A healthier version of your favorite take-out dish that the kids will LOVE.
I’ve ordered sesame chicken many times from our local Chinese restaurant, but I never dreamed it would be THIS EASY to create myself. I love that I have control of what goes into my favorite take-out treat, so I don’t feel bad going back for seconds.
Not only is this version healthier and cheaper than take-out, the kids LOVED it too! Does a recipe get much better? I think not! Hope you enjoy this Sweet Slow Cooker Sesame Chicken recipe!
Sweet Slow Cooker Sesame Chicken Recipe
- Start by seasoning chicken lightly with salt and pepper and place into crock pot.
- In a bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes.
- Pour over chicken.
- Cook on LOW for 4 hours or on HIGH 2 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through.
- Remove chicken from crock pot with a slotted spoon, leaving sauce behind.
- Dissolve 2 teaspoons of cornstarch in 3 tablespoons of water and pour into crock pot.
- Stir to combine with sauce. Replace lid and cook sauce on HIGH for ten more minutes until the sauce has thickened.
- Shred chicken with two forks and then return to pot and toss with sauce before serving.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice, quinoa, noodles or MY favorite, spinach!
Have a picky eat at home? Give this trick a try!
- I let the girls sprinkle the sesame seeds on their own servings. I called them sprinkles…..which they thought was the coolest and made them want to try the new food even MORE!
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Sweet Slow Cooker Sesame Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and pepper
- 1 cup honey
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 3 Tablespoons water
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Start by seasoning chicken lightly with salt and pepper and place into crock pot.
- In a bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes.
- Pour over chicken.
- Cook on LOW for 4 hours or on HIGH 2 hours,
- or just until chicken is cooked through.
- Remove chicken from crock pot with a slotted spoon, leaving sauce behind.
- Dissolve 2 teaspoons of cornstarch in 3 tablespoons of water and pour into crock pot.
- Stir to combine with sauce. Replace lid and cook sauce on HIGH for ten more minutes until the sauce has thickened.
- Shred chicken with two forks and then return to pot and toss with sauce before serving.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice, quinoa, noodles or MY favorite, spinach!
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Nutrition Information:
Nutrition Disclaimer
Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
Marie says
I made this vegetarian by replacing chicken with firm tofu that I grated (yes, grated). It’s delicious! Although, a bit salty but I think I put too much soy sauce. Paired with unseasoned brown rice, it’s just amazing!
Di says
I have this in the crock pot right now. Only changes I made was to use sesame oil instead of olive oil (just because I had some in the cupboard) and I added about a 1/2tsp grated fresh ginger. Also used a dash of cayenne instead of pepper flakes cause that’s what I have on hand. The sauce smells yummy even before it cooks. Can’t wait to have over rice with steamed broccoli and carrots! Thanks for this recipe.
Corey says
Woohoo! I hope you love it 🙂
Mike B says
This recipe is superb!!
Corey says
Thanks Mike!
Meghan says
Before I had our twins, I prepared a ton of freezer meals using recipes I found online, including this one. Most of the meals turned out pretty bland and were disappointing…but not this one! It was simple to prepare and incredibly flavorful. I will definitely be making this again!
Jennifer says
Can you please share what you did to freeze it? Just combine everything and freeze?
Michelle says
I just found this recipe and have a question. Are you using thin chicken breasts in this recipe? When I usually make pulled chicken in my crockpot it takes about 3-4 hours on high. Please let me know what kind of chicken you used.
Corey says
You can used breasts or thighs Michelle. Some crockpot run hotter than others (or if you have a smaller crockpot), so if your crockpot chicken is usually good to go with 4 hours on high, then I would go with that 🙂
Britt says
OMG!!! I made this for my parents today and it was sooooooo delish! We absolutely loved it! Thank you! I making your BBQ ribs and stew this week! Hoping they’re just as good!
Corey says
YAY! Thank you so much for the comment Britt 🙂 I hope you love the ribs and stew too! The stew is one of my all time favs 🙂
Becca says
I do my slow cooker meals when I’m away at work. This means they have to sit from 8 am to 6 pm. I love this recipe, but can i make that work?
Meghan says
This was a great meal! We served it over brown rice with steamed stir fry vegetables and chow mien noodles. Thanks for sharing this recipe. We will definitely be making this again! I cooked mine on low for 4 hours, and high for 1 hour.
Lolo says
This is one of my favorite! Making it today!
Corey says
Awesome! Enjoy 🙂
Liz says
I always make crockpot meals. The chicken was darker one side. Shredded easy but tasted drier than other crock pot chickens I made. Followed the recipe to a T and the sauce didn’t thicken after adding water cornstarch mixture and turning on high. Will not make again.
Corey says
Sorry you didn’t like it Liz. After you shredded the chicken and added it back to the sauce, you still felt like it wasn’t think enough? When you serve it over rice, it’s a good idea to have it be a little saucy so it blends well with rice. Just a thought 🙂
Sue says
Made the sesame chicken last night for dinner, so delicious. Instead of ketchup I used Heinz chili sauce, similar to ketchup but more flavorful. I had to add more cornstarch than recommended as the sauce didn’t thicken that much. Thanks for this great recipe!
Luxembourg Girl says
Made this tonight. Was a little apprehensive about the amount of honey-a whole cup really seemed like a lot to me. Cut it back only slightly and added a splash of sesame oil also. Was really good with steamed rice and broccoli. Everybody loved it. A keeper recipe.
Molly says
I made this tonight and it is yummy, but it is really on the sweet side. I also used about quarter cup less honey and it was still a little too sweet for my taste. I would say to reduce the amount of honey to 1/2 a cup. Tasty though!
Jennifer says
We reduce the honey to that as well! 🙂
Hanne A. Olsen says
This looks AMAZING! I’m glad I just bought a crockpot!
Alex says
Great recipe, tasted great and my girlfriend and roommates loved it. However, I also had a problem with my sauce thickening. Removed the chicken, added cornstarch and water solution, turned on high with the lid, but nothing. Any suggestions to ensure a thicker sauce? I was looking forward to that part the most!
Joseph says
Alex, with most things that I do in the slow cooker…when it is done, I never try to thicken in the crock pot…mine doesn’t do it very well. Remove the chicken and set aside/pull. Then pour the sauce into a stock pot or other pot for the stovetop…bring to boil, add water/corn starch and turn down heat to simmer. It WILL thicken guaranteed…so long as you have the proportions of corn starch and water correct. Another tip for others…if you use flour….you have to use considerably more than corn starch…occasionally you can taste the flour with certain sauces. Good luck
Mary says
Thanks for sharing!
If I want to double this recipe would I need to cook it longer or stick with the 4 hours on low?
Thanks!
Jennifer says
This is one of our FAVORITE recipes! We use half the amount of honey though because it was too sweet for us. 😉 Question: How many serving does this recipe make? I am trying to plan to make some freezer meals of it. 🙂
LL says
Yum! This cooked so fast, done way before the 2 hours. I added a tad less honey as I’m not super keen on sweet. My 2 and 10-year-olds loved it…The oldest had seconds! I can’t wait to see how good it tastes tomorrow as well in a wrap!
irin says
Can I make it without ketchup? Is there anything I can substitute it with or is it okay to just not use that one ingredient?
Corey says
I have only done this recipe as written Irin. 🙂
LL says
Made this several times and yum!
Teacher says
My family enjoyed this meal. I served it with fried rice. Just a couple of questions. Since my sauce didn’t thicken, instead of honey could I use molasses and instead of corn starch could I use flour? Thanks for the recipe. I give it ???? stars.
Jessica Kee says
This was so good! I am not admittedly not a good cook lol so i followed the receipe as instructed. It tastes amazing! However, my sauce never thickened. I even added more cornstarch. Still didn’t thicken. Not sure why. Otherwise it was great.
Michael Guest says
Need to make this for approx 25 people…..how many servings does this standard recipe make so that I know mow much to multiply by (and how many crock pots to use!)
Thanks!
Melissa says
I was excited to make this, but I really didn’t like how it turned out. I served over rice and broccoli. I liked the broccoli and rice but wasn’t a fan of the chicken. I will not be making this recipe again. Thanks though!
Maria Gaytan says
This was delicious! Thank you very much for this recipe!
KAREN Boml says
Going to make this within a few days…just wanted to say I’ve never had an easier or more “funner” time than visiting your site….it’s SOOOOO easy to print out the recipes, which I can’t say for lots of other websites….thanks a million….should have been doing laundry, but can’t force myself to leave here w/o printing out almost every single recipe you have!
Corey says
Awwww! Thanks Karen 🙂 Hope you love the recipe!
Georgina says
Made this tonight for visiting house guests, everyone loved it, and want the recipe. Didn’t make any changes to the recipe. Husband is taking leftovers into work for lunch tomorrow. Even my 13 year old son loved it.
Doris says
1 cup of honey seems like an awful lot for 3-4 chicken breasts. Has anyone tried the recipe with less honey?
Renan says
Just made this for our weekly family get together (14 of us!) and it was a huge hit! Thanks for sharing 🙂 Delicious as always!
Renan says
Just made this for our weekly family get together (14 of us!) and it was a huge hit! Thanks for sharing, delicious as always! 🙂
Techy Dude says
Where has this recipe been all my life?? The smell is intoxicating and the sauce is seriously addictive. Thanks so much for sharing!
Nancy says
I followed this and flavor was very good but sauce did not thicken with cornstarch and water. Any other suggestions?
Kat says
Does it matter what kind of honey you use? Raw honey ok?
Corey says
Yes, I believe raw honey would work just fine.
Rei says
I made this dish a while back, and it was very good! It went really well with rice and peas as a side dish, and the leftovers made great sandwiches. Nice and sweet, and easy to make. I loved it!
Regis says
Too sweet. What can I do to lessen sweet ness and still maintain proportions. I want to make again .
Thanks
reg
Amanda says
Can i leave out the garlic or does it really add to the taste?
Corey says
I have only made this recipe as written Amanda. Sorry that I can’t say.
Jen says
Thoughts on using agave? My son is allergic to honey but this seems amazingly simple.
Corey says
I think agave would work great! You will use a smaller amount since the agave is much sweeter.
Ann says
Where I live we can’t get decent Chinese takeout. So I’ve made it my mission to learn how to cook my favorite dishes. Unfortunately this one is WAY TOO SWEET. I added the juice of 4 small lemons to cut the sweetness. I used skinless, boneless thighs because breasts dry out too much.
RONA says
I only used half the honey but it was still way too sweet. And shredded chicken is just not copacetic with Chinese flavoring. I am thinking of using the rest in tacos with a ton of cilantro and avocado. This recipe didn’t work for me or my dinner guests, but I can imagine that kids might like it due to the sugar content.
Suzanne says
Wonderful recipe, thank you!! My husband and I made the meal into a Sesame chicken rice bowl for us and mixed it with brown rice, black beans, avocado, roasted red bell pepper (just a quick roast under the broiler), broccoli and fresh baby spinach. It felt like a decadent meal and wasn’t any more work! My 3-year-old ate much more than usual and liked the chicken without the sauce on top, as did my oldest, and mixed it with black beans, rice, and cheese in a bowl.. My 6-year-old loved the Sesame chicken with the sauce and rice and even asked for seconds! Thanks again!
Christina says
This is one of my most favourite recipes to make (and also the first thing I ever made in a crock pot when I moved out of my parents place a few years ago). I always come back to this recipe because of how delicious it is!
Jamie says
Do you know how many calories are in one serving? I looked but didn’t see anything posted.
Hank and Emily says
Tastes nothing like sesame chicken, but it was delicious.
I wouldn’t really compare it to take out taste at all, we were disappointed because we were expecting some thing at least similar. Still, good recipe.
Sarah says
My sauce hasn’t thickened. I’ve used more than the recipe calls for. Any ideas?
Katie says
Has anyone tried this in the instant pot? For how long and on what setting??
Thanks!
Gita says
I would love to try this recipe for a school luncheon. Would I be able to cook it at night and then reheat and leave in the crock pot “warm” setting for about 5 odd hours. Would that be okay with the sauce?
Innessa Schwartz says
Yes! So easy. I had a lot of sauce (I didn’t have as much chicken as needed on hand) so I made sure to take a bit out before I added the chicken back in so it wasn’t so soupy. Was so so good! Will definitely make it again .
Jess says
Sorry if I missed it but how many servings does this make?
Corey says
This serves about 6
Andrea says
I am so excited to try this recipe! Do you know if we can freeze it after it has been cooked?
Corey says
Yes you can Andrea
Andrea says
Thanks Corey! I am hoping to work some freezer meals into the “home made” part of our Christmas gift exchange, and this recipe is perfect!