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Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken is a creamy, peanut flavor infused chicken that is served over thick, rich 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 that you already have in your pantry is added all together to create this flavorful meal that is sure to please. Simple ingredients, easy to follow instructions equals one main dish that everyone loves and raves about. Looking for more slow cooker recipes to make during the week try this Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken, Slow Cooker Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs and Veggies, or Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs.
Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken being stirred by a wooden spoon in a pot.

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.

Slow cooker Thai Peanut Chicken being stirred in a pot.

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 in a bowl.

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Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken

4.48 from 38 votes
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.
Prep Time: 9 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours
Servings: 4

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.

Notes

Recipe Update 2/8/19

Nutrition

Calories: 738kcalCarbohydrates: 79gProtein: 48gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 74mgSodium: 1625mgPotassium: 1078mgFiber: 6gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 1301IUVitamin C: 48mgCalcium: 64mgIron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main Course
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!

About Alyssa Rivers

Alyssa Rivers is the author of 'The Tried and True Cookbook', a professional food photographer and experienced recipe-developer. Having a passion for cooking, her tried and true recipes have been featured on Good Morning America, Today Food, Buzzfeed and more.

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Recipe Rating




136 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    How anyone screws this up is beyond me. I love the simplicity here. I use chicken thighs, and omit the red peppers bc hubby dislikes em. I also add a smidge of sesame oil to it. Serve it over Rice. Delicious.

  2. 5 stars
    Delicious smell in the kitchen today and amazing flavours. Added shredded carrot and shredded sweet potato and extra capsicum to kind of bulk this up for extra lunches. Added more garlic and chilli flakes and at the end a huge handful of spinach. We loved this with a fresh squeeze of lime and flat leaf parsley. Served over pasta. 10/10 from us 👍👍 as suggested roasted peanuts as a garnish

  3. 5 stars
    My family really liked it and the wonderful smell in the house as it was cooking.

    We did add red pepper flakes at the end, because we like a little spice.

    Thank you for a delicious recipe.

  4. 5 stars
    I have been making this dish for 3 years now. It is a family favorite. Thank you, Alyssa! I am sad to read the comments from people who have attempted to make this dish, but the end result was no bueno. I wonder what happened 🙁
    I would like to note that we use shredded carrots instead of zucchini, because shredded carrots are readily available at the store whereas the zucchini I would have to shred myself, but I don’t own a vegetable shredder. We add mushrooms, too. We also add red chili flakes for a little kick. Finally, we have served this dish over basmati rice as well as linguine noodles, and we like the noodle version more (I think rice is supposed to be healthier? Which is why we tried it that way a few times). Any way… love, love, love this dish!

  5. 5 stars
    This was really delicious but I added fresh ginger, a jalapeño, about a tablespoon of sriracha, and topped with sesame seeds and green scallions. I put over rice with extra cilantro. Yummy!

  6. 1 star
    This didn’t work for me at all. I think the zucchini cooked down too much and it has a lumpy consistency. Going to try to salvage the chicken to put in a wrap or salad.

  7. 5 stars
    Love! I don’t like red peppers so I subbed a shredded carrot and a dollop of siracha. This will be added to my rotation. Also good over rice.

  8. I added a teaspoon of fresh grated ginger, a few shakes of red pepper flakes, and subbed half the chicken stock for coconut milk but this was extremely bland. I think I’d increase the ginger and soy sounds next time.

  9. Just made it tonight. Winner, winner, Thai peanut chicken dinner. After reading comments I added a teaspoon of ginger, red pepper flakes and shredded carrots and substituted half the chicken broth with coconut milk. Served over brown rice. Family loved it.

  10. 5 stars
    This was insanely delicious. I omitted the sugar and per the other comments, added fresh minced ginger. It turned out flavorful and the sauce was creamy. My husband and two year old son loved it too.

  11. Going to try this soon, but wanted to comment that my favorite peanut sauce has plenty of fresh grated ginger, lime juice, fish sauce, sriracha and coconut milk, in addition to the peanut butter and garlic and (brown) sugar. It’s so good you could eat it on ice cream. Adding those should really take it to a next level.

    1. How many ounces of the coconut milk did you add? Did you reduce the amount of chicken stock as well since you added the coconut milk? I love your ideas to make this taste more authentic.

  12. Wondering if almond or Cashew butter could be used instead? My hubby became allergic to peanuts at 30 y.o., and it’s awful!

    1. That should work well with this chicken dish. Let me know how it turns out for your husband!

  13. 4 stars
    This turned out really good. But I added ginger and red pepper flakes and I think those are necessary additions. I also served it over rice rather than linguine.