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If you're looking for an easy weeknight dinner recipe everybody in the family will love, look no further than my slow cooker Honey and Sesame Chicken recipe! With simple ingredients and easy steps, this Chinese chicken recipe may just become your new favorite chicken dinner.
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Some days I want all the sticky, sweet-and-savory flavor of honey sesame sauce and tender chicken pieces all without needing to get out a frying pan or hop in the car to grab takeout. Wouldn't it be nice if dinner just happened on its own?
With a crock pot, it practically does! There's no better feeling than coming home to realize dinner is already done, and all you had to do was toss a few ingredients in the slow cooker. No deep frying and spattering oil required. It's clean, simple, easy, and so, so delicious!
My favorite thing about this easy honey sesame chicken breast recipe is that picky eaters absolutely love it! Even the pickiest eaters in my family gobble up this chicken. And by prepping it in the crock pot, you can easily make big batches that are perfect for freezing for later or serving a crowd.
Honey Sesame Chicken Ingredients
- Chicken breasts: Make sure the chicken breasts are completely thawed to ensure even cooking! You can also use boneless chicken thighs.
- Sweet onion: I prefer sweet onion in this recipe, but you can also use yellow or white onion, or even shallots.
- Honey: Fresh, local honey will naturally have the best flavor, but you can use any honey you have. It will taste amazing no matter what.
- Soy sauce: To reduce salt, use low-sodium soy sauce. I use regular, as I love the rich, salty flavor. You can also avoid gluten if necessary by using tamari shoyu or coconut aminos instead.
- Hoisin sauce: This thick, flavorful sauce brings tons of umami and caramelized sweetness to the table, so don't skip out!
- Vegetable oil: Vegetable oil is nice and mild, which lets the flavor of the sauce shine. However, you can also use sesame oil for a stronger sesame flavor.
- Crushed red pepper flakes: Crushed red pepper flakes add just a tiny bit of spice! If you want to avoid spice, leave them out. Or, add in more for a bit more bite.
- Garlic powder: Garlic powder is a perfect choice for a quick, easy recipe like this, but you can swap it out for 1 clove grated garlic if desired.
- Cornstarch: Used as a thickener for the sauce, corn starch is gluten-free and easy to use and thickens the sauce in minutes.
- Salt and pepper: Add to taste at the end. I like to use Maldon sea salt flakes and freshly cracked black pepper.
- Green onion: Slice green onions over top of the finished dish as a garnish. Not only are they pretty, but they're delicious and add great bite!
- Sesame seeds: The sesame in this sesame chicken. Add plenty to the top as garnish, and for more sesame flavor you can add some to the slow cooker, too.
- Optional: Sriracha, grated ginger root, sesame oil, rice vinegar, ketchup
How to Make Chinese Chicken Slow Cooker
- In a medium bowl, combine the diced onion, garlic, honey, soy sauce, Hoisin sauce, oil, and pepper flakes, and mix well.
- Place the chicken breasts in the slow cooker, then pour the sauce mixture over top. Cover, and cook on LOW for 3 hours and 30 minutes. Make sure not to cook it on high!
- Once the chicken has cooked, add the cornstarch to a small bowl and add in ¼ cup of the sauce from the cooker. Mix until well dissolved, then slowly pour back into the cooker and stir. Cover, and cook another 15-20 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the slow cooker, cut into bite-sized pieces or shred as desired, and serve over rice with a garnish of green onions and sesame seeds!
If you love easy dinner recipes inspired by Chinese cuisine like these, try my 20-minute Mongolian Beef! It's a for-sure family favorite and one of my personal favorite Sunday dinners.
Isabel's Tips
- The longer you cook this recipe, the more it will shred. If you want soft, shredded chicken, cook for 4+ hours. If you want sliced pieces, cook 3 hours. Be sure to check the internal temperature with an instant read thermometer!
- If you don't have chicken breasts, boneless chicken thighs can be cooked just the same way. Just make sure they're boneless!
- Adjust the flavors by adding in a dash of sriracha for spice, or increasing or decreasing the amount of honey to adjust the sweetness.
- For a stronger sesame flavor, replace the vegetable oil with sesame oil.
Sesame Honey Chicken Variations and Substitutions
- Soy-Free: To make soy-free honey soy chicken, replace the soy sauce with coconut aminos and the hoisin with an equal amount oyster sauce. Coconut aminos are very sweet, so reduce the honey by half.
- Gluten-Free: Soy sauce contains trace amounts of gluten, so swap it out for Tamari. Be sure to check the label of your Hoisin sauce to make sure it doesn't include wheat as a thickener, as well.
- Honey: If you don't have honey, substitute an equal amount of brown sugar.
- Chicken: You can also use chicken thighs! I prefer using boneless skinless chicken thighs for this recipe.
FAQ
Absolutely! You can use any cut of chicken for this recipe. Remove any skin first, and keep in mind that you'll need to remove any bones once the meat has fully cooked if using bone-in cuts.
No, this slow cooker honey sesame chicken doesn't need any eggs or flour. That's because the chicken is slow cooked in the sauce instead of being shallow-fried. The sauce is thickened with cornstarch, leaving it thick like a glaze without any flour required! For a similar shallow-fried chicken recipe, why not try my Spicy Chinese Chicken?
How to Store Honey and Sesame Chicken
- Freezer: Slow cooker chicken recipes are some of my favorite to make and freeze! Let the meal cool to room temperature, then place it in airtight containers in the freezer. Freeze for up to 4 months!
- Refrigerator: This meal lasts for 3-4 days in the fridge in an airtight container. I recommend storing the chicken in extra sauce to preserve moisture.
- Thawing and Reheating: This sauce is best thawed overnight in the fridge or by running hot water over the outside of the container until the frozen meal pops out, then placing it in a pan over medium heat. Stir now and then until the sauce is bubbly and the chicken heated through.
What to Serve with Sesame and Honey Chicken
My favorite way to serve this slow cooker honey sesame chicken recipe is with a hot plate of white rice and a side of veggies or coleslaw! Check out the following recipes for super-easy sides that are ready in no time.
Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes
- Slow Cooker Chicken Wings
- Slow Cooker Whole Chicken
- Crock Pot Chicken Parmesan
- Crock Pot Chicken Legs
If you enjoyed the recipe, leave a comment and a rating below!
Honey Sesame Chicken
Equipment
- Slow Cooker 6 qt.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Chicken breast - boneless skinless
- ⅓ cup Sweet onion - diced
- ½ cup Honey
- ½ cup Soy sauce
- ½ cup Hoisin sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Vegetable oil
- ¼ teaspoon Crushed red pepper flakes
- Salt and pepper - to taste
- 1 Green onion - thinly sliced
- Sesame seeds - for garnish
- 3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the diced onion, garlic, honey, soy sauce, Hoisin sauce, oil, and pepper flakes, and mix well.⅓ cup Sweet onion,½ cup Honey,½ cup Soy sauce,½ cup Hoisin sauce,2 Tablespoons Vegetable oil,¼ teaspoon Crushed red pepper flakes
- Place the chicken breasts in the slow cooker, then pour the sauce mixture over top. Cover, and cook on LOW for 3 hours and 30 minutes.2 lbs Chicken breast
- Once the chicken has cooked, add the cornstarch to a small bowl and add in ¼ cup of the sauce from the cooker. Mix until well dissolved, then slowly pour back into the cooker and stir. Cover, and cook another 15-20 minutes.3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
- Remove the chicken from the slow cooker, cut or shred as desired, and serve over rice with a garnish of green onions and sesame seeds!Salt and pepper,1 Green onion,Sesame seeds
Notes
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- If you want soft, shredded chicken, cook for 4+ hours. If you want sliced pieces, cook 3 hours. Check the temp with a meat thermometer.
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- If you don't have chicken breasts, boneless chicken thighs can be used.
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- Adjust the flavors by adding in a dash of sriracha for spice, or increasing or decreasing the amount of honey for sweetness.
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- For a stronger sesame flavor, replace the vegetable oil with sesame oil.
-
- Soy-Free: To make soy-free honey soy chicken, replace the soy sauce with coconut aminos and the hoisin with an equal amount oyster sauce. Coconut aminos are very sweet, so reduce the honey by half.
-
- Gluten-Free: Soy sauce contains trace amounts of gluten, so swap it out for Tamari. Be sure to check the label of your Hoisin sauce to make sure it doesn't include wheat as a thickener, as well.
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- Honey: If you don't have honey, substitute an equal amount of brown sugar.
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