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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.
Yes, this hit the spot! I reduced the peanut butter to 1/2 cup and added matchstick carrots (about a cup). I was tempted to use rice noodles, but went with linguine and it didn’t disappoint! I can see how adding crushed red pepper flakes &/or sriracha would kick this up a notch.
Overall, a very tasty recipe!0
Loved it. I forgot to purchase red pepper so I just used zucchini and shredded carrot. I also forgot to add lime while cooking. Instead I added it after. I used MUCH more lime to even out how powerful the peanut butter was. Put over rice and enjoyed it for many meals! It wasn’t pretty but it was delicious.
Made this recipe last night for 6 of us, clean plates all round. Absolutely delicious.
Thank you
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.
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
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.
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!
Oh no! I am so sorry!
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!
What about a pad thai noodle or glass noodle?
Those would work great!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I agree with you… I wonder if adding some coconut milk or cream could provide a smoother creamier texture and more flavour, as well as throwing in more ginger, maybe lemongrass, and fresh chilli…? Might try that next time.