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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.
So glad I doubled the recipe!!! It is wonderful ❤️
I posted the last comment but forgot to rate it, I noticed it when I hit Post comment! 🙁 So I tried to hit the stars before it posted but think I missed it! But definitely a 5 star recipe! 🙂
I made this for dinner yesterday for my family, absolutely delicious! Better than the Chinese restaurant, everyone LOVED it! But, I made it on the stovetop instead as I didn’t have time to use the crock pot. I cooked the chicken in batches not crowding the pan, let drain while I boiled the sauce in another pot, then added the chicken back into the pan that I fried in, poured some juice over it & added some steamed broccoli & let boil for 2 -3 mins. Served over rice with scallions & extra sauce on the side. YUM! 🙂 Great Recipe, thanks for sharing!!!
I followed the recipe, but added some sautéed green peppers an hour before it was done. Super Delicious! Will make it again
This was generally tasty (no pun intended!). I used the stovetop method and think that’s a far better way to do it…the chicken would be dead twice over if you cooked it for 4 hours in a slow cooker! I did attempt to brown the chicken before adding the sauce, but it didn’t really work out so well…and I didn’t want to overcook it. Next time, I might try using butter with the oil to get more of a browning effect. The sauce was a little sweet for me, so I will reduce the brown sugar next time. I stir fried some veggies on the side, did all the sauce and two chicken breasts, and it was fantastic for two people (plus a lunch the next day).
This was a hit with my picky eaters. I did doubled the sauce but only used 1/2 cup of brown sugar however still came out too sweet for me so next time I will use less oh and also cooked it on the stove top. This will for sure go into the rotation. Thank you so much.
I made this today. It is sooooo good! It’s definitely going into rotation. This is the closest I’ve ever had to the Chinese takeaway and it’s not deep fried. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
This recipe was delicious! The sauce was very sweet so next time I will probably reduce the amount of brown sugar in the recipe. Aside from that, everything went well and tasted great.
This was absolutely delicious! I made it after looking at all reviews and reduced brown sugar to half of what it called for to make. My husband loved it and I took it to some friends who were recovering from Covid and they loved it too. I made my own fried rice recipe to go along with it and Asian cole slaw. Leftovers tonight! Yummy! Thank you for sharing!
OMG this is soooooo good. The sauce was so good, I’m happy I doubled it. I cut the sugar in half and it was plenty sweet. I will be making this again and again!
Sorry no picture, but I just want to say that I make many recipes that I get on the internet, but yours is the very first that I’m actually posting a comment on. I’ve looked at other recipes for General Tso’s chicken, but they had so many steps that I said forget thi Your recipe is absolutely so easy and simple and so amazingly delicious.. I only had chicken wings in my freezer, so I decided to make it with the wings. They turn out so very delicious. And the smell while they were cooking was heavenly. I allowed myself six wings, but It was much too good and I had to go back for two more. I served rice with it on the side as you suggested and made myself some coleslaw. Oh my. It doesn’t get any better than that. I have just subscribed for your recipes and I hope they are all as amazing and easy. Many many thanks.
Oh, my goodness! It was absolutely delicious! Followed recipe exactly (although it was done in about 2.5 hours…I browned the chicken just a little bit longer in the skillet) and it was heavenly! Making again this Sunday!
How long should it cook in the crockpot if I am using 16 pieces of chicken instead of 4 pieces of chicken. I need to feed 20 people for a function.
This recipe turned out great! We loved it. I did one thing different. I added 7 dried Japones red chili peppers to the sauce before pouring the sauce over the chicken. We liked it so much that we will definitely be make it again, but we will be doubling the sauce volume. This recipe is EXCELLENT!! Thank you sooooooo much for sharing it!
If not browning first do you still coat the chicken in cornstarch or just add it at the end to thicken the sauce?
Yes, in the first step you will coat the chicken with cornstarch before cooking them.
Made this tonight and it was awesome! Sweet and spicy! Will definitely be making again maybe with just a little more heat.