Slow Cooker Sesame Honey Chicken

You know what I love on stressful work days? Leftovers!  They are just so easy. Also, it helps when the leftovers taste even better the second day!

I have been pinning slow cooker recipes lately.  Or really, I have just been pinning a whole lot of stuff and recipes happen to be some of them.  😳

Anyhoo, this recipe caught my eye and I made it up yesterday. Originally from The Comfort of Cooking, but I changed up some of the proportions.  The only thing we bought for this recipe was sesame seeds.  Everything else was in the fridge or freezer! Yay!

Slow Cooker Sesame Honey Chicken

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 pounds of boneless chicken breasts
  • 1/4 cup diced onion (frozen diced for us)
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon oil (toasted sesame would be awesome!)
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons of ketchup
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 2 teaspoons of cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons cold water
  • sesame seeds
  • Hot cooked rice for serving

I have a 4 quart crock pot.  If you have a bigger crockpot, you may want to go ahead and double this recipe for better cooking.

Place the chicken in the slow cooker.

In a small bowl, mix together the onion, garlic, honey, soy sauce, ketchup, oil and red paper flakes.   Pour over the chicken.

Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 3.5 to 4 hours.  Remove the chicken to a plate.  In a small dish, mix the cold water and cornstarch.  Add to the slow cooker and turn to high and cook for 5 or 10 minutes until slightly thickened.  Alternatively, you could pour the remaining sauce into a microwave safe dish, add the cornstarch slurry and cook for about 2 minutes in the microwave – if you are in a hurry 😀

While the sauce is thickening, use 2 forks and shred the chicken.  Add the chicken back to the sauce and heat through.

Serve over hot rice and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

 

Yummers!!!  This was even better today, too.

I have found that chicken in the slow cooker does better with shorter cooking times than other meats.  I don’t know how this would work if starting with frozen chicken breasts and cooking for 8 hours.  Maybe that would work without drying the chicken out?  Anyway, I made this Sunday afternoon and we feasted on it again on Monday.

Servings – Approximately 6  servings.

Nutritional stats (chicken only, no rice or sesame seeds)

Calories:  286

Fat: 5 grams

Carbs: 42 grams

Protein: 24 grams

So if you add 1/2 cup of rice, this would be about a 400 calorie dinner.  Bulk it up with some veggies, too, if you want!

14 thoughts on “Slow Cooker Sesame Honey Chicken

    1. Lori Post author

      I don’t know if the ketchup is necessary. I think it is for the acidic value, so you could try subbing something else tart for it?

  1. debby

    Oh my that just sounds so yummy. So I am laughing at Lisa’s question because I have another question about an ingredient. I was wondering what you thought would happen if you decreased the honey to 1/4 cup?

    1. Lori Post author

      Well, I imagine it would be less sweet 😀 I would probably add a bit of water or something to make sure you have enough liquid.

  2. deb

    This sounds yummy Lori! I use my slow cooker any chance i get! I love to dump everything in there and walk away and not have to hover around the stove….Yeah! Thanks for sharing! Hugs! deb

  3. Helen

    That is a dish that’s right up my alley – it sounds absolutely delicious! I’m with you on the leftover thing. We pretty much live off of them during the week with our hectic schedules.

    1. Lori Post author

      I am probably the wrong person to ask if it is spicy because nothing tastes that spicy to me and it takes a lot for it to be too much. I loves me the heat! John doesn’t like the heat so much and he didn’t mention it at all, so I think it was probably very mild.

  4. Tami @Nutmeg Notebook

    I love leftovers too Lori. This looks so good! I have to admit that I often use frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts in the slow cooker and they never turn out dry. The slow cooker is one of my favorite kitchen appliances.

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