Sweet, savory and a little spicy, this easy Asian inspired Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken has a balance of flavor combinations.
Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken
Madison is off from school this week so I’m trying to spend less time working and more time doing family stuff. This is in my slow cooker today so I thought it would be perfect to share here from the archives.
I’m not a fan of sweet foods as a main dish, unless it’s balanced with savory and spicy flavors. In this dish the honey, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and sriracha compliment each other and balance out the sweetness.
I’ve tried a few versions floating around the web, but they were much too sweet for my taste. After a few attempts, I finally found the perfect balance of sweet-savory without adding too much sugar. Rice wine vinegar is naturally sweet, and adds a bit of acid which rounds out the flavors. I served this with more sriracha sauce on the side for extra heat and served it over brown rice.
Usually I set some chicken aside for my toddler when I shred it, before adding it back to the sauce, since her palate is pickier than the rest of ours, and it works out fine. I never cook a separate meal for her, she eats what we eat, just modified at times if I cook something spicy.
For lunch the next day, I made some lettuce wraps with some leftover forbidden rice I had and thoroughly enjoyed eating them with my hands.
And since so many are asking, I have the 6 Quart Hamilton Beach Set ‘n Forget Programmable Slow Cooker (affil link). I love it because you can adjust the time you want it to cook, and it automatically turns to warm when it’s done. It also has a probe for meat that automatically shuts off when done. I hated my old crock pot, it burnt everything and my food had a weird taste. This crock pot is so great, I actually own two!
More Easy Crock Pot Chicken Recipes:
- Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken
- Slow Cooker Harrisa Chicken
- Crock Pot Sesame Honey Chicken
- Slow Cooker Maple Dijon Chicken
- Crock Pot Chicken and Black Bean Taco Salad
Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
- black pepper, to taste
- 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce, tamari for gluten-free
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp sriracha hot chili sauce, or more to taste
- 1 heaping tbsp cornstarch
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 medium scallions, chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Place the chicken in the slow cooker and season with black pepper. In a medium bowl, combine soy sauce, honey, tomato paste, vinegar, garlic, 1 tbsp water, sesame oil, onion powder and sriracha hot chili sauce. Pour over chicken and cook on LOW 3-4 hours.
- Remove chicken, leaving the sauce in the slow cooker. Shred chicken with two forks; set aside.
- In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in remaining 1/4 cup water; add to the slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover and cook on HIGH until slightly thickened, about 15 to 20 minutes; return chicken to the slow cooker and mix well.
- Serve chicken and sauce over rice and top with sesame seeds and chopped scallions for garnish.
Last Step:
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