Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken
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Sweet honey and sesame sauce smothering this Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken is an easy family-favorite and so easy it will become a new staple recipe in your rotation!
Really good things are happening around here. For one thing, a last minute trip to Las Vegas for a few days with our friends kind of came out of nowhere and changed our week for the better. Warm weather was desperately needed by all of us, especially me, and not just because I felt like my skin was so colorless it was glowing in the dark. Seriously though. Paste-y to the max. For some reason last summer while I was pregnant with the twin kidlets I did not tan, I just fried and peeled all season long. Anyone else have that experience?? So unlike me. I usually tan tan tan in the summer sun but last year the sun and my skin were not friends.
Needless to say, some sunshine was needed. For my skin, and for my so-done-with-winter mood.
Other good things that are happening? Some pretty amazing dinner things, not the least of which was the Thai curry steak noodle bowls. Ohmagosh. so. good. But the slow cooker dish I’m sharing today has to be one of my favorites – both slow cooker and just dinner, period – ever ever.
If I could fill an entire pool with this honey sesame sauce, it still wouldn’t be enough to satisfy my cravings. It is that good. Very flavorful, but not overbearingly sweet or anything, just kind of a perfect blend of flavors. And not spicy – for those of you who cringe when you think of digging into that slow cooker firecracker chicken. (I looooove that stuff something fierce)
This chicken dish is really simple and easy to make. You whip up a sauce, saute your chicken over medium heat for about 2 minutes, then throw it all in the crockpot and come back a few hours later to the most delicious smelling and tasting dinner you could dream of.
And the sauce is a bit customizable. I wrote it exactly how I like it but if you make it once and then want to play with the flavors a bit the next time you could up the amount of sesame oil, or increase or decrease the amount of honey. Or, if you do happen to want to heat things up a tad, you can add a little sriracha or crushed red pepper flakes. But don’t add too much, you don’t want to overpower those incredible honey and sesame flavors!
What people are saying about this Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken
“I made this tonite for dinner. I used my thermal cooker (off the grid). It turned out so tender and the rice was so fluffy in my cooker. My husband and I both loved it and will make it again. Thank you so much.” – Joni
“This was great! It tasted better than what you get at a Chinese restaurant. Definitely will make again.” – Laura
“I nailed it
It turned out perfect . I did add some fried wonton chips and green onion When I served it. Added Sriracha to the sauce. Also since I had 4 chicken Breasts I increased the sauce . Yummy 
” – Darlene
“Really delicious! Even my toddler who is extremely picky said ‘mmm good!’ Thank you!” – Lauren
If you liked this recipe, you’ll love my Sticky Sesame Chicken!
Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 medium-large boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ⅓ cup corn starch
- 2 tablespoons oil
- ½ cup cold water + 2 tablespoons corn starch
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 6 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- sesame seeds, for topping
Instructions
- Chop chicken into 2 inch pieces. Add to a large resealable bag and add corn starch. Seal and shake to coat chicken.
- Drizzle a large skillet with the oil and preheat over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute 1-2 minutes (just to brown the very outside, chicken should not be cooked through) and remove from heat. Add to a greased slow cooker.
- Whisk together the cold water and corn starch til dissolved. Add soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, garlic, ketchup, and rice vinegar and whisk to combine.
- Poor sauce over the chicken. Cover and cook on low 3 hours. Serve over cooked rice and garnish with sesame seeds if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
this is my favorite recipe to cook for events Christmas party’s baby shower etc. and everyone loves it such a winner
Happy to hear this!! Thanks, Kathryn!
Ok so i have the opposite proBlem to everyone else. The first time i made it.. perfect! Since then the sauce just will not thicken and im
Following it exactly. Ive tried leaving it longer, taking the slow cooker lid off, adding more corn starch. Its just runny!
That’s strange! I haven’t had that issue, Nicola!
I made this tonight for dinner. I was worried as everything I cook in a slow cooker goes wrong. This time perfect. What a lovely meal.
Great job, Paul!! Glad you liked this recipe 🙂
We could not eat this. 🙁 The flavor was good, but the consistency was all wrong as many of the other readers commented. NExt time I will definitely not add the cornstarch until the end. It was a congealed gloppy mess.
It would ve wonderful if you included NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION I am on sodium RESTRICTIVE diet RECIPE looks GREAT BUT i need to know SODIUM
I recommend using MyFitnessPal. They have a great tool where you can input any recipe URL into and it will generate all the nutritional information for that recipe for you.
I hope you enjoy the chicken!
What do you mean by greased crockpot?
Sprayed with cooking oil or something that will create a nonstick surface!
i HIGHLY RECOMMEND LINERS THAT ARE MADE FOR THE SLOW COOKER. yOU FIND THEM IN THE SAME AISLE AS ALUMINUM FOIL. i SWEAR BY THEM. tHEY REALLY KEEP THINGS CLEAN.
I followed this to the t and it turned out a big soggy mess. LoOks like pizza tonight 😞
Sorry to hear that you didn’t have great success with this one, Ally!
Our neighbor has started beekeeping so he keeps sending us multiple jars of honey so I’m hunting for “honey”RECIPES. This will be THE first one I try as it looks delicious. Any other RECIPES you have that use a lot of honey will be appreciated 😉
Stephen- lucky you for all that fresh honey! Here are a few other of my favorite ideas… Hope you find something that you love! I have several others- use the search tab on the homepage and type in “honey” and you will find lots!
https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/baked-honey-sriracha-lime-salmon/
https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/honey-roasted-chicken-sweet-potatoes-skillet/
https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/baked-crispy-honey-lime-shrimp/
https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/honey-lime-garlic-chicken/
I followed the receipe and it came out perfect, but here is what I discovered. The corn starch the way it is written In the receipe is very confusing but I figured it out before making it. So, read receipe carefully. You will be using the corn starch twice with 2 different measurements. Use the best ingredients! I used Argo corn STARCH, Orange Blossom Honey and BBQ sauce instead of ketchup! Trust me the honey makes the difference. Do not use Clover. I also, only cooked for 2-1/2 hours on low.
Thank you to the person who made the recipe. If possible it would help if you revised the steps to include how much corn starch on both steps. I am guessing that is how people got a gloppy Mess because they did 1/3 cup twice.
Well, that’s my 2 cents… 😊
I had trouble with the cornstarch, as well, so I just omit it during the browning process and add in a slurry in the last half-hour to thicken it up. Still delicious, just not crispy. Maybe this will work for others 🙂
Erin- great thinking. Thanks for your feedback!
Made this tonight. My husband said to make this if I want to impress someone, because he was impressed. Delicious!
Husband approved- way to go! 😉 Thanks, Linda!