Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

This crock pot honey sesame chicken from your slow cooker is an easy, delicious dinner that is anything but boring!

I love when my slow cooker makes dinner for me. But I love it even more when a recipe like this healthy Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken turns out this delicious!!

What Is Honey Sesame Chicken?

It’s a sweet and savory dish with a nice kick of spice (The spice is totally optional and adjustable.) It basically consists of an Asian-style sauce that you cook the chicken in. Then you serve it as a whole piece of chicken topped with a little extra sauce and some sliced green onions, or you can shred it. It’s wonderful served of plain, brown rice.

Why Use A Slow Cooker?

The reason I like slow cookers so much is because of the texture that meats end up with when they’ve been slow cooking for hours. They always turn out totally moist and delicious! This recipe was a joy to create and my family loved it.

About The Flavors

This dish has that traditional Asian flare while being totally clean and totally healthy. It could be compared to a spicy sweet and sour sauce, without actually being sour. The optional red pepper flakes make it nice and spicy.

How To Serve Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

Serve this over cooked brown rice and maybe even keep a small dish of low sodium soy sauce nearby if that’s your preference. It has that “sweet and sour” flavor most people enjoy without being cloying or overly sweet like a lot of fast-food Chinese food has. You can shredd the chicken breasts, or leave them whole.

What Kind Of Chicken Should I Use?

I opted for chicken breasts. But they can be pricy these days. A great substitute that is often more affordable is chicken thighs. You can trim most of the fat and the meat will be just as delicious.

Making A Slurry

If you plan on thickening your sauce into more of a “glaze” consistency, you’ll want to use the starch mentioned below. But in order to do so, you’ll need to make a slurry out of it.

To do this, simply use the called for amount of starch and approximately 1 tablespoon of water. use a fork or small whisk to blend the two together until the starch is completely dissolved in the water. This will blend together pretty quickly, but tends to settle just as quickly. So make sure you stir it just before pouring it into the hot pot of sauce.

Recipe Additions

If you want to make a more robust version of this dish, you can add the following ingredients to the slow cooker with the chicken.

• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Red bell peppers
• Red onion slices

About The Ingredients

Sauce

4 medium garlic cloves – minced

⅓ cup red onions – minced

2 tbsp. toasted sesame oil

2 tbsp. tamari or coconut aminos – Soy sauce works too.

¼ cup honey

½ tsp. freshly grated ginger – Or use 1 tsp. dried ground ginger.

½ tsp. red pepper flakes – These are optional. This much is pretty spicy. You can cut it in half, or omit it altogether.

2 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds – Divided. Half for cooking and half for garnish.

1 tbsp. tomato paste – No sugar added.

¼ cup water

Slurry

1 ½ tsp. arrowroot powder or organic cornstarch – optional but highly recommended for thickening the sauce. If using cornstarch, 2 teaspoons of cornstarch should do the trick. You’ll want to make a cornstarch slurry before adding this to your sauce. Do the same for the arrowroot. Add about 1 tbsp. water and stir with a fork to dissolve the starch. Then add to the sauce. If using cornstarch, 2 teaspoons of cornstarch should do the trick.

Chicken

2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts – You can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs.

Garnishing And Serving

Cooked brown rice – for serving

1 medium green onion (green part only) – sliced thin for garnish

Salt – to taste at serving

How To Make Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

Sautéing

Sauté the onions in a medium saucepot, in the oil, until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic in the last minute of cooking.

Whisking

Whisk in the tamari (or coconut amigos), honey, ginger, red pepper flakes, tomato paste, water and half of the sesame seeds.

The Slurry

Simmer for 2-3 minutes. If you want a thicker sauce, whisk in arrowroot powder or cornstarch slurry now.

Slow Cooking

Put the chicken in the bottom of the crock and ladle the sauce over it.

Shredding

Cook on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 4-5 hours.

Garnishing

Optional: Shred the chicken using forks or a hand-held electric mixer.

Garnish with sliced green onions.

Serving

Serve over brown rice and sprinkle remaining sesame seeds over the top for garnish and extra flavor.

How To Store

Store this in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

How To Reheat

• Microwave – In a microwave-safe dish, reheat this for 1-3 minutes, depending on how much food you are reheating.
• Stove top – This is best if you have some leftover sauce. Pour the sauce in and stir constantly to reheat.

How To Freeze

If you want to freeze this, freeze the chicken and rice separately for the longest lifespan in the freezer.

• Chicken – will freeze up to 4 months
• Rice – will freeze up to 6 months
• Mixed together – will freeze for up to 3 months

What To Serve With Crockpot Honey Sesame Chicken

• Brown rice
• Green salad
• Flatbread
• Soup

Recipe Supplies

Click on the image to be taken to that product on Amazon. (Affiliate links)

For this recipe, you’ll need a slow cooker (5 quarts or bigger), a medium sauce pot and a good whisk.

More Healthy Dinner Ideas

• Pork Fried Rice
• Kung Pao Chicken

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken Recipe Card + Video

Recipe from the Gracious Pantry® archives, originally posted on 6/19/15.