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Slow cooker General Tso’s chicken is a super easy version of everyone’s favorite Chinese entree! Crispy chicken cooked in a sweet and savory sauce with a little added heat. This is way better than takeout!
Asian-inspired recipes work great in the slow cooker. It results in tender meat but also gives time for the meat to soak up the flavorful sauces. Make this slow cooker cashew chicken, my Mongolian beef, or this Kung Pao chicken. The flavors just explode because of the long slow simmer.
General Tso’s Chicken
We love Asian-inspired meals at our house, and this slow-cooker version of General Tso’s chicken is a must! Even better, it’s easy to put together and the slow cooker does all the work. The chicken is crispy on the outside but tender on the inside thanks to the magic of the slow cooker. The sauce slowly cooks and absorbs into the crispy chicken perfectly. I love being able to make better-than-takeout recipes right at home! If you make this for your family I promise that everyone will devour it!
The rich and dark sauce in this meal is incredible. It is sweet and savory with just a little bit of heat. I always have to hold out the red pepper flakes until the end just for my kiddos, but it has such incredible flavor. Make this meal complete by serving the chicken and sauce over rice. I also love to serve it with vegetable stirfry and a side of these easy cream cheese wontons. I know this is a meal that your family will love and you’ll want to make it again and again.
Ingredients For the Best General Tso’s Chicken
Simple ingredients that combine to create magic in the slow cooker. You are going to love this easy way of making your favorite Asian-inspired meals. Follow the recipe card below for exact measurements.
- Chicken Breasts: Skinless boneless chicken cut into one-inch cubes.
- Cornstarch: This will create that crispy outside.
- Vegetable Oil: To fry the chicken before slow cooking.
- Hoisin Sauce: This sweet and salty sauce can be found in the Asian aisle with soy sauce, and other Asian sauces.
- Soy Sauce: Use regular or low-sodium with great results.
- Brown Sugar: Adds a bit of sweetness to combat the heat.
- Garlic: A necessary ingredient for this incredible chicken.
- Rice Wine Vinegar: Adds that bit of zing that’s awesome.
- Sesame oil: Adds intense flavor.
- Dry Ginger: Blends easily and has just the right amount of flavor and heat.
- Crushed Red Pepper: This brings the heat. Leave it out or use extra for more spice!
- Green Onions, Sesame Seeds, Additional Red Pepper Flakes: These are all optional but all worth the extra effort to have them ready to go.
Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken Recipe
Start by adding a simple breading to the outside, then pan fry the edges for just a few minutes. This is an extra step, but you will love the crispy edges. The chicken has a tender and juicy center by doing this extra step. If you want to just dump the chicken in with the sauce and let it do its thing, I have a tip for thickening the sauce in the tip section.
- Coat the Chicken: In a mixing bowl add the chicken and cornstarch. Toss until the chicken is completely coated in the cornstarch.
- Brown the Chicken: In a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat add oil and cook until the chicken is slightly brown but not cooked throughout. Put in the bottom of a slow cooker.
- Make the Sauce: In a small mixing bowl whisk together hoisin sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, and crushed red pepper. Pour on top of the chicken into the slow cooker.
- Cook: Cook on low heat for 3-4 hours or until chicken is cooked throughout.
- Serve: Serve over rice and garnish with green onions, sesame seeds, and red pepper flakes if desired.
Tips for Tender and Juicy Chicken
This is truly one of my all-time favorite Asian-inspired recipes. I also love my along with sweet and sour chicken and this honey sesame chicken. Any type of breaded chicken with a sauce is right up my alley! Here are some tips to get tender and juicy chicken when it has a coating.
- Chicken: I used boneless skinless chicken breasts, but you can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs. Be sure to cut them all the same size so they’ll cook evenly.
- Coating: It’s true you don’t have to pre-brown them in the oil with the cornstarch, but the extra crispiness and coating make it more like a restaurant. Plus it just tastes so much better. If you choose not to do this step. Be sure to check the notes for how to thicken the sauce.
- Alternative to Browning the Chicken: If you are cooking the chicken without browning in the skillet first when the chicken is finished cooking, remove the chicken and add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to the sauce. Add the chicken back to the crockpot and cook for an additional 15 minutes until the sauce thickens. Chicken could also take longer to cook, closer to 4 hours.
How to Store Easy General Tso’s Chicken
The best part of eating out at Asian-inspired restaurants is the leftovers! There’s just something about warming up leftovers the next day because it tastes SO much better. Now you have lunch the next day with this slow cooker General Tso’s chicken recipe. Follow my tips below!
- In the Refrigerator: Keep for up to 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
- In the Freezer: In an airtight freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. Let thaw in the fridge overnight and rewarm on the stove in a skillet or microwave.
More “Better Than Takeout” Recipes to Try
America loves its Asian food! When you make it at home, you know you are getting great quality ingredients with incredible flavor in the comfort of your own home. Try more of these “better than takeout” recipes! I know your family will love them all.
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Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into one inch cubes
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon dry ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, more or less to liking
- optional garnish green onions, sesame seeds, additional red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Combine the chicken and cornstarch in a bowl or plastic bag. Toss until the chicken is completely coated in the cornstarch.
- In a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat add oil. Cook the chicken until the chicken is lightly brown but not cooked through. Place the chicken in the bottom of a slow cooker.
- In a small mixing bowl whisk together hoisin sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, ginger and crushed red pepper. Pour on top of chicken in the slow cooker.
- Cook on low heat for 3-4 hours or until chicken is cooked throughout. *see note
- Serve over rice and garnish with green onions, sesame seeds and red pepper flakes if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can you add veggie with this recipe if so what kind and how long to cook vs the chicken
You are welcome to try adding vegetables. It will be soaking in all the sauce from the recipe if you like the flavor and texture on your vegetables. If you are going to do that I would recommend adding more sauce to the meat and vegetables so it still has enough to cover both. I would recommend cooking the vegetables away from the chicken and serving together at the end. Enjoy! XOXO
I did not have good results with this recipe. Flavors were excellent, but I put is on low ad went to the gym. It was really black when I returned, with no sauce! Needs more liquid to sustain it for 3 hours in slow cooker. I should have realized it but I just went on my merry way and spaced it!
Wow! I’m (also) usually not the type to leave a comment, but I had to thank you for this wonderful recipe! I did not have enough time to place it in the slow cooker, so I instead made it on the stove. I first browned the chicken and then added all the sauce and some water. It cooked for about an hour on low with lid on (really until the sauce became thick and water evaporated). It was amazing! Definitely better than take out. We served it with fried cauliflower rice and green beans! Making again today!
I also made this on the stove top. I spent longer browning the chicken to get it more crispy. When the chicken was browned on both sides I simply added the sauce mixture, covered the pot and turned the heat down. I did not add water. I heated the sauce, stirring frequently. I made the rice and 10 minutes later had a delicious meal.
Color me amazed. This recipe is amazing. It satisfied my guys whose favorite food in the whole world is General’s Chicken. Especially my son who was requiring “comfort” food. It passed every litmus test known to *this* family. My least favorite thing about making Chinese is having to whip everything together last minute. Not so with this! This recipe is a keeper. Exactly as is. I *never* do that.
I made this today for the first time! It was amazing! I used thighs instead of breasts and crisped them in the pan first with the oil and cornstarch. So great! Thank you!
Mmm… sounds yummy with thighs. I made it last night with breasts but will try with thighs next time!
This was a very easy and tasty recipe. The only thing I will change next time is to use less sugar. Too sweet for me, otherwise a delicious dish. Thank you!
I made your beef and broccoli in the crock pot yesterday. We loved it and would make it again. The directions we clear and easy and it tasted great.
Made this on the stovetop and it was excellent!
How did you make this recipe on the stovetop?
How long do you cook on stovetop?
Would I be able to increase the general tso chicken to serve 20 which would increasing it by 4 or would it be too much liquid? Thank you
That sounds great! Good luck and enjoy! XOXO
This sounds wonderful! I’m adding is to my weekend menu. Only change, I have a thing go pineapple in my spicy Chinese dishes. Think I’ll add a can of minced or diced to the pot at the end. Thanks for the recipe!
This was good but the hour i spent sauteing the chicken in batches for crispness was a wasted effort. Any crockpot I have ever used tends to steam as it cooks. That does not result in anything being crisp. If I were to make again I would do stovetop If I wanted crisp. Flavor was great though.
I’m going to try it in the Instapot where I can saute first then turn it on for slow cooking.
Did it work?
Coating the chicken in corn starch and then sautéing it before finishing it in the crockpot is intended to flavor and thicken the sauce. The chicken is not meant to be served crispy. That is why the author noted to remove some sauce, thicken with cornstarch and return to crockpot if you not choose not to sauté the chicken.
Holy cow this is so good!! Easy to make!! I am so excited to feed my family dinner! I couldn’t find this on your Instagram to make a post.
I made this stove-top, and the entire family LOVED it! My son asked me to start making this weekly
Can this recipe be used on a Keto diet?
NO it is not Keto friendly.
Can this sauce be used in the same way as your baked Chinese chicken recipes?
That is a great idea! Thank you for sharing! XOXO
I am so excited to try this out. Making it tomorrow.
I’ve made this dish several times – my husband keeps requesting it! Very easy. I sautee a green veggie and put this over cauliflower rice to make it a little lighter. I also have reduced the amount of brown sugar to 1/4 cup and it still turns out great.
I would like to make this for my sons birthday, there will be at least 20 people, any suggestions
You will want to triple the chicken and sauce to make sure everyone has enough and a little more. Happy birthday to your son! XOXO