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Slow Cooker Sesame Chicken - amazing chicken made with San-J Tamari and sesame sauce. Gluten-free and hearty meal for the family.
In cold winter months, I am all about making hearty meals for my family. Nothing warms me up more than a steaming hot dish prepared in my slow cooker, such as this amazing and utterly delicious Asian Sesame Chicken.
There is just something so homey about slow cooker meals. I love it that the kitchen warms up as the food gets cooked. I also love the aroma and mouthwatering smell of food wafting in the air, setting my stomach rumbling as I eagerly await for dinner.
Plus, slow cooker is so convenient as I can potter around in the house, catch up on my TV shows, or read magazines and books when it does its magic.
When it comes to slow cooker recipes, you need a good quantity sauce as much of the flavors of your food will come from the sauce.
For this Asian Sesame Chicken, I used San-J Tamari, which is a premium Japanese soy sauce made with all soybeans, with a richer, smoother taste and naturally brewed. San-J Tamari is made with 100% soy, naturally brewed for up to six (6) months with no wheat.
It’s certified Gluten Free, Vegan, Kosher and Non-GMO Project verified. It’s the only tamari I have in my pantry!
To make the Asian sesame sauce, I mixed San-J Tamari (I used reduced sodium but regular tamari would work just fine) with apple cider vinegar, sugar and sesame oil. I like my chicken pan-fried prior to slow cooking, but you can skip this step.
The recipe is so easy: place the chicken in the slow cooker, add the Asian sesame sauce and let it cook in the slow cooker for 3 hours and dinner is ready.
Despite the simplicity of the recipe, the chicken is fall-off-the-bone tender and deeply flavorful. San-J Tamari infuses the chicken with a wonderful umami flavor, each bite is bursting with flavors. Serve the chicken with rice or noodles and you will have a delicious dinner that your entire family will enjoy.
San-J Tamari can be found at most natural food stores and supermarkets, so stock it up and try out this recipe.
This conversation is sponsored by San-J. The opinions and text are all mine.
Create delicious dishes from Tamari with San-J’s extensive recipe collection, from appetizers to desserts like Lamb Potstickers and Cherry Chocolate Cake with Tamari.
For recipes visit: www.san-j.com/recipes and product details at www.san-j.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is only 404 calories per serving.
What To Serve With Slow Cooker Sesame Chicken
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Slow Cooker Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
- 20 oz (580g) bone-in chicken thighs
- white sesame, for garnishing
- chopped scallions, for garnishing
Sauce:
- 4 tablespoons San-J Reduced Sodium Tamari
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon white sesame
Instructions
- Pan-fry the chicken in a skillet, skin-side down. Cook both sides until they are nicely browned.
- Mix all the ingredients for the Sauce in a small bowl and stir to combine well.
- Arrange the chicken in the slow cooker and pour in the sauce. Turn the heat to high and cook for 3 hours.
- Remove the chicken to a serving platter, garnish with sesame seeds and scallions, and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Is it okay to double up on the sauce if you’re using Chicken breast?
Definitely, you can!
Hi! Could you share what are the portions for the different sauces when you add them together? Thank you!
Yes, the recipe is where the red bar is, GET RECIPE.
Sounds delicious! Can you use boneless chicken thighs? Or does the bone add to the flavour of the recipe?
You can use boneless.
Do you think the cooking time would have to be adjusted for boneless?
Hi, can cook in Philip pressure cooker ?
Thanks!
Hey Bee! Love your recipes, especially your garlic noodles. Already made it twice and still not sick of it!
Quick question – is it alright to cook this in a rice cooker? Cos I don’t have a slow cooker, only an oven / ricecooker.
Help please? :D
Hi Natalie, I think you can but I am not sure. You can also cook it on a pot on low heat on a stove top.
We made this for dinner a couple nights ago and it was amazing.
Hi Meagan, thanks for trying my slow cooker sesame chicken recipe, I know it’s awesome and so delicious. :)
This was wonderful! Even though I did not use the San J Tamari sauce (I used reduced sodium soy sauce), the chicken was super tender and the sauce was fabulous!
Thanks Tina. Next time please try the tamari and it will be even better. :)
This recipe sounds delicious! Two questions – what size slow cooker do you use? And I know you are featuring the tamari, but I’m not a huge fan of it (and I haven’t seen that San-J here in my area of Canada) so I was wondering what a good substitute could be? Thanks!
I used a small slow cooker. You can use San-J Shoyu (regular soy sauce) if you can find the brand.
I made this last night, even though I didn’t have all the ingredients, and it was wonderful. I had to substitute ordinary soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Also, I used a large chicken breast with bone instead of thighs. I braised the chicken first, and then used a basic crock-pot. I just recently gave in and bought a crock-pot and I’m still learning to use it. I’ve found that I can cook beef or pork in it directly, but that – like you – I prefer to pan-fry chicken first, even though it means more pots to wash. Now I understand why people buy the more elaborate fast-slow cookers.
I did have scallions for garnish, and I added some cilantro, which I happened to have. The chicken seemed to be done after a little more than two hours, so I turned it down to low. I let it cook for three hours anyway, since my (brown) rice wasn’t ready yet.
The flavor could not have been better, but I did find that I was very thirsty after I ate, probably because I poured the sauce remaining in the crock-pot over my rice. I’m going to look for the SanJay reduced sodium tamari next time I go shopping.
I have also tried your Coconut Curry Noodle Bowl and Creamy Garlic Chicken, and I appreciate that you really have a knack for presenting recipes that are extremely simple yet foolproof and extremely delicious. Thank you!
Hi Ann, thanks for trying the recipe, I am so happy that you like my recipes. Yes, please get the San-J tamari, you can buy low sodium if you like it as salty.
Lovely recipes! With the right sauces in a slow cooker, the chicken must be to die for. I got to try the Tamari low sodium since I’ve been warned to lower my salt intake.
Totally, reduced sodium is the way to go for healthy reasons. I love it that it’s not overly salty and the taste is deeply flavorful, try this recipe.