I don’t think I’ll ever tire of this Paleo + Whole30 slow cooker teriyaki chicken! It is an easy weeknight dinner or meal prep recipe. This healthy teriyaki chicken recipe is sure to be a new favorite and something you add to you regular rotation as an easy dinner the whole family loves!
Keeping It Whole30
If you have ever made a traditional teriyaki sauce or marinade at home then you know it not only includes soy, but also loads of sugar! Yikes! So…to make our slow cooker teriyaki chicken Whole30 compliant and healthier, we used coconut aminos (which naturally has a hint of sweetness to it and replaces the soy sauce) and dates. Our teriyaki sauce tastes authentic while keeping it clean. Also, when you go to turn this into a bowl meal, make sure to use cauliflower rice for Whole30.
Slow Cooker Or Instant Pot
We have made this slow cooker teriyaki chicken in both our Crockpot and Instant Pot, and we provide instructions for cooking in either of these handy kitchen devices. It’s really just a matter of how much time you have and whichever option you have on hand. Either way, you’re going to love the saucy goodness and how much the chicken soaks up the sauce and retains the flavors.
Optional Sauce Thickener
Once your Crockpot or Instant Pot is finished cooking the chicken, and if you prefer a thick sauce to drizzle over everything, you can add the sauce from the Crockpot or Instant Pot to a sauce pan and thicken it up with a mixture of tapioca starch and water. Heat the sauce on medium-high until it just begins to bubble, then turn down and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. You’ll have a thick and gooey sauce to spoon over your chicken and veggies or bowl – because you know we turn this into a bowl meal! Duh.
Some Other Slow Cooker + Instant Pot Recipes To Try
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- INSTANT POT CARNITAS
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- CROCKPOT MAPLE CHIPOTLE CHICKEN STUFFED SWEET POTATOES
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- INSTANT POT PORK CHOPS
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- INSTANT POT HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN
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- CROCKPOT CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP
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- INSTANT POT WHOLE30 PULLED PORK
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- SLOW COOKER PALEO GUMBO
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- INSTANT POT SPAGHETTI + MEATBALLS
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- INSTANT POT CHICKEN CURRY
Your Turn To Try Our Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken
Whether you need an easy weeknight meal or just want to meal prep some food over the weekend, make this slow cooker teriyaki chicken! If you’re like us, it will become part of your regular rotation! Leave a comment below to let us know how it goes, and take a photo to share on Instagram. Tag us @realsimplegood. Make sure to give us a follow, so we can stay connected!
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Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken (Paleo + Whole30)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless chicken thighs
For the teriyaki sauce:
- 3/4 cup coconut aminos, (see recipe notes)
- 4 pitted dates, soaked for 10-15 minutes in warm water to soften then drained
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp fresh ginger, grated on a microplane
- 2 tsp garlic powder
For serving:
- White or cauli rice, (cauli rice for Whole30)
- Mixed greens
- Sesame seeds
- Green onion, diced
Optional (to thicken sauce):
- 1 tsp tapioca starch
- 1 tbsp water
Equipment
Instructions
For the slow cooker:
- Place all of the sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor and run continuously to combine all the ingredients until smooth. Stop to scrape sides down as needed and restart.
- Place chicken thighs in the slow cooker and pour the teriyaki sauce over the chicken.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours.
For the Instant Pot:
- Make teriyaki sauce as noted above.
- Place chicken thighs in the Instant Pot and pour the teriyaki sauce over the chicken.
- Secure the lid on the instant pot and close the pressure valve. Press the "manual" button (or "pressure cook" button) and set the time to cook for 20 minutes at high pressure. Once the time is up, quick release the pressure.
- While the chicken is cooking, prepare cauli or white rice for serving.
- Once the chicken is finished cooking, shred it with 2 forks inside the slow cooker or Instant Pot. Mix the shredded chicken with the cooking juices. Spoon some of the remaining teriyaki sauce over the chicken when serving.
- Serve and sprinkle with chopped green onions and sesame seeds.
Optional (to thicken sauce):
- If you want a thicker teriyaki sauce for serving perform the following steps after shredding the chicken.
- Remove shredded chicken from the crockpot or instant pot with a slotted spoon. Pour remaining sauce into a small saucepan.
- Mix tapioca starch into the water until it dissolves. Pour this into the saucepan and mix.
- Heat on medium-high until it just begins to bubble, then turn down and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Spoon sauce over chicken for serving.
Notes
- If you don't have any coconut aminos on hand, you can make your own using our DIY coconut aminos substitute recipe.
Thank you for creating a date sweetened teriyaki sauce! Did you use Medjool or Deglet Noor dates for this sauce and approximately how many grams of dates did you use? The size of dates can vary greatly. Finally, may I substitute low sodium tamari for the coconut aminos if I do not need the dish to be soy free? Thank you in advance.
We used medjool dates that were about the size of a small walnut. Yes, you can sub tamari if desired. Enjoy!
Does anyone know what containers 1 serving would be while following 21 day Fix?
Looking at the recipe I would assume that a protein cup would be one yellow portion and the sauce would be counted as a dressing/orange container for the day. Just eliminate the container since it would already be mixed in. I looked at the calories for the sauce ingredients and they are not high calorie items, except the dates but there are only four dates in the entire sauce. Dates also have fiber. So, that is how I would calculate it. Hope this helps!!
Any ideas to replace the dates? We don’t have any on hand! Thanks 🙂
Any other sweetener would work – honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar. 1-2 tbsp depending on your desired sweetness.
Thanks! To keep it W30, I ended up soaking some raisins and using those in place of the dates and it seemed to work out really well!
I never thought to use raisins, but that’s perfect for W30 🙂
How many raisins did you use to substitute?
DELICIOUS! I was a little skeptical but it was amazing!
My daughter serves this over rice ramen noodles. I made it last week, although I mad 1/4 of the recipe and it turned out great. Definitely a repeater.
We’re so glad to hear it! Thanks so much for coming back to share! 🙂
Holy cow, this is amazing! It does have a sweet note to it, so I’d recommend serving it with cauliflower rice or over tator tots. It’s also a great dish to serve a crowd (we throw it in the crock pot at the lake and it’s a huge hit!)
This recipe is my picky 8 year old daughter’s favorite thing ever. My go-to for guests and always a hit.
That’s great to hear! Glad everyone enjoys this one :).
great receipe, kid friendly too! Delicious!
Our family loves this!
Quick, delicious and versatile!
We made the chicken in the instant pot and it turned out great!
It made enough for us to eat this with rice one day and wrap up in a hot tortilla the next (we added greens and some other fillers to TJ’s grain tortillas).
Great recipe!
Also wanted to quickly note that we didn’t have any problem with making the sauce with our vitamix blender 🙂
Yum! Love the versatility of this one and how you chose to make it a little different each meal! Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
Delicious! I added broccoli to the slow cooker during the last 15 min and served it over cauliflower rice. Husband and toddler loved it too. Will definitely make it again!
The broccoli sounds like a good addition, so glad you all enjoyed the recipe :).
Planning on making this tonight…if I only make half of the sauce recipe with 1 lb of chicken in instant pot, do you think it’ll “burn”? I seem to get that error message a lot when using the IP, even when I have enough liquid. Any tips?
You need to have at least 1 cup of liquid for the IP to pressurize. Try to make sure to add the liquid in first, that can help prevent the burn message. I hope this helps.
I made this today. It’s delicious and easy!
Delish!
So glad you liked it Rebecca!
This is delicious! I used my IP and doubled it without any problems. My only advice for anyone else – DO NOT USE YOUR FOOD PROCESSOR FOR THE MARINADE! It was an exploding disaster alllll over my kitchen. I finished the sauce in the blender instead. ha, ha!! Otherwise, truly, this is a delicious recipe. Definitely a keeper! Thanks for the crockpot and IP instructions!
Glad you enjoyed it Christina!
Tried this tonight and it has a good flavor but seemed very salty. I used Braggs Liquid Aminos. Is that why?
Yes, that’s why. Braggs aminos are not coconut aminos. They are made from soybeans and tend to be much saltier than coconut aminos, which are just coconut nectar.
Thank you for responding! I’ll try it again with the right ingredients!
This is one of our faves. It’s sooo good and so delicious! We’ve tried countless paleo teriyaki chicken recipes and hands down, this one is the best!
Aaaw yay! We’re so glad you enjoy this one! My mom is from Hawaii, so creating a teriyaki chicken recipe that stands up to traditional teriyaki was a must! Happy to hear you like it! 🙂
Trying this recipe for the first time tonight! I hope it goes well because I’m a newbie with using an instant pot and the first time I tried my hand with the pot, it burnt on the bottom. If you have any suggestions about instant pot use, I’d love them!!
The key with the IP is having enough liquid in the bottom so it can steam and pressurize. You should be all set with this recipe! Hope you enjoy it!
We make this all the time – definitely my favorite recipe when doing Whole 30. I like to stir fry the cauli rice with crushed garlic and toasted sesame oil – it gives the rice a nice color and compliments the chicken. Also, thickening the sauce is a must. Sometimes I double the sauce because it’s so good! Can’t thank you enough for sharing and thought I’d finally put up a comment since I gontonthisnpage so often!
Haha! Aaaw yay! Thanks so much for coming back to share! We are SO happy to hear this is a favorite one you repeat and enjoy! That cauli rice with the sesame oil and crushed garlic sounds extra delish. Doing that next time! Thanks again! 🙂
This is so good ty for sharing. So simple to make
Yes, this is one of our favorites too!