Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken Recipe

  |  190 Comments

The perfect mix of sweet and savory, this recipe for Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken will become a family favorite! And since it's made in your slow cooker, it couldn't be easier.

Need a quick, easy, and delicious slow cooker meal? Well, look no further!
We had this for dinner the other night and it instantly became a family favorite.
I thought that the honey would make it super sweet, but it was the perfect amount of sweetness and flavor.
It was a big hit with our kids and so easy to throw together- a winning combination in my book! I don’t know what I would do without my slow cooker!

 

This recipe can easily be made into a freezer meal that literally takes only a couple of minutes to prepare. Just read the instructions on the recipe for directions on how to make this a quick and easy freezer meal!

If you love easy slow cooker recipes, try our Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken!  Even our picky eaters love this recipe!

 

Serves: 6

Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken Recipe

One of the easiest and most delicious slow cooker recipes I have ever made!

5 minPrep Time

4 hrCook Time

4 hr, 5 Total Time

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Ingredients

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thighs would be fine too)
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (could also use olive oil or canola oil)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional - doesn't really add heat, just adds more flavor)
  • 4 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 6 Tablespoons water
  • Sesame seeds

Instructions

  1. Spray crock pot with non-stick cooking spray.
  2. Season both sides of chicken with lightly with salt and pepper, put into crock pot.
  3. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken.
  4. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high 1 1/2 ? 2 1/2 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from crock pot, leave sauce. Dissolve 4 teaspoons of cornstarch in 6 tablespoons of water and pour into crock pot. Stir to combine with sauce. Replace lid and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes or until slightly thickened.
  5. Cut chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce before serving. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice or noodles.
  6. *You can also sprinkle more red pepper flakes on top if you want more heat.

Notes

To make this a freezer meal, place all ingredients in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag. Mix together and zip bag closed.
When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Pour contents of bag inside the slow cooker.
Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high 1 1/2 ? 2 1/2 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through.

Nutrition

Calories

1503 cal

Fat

28 g

Carbs

318 g

Protein

10 g
Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info
7.8.1.2
92
https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/slow-cooker-honey-sesame-chicken-recipe/

If you love slow cooker recipes, be sure to check out our Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken recipe or our Slow Cooker Chicken Teriyaki Bowls!

 

 

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Comment on this Recipe

190 Responses to “Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken Recipe”

  29. Leslie
    looking for crock version of a family favorite and I have a question. . .doesn't the chicken get cold if you take it out and cut it up? Maybe if I just did one breast at a time. I really prefer to just serve it once it is cooked (rather than another step). Have you tried cutting it up beforehand and reducing the cooking time?
    Thanks a million. Really looking forward to spending more time on your site.

    I am the mother of six girlies (and one son)! It is so nice to see what lovely ladies all of you are!
    February 2, 2012 at 6:07 pm
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  61. Jenna
    Found this on pinterst and made it today. O M G! Soooooo good!! I think I could eat all of it in one sitting lol. The only thing is that I could get the sauce to thicken up but it was still deeeeelish. Served it over brown rice, think it would be good with some broccoli slaw added.
    March 3, 2012 at 3:51 pm
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  68. B Haley
    My husband loves the Seseme chicken that we eat at a local Chinese Resturant so I altered this recipe to be more like theirs. The crockpot version is healthier, but he loved this. I fried my chicken, then stir fried broccoli, onions, mushrooms, water chestnuts and carrot until crisp tender. I served over rice and it was fantastic! I have searched for years for a good recipe. This really hit the spot! Thanks.
    March 11, 2012 at 4:13 pm
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  75. Sarah
    Made this with a couple changes: used 1 T veg oil and 1 T sesame oil(instead of 2 T veg oil) and only used 2/3c honey(instead of 1c). Also added some grated ginger and about a teaspoon of sriacha(sp?). It was AWESOME. This is definitely a once-a-week-er. Used chicken thighs and served over capanelli. Mmmmm.
    March 28, 2012 at 9:05 am
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  85. Unknown
    I didn't have enough honey so used Molasses and Low sodium soy sauce. After doubling the recipe my entire family loved it and ate every bite. It was delicious! I calculated the calories using 24 ounces of chicken and the calories without the sesame seeds were 233. The sesame seeds add about 20 calories per 8 servings.
    April 14, 2012 at 5:19 am
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  86. Mangano28
    I have 9-year-old twin girls and they loved this! One of them is SOOOOO picky and she actually had 4 servings of it!!!! That has to be the most food she's ever eaten at one sitting. Thank you VERY much for this great recipce! I add a lot more (1 and 1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes) since my family all likes their food spicy, and it wasn't even too spicy for me... just great flavor!
    April 18, 2012 at 9:38 am
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  92. JamieSienkiewicz
    Made this tonight for my younger sister and her friends who were having a study party for finals. They LOVED it!I served it over white rice with broccoli on the side and used five breasts instead of four, with plenty sauce to spare. Definitely a hit with teenagers and will make again for the rest of my family:)
    May 15, 2012 at 7:29 pm
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  94. lisajlukowski
    I had to comment and let you know that this recipe was a hit with my family, especially my dad. I am a recent college grad and living on my own for the first time, never had to cook for myself before. I made this for dinner and my dad was so impressed with how good it tasted. So, thanks for giving me some respect in the kitchen! ;)
    June 8, 2012 at 7:34 pm
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  97. Rebekah
    made this tonight and it was delicious. I decided to try the frozen boneless, skinless chicken tenders(worked beautifully), the only thing i added was green bell pepper at the end and a can of pineapple. sooo tasty. its almost like moo shu pork, gonna try next time shred the chicken and put in flour wraps.
    June 27, 2012 at 3:26 pm
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    • Camille
      Bummer! I am so sorry! I don't know why it isn't thickening up! Maybe you could pour the sauce from the slow cooker into a small sauce pan and cook it over medium/high heat while stirring in the cornstarch and water . . . I wonder if that would help? Good luck!
      July 3, 2012 at 9:34 pm
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  105. The Art of Written Words
    I made this for dinner tonight for my husband and 3 sons. Everyone LOVED it. I used 4 organic chicken breasts and rubbed them with good quality olive oil and salt and pepper before putting them in the bottom of the crock pot. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly (except I used 1 tbs olive oil in the bowl instead of 2, as I had already used some on the chicken breasts). I cooked on low for 4 hours. I needed to add a couple extra tsp of cornstarch to thicken up and it took about 20 minutes on high to thicken it. But, I found this recipe to be super easy, and super tasty! I will definitely make it again. Thank you!!
    August 29, 2012 at 8:06 pm
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  106. The Art of Written Words
    I made this for dinner tonight for my husband and 3 sons. Everyone LOVED it. I used 4 organic chicken breasts and rubbed them with good quality olive oil and salt and pepper before putting them in the bottom of the crock pot. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly (except I used 1 tbs olive oil in the bowl instead of 2, as I had already used some on the chicken breasts). I cooked on low for 4 hours. I needed to add a couple extra tsp of cornstarch to thicken up and it took about 20 minutes on high to thicken it. But, I found this recipe to be super easy, and super tasty! I will definitely make it again. Thank you!!
    August 29, 2012 at 8:18 pm
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  114. Chelle
    this was soooooooo cool. i love cooking in the crockpot - it works for working moms. my 8yr old NEVER likes anything that comes out of it. THIS HE ATE!!!! 3 helpings of it!!!! THANKS and it was super easy for me!!! pop it in the crock, went to soccer game and ate when we got home! YOU have made my YEAR!!!

    Michelle
    September 24, 2012 at 7:18 am
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  117. Chelsea
    This was absolutely delicious!! I actually added a few things and it really brought out a lot of flavor and turned out amazing!
    I added a few dashes of hot sauce, some cayenne pepper, a little bit of chili powder and ground cloves. I also added fresh broccoli and mushrooms! Thanks for the recipe! I can't wait to make it again!
    http://fortheloveofanaviator.wordpress.com/
    September 30, 2012 at 4:11 pm
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  120. Theresa McDonald
    Made this a few weeks ago and it was a hit! I used 1/2 tsp of cayenne instead of crushed red pepper flakes, used 2 HUGE frozen chicken breasts (it's just me and my hubby and there were plenty of leftovers), cooked low for about 5 hours, cut up and simmered in the sauce for another hour. I didn't thicken the sauce because the last time I tried a recipe like this in the crock, it ended up being a big pile of goo. The sauce was divine over rice just the way it was! I'm very glad I didn't thicken it! I'm making it again tonight with Thai sticky rice, yum! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
    October 28, 2012 at 7:59 am
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  122. Amy
    I just made this, it's sitting warm in the crockpot while the jasmine rice is cooking in the rice cooker. It tastes absolutely amazing. I put maybe just 1/2-3/4 cup honey because I have natural honey with the honeycomb and everything that I got from a local bee keeper, so it's pretty strong. And it tastes great! I added just a few drops of pure sesame oil at the end instead of the seeds, it's awesome! Love it, thanks for this.
    December 7, 2012 at 6:56 pm
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  127. Kari
    I just made this for my sweetie tonight! He loved it! I added a bit more honey and red pepper flakes and it was killer! The sauce thickened up perfectly when I took out the chicken and added the corn starch. Next time I think I will add some carrots (sliced) and water chestnuts and make a lettuce wrap! Thank you for the recipe and tips!!
    March 10, 2013 at 7:36 pm
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  128. milomade
    I made this recipe tonight for tea and its lovely! I reduced the amount of honey and soy sauce as I thought the amounts given would be too much for the amount of chicken I had and it worked perfectly. I'm on,y just getting into using a slow cooker so it's good to find recipes like this that work. Love your site. Thanks for sharing!
    April 14, 2013 at 11:20 am
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  131. Neely
    I made this tonight and it turned out great! I accidentally bought green onions instead of white, so I used those and just added a whole chopped bunch at end after I'd added back the cut up chicken. Nice and colorful. I also only cooked mine on low for 3.5 hours and did the last 30-60 min. On the "keep warm" setting. I hate dried out chicken. I would not recommend leaving it all day while you work. I would think the sugars in the honey would start to burn.
    September 6, 2013 at 8:52 pm
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  132. Shanna
    I made this tonight with chicken breasts. At the end, when I loaded my rice up with the sauce, I thought it tasted too salty and then after my husband ate it he said it was too sweet. :) Different taste buds! My sauce didn't thicken up even after 20min in the crockpot, any ideas on making it get thicker?
    September 9, 2013 at 5:51 am
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  142. Serenity
    I have recently discovered your blog and purchased one of your cookbooks. I love them both but this same question frequently comes up with me, I am a numbers girl sorry! When a recipe calls for 4 chicken breasts etc, are you referring to a 4 oz chicken breast totaling a pound in weight, or a full chicken breast totaling closer to 2 pounds in weight. Thanks so much for your help! Keep the delicious recipes coming! My absolute favorite so far is the Butterfinger blondies!
    July 8, 2014 at 8:25 am
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    • Cyd
      Hi Serenity! Thanks so much for visiting our blog. Chicken breasts are so tricky because they vary in size. We usually by a 4 pound bag of frozen chicken breasts which have about 7 to 8 breasts in the bag. Every chicken breast in the bag varies in size. So with all the many sizes, the average chicken breast is about 1 cup of cooked chicken. Each chicken breast is about 8 ounces.
      July 8, 2014 at 11:29 am
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  146. Shelley
    Some crockpots cook hotter even on low, so experimenting with frozen chicken breasts. Removed the sauce at the end, used some of the sauce to barely cook orange pepper, roma seeded tomato and canned chunk pineapple. Pepper in first, pineapple next, tomato last to keep its firmness. Placed the cooked cubed chicken and veggies over cooked brown and black rice, cornstarch thickened sauce over all. Lots of sesame seeds purchased at an Asian market in lg container. Also a side salad of mixed baby greens (what I had on hand, recipe calls for just arugula ), diced date per plate, slivered almonds, blood oranges ( in season) cut in rings then sectioned. One orange or less, per serving, depending on size of serving. Dressing is juice from a squeezed mandarin orange (in season) with olive oil whisked into the juice, and poured over each salad plate. Feeding a hubby who starts work at 2PM and does not eat breakfast, so pack him full of tasty nutrition. Next I make his lunch after done cooking his dinner. This recipe would heat up well for lunch, minus the veggies, add those in a separate container to keep them firm. The orange salad also packs well for lunch add dressing at meal time.
    March 19, 2015 at 2:13 pm
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  147. Chey
    Just found this recipe - thanks to getting your email blog letter. Following the recipe exactly, I mixed the sauce ingredients, placed the sauce and chicken breasts into a gallon ziplock bag, put it into the refrigerator, and left my husband a note to put the contents of the bag into the crock pot at 3 pm on high (he gets home earlier than I). ...... don't you LOVE when food just cooks away without needing your attention???? ..... At 5 when I got home, changed out of my work clothes and finished up the recipe instructions. This was truly delicious and so darn easy. We both agreed this will be in the slow cooker rotation dinner menu! Thank you for posting this! And thank you for the emails!
    April 8, 2016 at 8:19 pm
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  149. Gayle H
    Made this tonight for dinner and 3 out of 4 of us loved it. The one that didn't like it is an EXTREMELY picky eater. I followed the recipe exactly, but I couldn't get the sauce to thicken. I left it in the Crock Pot for 25 minutes at high. Not sure what I did wrong. Thanks for the recipe.
    April 8, 2016 at 9:29 pm
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  151. Alicia Null
    I am shocked and extremely surprised to report that all 4 of my daughters licked their plate clean with this recipe! Even the pickiest eater! Thank you for this recipe- I am thrilled to have another slow cooker recipe to use that everyone likes! I also found it delicious and love the tiny kick the red pepper flakes give. Thank you!
    February 7, 2020 at 3:26 pm
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