Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken and Broccoli

Chicken and broccoli cooked in a savory sauce inside a slow cooker, with a wooden spoon stirring the mixture.

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken and Broccoli

If you’re looking for slow cooker teriyaki chicken that’s truly dump-and-go, made with a simple homemade sauce (and not overloaded with sugar), you’re in the right place. Everything goes straight into the slow cooker, broccoli gets added at the end, and dinner basically handles itself.

Course dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American, Asian

Diet Gluten Free

Keyword slow cooker teriyaki chicken

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 3 15

Total Time 3 25

Servings servings

Calories 259

Author Robyn Conley Downs

Equipment

Slow Cooker

Ingredients

⅓ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce (or tamari)
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
4 tablespoons packed brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts)

To Add at the End

3 cups broccoli florets

Bang Bang Yogurt Sauce (Optional)

4 tablespoons plain low-fat Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
2 teaspoons sweet chili sauce
½-1 teaspoon sriracha (optional, to taste)

Instructions

Add To Slow Cooker: In the base of a 5-6 quart slow cooker, whisk together the soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, and garlic. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch with 2 teaspoons of water until smooth. Add to the slow cooker, stirring to combine. Add the chicken, tossing to coat evenly in the sauce.
Cook Until Tender: Cover and cook on high for 2½–3 hours, or low for 3-5 hours, until the chicken is tender and cooked through. Note: Cook time will depend on thighs vs. breasts and how hot your slow cooker is, but this is a good range to start with.
Add the Broccoli: When the chicken is cooked, uncover and remove the chicken to a cutting board. Switch the slow cooker to high (if not already), and add the broccoli, tossing to coat in the sauce. Cover and cook on high for 10-20 minutes, or until the broccoli is cooked to your liking.
Optional - Make the Sauce: While the broccoli is cooking, whisk the yogurt, mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, and sriracha together until smooth.
Make the Bowls: Shred, slice, or dice the chicken. At this point you can add the chicken back to the slow cooker to warm back trough, toss with the sauce and broccoli, and serve. Or you can serve the chicken with the broccoli on the side and the extra sauce from the slow cooker drizzled over the top. In either case, drizzle generously with the Bang Bang sauce and serve with rice if that’s your thing.

Notes

Optional Serving Suggestions: Cooked rice and sliced green onion.
Bang Bang Sauce: Is completely optional, but I highly recommend it for extra flavor and to really bring everything together. You can use all mayo if you want to skip the yogurt (df friends, take note), or go all yogurt. It all works!
GF: Be sure to use gluten-free tamari.
Broccoli: Cook time will depend a lot on how hot your slow cooker is when the broccoli goes in. If you want to speed things up a bit you can always steam the broccoli a bit in the microwave or stovetop, drain, then toss in with the sauce. Defeats the "one-pot" aspect, but makes the final step faster, so it's up to you!

Nutrition