Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken is so easy, with just a handful of ingredients. Make some rice and veggies and you have a complete meal to eat!
Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken is an easy weeknight meal you’ll love, but the best part is the leftovers are amazing for lunches. For more tasty Chicken Recipes, give my Slow Cooker Jerk Chicken and my Slow Cooker Apricot Chicken.
Sabrina’s Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
Teriyaki Chicken is one of my favorite dishes to order when I go out to eat, so having a quick version to make at home saves me a ton of money. Slow cooker recipes are in regular rotation in my house because of their ease and wonderful flavors. I am running around all day long, and by the time everyone is home from school and settled in I simply don’t want to be cooking dinner for a long time. This tender chicken recipe is an easy weeknight meal you’ll love, but the best part is the leftovers are amazing for lunches!
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs , bone in and skin on
- 1/4 cup sake
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup mirin
- 1/2 cup lite soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons garlic , minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger , minced
- green onions and sesame seeds , for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients into a 6-quart slow cooker and arrange the chicken skin side up.
- Cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 7-8 hours.
- Garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds if desired.
Nutrition
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Sabrina’s Tips
With such a limited number of ingredients, the quality becomes even more crucial. I strongly recommend using fresh garlic and ginger instead of powdered versions, as they provide a depth of flavor that’s irreplaceable. Additionally, it’s wise to avoid inexpensive soy sauces, as they often lack the rich taste that enhances the overall dish. Investing in high-quality ingredients will truly elevate your cooking.
Table of Contents
About this Recipe
Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken is really as easy as dumping the ingredients into the slow cooker. Because it’s so quick I have time to make some rice and veggies to go on the side. I like to siphon off a couple of tablespoons the marinade and use it for my vegetables. So, in this case, I would add all the ingredients except the chicken to the slow cooker. Then I would take a couple tablespoons of it and add a tablespoon or two of canola oil to a bowl. Tossing the vegetables in that mixture before roasting them at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. This adds an awesome flavor to the veggies. The best part is you don’t have to stand at the stove at all.
Ingredients
- Sake: If you absolutely can’t get your hands on sake you can substitute white wine, but I would highly recommend not making the substitution, as the flavors of sake add a signature flavor to the teriyaki chicken.
- Low Sodium Soy Sauce: I find regular soy sauce much too salty. Remember, you can always add salt, but you can’t subtract it. Starting with low sodium allows you to adjust to your tastes if necessary.
- Mirin: This is the most prominent flavor in the chicken teriyaki. I would not suggest making the recipe without it. Most Asian grocery stores will carry it for 2-3 dollars, so check local stores if you have one.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Try to source mirin and sake if at all possible, I know it can be frustrating to buy ingredients you don’t normally work with, but this dish really will become a staple in your home.
- If your chicken thighs have a large amount of fat on them, trim the chicken thighs so the fat left can render, and leave a thinner skin you’ll want to eat. Too much fat may not render, meaning you’ll end up discarding the skin.
- I always use low sodium soy sauce as the sodium content in regular soy sauce is so high, and in cases in the slow cooker where the soy sauce will intensify in flavor and have a lot of time to cook into the meat, regular soy sauce would be too salty.
Serving Ideas
I normally just make Instant Pot Rice to serve the meal with. Perfect Brown Rice is great too because if you have the oven on to make veggies, it can go in with it too. I like to serve Roast Broccoli and carrots with this dinner. If you like a little heat, you can always serve this up with a bit of Spicy Mayo. If you have leftovers, you can strain off the fat in the sauce and toss it with any leftover chicken to be used in an easy lunch bowl for the next few days.
Related Recipes
More Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes
These images were used in previous versions of this post:
This sounds delicious, but I do not like chicken thighs. Could breasts be substituted for the thighs?
Yes!
Can’t wait to try this recipe. I’ve been wanting a good recipe for recipe.
Can you use boneless chicken thighs for this recipe?
Cannot wait to try this receipe. Chicken among my favs
Hi… what is sake,mirin? Not sure if I will be able to find the spices here because we live in a very small town, so is there anything else I could use instead. Hope you will be able to help me . Thank you .. SHERRY / HOPE THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO HELP.
If you click on the green links (sake and mirin in green writing) in the recipe card, it’ll take you to an amazon site to purchase the exact items I used that way there’s no need to run around town and find them. Enjoy!
Hi Sabrina,
I made this recipe and it was a resounding success. Absolutely delicious!
I followed the recipe exactly except I didn’t have any sake at hand and I replaced it with tequila. The chicken was served with steamed rice and a bok choy & snow pea stir fry.
Thank you,
Manfred
You’re welcome!
Hi. Could you please tell me if I need to brown the chicken first?
No need to brown it first. Enjoy!
Hi will these recipes work well with boneless and skinless chicken?
I try not to use boneless skinless for the slow cooker as much because it tends to dry out a bit from not being protected by a bone or skin. I know others have said they’ve used it with no issue. Just wanted to give you a fair warning before trying. Good luck!
Can I use skinless thighs?
The skin protects it from drying out but if you know going in, go ahead and use it. Enjoy!
Can you use boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs? Does it change the cooking time?
I don’t recommend using breasts in the slow cooker because they tend to dry out during the cooking process. Sorry
I know you don’t recommend but my family prefers breasts…what would the cooking time change to?
Probably on low for 5-6 hours. But if using breast meat get the bone in skin on to give a bit of extra protection to the chicken. Even if you debone the skin will help.
I need to double the teriyaki chicken recipe for the slow cooker. Is there anything I should do different? Is the cooking time the same? Thank you, Flo
You only want a single layer of chicken in the slow cooker so when doubling, I recommend using 2 slow cookers. Enjoy!
What is sake, and , mirin and where can I buy them?
Both are Asian cooking wines and are usually found in the spice aisle at the grocery store. I know they are also sold on Amazon if a store around you doesn’t carry it. Hope this helps!
My daughter & I have a definite sensitivity to ginger— what would you suggest as an adequate replacement??
There’s really no specific spice substitute for ginger; it has a very distinct flavor, but you could try a combo of ground black pepper and nutmeg. I haven’t tested it so I’m not exactly sure. Maybe adding a bit of lemon zest will give a hint of the flavor as well. Sorry I don’t have an exact recommendation for you.
Where can you get mirin.
I order mine from Amazon. Here’s the link to exact one I use. http://amzn.to/1KKp4Ur
If I use skinless boneless chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs, how many do I need & how long should they be in the slow cooker? Judi
They might dry out a bit. I almost never use chicken breasts in the slow cooker but if you’re okay knowing that going into it, sure! I would suggest using a bone in, skin on breast though vs boneless.
I made this last night but unfortunately didn’t quite turn out like the photos, despite not substituting any ingredients. The flavor was ok but the thighs didn’t get crisp like the photos and sauce was very thin. I was expecting it to be a little thicker. Maybe my expectation for results was different?
If you had issues with the chicken or sauce being thin, it sounds like there must have been some extra liquid in the slow cooker. If the chicken isn’t completely thawed, it will add extra liquid through the cooking process. I will even go as far as patting down my chicken with a paper towel before cooking to ensure there isn’t any extra liquid on it. Hopefully this helps in the future.
I made it last night and had the exact same results, the skin didn’t crisp and the sauce was like water. The flavor was great and they crisped up around the edges, but not all over. The thighs were not previously frozen, and I trimmed off excess fat. I don’t know what else I could have done to alter the results, but the flavor was great. Just don’t know if I’d make them again given the watery sauce. I couldn’t plate it with anything else because veggies and rice would just get soaked.
There aren’t enough ingredients in the slow cooker to produce that much liquid. Unfortunately, it sounds like the chicken was pumped with a lot of saline solution. Some packages state up to 15% solution but I know others don’t even state anything 🙁 I’m glad the flavor was still great but that’s the only reason I can think of as to why it was watery.
Love that I can throw this in the slow cooker and go!
Me too! Such a lifesaver for those busy days!!
Hi; I’d like to try this recipe but is there a substitution for Sake? And I have no idea what mirin is.
Help!
Yes, you could substitute Chinese rice wine for the sake. Mirin is just a sweet Japanese rice wine, it has a higher sugar content than sake and will lend a bit of acidity to the dish. If you’re unable to find it, you could substitute a dry sherry instead. Hope this helps 🙂
Sign me up for anything as delish as this in a slow cooker!
You and me both!!
Love this recipe. So easy and perfect for dinner any day of the week.
Thanks!
This looks absolutely incredible! There’s something so magic about that sticky-sweet sauce that’s been allowed to slow simmer all day.
You are so right! Love at first bite!
I see you keep referring to “mirin” but I don’t see that listed as an ingredient in this recipe. Am I missing something?
Yes! Sorry the recipe widget has been super glitchy. I re-entered it 🙂
Thank you~!!
The slow cooker is such a life saver. This chicken looks so amazing – the glaze is lovely!
Thanks Patricia!
This looks outstanding and I LOVE how easy peasy it is!
Looks awesome, reminds me I need to get my slow cooker out more often haha! I literally love teriyaki sauce, tasty 🙂
The slow cooker just makes this so much easier to enjoy at the end of a busy day! I’m not sure my slow cooker ever gets put away, haha!