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You asked, I listened! This slow cooker Thai peanut chicken got a serious glow-up! The sauce is creamy, savory, a little sweet, and packed with peanut coconut flavor. I’d drink it with a straw if that were socially acceptable, but spooning it over rice, noodles or adding it to lettuce wraps is probably the better dinner move.
What Makes This So Good!
- Better Texture: The sauce cooks up creamy and smooth, not watery or too thick.
- Family-Friendly: It has tons of flavor without being too spicy, so everyone can add their own heat at the end.
- Great Leftovers: The flavor gets even better the next day, making lunch easy and delicious.
A Reader’s Review
Made this recipe last night for 6 of us, clean plates all round. Absolutely delicious.
Thank you
– Lozzie
Crockpot Thai Peanut Chicken Ingredients
- Chicken: Chicken thighs work too, but they may release extra fat. Skim it off before adding the lime juice and cilantro.
- Want More Veggies? Add diced red onion, mushrooms, matchstick carrots, or water chestnuts.
- Coconut Milk: Use canned, full-fat coconut milk. Shake it well before measuring.
- Spice: Add sriracha, chili crisp, or red pepper flakes for heat.
- Peanut Butter: Natural peanut butter lets you control the sweetness. If yours has sugar, taste the sauce before adding all the honey.
- More Flavor: Add fish sauce or sliced Thai basil for extra flavor.
Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken Recipe
This slow cooker Thai peanut chicken is so easy, and the slow cooker does most of the work. Serve it with coconut rice, air fryer broccoli, or a fresh cucumber salad.
- Add: Add the chicken and peppers to the bowl of a larger crock pot.
- Thai Peanut Sauce: Whisk together the coconut milk, peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
- Add Sauce: Pour the sauce over the chicken and peppers.
- Cook: Cover and cook on LOW for 4-5 hours, or on HIGH for 2-3 hours. About an hour before serving, stir in the fresh cilantro and lime juice, then cover and continue cooking for the remaining time. Garnish with chopped peanuts before serving.
Must Have Tools For This Recipe
- Slow Cooker: Cooks everything together low and slow for the perfect creamy bite.
Stove Top Cooking Instructions
- Heat the Pan: Heat a large, deep skillet or pot over medium heat.
- Cook the Chicken: Add the chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes, until no pink remains on the outside.
- Make the Sauce: In a bowl, combine the sauce ingredients.
- Add Sauce and Peppers: Add the sauce and bell peppers to the pan with the chicken.
- Simmer: Reduce the heat, cover, and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the chicken reaches 165°F.
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Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken
Tender, slow cooked chicken in a creamy Thai peanut coconut sauce with bell peppers, lime, and cilantro.
Equipment
- 1 4-8 quart slow cooker
Ingredients
- 1 pound cubed boneless skinless chicken breasts 1-inch pieces
- 1 sliced red pepper about 1 ½ cups
- 1 cup high-fat coconut milk
- ½ cup natural peanut butter smooth or crunchy
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic about 3 cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger or 2 teaspoons fresh ginger
- ½ teaspoon salt more or less to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper more or less to taste
- ½ cup chopped cilantro more for garnish
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- chopped dry-roasted peanuts for garnish
Instructions
- Add 1 pound cubed boneless skinless chicken breasts and 1 sliced red pepper to the bowl of a larger slow cooker.
- Whisk together 1 cup high-fat coconut milk, ½ cup natural peanut butter, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 3 tablespoons honey, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper in a bowl to make the sauce.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and peppers. Cover and cook on LOW for 4-5 hours, or on HIGH for 2-3 hours. About an hour before serving, stir in ½ cup chopped cilantro and 3 tablespoons lime juice, then cover and continue cooking for the remaining time. Garnish with chopped dry-roasted peanuts before serving.
Video
Notes
Leftover and Make Ahead Instructions
- Fridge: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Reheat: Reheat in the microwave in 30-second intervals or on the stovetop over medium heat, stirring often, until warmed through.
- Freeze: Add the diced chicken, bell pepper, and sauce to a large freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then cook in the slow cooker as directed.
- Make Ahead: Add everything to the slow cooker insert, cover, and refrigerate until ready to cook.
Nutrition
Calories: 505kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 34gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 15gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 73mgSodium: 1193mgPotassium: 860mgFiber: 3gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 1107IUVitamin C: 45mgCalcium: 45mgIron: 4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!
What to Serve With Thai Peanut Chicken
You can serve this over jasmine rice, brown rice, cauliflower rice, or even rice noodles. Here are a few more options.
I’m just making and all in the low cooker . Finer close xxx thank yiu for inspiration. I do recover from brain tumour and my slow cooker is my life safer another surgery in few weeks so I’m Trang new things for my small boy.
Loved this, made it a few nights ago and was surprised how easy this was. I love slow cooker cooking… Anything to make life easie.i did read the comments first and after following the recipe, I did add a few extras, such as chilli flakes. I think it needed more salt and something else, not sure what. But was a delicious creamy texture and I will make this again, thank you!
Saving this as a favorite. Even my pickiest 2 year old ate the chicken and that is a miracle. I threw the linguini into the crockpot and mixed it all up just before serving. We think we’re going to add some steamed broccoli next time, but it was really delicious!
Missing heat, ginger and salt. It’s a good base peanut sauce but really needs some additional ingredients to kick it up and make it a bit more authentic
Ian, just made this and you’re right. Added ginger and a tbs of cayenne pepper and it was perfect.
What did you up in it to give it a kick? Interested in your modification suggestions!
Did you use fresh ginger?
The only thing I would change would be to add the peppers closer to the serve time as the peppers disintegrated. Otherwise, it was delicious!
I am making this today and realized I forgot to take out my chicken. Can you use frozen? Excited to make it. Looks great!
It is best to thaw the chicken if possible. If not, frozen chicken will work but it will need to cook longer.
Can this also be made in an instant pot?
More than likely! I will have to work on an instant pot recipe for this chicken soon!
This is one of our favourites. I routinely make it with natural peanut butter (i.e. no added salt or sugar), and without any cilantro and both my husband and I love it. Thanks!
Loved this!! doubled the recipe and added a little extra peanut butter,lime and cilantro.
beautiful!
Yum! Added 1 chopped chilli in the beginning and waited until 30 mins before serving to add the lime, zucchini and capsicum. Served with Konjac noodles. Will make again!!
Can I do this with raw, frozen chicken?
I have used frozen chicken in the slow cooker before, just make sure that it is cooked through to 165 degrees.
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.
Delicious! We like things on the spicy side so added some crushed red pepper and fresh grated ginger.
The chicken came out so tender! Absolutely love this recipe. One of the best I have come across. Thank you!
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!
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.
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!
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.
it’s seemingly very peanut buttery what cann o do you cut? It’s almost done now