Slow Cooker Sesame Chicken

This slow-cooker sesame chicken is an easy weeknight staple that everyone will love. It’s a classic but without hands-on cook time!

It’s back to school time!  

When I only had babies and toddlers, in August, I focused on muffins and snacks for kids.  Now, as my oldest is entering kindergarten, I’m focused on dinner.  We now have your typical 8-3 pm school schedule, followed by homework and activities.  That’s like an Olympic sport trying to figure out everyone’s schedules and get dinner on the table.  I know it probably only gets harder with multiple kids, even if you do choose to limit their activities.  

Last year, I started leaning toward the slow cooker as a method to save dinner on late nights.  I am kind of picky on food that comes from the slow cooker (I don’t want it to be soggy), but I’m happy to say I now use my slow cooker weekly to get dinner on the table, and it does its job on the late nights!  This one, in particular, was so so so so good.  Instead of grabbing take out, try getting this sesame chicken in the crockpot for a late night, I promise you’ll be so happy with this easy delicious meal with tender juicy chicken. 

Happy back-to-school season! 

How to Make Slow Cooker Sesame Chicken 

**Note this is a visual how-to section – for detailed instructions, see the recipe card below.  

When I say this one is easy, I mean it’s super easy.  This is one of those recipes where you literally dump all the ingredients in and come back to it, and it’s done.  

Mix your sauce.  Add your chicken to the slow cooker and pour the sauce over the top.  Place lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 4-6 hours (until chicken reaches 165F and falls apart easily.)  Shred the chicken.  Garnish with sesame seeds and green onion.  

I like to serve mine over cauliflower rice, which takes about 5 minutes to prep.  Or we can cook some of the instant brown rice packs and steam some broccoli really quickly.  Either way, I can get dinner on the table in about 10 minutes when it is ready and waiting for me!  

Swaps and Substitutions 

This is one of those recipes. They’re not a lot of great substitutes.  But they are all pretty staple ingredients, so they are likely in your pantry already!

• Garlic – try not to omit or substitute.  You can use garlic powder if you need to!
• Honey – could use another liquid sweetener but would change the flavor.  The best substitute would be brown rice syrup.  
• Coconut Aminos – or soy sauce will work.  
• Rice Vinegar – don’t skip. You need that bite of flavor!
• Cornstarch – helps thicken the sauce! Changing the type of thickener to flour or other preferred options can change how much you need to get the same level of thickened sauce.  
• Ketchup – feel free to use low-sugar ketchup, but you will have a slightly less sweet taste!
• Chicken – I love using a combination of boneless skinless chicken breasts and boneless skinless chicken thighs in certain recipes like this one, but you could use all breasts or all thighs if you want! I think the combo gives you a nice balance of flavor, but either will work! I do recommend boneless, skinless cuts, though!

How to Freeze and Store

To store slow cooker sesame chicken: Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.  Reheat to 165F.  

To freeze slow cooker sesame chicken: let cool completely in the refrigerator for 2-24 hours, then freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.  

How to Make In Instant Pot:

Follow the same instructions, but set too high for 20 minutes.  Keep in mind it will be more liquidity because no liquid will escape during the cooking process.  You may want to try cutting down the sauce ingredients by 1/3 each or increasing the cornstarch.  I’ll definitely test it and report back with the results when I can! 

You May Also Like

• Slow Cooker Chicken Adobo
• Slow Cooker Chicken Shawarma
• Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Slow Cooker Chicken Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps
• Slow Cooker Chicken Chipotle Tacos
• Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken