by Alyssa Rivers
Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken
Dang this was so good! My little 8 year old said this was one of the best chicken dishes that I have made. Do you wanna hear the best part? It has 1 cup of zucchini in it and red pepper in it and he couldn’t even tell! I love being able to trick kids into eating veggies and having them actually love it. This dinner was a success. Well for most of us. The pickiest 4 year old wouldn’t even try a bite. What am I going to do with that boy? And when will he learn that my cooking isn’t horrible!
How Do You Make Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken?
- Add garlic, peanut butter, broth, chicken, zucchini, soy sauce, sugar, and red pepper to slow cooker. Stir to combine. Cook on low for 4-5 hours or on high for 2-3 hours. A half hour before you are going to serve, add in lime juice and 1/2 cup of cilantro.
- Serve over noodles and garnish with remaining cilantro and peanuts.
Can you make Thai Peanut Chicken ahead?
Yes! You can make the sauce one week ahead to start prepping for it the next day. Add the chicken and follow the instructions according to the recipe card. It can be stored in an air tight container for 3 to 4 days in the fridge and up to 1 month in the freezer.
What type of noodles are best for Thai Peanut Chicken?
I prefer a thicker noodle that soaks up the creamy sauce and usually serve it with fettuccine noodles. The sauce is thicker than most and the fettuccine noodles are able to accurate this meal. Linguine is also a great choice with a lighter touch to the sauce since the noodles are a bit slimmer. Either noodle is a great option for the Thai Peanut Chicken.
What type of Peanut Butter is used?
I like to use a creamy peanut butter for this meal. If you prefer a crunchier/chunky, texture sauce chunky peanut butter would be a great option too.
How do you minced garlic?
- Cut off the tip of the clove
- Crush a clove gently
- Skin should fall off the garlic
- Rough chop the garlic
- Chop the garlic by going back and forth until minced
Note: Garlic Powder is not the same as minced garlic even though they come from the same bulb. This can alter the taste and texture of this dish.
Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken
Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken is a creamy, peanut flavor infused chicken that is served over noodles. Easy to make in just a couple steps adding all the ingredients together letting the slow cooker do the work for you! Enjoy the smells that will fill your home while cooking during the day.
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2/3 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 cup shredded zucchini
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 red pepper cut into thin, long strips
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 cup chopped cilantro divided
- chopped peanuts for garnish
- 12 ounce linguine noodles cooked and drained
Instructions
Add garlic, peanut butter, broth, chicken, zucchini, soy sauce, sugar, and red pepper to slow cooker. Stir to combine.
Cook on low for 4-5 hours or on high for 2-3 hours. A half hour before you are going to serve, add in lime juice and 1/2 cup of cilantro.
Serve over noodles and garnish with remaining cilantro and peanuts.
Recipe Notes
Recipe Update 2/8/19
delicious. I love thai peanut but never thought to put it in the crock pot. My hubby will love this recipe
This looks sooo yummy! I am definitely going to have to try it! Thanks for sharing! I’m visiting from Hubby Made Me’s Throwback Thursday.
I love this one too! Thanks for reading my blog 🙂
Karen
Great recipe!… But no print option?
Sorry! Since switching to WordPress I have to go back to all of my old recipes and add a print option. Haven’t gotten to this one yet. :-/
I made this dish tonight for dinner for a family gathering. I had 2 crock pots going at once since I needed to double it…
I did really like it but here are my suggestions:
1.) I used boneless and skinless chicken thighs — tasted great
2.) You MUST use fresh cilantro — it will not come out as good with dried cilantro
3.) It is VERY peanut buttery…I might cut it down to half a cup of peanut butter next time (+ maybe 1/8c of lightly salted peanuts)
4.) I agree with adding a “kick” to this. I added a good Tablespoon of Ground Red Pepper to each crock pot. Really adds to the flavor
5.) Do NOT add the veggies until the last hour; classic crock pot tip for good tender veggies that don’t come out mushy ;-). I would also consider adding 1/2c. chopped onion to the crock pot next time.
6.) Use half of a fresh lime for the recipe– I used a fork on the lime to get all of the juice and the pulp out.
7.) I cooked on low for about 5 hours (I used extra chicken). I felt like going to low heat helped to really he the flavor in there!
Bon appetite!!
I wish Inhad read this before I made it! It’s in the pot now!
I just made this and I wish I read this review before I started as I feel exactly the same. Needs spice. Too much peanut butter. Zucchini disappeared into sauce. Added more last hour and definitely will add onion next time. Good base. Hope the family enjoys it!
Had this in the crockpot while the fam & I were at church this morning. I served it over chow mein noodles. It is delicious!! The Mr. pigged out. And the kidlets didn’t complain about lunch. Happy tummies all around. Thanks for the recipe!
Do you think this would work with leftovers from a roasted chicken?
This looks amazing! Do you know if it can be frozen? I’m interested in bringing this to my freezer meal group.
Use crunchy peanut butter do not add any sugar as the peanut butter already has plenty. Fresh Cilantro and lime and chop up three habanero peppers and add it seeds and all for a real Thai spicy.
I know this is an old post, but do you use raw chicken?
Yes. You use raw. 🙂
This sounds delish, but my husband is one of those weirdos that hates cilantro. Can this dish stand up without it?? Can I substitute basil?
The cilantro is a main ingredient in this slow cooker chicken. It is a lot of flavor that would be missed. If you try it without the cilantro please let me know how it tastes and if he liked it! Thanks for following along with me!
Hi I’m hoping you find this before I attempt your amazing looking recipe! I’m in NZ and having trouble with cilantro vs coriander vs leaves and stalks and seeds etc!? Is half a cup of cilantro actually the same as half a cup of coriander leaves?
Thank you!
You are correct. They are the same leaves. Hope that helps and you are able to enjoy this recipe soon! Thanks for following along with me!
Can you use coconut milk instead of chicken broth??
Yes, you can try that. It will alter the taste but will still blend well together with the chicken. Let me know how you like it!
Just out of curiousity to make this WW friends.. can PB2 be used??
Yes, that sounds great! Let me know how it turns out!
So you think this would work with cashews?
That sounds great! Let me know how you like the flavor!
I have not made it yet, but it sounds scrumptious. I have one question, though…I don’t like cilantro and was wondering what I can substitute for it in the recipe?
Cilantro is one of the main ingredients in this slow cooker chicken. It will alter the taste for you but a favorite seasoning like basil or thyme may work for you.
Zucchini is very watery. Any need to drain off some of the water before adding it to the slow cooker?
Is cilantro necessary? To me cilantro smells like a dirty wash cloth. Can I substitute something in its place?
It does make this dish the original. If you are wanting to adjust the ingredients it will alter the taste of this chicken from its original making.
Made this recipe last night. Very easy to do. Unfortunately, I used a jar of peanut butter that was natural and had no sugar or salt added. Hence the sauce turned out bland. I added a bit of salt & sugar and it helped. Next time, I would add many more veggies and a touch of chili oil to liven it up a bit.
Jeannine,
Oh no, sorry about the first time. The salt and sugar for sure make a huge difference in the taste. Thanks for the idea about the chili and more veggies. I will have to give that a try also!! Thanks for following along with me and sharing your thoughts.
I have this in the crockpot now, but its looking pretty watery with an hour and a half left to cook. Should i add some more peanut butter?
Does this go well with steamed white rice instead of noodles?
Robert!!
Yes, this works great with white rice. It is a great option! Thanks for following along!
Does this go well with steamed white rice?
Robert!!
This is awesome with white rice. I hope you love it!!
We loved this! I used only 1/2 cup peanut butter and it was perfect for us. Also, I used rice because I didn’t have linguine noodles. One question I have, are the red peppers supposed to cook way down, because mine did? There were little flecks of red in the delicious sauce, but not discrete pepper pieces. Thanks so much for a terrific dish!
Very tasty meal. Based upon another review, I cut the peanut butter to a 1/2 cup but in hindsight wished I kept it at the listed 2/3 cup. We could only taste a slight hint of peanut butter when using a 1/2 cup. I also added 1 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes for a slight kick. I waited to add the zucchini and red pepper until 30 minutes before serving. Veggies turned out perfect. I used creamy peanut butter this time but I think I might try chunky next time. Husband and kiddos loved the meal. Thank you!
We wanted to try and make a low carb version of this recipe. Any substitution ideas to use instead of noodles?
You are welcome to leave the noodles out of the recipe or you can substitute with any vegetable or low carb side that you prefer.
You could try “zoodles” — noodles made from zucchini using a spiralizer.
Looking forward to trying this recipe today. Can I substitute the chicken for shrimp? Does this change the cooking time?
Yes! That will be delicious! My son loves shrimp. It will be a little cooker of cooking. Watch the shrimp cook and take out when it is pink. Enjoy! Let me know how it turns out!
What’s a good side dish, to go with this?
Rice is always a great side, a green or asian style salad, green beans or noodles are great sides for this dish.
I do not understand what I did wrong exactly but my sauce turned out very watery, not paste like 🙁 only thing I differed is not using cilantro as it makes me ill.
Oh no! I am so sorry! I am not sure why it did not turn out okay.
Maybe a bit of cornstarch mixed with cold water would have helped to thicken it?
Could I do this in an instant pot?
I have not tried it in an instant pot. Let me know how it turns out!
So yummy, if you aren’t a big veggie fan or you are serving this to kids, the veggies really blend into the sauce and you can’t really tell they’re there. I also added red pepper flakes and garnished with green onions and well as adding some chopped red onion to the sauce when cooking. Great recipe for something different and very delicious!
Could I make this in an instant pot?
Andree!
Yes, that sounds great! I haven’t tried it with an instant pot so please let me know how it turns out! Thanks for the question and for following along with me!
our family loved this recipe—thank you for sharing it with us! in fact, we loved it so much that we’d like to serve it at my daughter’s 1st birthday party! can this recipe be doubled or tripled? if so, any tips on adjusting the cook time for that?
thanks again !
I’m so glad to hear you love it! Doubling it shouldn’t increase the cook time, but if you triple it, plan to give it an extra hour and check it periodically to see if it is done.
The reason why I like the crock pot is that you throw everything in with minimal prep and the cooking does the work for you. I prepped everything like you said but left the chicken breasts whole and hope I can shred them once it’s done. Have you tried that before?
Alyssa, would this recipe work if I prepared it on my stove rather than a crockpot? Maybe sautéed the chicken and veggies, then add the sauce?
Yes, this will work great on stovetop.
This was great. I added sweet potato to mine and i didnt think beforehand and cut them thin. They melded into the sauce and it was unreallll!!
Making it again tonight with half thin and half thick sweet potatoes 🙂
Yummy!!! Instead of zucchini shredded in it though i served it over zoodles, great alternative to pasta.
I just found this recipe and I am going to make it today! I can’t wait! I will let you know what I think 🙂 It’s been years since I had Thai peanut chicken. This is a simple and easy to follow recipe, I can surely do this! 🙂
Followed the recommendations I read here and did half a cup of peanut butter- I also thought it needed as smidge more so I added a spoonful at the end before I served and stirred it up- much better! I served over brown rice and thought it was great! Added red pepper flakes as well. Awesome recipe.
This was pretty tasty! I read other reviews which said it lacked spice, so I used 2 red peppers instead of 1, and added crushed rep pepper as well which really helped. The zucchini is completely lost. I think next time I will add slices rather than grating it. I’ll definitely make this again!
it’s seemingly very peanut buttery what cann o do you cut? It’s almost done now
Note to self: read comments before cooking. ? Mine’s in the crockpot now. I omitted the sugar for health reasons, added crushed red pepper for kick, and swapped the soy with coconut aminos. I’ll check back in with my family’s verdict.
This was amazing! Both my husband and daughter loved it. It’s not often that I find a recipe we all like. Definitely needs some spice, other than that, it’s perfect!
Could use substitute peanut powder powder like PB2 to reduce the calories and fat content?
Yes, that will work great! Let me know how it turns out and if you like it that way.
I wanted to have leftovers so I doubled the recipe, however I only used half the recommended broth so it would be thicker. Will def make again!
The chicken came out so tender! Absolutely love this recipe. One of the best I have come across. Thank you!
Delicious! We like things on the spicy side so added some crushed red pepper and fresh grated ginger.
I absolutely loved this recipe! I passed on the zucchini because I thought it would be a little too watery but otherwise this was delicious!!!!
Just tried this and it was delicious! Made a few alterations like others did. I waited to add the bell peppers until 30 minutes before the end, but also added sliced mushrooms and fresh spinach.