Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken
Thai Peanut Chicken made in the slow cooker features tender chicken stewed in a flavorful coconut milk and peanut sauce, served over rice or rice noodles!
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For more easy Asian-inspired dinners, you might enjoy Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken, Easy Fried Rice, Instant Pot Egg Roll in a Bowl, or One-Pan Asian Beef & Rice Skillet.
Need an effortless, delicious dinner idea? This slow cooker spin on Thai Peanut Chicken turns out soooo yummy, friends. As a bonus, it's ridiculously easy to make.
What is Thai Peanut Chicken?
Chicken breasts are slow cooked in a sauce of coconut milk, peanut butter, and other goodness.
Once cooked through and fall-apart tender, the chicken is shredded and briefly returned to the sauce to soak up all of the goodness.
Then it's simply a matter of garnishing and serving over rice noodles (seen here) or white or brown rice.
If you're feeling especially virtuous, you can even use this recipe as a filling for lettuce wraps!
The flavors in this dish actually remind me a lot of a crockpot Pad Thai, except there are no eggs or tofu or fish sauce involved.
Tweak the Heat
Along those lines, though, I like my Pad Thai rather spicy. So while I kept this recipe fairly mild for the kiddos, I particularly enjoy it myself when I generously sprinkle my portion with extra crushed red pepper flakes.
If you like a little spice, there are other ways you could jazz it up as well. Sriracha, anyone?
So feel free to experiment...but only if you think you can handle the heat!
Ingredients
I bet you've already got most of these ingredients in your fridge and pantry, especially if you enjoy cooking with Asian flavors.
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts. Or you could use boneless skinless chicken thighs. Or a combination of the two. For moister chicken, you could even opt for bone-in chicken breasts or thighs (with or without the skin), then remove and discard any skin/bones before shredding. Just remember that bone-in chicken requires a longer cooking time than boneless chicken, and thighs require a longer cooking time than breasts. At the end of the day, use what you like. Slow cooker chicken recipes are pretty forgiving.
- Coconut milk. Meaning the real stuff from a can. I use full-fat coconut milk, but light coconut milk should work as well. Be sure to shake the can well before opening it. I actually like to flip the can over and use a can opener to open it from the bottom. Since the thick coconut cream settles to the bottom of the can, this makes it easier to scrape it straight off the "lid" that the can opener removed.
- Peanut butter. I prefer chunky, although creamy would be fine. And I use all-natural peanut butter, but whatever you've got will work.
- Garlic. Glorious garlic...don't skimp!
- Honey. For natural sweetness.
- Soy sauce. For Asian saltiness.
- Lime juice. A bit of acidity helps balance the fat and creaminess from the coconut milk and peanut butter.
- Rice wine vinegar. More acidity, plus extra Asian flavor. If you don't have rice wine vinegar, you may use apple cider vinegar instead.
- Crushed red pepper flakes. For a nice touch of heat. Alternatively, sriracha would work as well.
- Chopped peanuts + fresh cilantro. Optional yet highly recommended garnishes.
- Rice, rice noodles, or lettuce leaves. For serving.
How to Make Thai Peanut Chicken
As with most good crockpot recipes, this Thai Peanut Chicken is quick and simple to toss in the slow cooker ahead of dinner time. Then when it's time to eat, you're just a couple of quick steps away from getting it on the table.
- Arrange chicken pieces in the bottom of your slow cooker.
- Stir together the sauce and pour over the chicken.
- Cover and cook until cooked through and tender.
- Remove the chicken and pull into chunks. Return to the crockpot, stir into the sauce, and allow to reheat for a few minutes.
- Serve chicken with sauce over rice or rice noodles, garnishing with chopped peanuts and fresh cilantro.
Ta-daaaa! Who needs take-out? Add an optional side salad drizzled with flavor-packed Asian Salad Dressing and dinner is DONE.
A Note on Cooking Time
When I first published this Thai Peanut Chicken, a few commenters noted that when they made it, their sauce burned or their chicken dried out. I apologize to anyone who had that problem.
As a general rule, cooking time for boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a slow cooker is totally dependent on your model of slow cooker and how hot it runs. Older model, cooler running slow cookers take longer to cook and can go for 6 to 8 hours without burning the sauce or drying out the chicken. Newer model, hotter running slow cookers can cook chicken breasts as quickly as 3 hours. You need to be familiar with your slow cooker in order to determine the appropriate cooking time for this recipe (or any slow cooker recipe involving boneless, skinless chicken breasts).
When I first developed this recipe, I was using a 10-year old slow cooker and a 6 hour cooking time was appropriate. However, I now have a newer model slow cooker that runs hotter and cooks faster and, as a result, when I make this recipe now, I cook it for a shorter duration.
Therefore, I decreased the overall cooking time in the recipe instructions, since many people these days own modern (hotter running) slow cookers. If you still have an old, cooler running slow cooker, you may need to cook your chicken closer to 6 hours (or longer).
If you like Asian flavors, I hope you love this Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken! It's simple. Satisfying. Delicious. An easy weeknight dinner you'll definitely want to put on repeat. 😉
More Slow Cooker Dinners
- Slow Cooker Honey Balsamic Shredded Beef Sandwiches
- Slow Cooker Mexican Street Corn Chowder
- Beef Barbacoa {Slow Cooker}
- Slow Cooker Honey Lime Pulled Pork Tacos
- The BEST Easy Slow Cooker Recipes Collection
Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken
Video
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup canned coconut milk
- ¾ cup natural peanut butter, crunchy or creamy
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, more or less to taste
- ⅓ cup chopped peanuts, for garnish
- Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
- Rice, rice noodles, or lettuce leaves, for serving
Instructions
- Arrange chicken breasts in the bottom of a large slow cooker. In a medium bowl, stir together coconut milk, peanut butter, garlic, honey, soy sauce, lime juice, rice wine vinegar, and red pepper flakes; mix until (mostly) smooth) Pour over chicken.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 5 hours (or until chicken is cooked through and tender but not overcooked, depending on the strength of your slow cooker). Reduce slow cooker temperature to WARM. Remove chicken from slow cooker, cut into chunks, and shred. Return shredded chicken to slow cooker to allow it to absorb sauce and heat through.
- Serve chicken and sauce over cooked white or brown rice, cooked rice noodles, or stuffed inside large lettuce leaves, as wraps. Garnish with chopped peanuts, fresh cilantro, and additional red pepper flakes, if desired.
Equipment Needed
Nutrition
Recipe originally published on May 14, 2015, and updated on October 13, 2019.
Samantha, do you think I could substitute lemon juice for the lime? I don't have any limes and I really want to make this for dinner tonight. Thank you!
I'm sorry that I didn't see this to reply in time for tonight's dinner, Michelle! I'm not sure how this recipe would turn out with lemon juice, however. Personally, I would probably wait to make it until I had lime juice, but you'll have to let me know if you tried it with lemon juice and if it turned out okay! 🙂
Thank you, Samantha. I thought it over and decided to wait until I could get a lime. 🙂
Hi!
Can we freeze this recipe?
It was delicious!!!
Thanks
I made this today and unfortunately it didn't turn out well. 🙁 I followed the recipe exactly. I cooked it on low for 6 hours and the sauce around the edges burned. What wasn't burnt tasted pretty good, but I found it to be not saucy (wet) enough. For the amount of chicken (as the recipe calls for), it was quite dry, not enough sauce there to wet the rice noodles I served with it. Just wanted to share in case anyone else had the same experience.
The recipe asks for 1 cup canned coconut milk. Is it a light coconut milk or regular ?
Thank you
Hi Joanna! I use regular (full-fat) coconut milk, but you should be able to swap out light if you prefer. 🙂
My kitchen smells great and its only been in the crock pot for about an hour and a half. So excited for dinner time! This recipe is perfect for my weekly ladies night with my besties! One of us is completely gluten intolerant, so the only tricky thing was finding a gluten free soy sauce, since a lot of popular brands use wheat as a main ingredient. So so thankful for this recipe. If it tastes as delicious as it smells (and as delicious as everyone else in the comments says it is) it'll quickly become a regular dish!
I hope it was a hit with you and your friends, Jordan! 🙂
Is all right if I stack some of the chicken in crock pot? My crockpot is small.
That should be fine, Amber! 🙂
Hi there! I see the date stamps are a little older for my message so I hope you have completed all your moving and are happy where you relocated. I am going to try this today but do not have canned coconut milk so was wondering if some coconut oil/almond milk mixture might work? Just wondering your thoughts as you seem to be much better at this cooking thing than I 😉 Haha!
Hi Roxanne! Yes, that move is well behind us...thank you and that goodness! 😉 If you don't have coconut milk, I'd probably just sub almond milk, but the flavor of the final recipe will taste slightly different since lots of Thai cuisine has a coconutty undertone thanks to coconut milk. That being said, I think it will still taste fine. 🙂 I'm not sure what adding coconut oil would do to the consistency of the sauce and I don't think it would add much coconut flavor anyway, so I'd advise against that. Good luck and hope you enjoy!
I made this recipe a couple weeks back and OMG it was amazing. I'm a college student, living (and cooking!) on my own for the first time. I love pad thai and I can't afford to buy it at restaurants and had to resort to making it myself.
This recipe is no fuss and I'm making it again right now.
Thank you so much!
not quite, needed 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, 1/2 cup tamarind paste and more honey to be authentic, also 1/4-half a cup of natural chunky peanut butter. close though! ( follow this and its gunna be 100% lit)
I made this tonight and looooooooooved it!!! Will definitely make it again and it was so easy!! May not have to go out to eat at Thai restaurants anymore 🙂 Thank you!
Have you ever made this as a freezer meal, just wondering if it would work.
Love this recipe! I added in some fresh ginger and tamarind sauce too 🙂
I just made this on the stove top on low heat until chicken was done. Stir it occasionally so it doesn't stick. I also added ginger. OMG, it was amazing. Everybody loved it. It's a keeper
This was an amazing dish! My husband, who's not one to get too far away from his meat and potatoes, loved it! I'll admit I neglected to shred the chicken (leaving it in chunks) to satisfy his man mouth and it worked! I didn't have cilantro so used green onions on top. Excellent! Will fix and again and follow you for more!!! Thanks!
I made a double batch of this recipe with a little twist and it is fantastic. I substituted grade a medium amber maple syrup for honey, added two bunches of scallions and two scotch bonnets for heat. Super easy to prep will definitely make it again.
Yum, Zach...I love your modifications. Sounds delicious!
Did you just double all ingredients when you did that, including liquid?
I pinned this about a month ago and can't believe I am just now getting around to thanking you for such a fantastic recipe! I have made it once a week since trying it for the first time..once a week! My husband has already asked for it on Father's Day and his birthday..which is in December! The peanut butter and coconut flavor is spot on and there is not one thing I would change about it. Thank you so much 🙂
Yay, yay, yay, Sonya! It makes me so happy to hear your rave review. 🙂 Glad it's been such a hit at your house and I appreciate you taking the time to let me know!
I think I must be doing something wrong...I am cooking currently and cooking on low for 6 hours. But even within the first hour of cooking, the edges of the sauce began to look and smell burned. Is this supposed to happen?
Hi Courtney! I don't think you're doing anything wrong...it just sounds like you have a very hot-running slow cooker! If you're home, it's okay to stir it a time or two to keep the edges from burning, and your chicken may be done as quickly as 4 hours. If it is done early, it's definitely okay to turn off the slow cooker or at least reduce it to WARM until you're ready to serve. Hope that helps and good luck!
Tried this and it was delicious. Added some lemongrass to the mixture. Couldn't get the sauce to thicken on its own however so had to put in some cornflour at the end...might have been because I doubled the quantities - had too many hungry (and appreciative, I might add) mouths to feed!