal for the whole family!
Step 1: Make Teriyaki Sauce
Homemade Teriyaki Sauce is much healthier and tastes much better than store-bought bottles. It requires a few simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry: rice vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and cornstarch.
In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients mentioned above except cornstarch. Mix well.
Note: you can also make a more authentic teriyaki sauce if you have mirin and sake (or white wine).
Step 2: Add Chicken and Teriyaki Sauce to the Crock Pot
Lay your chicken thighs in a single layer in a 6-quart crock pot, and pour the teriyaki sauce over the top. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours, or until chicken is tender and cooked through.
Note: If you use large bone-in chicken thighs, you need to cook them longer (up to 3 to 4 hours on high and 5 to 6 highs on low)
Step 3: Cook Vegetables
Vegetables such as broccoli and bok choy shouldn’t be added to the crock pot with the chicken, as they can get overcooked and get mushy. You can add them in during the last 30 minutes or quickly sauté them in a frying pan.
Step 4: Make Teriyaki Glaze (Optional)
This step is optional and your chicken is ready to be served at this point. But if you’d like to go one step further and add some extra delicious flavor to your chicken, you can make teriyaki glaze to pour on top of your dish.
Once the chicken and vegetables are cooked, remove them with a slotted spoon. Strain the remaining sauce, and pour it into a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
Whisk together the water and cornstarch in a small bowl, and add the mixture to the strained sauce. Stir constantly until the teriyaki sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. You can add the chicken to your sauce and toss to coat, or drizzle the sauce of the chicken.
How to Serve Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken
As your chicken thighs will be very tender, you can either shred them with forks or slice them into strips after removing the bones. Serve it over rice, brown rice or noodles, and drizzle with the teriyaki glaze. Garnish with sesame seeds and chopped green onions.
How Long Does It Take to Cook Teriyaki Chicken in a Crock Pot
This is always a question for any slow cooker recipe. As each crock pot is different and the sizes of the meat are different, I recommend checking the chicken after cooking in the slow cooker for 2 hours on high, or 3 hours on low for this recipe.
Ingredients
- Chicken thighs: I highly recommend bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs for this recipe. Chicken thighs have more flavor and less likely to dry out or fall apart. If you decide to use chicken breasts, make sure to cook them in less time.
- Brown sugar: I used brown sugar for this recipe, but feel free to replace it with honey. You can choose to add a little more or less sugar based on your personal preference.
- Soy sauce: I used low-sodium soy sauce and it gives me some flexibility to adjust saltiness before serving.
- Rice vinegar: you can get rice vinegar at a local Asian supermarket or order online. You can substitute it with cider vinegar.
Tips for Making Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken
- Bone-in and skin-on chicken thighs are best for this recipe as they have more moisture and less likely to get dried out in the crock pot.
- Taste-test your teriyaki sauce before pouring over the chicken. Add more or less sugar according to your personal preference.
- Add vegetables in the last 20 minutes so that they won’t be overcooked.
- Consider broiling the chicken for 2-3 minutes before serving for additional color
- If you choose to make teriyaki glaze, keep an eye on your sauce so that it won’t get burned.
How to Store Leftover Teriyaki Chicken
The cooked teriyaki chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. It is also a great option for meal prep.
More Asian slow cooker recipes:
View all slow cooker recipes
Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on
- 1/2 cup soy sauce, low sodium
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp garlic, minced
- 2 tsp ginger, minced
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp water
- 3 cups broccoli
- sesame seeds, optional
- chopped green onions, optional
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients mentioned above except cornstarch. Mix well.
- Lay your chicken thighs in a single layer in a 6-quart crock pot, and pour the teriyaki sauce over the top.
- Cover and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours, or until chicken is tender and cooked through.
- Add broccoli in during the last 30 minutes or quickly sauté them in a frying pan.
- Once the chicken and vegetables are cooked, remove them with a slotted spoon.
- (This step is optional) Stain the remaining sauce, and pour it into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk together the water and cornstarch in a small bowl, and add the mixture to the strained sauce. Stir constantly until the teriyaki sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken to your sauce and toss to coat, or drizzle the sauce over the chicken.
- You can either shred them with forks or slice them into strips after removing bones. Serve it over rice or noodles, and drizzle with the teriyaki glaze. Garnish with sesame seeds and chopped green onions.
Notes
- You can also make a more authentic teriyaki sauce if you have mirin and sake (or white wine).
- If you use large bone-in chicken thighs, you need to cook them longer (up to 3 to 4 hours on high and 5 to 6 highs on low)
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Very tasty
So good and easy to make! Much better than take-out even.
Hi Katie, It’s true the crockpot is a lifesaver and beats takeout. Thanks for your comment.