Crockpot Thai Peanut Chicken (Printable version)
Creamy Thai peanut sauce slow-cooked with tender chicken, bell pepper and ginger; serve over rice or noodles.
# Ingredient list:
→ Meats
01 - 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
→ Vegetables & Aromatics
02 - 1 red bell pepper, sliced
03 - 1 medium onion, sliced
04 - 3 garlic cloves, minced
05 - 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
→ Sauce
06 - 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
07 - 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
08 - 2 tablespoons honey or brown sugar
09 - 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
10 - 1 tablespoon lime juice
11 - 1/2 cup canned coconut milk, full fat or light
12 - 1 tablespoon sriracha or chili sauce, optional, to taste
→ For Serving
13 - 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, chopped
14 - 2 green onions, sliced
15 - Fresh cilantro, chopped
16 - Cooked jasmine rice or rice noodles
# Directions:
01 - Place chicken thighs or breasts in an even layer at the bottom of the crockpot.
02 - Scatter the sliced bell pepper, onion, minced garlic, and grated ginger evenly over the chicken.
03 - In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, lime juice, coconut milk, and sriracha until completely smooth and well combined.
04 - Pour the prepared peanut sauce evenly over the chicken and vegetables in the crockpot, ensuring everything is well coated.
05 - Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours, or on high for 2 to 3 hours, until the chicken is fork-tender and cooked through.
06 - Remove the chicken from the crockpot, shred or slice as desired, then return it to the pot and stir gently to coat evenly with the sauce.
07 - Ladle the chicken and sauce over cooked jasmine rice or rice noodles. Garnish with chopped roasted peanuts, sliced green onions, and fresh cilantro before serving.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The sauce basically builds itself while you are at work or watching a movie, and it tastes like something from a restaurant that charges twenty two dollars a plate.
- Chicken thighs come out so tender they fall apart at the lightest touch of a fork, and the peanut sauce thickens into this velvety glaze that soaks into every grain of rice.
02 -
- Do not use crunchy peanut butter unless you want a grainy textured sauce, which honestly some people love but it is not the classic result.
- If you lift the lid during cooking, you add roughly fifteen to twenty minutes of cook time each time because the trapped steam escapes and the temperature drops significantly.
03 -
- If the sauce seems too thin at the end, leave the crockpot lid off for twenty minutes on high and it will reduce and thicken beautifully without any additional thickeners.
- Taste the sauce before you pour it over the chicken and adjust the sriracha and honey to your preference because once it is cooking, you are committed.