Dump Meals

Chicken Freezer bag

Teriyaki Chicken

dumpmeals.com/recipes/teriyaki-chicken/

Chicken thighs and carrots in a ginger and garlic teriyaki sauce, thickened at the end. Serve over rice.

Serves
6
Prep
10 minutes
Cook
Low 4 to 6 hours, or high 2 to 3 hours
Slow cooker
4-quart

Bottled teriyaki sauce does most of the work here, with brown sugar, garlic and ground ginger to round it out. Carrots go in with the chicken and become soft and sweet in the sauce. The result is a dinner with meat, a vegetable and a sauce already in one pot.

A little cornstarch at the end turns the thin cooking liquid into a glossy sauce. Serve it over hot rice, and add steamed broccoli or green beans if you want more green on the plate. Check the label on your bottled sauce, as brands differ in saltiness and sweetness. Taste, then add a splash of water if it seems strong.

The carrots are there so the dish comes with a vegetable. Swap in sliced celery or a cup of frozen broccoli added at the end if you prefer. Spoon any extra sauce over the rice so nothing is wasted.

Ingredients

Into the slow cooker

  • 2½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • ¾ cup teriyaki sauce
  • ½ cup chicken broth
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 3 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick

Near the end

  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons water

To serve

  • hot cooked rice, for serving

Directions

  1. If your meat is frozen, thaw it completely in the refrigerator first. Never put frozen meat in the slow cooker.
  2. Put the carrots in the bottom of a 4-quart slow cooker. Lay the chicken on top.
  3. Stir the teriyaki sauce, broth, brown sugar, garlic and ginger together. Pour over the chicken. The liquid should come most of the way up the meat. If it doesn't, add a little more broth.
  4. Cover. Cook on low 4 to 6 hours or on high 2 to 3 hours.
  5. Check the chicken with a food thermometer. It should read at least 165°F.
  6. Stir the cornstarch and cold water together. Stir into the pot. Cook with the lid on, on high, for 15 minutes.
  7. Serve over hot rice.

It's done when the chicken reads at least 165°F in the thickest piece, the carrots are tender when pierced with a fork, and the sauce has thickened. Check with a food thermometer.

Leftovers go in the refrigerator within two hours. Reheat them on the stove or in the microwave until hot all the way through (165°F), not in the slow cooker. Slow cooker safety

Make it a freezer dump bag

Put the chicken, teriyaki sauce, broth, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and sliced carrots in one gallon freezer bag. Mix the cornstarch and water on cook day. Squeeze out the air, seal, label and freeze flat.

Bag: gallon freezer bag. Keeps: 3 months for best quality; safe indefinitely at 0°F in the freezer.

Teriyaki Chicken

Frozen on:

Thaw in the refrigerator 24 hours, until no ice is left in the middle. Never cook it from frozen, and cook it within 2 days of thawing. Dump into a 4-quart slow cooker. Cook on low 4 to 6 hours. Check with a food thermometer that the chicken reads 165°F in the thickest piece. Stir 1 tablespoon cornstarch into 2 tablespoons cold water, stir it in, and cook on high 15 minutes more.

Best within 3 months of the date above.

Plan several bags at once with one shopping list and printable labels.

The planner prints this label free. A designed set for all 17 freezer recipes, plus blanks, is in the Freezer Bag Labels pack ($7).

This recipe is one of the ten in The Freezer Session ($12): ten dump bags, one shopping trip, one afternoon.

Cooking for two

Use 1.25 lb chicken, 6 tbsp teriyaki sauce, 1/4 cup broth, 1.5 tbsp brown sugar, 1 or 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 tsp ginger and 1 or 2 carrots. Use a 2-quart slow cooker, so the food still fills it about halfway. Start checking at 3 hours on low. Thicken with 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch stirred into 1 tablespoon cold water.

More in Cooking for two in a slow cooker.

Tips

  • Put the carrots on the bottom. They cook slower than the chicken.
  • Slice the chicken across the pot with a spoon edge if you prefer pieces to shreds.
  • Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours, in shallow covered containers. Reheat them on the stove or in the microwave until they reach 165°F. Do not reheat them in the slow cooker.

Food-safety sources

More chicken

  • Salsa Chicken Low 5 to 7 hours, or high 3 to 4 hours Freezer bag Chicken thighs, salsa, beans and corn in one pot. Shred and serve in tortillas, over rice or on its own.
  • Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs Low 4 to 6 hours, or high 2 to 3 hours Freezer bag Boneless chicken thighs in a sweet, salty honey and garlic sauce, thickened at the end and served over rice.
  • Chicken Tortilla Soup Low 3 to 5 hours, or high 1½ to 2½ hours Freezer bag Chicken breasts, beans, corn and tomatoes with green chiles in a cumin-spiced broth. Top with crisp tortilla strips.
  • White Chicken Chili Low 3 to 5 hours, or high 1½ to 2½ hours Freezer bag Chicken and white beans simmered with green chiles and cumin, then finished with cream cheese for a creamy broth.