Crock Pot Sesame Chicken (Printable)

Tender chicken in savory-sweet sesame sauce, slow-cooked to perfection for an easy dinner.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Chicken

01 - 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts

→ Sauce

02 - 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
03 - 1/3 cup honey
04 - 1/4 cup ketchup
05 - 2 tbsp rice vinegar
06 - 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
07 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
08 - 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
09 - 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

→ Thickener

10 - 2 tbsp cornstarch
11 - 2 tbsp water

→ Garnish

12 - 2 tbsp sesame seeds
13 - 2 green onions, sliced

# How-To Steps:

01 - Place chicken thighs or breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker, ensuring pieces are in an even layer.
02 - Whisk together soy sauce, honey, ketchup, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl until fully combined.
03 - Pour sauce over chicken, covering all pieces. Cook on LOW for 4 hours or HIGH for 2 hours until tender and fully cooked.
04 - Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred or cut into bite-sized pieces. Set aside on a plate.
05 - Mix cornstarch and water in small bowl to form slurry. Stir into sauce in slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 20-30 minutes until thickened.
06 - Return shredded chicken to thickened sauce, stirring to coat. Serve hot garnished with sesame seeds and green onions over steamed rice.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The sauce develops this incredible depth that makes everyone think you spent hours simmering it on the stove
  • You literally dump everything in the crock pot and walk away until dinner time
  • Leftovers somehow taste even better the next day, if they last that long
02 -
  • The sauce will look thin and watery until you add the cornstarch slurry, don't panic and try to reduce it on the stove first
  • Always whisk your cornstarch with cold water before adding it to the hot sauce, otherwise it will clump up into unappetizing little dumplings
03 -
  • Use toasted sesame oil, not plain, for that authentic restaurant flavor that makes people ask what you did differently
  • Let the cornstarch mixture come to a bubble after adding it, otherwise the sauce won't reach its full thickening potential

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