Bursting with Asian type flavor, this low-fat crock pot recipe is a great start a low-fat diet. An easy to make recipe that uses pantry staples.
This is the start of a few changes on recipe choices for this site. My Internist is requesting a 40-gram low-fat diet. I try to be a compliant patient. So on to better food choices.
Based on an Allrecipe.com chicken thigh recipe. Switch out the thighs for skinless breast and decrease the honey some and increase the garlic (a wife must do).
Rating
A solid 4.
Notes: Serve with rice and use the sauce as gravy. There is enough “sauce to cook more meat. Perhaps twice as much but you may want to keep it the same for more sauce for rice during serving. Oriental veggies would go great with this. Next time I put them in the cooker the last hour or so.
Just pantry staples you already have.
Start with 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of skinless boneless chicken breast cut into 4-6 pieces.
Combine 1/2 cup of ketchup, 1/4-1/2 cup soy sauce (low sodium preferred), 1/4 cup honey, four cloves crushed garlic and one teaspoon basil. Whisk together. If you are not a big fan of soy sauce then cut the amount of soy sauce in half.
Spread the chicken across the bottom of a slow cooker. Add the sauce. This is a 3 1/2 qt, but big should be ok especially if cooking a larger amount.
Cook on low for 4 hours.
Serve with rice and use the sauce as gravy.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 4 | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 240 minutes |
|
|
| Bursting with Asian type flavor, this low-fat crock pot recipe is a great start a low-fat diet. An easy to make recipe that uses pantry staples.
|
- 1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breasts cut into 4-6 pieces
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/4-1/2 cup soy sauce low sodium preferred
- 1/4 cup honey
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 teaspoon basil
- Start with 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of skinless boneless chicken breast cut into 4-6 pieces.
- Combine 1/2 cup of ketchup, 1/4-1/2 cup soy sauce (low sodium preferred), 1/4 cup honey, four cloves crushed garlic and one teaspoon basil. Whisk together. If you're not a big fan of soy sauce then cut the amount of soy sauce in half.
- Spread the chicken across the bottom of a slow cooker. Add the sauce. This is a 3 1/2 qt, but big should be ok especially if cooking a larger amount.
- Cook on low for 4 hours.
- Serve with rice and veggies.
Several want the liquid thicker at the end of cooking. You can thicken it some with cornstarch. Try one tablespoon cornstarch in two tablespoons of cool water mix well then add to the liquid in the pot about 30 minutes before completing and turn up to high. When you mix it in either take the chicken out briefly to get all the liquid treated or move the chicken to the side and mix well. And don't forget to go to high for the last 30 minutes or so.
With regular soy sauce, the salt is on the high end. I prefer low sodium soy sauce now for this recipe.
This a bit heavy on the soy sauce and some will not like it. Cut in half if you have doubts.
________________________________
All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
If you like this recipe or find it useful, the pleasure of a nice 4 or 5 rating would be greatly appreciated. Rating is done by clicking on the stars above.
Last Updated
September 10, 2016
Hi All, I’m DrDan and welcome to 101 Cooking for Two. We present some of the best recipes with easy to follow step by step photo instructions to make your everyday cooking needs easier.
Barbara
Tried this recipe today. It was easy to make, delious and easy to clean up! Thank you!
DrDan
Thanks for the note and rating.
DrDan
Denise
Is there something I can put in to make it less salty?
DrDan
The salt is mostly the soy sauce and some from the ketchup. So use low sodium versions of both. Cut back both be 25% and make it up with water or chicken broth. Also adding frozen veggies near the end will spread it out some.
Becky
Dan, do you think this will freeze well if a big batch is made at once? Thanks, looks great!
DrDan
It should freeze well.
DrDan
Jan
Lovely Friday night supper with family, doubled the ingredience, added half glass of white wine, tsp chinese five spice in place of basil and red onion to add natural sweetness, result – a tasty meal which I will do again. Oh, as no slow cooker, seared the chicken, mixed everything together and let the whole lot marinate for a couple of hours then cooked for 1hr in oven @ 150 degrees. Perfect. A great basic recipe that you can experiment with and change to your own tastes.
Jess
I think you just made a new recipe. LOL
Mary D
I made this last night. It was good, but the sauce didn’t get thicker as I’d hoped.
susie Cop
just made it for dinner tonight also the sauce was not thick like the picture.
Nichole
Was your chicken totally defrosted?
Megann
Glad I have come across your cooking blog! I whipped this up at lunch and it is in the slow cooker for supper tonight! Cannot wait to try many of your recipes!
Megann
This turned out very good! next time I might tone back the garlic a smidge just for our tastes, but if you are a garlic lover definitely put all 4 cloves in!
DrDan
My wife is a garlic hound so it was just enough for her.
Thanks for the note and rating.
DrDan
Taylor
I am the worst cook, while my husband use to be a chef. So he does most of the cooking around here, but I decided to try my hand at something simple. This was SO easy and SO good. Thanks for sharing!
Chris Dryman
Do you have nutritional information for this recipe?
DrDan
I don’t do nutritional estimates on most recipes like this since there are to many variables. Occasionally I will on a baked product.
Try running it through this site. http://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
DrDan
Christina Dryman
Thanks so much! Lilly and Molly are gorgeous by the way ;)
Dave
This was soooo good, here is the changes and additions I made. Cut a sweet onion in half then diced, 2 stalks of celery, diced, 1/2 of a red pepper, diced, put these in the bottom of the crock pot. Took the frozen chicken breasts out of the freezer, weighed out 2 lbs while my skillet was heating the 2 Tbls of oil, then seared the chicken, after they were seared cut up into bite size pieces, added to crock pot.
Poured the liquid over the top, I left out the garlic and basil because I used 14.5 oz of can of tomatoes, diced with garlic, oregano & basil, which I added to the crock pot. I also added a 4 oz can of diced green chilies. Then for a veggie I added a cup of frozen corn.
Added 1 cup of chicken broth, 1/3 cup of long grain rice ( long grain rice will not clump up like white rice does when cooking in a crock pot) added a 2 tsp of pepper. Set the crock pot on low for 8 hours.
Seems I always have to add something to the recipes I find online, just me I guess. Sorry.
DrDan
Hi Dave, Thanks so much for the suggestions. Recipes are only guidelines and should always be modified to taste.
Thanks again for the note and rating
Dan
UPDATE: Dave has contacted me and believes the rice didn’t cook well and suggests cooking the rice separately.
Mary Ann
Hi DrDan!
This sounds delicious! I don’t typically have hot sauce on hand, but I do have red pepper flakes & ground cayenne. Do you think a substitution of some kind would work? I’m afraid I’m a real novice when it comes to substitution.
Thanks so much!
Mary Ann
DrDan
Hi Mary Ann, I think you miss read something, there is no hot sauce. I generally use cayenne or red pepper flakes if I want a little heat. I have a bottle of hot sauce but I’m not the biggest fan of the taste and don’t think I have published a recipe with it…
DrDan
Mary Ann
Oh my heavens! Apparently I looked at the ingredients askance, and mixed honey and soy sauce to get hot sauce! Oops! Thank you for being so nice about it. ? I’m definitely making this for dinner tonight. My internist has given me some instructions, too! Thanks again!
Scott
My crock pot has a setting for 4hrs and 6hrs (also 8/10). Can I use the 6hr setting in lieu of 4? Looking forward to seeing how this comes out.
DrDan
Nope, I wouldn’t do that. The 4 hours was really the max on this recipe.
DrDan
Rachel
Scott, my crock pot has the same settings, I believe. However, the two longer settings are “low” while the two shorter settings are “high”. You may want to double check you aren’t accidentally putting it on high for 4 hours. Just a thought. :-)
scott
thanks rachel…made the dish last night on 4hrs and it came out perfect. nice dish. now in our rotation.
Cerwyn
I only have traditional soy sauce not reduced sodium what should I do to make sure this isn’t a salt bomb? Yes, I will switch over to low sodium but I must’ve picked the wrong bottle and I won’t waste it. 😁
Also is this ok with bone in thighs?
DrDan
Hi Cerwyn,
First the soy sauce, cut it in half or it will be way salty with this recipe. Just sub in water for the volume.
The bone in thighs would be fine. I would take off the skin.
Dan
Nancy
Thanks, the chicken was tender and had a nice flavor. My husband said, let’s have it again, and soon!
Jeph
Made mine more Canadian by adding only half of the honey called for and replacing the rest with maple syrup. Delicious.
DrDan
I can see that…
Thanks for the note.
DrDan
Caitlin
I am making this now, and it smells delicious, but I would hardly call this recipe a healthy food choice given the amount of sodium and sugar. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of trying to cut fat? I personally will be draining off most of the sauce before serving it to myself and my children to try to reduce that.
Megan Highfill
I made my own ketchup to reduce sugar and sodium, used “lite” soy sauce, and raw honey (which is really good for you). One serving ended up: Calories-329, Fat-8.4 g, Fiber-3.4 g, Carbs-26.9 g, Sodium-4,465 mg, Protein-40 g (I used a pound of chicken divided into 3 servings, but the rest of the recipe I left the same). You are so right, the sodium is crazy, even with the “lite” sauce, but I still think it’s okay as long as it’s not a daily occurrence. Given the low calories and the high good fat, I consider this a win.
Xiomara
Can I make this without honey?
DrDan
Honey is the main flavor. So leaving it out would be a big change… It would cook ok but taste change unknown. So probably not recommended.
DrDan
Dandy Sandy
Hi DrDan!
I appreciate your idea of not cooking from a can and “fresh” is best. My husband and I are vegetarians and we have a standing goal of becoming vegan. I have printed several of your recipes and look forward to modifying them slightly by substituting tempeh or tofu for the meats. What brought me to your site…your “Easy General Tso Chicken”. I’ve been having a hankering for the sauce and look forward to using your recipe! Thank you for creating “101cookingfortwo.com”.
DrDan
Welcome to the site.
Thanks for the note. You’re right that I try to avoid things like cans of soup or packages of unknown things.
You’ll like the sauce but it is a little sweet and I like it better with the brown sugar cut back a little.
DrDan
Dandy Sandy
Thanks for the tip! I’ll post my results as I try your recipes. :)
Alfin
Great stuff
Alfin
This has made my day
Amy
Googled “slow cooker chicken breast” for cook time and found this recipe. I didn’t expect it to be good at all. But I ate the whole thing by myself at once. (3 chicken breasts.) Whoops!
DrDan
Hi Amy,
I’m working some variations of this. I just hope they do as well.
Thanks for the note…. you ate all three????
DrDan
Michelle
I googled same thing
Michelle
I googled slow cooked chicken breast too. This was delicious. I added some Chinese and white wine as someone else suggested (in place of the basil). I needed to add cornflour to make it thicker and could have added more. Next time I’ll probably remove the juice and reduce it on the stovetop. I didn’t have low salt soy and noticed the saltiness but it wasn’t bad. Definitely a great recipe.
DrDan
Thanks for the note. It is a good basic start. Like all recipes, they are just guidelines to get where you want to go.
DrDan
Theidahopotato
This recipe has real potential, but I made it as is and my husband and I didn’t love it. I think the real problem was the basil; it just added a very strange flavor. However, my two year old and ten month old loved it and chowed down. I’ll make it again, omitting the basil and adding a splash of rice vinegar or a squeeze of lime. Then I’ll top the adult portions with a bit of siracha!
Dandy Sandy
This recipe is delicious! I substituted 2 planks of Tempeh for the chicken. I cut Tempeh in halves then sliced lengthwise to make patties. Soooo goooood! Will make again!
Stephanie
I made this tonight! I put on slow for close to 8 hours and it was delicious! I only added a dash of lemon juice and a little less basil. So good!
Stephanie
Yummy!! So good!
Joe Ferriero
Hi Dr Dan, just made it for 1st time . Its great but wish the sauce was thicker. Any suggestions?
DrDan
Hi Joe, You can thicken it some with corn starch. Try 1 tablespoon corn starch in 2 tablespoons of cool water mix well then add to the liquid in the pot about 30 minutes before completing and turn up to high. When you mix it in either take the chicken out briefly to get all the liquid treated or move the chicken to the side and mix well. And don’t forget to go to high for the last 30 minutes or so.
DrDan
Skyla Ellis
This was good but I think unused to much garlic & honey! It was too much taste and a little too sweet.
But I’m glad I tried. Thanks for the recipe!
Dawn
I only have 8 and 10 low or 4 or 6 high. Was yours 4 low? If so guess, I will just do 8 n then check it at 4. Will rate when we try tonight. Thanks! Looks great. I use my crock pot often and am always looking for new stuff.
DrDan
4 hours on low is enough. So start on 8 low and check at 4 hours and pull the plug.
DrDan
Andrea
Can I mix everything together and let it set in the fridge overnight before tossing it all in the crockpot?
Racquel
Really amazing recipe! Easy to make, nutritious and easy to clean up. The flavor is wonderful – unique and robust. If I change anything next time, I will half the amount of soy sauce because it was a tad salty.
DrDan
Hi Racquel
I do agree that the sodium was at the high end. I would do low sodium soy sauce in the future.
Thanks for the note and rating.
DrDan
Mike
Great and easy! I added broccoli after everything was cooked. Over rice or was great!
DrDan
Thanks for the note
DrDan
Ray
Just bought my first ever crock pot and this was my first ever dish! So delicious and easy, I am hooked. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe!!
Ashley
Definitely use low sodium! I used regular soy sauce and it is terribly salty for my taste :/ i think im going to have to whip up something else for dinner tonight.
anna
I’m not very good with season I vs, but learning. If you don’t have basil, what can be substituted instead?
DrDan
With this recipe, I would just leave it out… there is lots of other flavor.
DrDan
Lindsay
This recipe bursts with flavor! My entire family LOVED it! The only substitution that I made was Braggs liquid aminos vs soy sauce. Thank you!
Rich
Made this and it was great. Second time I substituted BBQ sauce and a shot of dijon mustard for the ketchup. Came out great both ways. Also seered the breasts before putting into crock to give it a bit of a crusty outer.
pat
Even low sodium soy sauce is really too salty, I have only found 1 in the mid 400s and that is the Sprouts brand. Walden Farms makes an asian salad dressing which I am going to try as a marinade on my wings salt content on that dressing is in the mid 200s–>WYI I am a nurse and I teach pt’s low sodium diet as well as low fat
Gigi
I made this yesterday. It was very easy! I doubled the entire recipe. I wound up cooking it on low for 3 hrs (it seemed done by then) and then adding 4 tablespoons full of cornstarch mixed in a little cold water and turned it to high for another 30 minutes. I also towards the end added a few grinds of pepper and 1 tablespoon full of sesame oil. The sesame oil made all the difference. My whole family liked it – even my son who is the pickiest eater in the world. Will definitely make this again. Thanks!
Lynn
I tried this recipe today, and while I followed the instructions exactly, the chicken breast pieces came out very dry. Any suggestions?
Thanks
DrDan
If you’re getting that then the chicken is over cooking. Your pot might run a bit hot. Cut down the time to 3 hours.
DrDan
Marzena
I only added fresh grated ginger, delicious !!!!
Tara
Can I use bar b q in place of ketchup. I don’t have ketchup.,,what do you think I could sub this with..?t
DrDan
That would change the taste some. I’m not sure I like the idea.
DrDan
GetSirius
How about pouring in a little bourbon? Think I’ll give it try
Kat
Just tried this recipe. It’s so delicious!! Turned out perfect. I didn’t have corn starch so I used coconut flour to thicken the sauce. Will definitely be one of my go-to recipes. Thank you.
Tara
Made this tonight and it was good. 4 hours was plenty. I did add the cornstarch to thicken.
Kathleen
I made this recipe this afternoon, and I”ll update this post with how it comes out. I found the sauce to be thick (like a custard or pudding) before cooking. We’ll see how it is cooked. I added 1/2 tsp. onion powder and black pepper. What recipe doesn’t use black pepper?! It smells delicious, so I’m anxious to try it.
Kathleen
Update: It came out wonderfully! I transferred the sauce to a saucepan on the stove, and added a corn starch slurry to thicken it up. It was wonderful. Juicy chicken, great flavor. I think I’ll add real onions to it next time rather than the onion powder. Maybe some red pepper flakes as well to cut the honey.
Wonderful recipe!
Lew Lorton
Easy to make, followed the recipe to the letter (although the note that says remewmber to turn up to high for the last 30 minutes was confusing because it wasn’t clear that it was for the thickening note or for the entire origianl recipe.
Unfortunately this tasted terrible both to me and my wife. We both suffered through a bit, then I tossed it all. Use fesh ingredients and was scrupulous amount measurements but nothing.
I have no idea where I or the recipe went wrong.
DrDan
So sorry it didn’t work for you.
I would have suggestions but have no idea what when wrong for you. I’m looking at the wording for the last 30 minutes but really no matter what you did at that point, it did not cause the taste disaster you suffered.
Dan
Marissa
I was surprised at how easy and absolutely delicious this recipe is! I served this with jasmine rice and broccoli slaw for a little more asian flare. I will definitely be making this dish again when I am craving this flavor. P.S. I did not thicken the sauce at the end. I liked the consistency as is. Thanks for this recipe.
DrDan
Thanks for the note. I have only thickened once as a test of concept for the many requests. I like the way the thinner sauce soaks into the rice. But some people want more of a “gravy”.
Megan Highfill
This is really good! I made my own ketchup to cut down on sugar and sodium (and I think it tastes better). Next time, I would cut the soy sauce in half, add sriracha, and maybe compensate for the liquid with some chicken broth. But it’s perfectly good as it is, too. I used 1 pound of chicken breast, cut into 4 pieces, cooked on low for 2.5 hours. My slow cooker runs hot. Also, I shredded the chicken 5 min. before serving. I don’t love chicken breast, so this infused the sauce into the breast even more. Thanks for the recipe!
Jenn
If the sauce is still runny maybe try pouring it into a sauce pan and bringing it to a boil and maybe doing a cornstarch slurry to thicken it up some
JoJo
Has anyone attempted this recipe without the basil ? My kids don’t really care for it. And if so , any recommended substitutions for it would be greatly appreciated. About to attempt this for dinner tonight along with some home made fried rice . Fingers crossed!
DrDan
Hi JoJo,
Just leave it out.
DrDan
Max
I am trying near to recipe with a bit less soy sauce, a bit more ketchup and honey (using more chicken) and fresh basil leaves. We’ll see but I expect it to be pretty darn good.
BTW some of the “adjustments” involve a completely new recipe – pretty funny to read!
Leona Ferranti
You are so right about changing the whole recipe lol
wendy
Can you do this with frozen chicken breasts?
DrDan
Hi Wendy, Per the USDA ( https://www.fsis.usda.gov/shared/PDF/Slow_Cookers_and_Food_Safety.pdf) it is not safe.
DrDan
Jack
I tried this recipe, it was terrible, no one would eat it. There’s too much soya sauce.
heather
I’ve had my chicken in for two hours on low and its definitely done! Anyone else have this issue..I’m thinking because I got thin sliced chicken breast.
Sharon
This was not a good recipe to me . The basil was very offsetting .weird flavour.
Debra154
Am I the only one who noticed that the recipe never says to add the sauce to the pot?
DrDan
You’re the first. Maybe the picture covered it but I will add the wording.
Dan
David
If I want double. The chicken should I double everything?
DrDan
I probably would. It will cook ok without doubling but the flavor will dilute some and there will less liquid to top the rice with at the end. You get some water out of the chicken during the cooking so the liquid at the end would be weaker. At least increase it some if you don’t do double. Please note the comment about the soy sauce in the recipe box.
Lisa Hymas
Fabulous!! I needed a crock pot recipe in 15 min. Did a quick search, saw this, threw it together. I used 4 frozen chicken breasts on low for about 5 hours. I sliced the breasts into 1 inch cubes when done cooking and mixed them back into the sauce. The chicken was so tender! We served with rice and some veggies on the side. GREAT FIND! My kids all loved it too.
DrDan
Thanks for the note. Glad it worked so well for you.
Dan