Hungry Healthy Happy

menu icon
go to homepage
  • About Us
  • Recipe Index
  • Meal Plans
  • Recipes To Your Inbox
  • Shop
search icon
Homepage link
  • About Us
  • Recipe Index
  • Meal Plans
  • Recipes To Your Inbox
  • Shop
ร—
Hungry Healthy Happy ยป Recipes ยป Chicken

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken

Updated: Feb 21, 2023 ยท Published: Jan 23, 2021 ยท Written by Dannii Martin ยท This post may contain affiliate links which earn us commissions if purchases are made ยท 22 Comments

45 shares
  • 40
Diet: Low Fat
Jump to Recipe

A super easy slow cooker dish that the whole family will love. Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken involves very little prep (none if you use a store bought teriyaki sauce) and is a healthier alternative to a Friday night takeaway. Lean and protein packed chicken breasts and homemade teriyaki sauce is all you need for this easy and delicious slow cooker dinner.

A bowl of shredded chicken on a bed of rice.

We love any kind of meal that you can just throw everything in and leave, and this slow cooker teriyaki chicken is just that.

Even with our homemade sauce, it takes less than 10 minutes to prepare and then you can let the slow cooker do all of the work. This is one of those meals for a busy weeknight.

Looking for more teriyaki recipes? Try our easy Teriyaki Chicken Wrap, simple Teriyaki Pork Stir-Fry, speedy 10 Minute Vegetable Teriyaki or our delicious Teriyaki Tofu Stir-Fry.

Jump to:
  • Why You Will Love It
  • Ingredients and Substitutions
  • Step by Step Instructions
  • Teriyaki Sauce
  • Extra Tips
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • More Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes
  • Recipe
  • Feedback

Why You Will Love It

  • An easy and delicious chicken meal
  • Less than 10 minutes prep time
  • Freezes well and great batch cooking
  • The whole family loves it

Ingredients and Substitutions

A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.

  • Teriyaki sauce - You can use our Homemade Teriyaki Sauce as it only takes 5 minutes to make. If you use a store bought version, the nutritional values will be considerably different.
  • Chicken breasts - we used chicken breasts to keep this a lighter dish, however you could swap them for boneless and skinless chicken thighs. This would make this dish much juicier, however the nutritional information would vary.

More ingredient substitutions and variations can be found in the recipe card.

Step by Step Instructions

One: Make the teriyaki sauce, by following the instructions for our Healthier Teriyaki Sauce recipe.

Cooked teriyaki sauce in a saucepan.

Two: Put the chicken breasts into a slow cooker and cover with the teriyaki sauce. Cook on high for 4 hours.

A slow cooker bowl with four chicken breasts and teriyaki sauce.

Three: Once cooked, remove the chicken and shred into large chunks. Return the chicken to the sauce, mix well and serve.

A wooden chopping board with chopped teriyaki chicken on it.

Teriyaki Sauce

This recipe uses our homemade healthy teriyaki sauce. Healthy is such a subjective word and whilst this is still fairly high in sugar and salt (which you would expect from a teriyaki sauce), it is lower than a store bought sauce.

So, it is a "healthier" version. We are all about making lighter changes where we can, and making sauces from scratch is a good place to start.

Store bought sauces, like teriyaki, usually have a lot of unnecessary ingredients in it, whereas our homemade version just has the essentials, which you probably already have in your cupboards. Soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger and pineapple juice - so simple.

A spoon drizzling teriyaki sauce into a bowl.

We have used a low salt soy sauce to reduce the salt levels, and we have swapped the brown sugar or corn syrup for a little honey to give the sauce that sweetness that we know and love from a teriyaki.

If you wanted to make this vegan, you could swap it for maple syrup. We only used a little honey, as we added some pineapple juice too for some extra natural sweetness.

We also packed it with more garlic and ginger that you would probably find in a store bought sauce, as they both have so many health benefits. The key with this sauce is moderation.

Extra Tips

  • We used a homemade teriyaki sauce, however you could use a good quality store bought one if you wanted to save some time.
  • If you find this too dry (we think the chicken is moist enough), then make some extra sauce and save it until serving and drizzle it over the chicken. Remember, the sauce is fairly salty though, so you don't want to use too much.
  • Try not to over shred the chicken. It's best with larger chunks, so be careful when mixing everything up as this will shred it further.
A fork picking up teriyaki chicken.

Frequently Asked Questions

What vegetables can you add to slow cooker teriyaki chicken?

We love any meal that is a good opportunity to add lots of vegetables and this is one of those. You can add peppers, courgette, aubergine, broccoli, or peas. Make sure to only add the vegetables half way through cooking, as they will be too mushy if you cook them from the beginning with chicken.

Can you use chicken thighs instead?

Yes, chicken thighs can be used instead of chicken breasts, however it will change the nutritional information. It will make the dish juicier though. We recommend using boneless and skinless chicken thighs.

How to thicken teriyaki sauce?

Once the chicken is shredded, it does soak up all the liquid, so we don't find that we need to thicken it, but every slow cooker cooks differently. However, if you wanted a thicker sauce to use as a marinade, then you can add an extra tablespoon of cornflour (or a little less). Add it a little at a time, as it can change the flavour.

What to serve slow cooker teriyaki chicken with

We served ours with rice for a really simple dinner (use a bag of microwaveable rice to make it even easier). However there are lots of options when it comes to how to serve it. You could serve it on mashed potato or even a crispy baked potato. You could swap the rice for cauliflower rice for a low carb option or even put it in a brioche roll with a big pile of our Asian Slaw.
We think some sesame seeds and slices of spring onions (scallions) are a must for serving.

How to store slow cooker teriyaki chicken.

You can store this in an air tight container in the fridge for 2 days, or you can freeze it, which makes it great for batch cooking. To freeze, make sure it is completely cooled and then store in an air tight container/freezer bag and it will keep in the fridge for 3 months.

How to reheat

To reheat it after frozen, thaw it in the fridge and then you can heat it through in a frying pan for 5-8 minutes or put it in the microwave until heated through.

Can you freeze uncooked slow cooker teriyaki chicken?

If you wanted to prepare this in advance and freeze it before cooking, put the chicken and teriyaki sauce in a zip lock freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can then fully defrost it and cook following the instructions in this recipe.

How to cook it without a slow cooker?

If you don't have a slow cooker, you can still make this recipe. You can dice the chicken and fry it until it is crispy and cooked through and then stir through the homemade sauce and cook for 2 minutes.

More Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes

  • Slow cooker chicken tikka masala in a bowl with rice.
    Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
  • A plate of slow cooker butter chicken on a bed of rice.
    Slow Cooker Butter Chicken
  • Six slow cooker chicken thighs in a round dish.
    Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs
  • Slow Cooker Spanish Chicken on a blue plate with a knife and fork.
    Slow Cooker Spanish Chicken

If you’ve tried this teriyaki chicken recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.

Recipe

Slow cooker teriyaki chicken on a bed of rice topped with chopped spring onions.

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken

By: Dannii Martin
A super easy slow cooker dish that the whole family will love. Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken involves very little prep and is a healthier alternative to a Friday night takeaway.
the words low fat in a white circle.
Low Fat
5 from 20 votes
Pin Print Save recipe Saved!
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Japanese
Prep: 5 minutes mins
Cook: 4 hours hrs
Total: 4 hours hrs 5 minutes mins
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 261kcal
Allergens:
An illustration of a cow's head.
Meat
An illustration of soyabeans.
Soya

Ingredients

  • 700 g (1.5 lb) Chicken breast
  • 8 portion Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

Instructions

  • Make the teriyaki sauce.
  • Put the chicken breasts into a slow cooker and cover with the teriyaki sauce. Cook on high for 4 hours.
  • Once cooked, remove the chicken and shred into large chunks. Return the chicken to the sauce, mix well and serve.

Recipe Tips

  • We used a homemade teriyaki sauce, however you could use a good quality store bought one if you wanted to save some time.
  • If you find this too dry (we think the chicken is moist enough), then make some extra sauce and save it until serving and drizzle it over the chicken. Remember, the sauce is fairly salty though, so you don't want to use too much.
  • Try not to over shred the chicken. It's best with larger chunks, so be careful when mixing everything up as this will shred it further.

Nutritional Information

Serving: 1portion | Calories: 261kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 112mg | Sodium: 1029mg | Potassium: 750mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 53IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 3mg

The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.

As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.

You'll love these too...

  • Green Goddess chicken salad on a blue plate with some crackers.
    Healthy Green Goddess Chicken Salad (High Protein)
  • A bowl of chicken and ricotta meatballs and spaghetti.
    Baked Chicken and Ricotta Meatballs
  • Cottage cheese chicken salad on a plate with some crackers.
    Cottage Cheese Chicken Salad
  • Three teriyaki chicken lettuce wraps on a wooden board.
    Teriyaki Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Comments

  1. Kristina says

    March 28, 2021 at 4:27 am

    5 stars
    This chicken was perfect. So easy, too!

    Reply
    • Dannii says

      March 28, 2021 at 9:05 am

      Yay! So glad you enjoyed it.

      Reply
  2. Angela says

    February 02, 2021 at 5:40 pm

    5 stars
    I love slow cooker meals. They are so handy on busy days. My family loved this recipe!

    Reply
  3. Beth says

    February 02, 2021 at 5:17 pm

    5 stars
    This looks so delicious and tasty! I can't wait to give this a try! My family is going to love this recipe!

    Reply
  4. Claudia Lamascolo says

    February 02, 2021 at 5:13 pm

    5 stars
    One of our favorite flavors in Asian Cuisine and this in a slow cooker makes life so much easier!

    Reply
  5. Mirlene says

    February 02, 2021 at 5:06 pm

    5 stars
    This chicken came out juicy and delicious. Can't wait to make it again.

    Reply
« Older Comments
5 from 20 votes (2 ratings without comment)

Made this recipe? Let me know! Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Dannii with a sunset behind her.

Welcome

My name is Dannii. Here you will find easy family recipes with a healthy twist.

Established in 2011, Hungry Healthy Happy has become one of the UK's most popular food blogs, with two successful recipe books published.

About me...

Salad Recipes

  • Roasted Vegetable Winter Salad in a white dish surrounded by crumbled feta.
    Roasted Vegetable Winter Salad
  • A plate of kale, watermelon and feta salad surrounded by watermelon slices.
    Kale, Watermelon and Feta Salad
  • A large bowl of chickpea tuna salad with a serving spoon in it.
    Chickpea Tuna Salad
  • Chopped Blue Cheese Salad in a large white bowl.
    Chopped Blue Cheese Salad
  • A bowl of watercress salad with a wooden fork and spoon in it.
    Watercress Salad
  • Little Gem Salad in a round white bowl.
    Little Gem Salad

Recipe Books

The Hungry Healthy Happy book cover.
The healthy slow cooker book cover.
the front cover of The Picky Plate eBook.

Popular Recipes

  • Leftover chicken pasta on a black plate.
    Leftover Chicken Pasta
  • Mediterranean Rice Salad in a large round serving dish.
    Mediterranean Rice Salad
  • Fourteen healthy flapjacks on a sheet of parchment paper.
    Healthy Flapjacks
  • A tortilla chip being dipped into some nacho cheese sauce.
    2 Minute Nacho Cheese Sauce
  • Sticky Ginger Beef in a bowl with rice and broccoli.
    10 Minute Sticky Ginger Beef Mince
  • Baked Egg Tortilla in a round baking dish.
    Baked Egg Tortilla (Tortilla Quiche)

Footer

Help & Information

  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Advertising
  • Blog

About us

  • About us
  • Newsletter Sign Up!
  • Press enquiries
  • FAQ

Follow us


Featured in

A selection of publications that Hungry Healthy Happy has been featured in

As an Amazon Associate we earn certain commissions from qualifying purchases. By using our site, you agree that we can collect and use your data. Our privacy statement has more details.

Copyright ยฉ 2011-2024 Hungry Healthy Happy โ€ข All Rights Reserved

  • 40

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.