Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken — Juicy chicken is coated in the most incredible peanut sauce! Serve it over rice for an easy meal, and garnish with green onions and extra peanuts for added crunch!
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Easiest Thai Peanut Chicken Recipe
I love peanut sauce. It makes everything it touches automatically amazing. And it makes this chicken tender, moist, juicy and there’s layers of rich flavors.
This is the easiest Thai peanut chicken recipe, and there’s no breading, browning, baking, or frying involved.
Topped with crunchy peanuts, cilantro, and green onions alongside a bed of rice (or use noodles), it’s an easy, weeknight recipe that everyone will love. There’s plenty of peanut butter sauce leftover in the bottom of the slow cooker, which I spoon generously over the chicken, rice, and any veggies I may have steamed.
But I’ve also been know to just eat Thai peanut sauce by the spoonful. So good!
Ingredients for Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken
It might look like this Thai peanut butter chicken has a long ingredients list, but many of them are spices! Gather the following ingredients to make the peanut sauce chicken:
- Olive oil
- Chicken breasts
- Cornstarch
- Coconut milk
- Cream peanut butter
- Soy sauce
- Honey
- Rice wine vinegar
- Lime juice
- Sesame oil
- Spices (ground ginger, garlic powder, cayenne, salt, pepper)
- Optional garnishes (salted peanuts, fresh cilantro, green onions)
How to Make Thai Peanut Chicken in a Slow Cooker
This slow cooker Thai peanut sauce chicken requires minimal prep work, so it’s impossible to mess up! Simply mix up the sauce that’s full of complimentary flavors, including coconut milk, peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic.
Pour the sauce over bite-sized chicken pieces and let your slow cooker do the work!
- Add the diced chicken, cornstarch, salt, and pepper to a large bag. Seal and toss to coat chicken evenly before adding to the slow cooker.
- In a bowl, add the peanut sauce ingredients (coconut milk, peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and cayenne). Whisk to combine, then pour mixture over the chicken.
- Cook the Thai peanut chicken covered on high for about 2 hours or on low for about 4 hours.
- When ready to eat, spoon extra peanut sauce over the chicken and garnish with peanuts, cilantro, and green onions.
Crockpot Thai Chicken FAQs
I haven’t made this recipe without a slow cooker so I can’t give specifics about how to tweak it if you don’t have a slow cooker. I have other peanut chicken and peanut sauce-based recipes listed below the recipe card that you can try until you can make this with a slow cooker.
You’ll need to use a 3- to 6-quart slow cooker.
Yes! You’re welcome to use lite or low-fat coconut milk, so long as it’s canned.
You must used canned coconut milk to make this recipe. Do NOT use coconut milk from a carton.
No, if you omit the cornstarch, the peanut chicken sauce will be far too runny and will never thicken.
Tips for the Best Thai Peanut Chicken
If your peanut butter is resistant to smoothing out when whisking it into the peanut sauce, heat it in the microwave for 30-second bursts until it’s smooth. Just be careful not to cook it too much — you just want to warm it a little bit to make it easier to stir.
No matter if you cook this peanut chicken on a high or low setting, you’ll want to begin checking its doneness 45 minutes to an hour before it’s supposed to be finished. Slow cookers can vary, so yours may cook the chicken slightly faster or slower than mine did.
If you have a meat thermometer, check to see if the chicken is 165 degrees. Once it reaches that point, it’s ready to eat!
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Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon pepper, or to taste
- one 14-ounce can coconut milk, lite okay
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ to 1 teaspoon ground ginger, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder or 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- pinch cayenne pepper, optional and to taste
- ⅓ cup lightly salted peanuts, finely chopped for garnishing
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves, stems discarded, optional for garnishing
- 2 tablespoons green onions sliced thin, optional for garnishing
Instructions
- Line a 3 to 6-quart slow cooker with a liner if using one. I prefer to use liners for easy cleanup.
- Drizzle olive oil over bottom of the liner or slow cooker.
- To a large, gallon-sized ziptop plastic bag, add the chicken, cornstarch, salt, pepper, seal bag, and toss to coat chicken evenly. Add chicken to slow cooker, evenly distributed; set aside.
- To a medium bowl, add the coconut milk, peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, sesame oil, ginger (I prefer 1 teaspoon but some people are sensitive to ginger), garlic, optional cayenne, and whisk to combine. Tip – If your peanut butter is resistant to smoothing out, place bowl in microwave and heat on high power for 30-seconds, making sure the bowl is microwave-safe.
- Pour mixture over the chicken, using a spoon to distribute the sauce if necessary, making sure all pieces are coated. It looks like a lot of sauce but it reduces by at least half during cooking.
- Cook covered on high for about 2 hours or on low for about 4 hours. If cooking on high, start checking at 90 minutes and if cooking on low, start checking at 3 hours. All slow cookers vary so cook until chicken is done (reaches 165F on an instant read thermometer).
- Add chicken to a plate with as much extra cooking sauce spooned over the top as desired, garnish with peanuts, optional cilantro, optional green onions, and serve immediately. Chicken is best warm and fresh but will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Chicken Recipes with Peanut Sauce:
Peanut Chicken with Peanut Noodles – Easy, ready in 20 minutes, tastes better, and way healthier than takeout!! Peanut sauce automatically makes everything taste AMAZING!!
Easy Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce — Look no further from this FAST and EASY recipe for authentic-tasting Thai chicken satay.
Crunchy Peanut Salad with Chicken — Crispy fried chicken with crunchy cabbage, carrots, peanuts, cilantro and the EASIEST and BEST homemade peanut sauce that coats every bite!! A salad that you’ll CRAVE over and over!!
Peanut Chicken Lettuce Wraps – Easy, ready in 20 minutes, healthy, and the peanut sauce is the best! Great flavors and textures in every bite of these irresistible wraps!
Thai Peanut Chicken Salad – Eat the Rainbow with this easy, healthy salad that’s ready in 20 minutes! Juicy chicken and crisp vegetables are tossed in the best peanut sauce!
Hi, can’t wait to try this for dinner tomorrow. My husband did the grocery shopping today and got unsweetened coconut milk….is that ok? I’ve cooked with coconut milk before but I don’t remember if it was sweetened or unsweetened. Thanks?
You want coconut milk in a can. Not what they sell in the refrigerated case or even on the shelf in boxes. Coconut milk in a can is very high in fat, and it only comes one way – there is no choice as far as I know of unsweetened or sweetened. If it’s not coconut milk in a can, it’s not the right product.
Thank you so much! It’s in a can so we’re going for it. Also, as a mom of 2 boy’s (albeit 19 and 15). I am very impressed by your quick responses to questions!! Thank you!!!
I have a 10 yr old daughter and yes, parenting is crazy demanding :) Thanks for noticing my response time, I try!
Thanks, think I’ll stick to your recipe before I try anything new!
Is it possible to cook the rice with the chicken? Or should I be cooking it on the stove separately?
I know you can cook rice in a slow cooker (I never have) but when I’ve googled it it’s always cooked separately, like you’d cook rice in a rice cooker but just using a slow cooker instead. I fear that the rice, along with the sauce, and it could all turn very goopy and mushy. Just my hunch but I can’t say for sure.
I made this for dinner last night and it was AMAZING!!! All 3 of my picky eaters (2, 3 and 38) ALL asked for seconds and all but licked their plates clean!!!! We will be having this again soon!!!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! And that all 3 picky eaters asked for seconds and that you’re going to make it again!
I fully intended to cook this in the slow cooker, but got started too late, so threw it in a 9×13 pan, uncovered in a 325 oven for an hour and it was delicious. My kids thought the sauce was a bit too think, so maybe I had too much cornstarch on the chicken, or should have cooked it covered for at least the first 30 minutes, but overall it was super easy and tasty.
Glad to know it works in the oven and overall it was super easy and tasty!
Forgot to mention, I minced 1 grocery store “bunch”of cilantro and 2 big “bunches” of scallions and put it on top at the end People loved the little crunch. Next time I will stir more in and garnish on top. I made this 5 hours before serving and left it on my counter and garnished it right before serving. I also mixed all the sauce ingrecients the night before and left it in my fridge except the coconut room to save space. I just poured it over my hot brown rice pasta and it soaked it in for hours.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you with a 4x batch! And you even have leftover sauce that sounds wonderful to saute chicken in tonight!
I have never commented before but appreciated the ones left and used them. I quadrupled the recipe. Half thighs/half breasts. I quadrupled all the ingredients, but I messed up on the sesame oil and quadrupled 1 Tablespoon instead of Teaspoon. (it was fine) I used tamari instead of soy sauce to make it gluten free for my celiac friend. I used jumbo fresh garlic (quadrupled the 2 cloves) and minced fresh ginger. For the 8 lbs of chicken I used 3-4 Tablespoons of it. I DID NOT quadruple the cornstarch. I only used 1/3 cup for all 8 lbs. I shook half my chicken in the bag with it. I zested some lime. Could have used more, but I ran out of time. It was fantastic!! People raved! I saved all the leftover sauce and will saute chicken tonight and use the leftover sauce for my family. Thanks Averie and all who commented. This is a keeper!!
This was so tasty!! Thank you so much for sharing.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
Can you make this sauce ahead and keep it in the fridge until using? Thanks
Perhaps but it literally takes just a minute or two to whisk together and I prefer to do it at the time I’m going to begin cooking the chicken.
Thanks for the reply. I did make it early and it did very well keeping in fridge. I used two pounds of boneless skinless thighs cut up. Was an amazing dish. Thanks for recipe. PS…You’re a beautiful lady. Have great one.
Glad that it worked out okay to make in advance and that the dish came out great for you!
I made the Thai peanut chicken tonight and it turned out sooo tasty.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
Mine ended up pasty too, I’m guessing I didn’t shake enough cornstarch off before I added it to the crock. It still tasted great, I’ll just be sure to not put quite as much cornstarch in the bag next time so it has a bit of a lighter coating. Also, since I was feeding kids I didn’t use any cayenne, but I added some chili garlic sauce to mine for some spice. SO GOOD! I will definitely be making this again!
Glad the flavor was great! I love chili-garlic sauce too! Glad you’ll be making this again!
Averie, you are wonderful! Just tried the slow cooker Thai peanut chicken & it is great. Had to made just a few substitutions that I googled (didn’t have rice wine vinegar, or the ginger) & used chunky peanut butter (my favorite) and it turned out so tasty! Thank you. Next will be the slow cooker orange chicken, but like others, I’m planning on substituting out the orange (mild allergy to citrus). Going to try apricot, again one of my favorites.
Thank you!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
LMK how the orange chicken goes with apricot!
I am sorry I wasn’t clear in my review. I followed the recipe directions exactly. I put the cornstarch, salt and pepper in bag with cubed chicken that I had previously even blotted dry with a paper towel. ALL the cornstarch adhered to the chicken. The bag was empty except for some pepper in the bottom after I removed chicken. I did not just dump chicken in the crock pot but gave it a little shake between my fingers as I removed pieces from the bag. No cornstarch was left after shaking chicken. And your chicken pieces appear to have a coating of cornstarch on them. Mine were white cubes of, yes, temder cooked chicken and the cornstarch dissolved and went into solution. I am curious what other cooks encountered?
Not sure what exactly happened in your situation. It’s tricky to troubleshoot from afar when I wasn’t in your kitchen with you :)
Others have made the recipe successfully so not sure what happened for you – but you could try reducing and/or eliminating the cornstarch if you think it would help.
I just made this (my 4-year-old loved it!) and found the sauce to be thicker than I’d have liked. Not really clumpy, but not smooth and creamy like i was hoping. I’m thinking next time less cornstarch. I used organic peanut butter (without added oil or sugar), not sure if that affected the consistency. That being said, the flavor was amazing! I love peanut sauce, and thought this was really good. My husband thought it was too peanutty; I think there’s no such thing.
Glad you loved the flavor and as far as the texture you could experiment with different peanut butters and/or less cornstarch and/or maybe a bit less time in the slow cooker. You want it cooked obviously but the longer the sauce is in there, the thicker it will get. I agree, there’s no such thing as too peanutty!
Oh, also wanted to add I used fresh garlic and ginger, and 1/2 a fresh squeezed lime. Delish!
I tried it also, and had to tweak it a lot: less cornstarch, more garlic and ginger, used regular strength soy sauce, and zested a lime into the sauce before putting it into the slow cooker. It came out a hundred times better than the first round, which was kind of gummy and bland, after following the recipe exactly.
I’m glad you tweaked the recipe to your liking. We all have different sensitivities towards spices/salt (the sodium in regular soy sauce for example my family doesn’t prefer). Glad it was a success for you.
I also had this problem when I made it. The sauce turned out thick and clumpy. Still delicious, but I will try less cornstarch next time.
Thanks for trying the recipe and yes if you had clumping problems, less CS should help. Glad it was still delicious!
I have read all the reviews and it does not appear that anyone actually tried this. I did and I had some problems. Is the amount of cornstarch correct? Did you brown the chicken in the crock pot? Is that even an option in a crock pot? Why did the cornstarch stick to your chicken while cooking? Less than two cups liquid and 1/2 cup cornstarch going into solution made for a pasty, dry, souffle texture. After adding additional liquid and additional coconut milk the flavor was gone and it was still a pasty mess. That said, I would make it again in a flash, substantially reducing corn starch. And thoughts? How did this go so wrong? All I can think is when shaking in bag it was not all intended to adhere to the chicken but in my case it did. Then melted immediately off as it began cooking.
With regard to the cornstarch, all you’re trying to do is put some in a big baggie, add the chicken to the bag, shake, and get the chicken coated with cornstarch. And yes, it’s supposed to adhere to the chicken.
I didn’t brown the chicken in the Crockpot, I just added it straight from the baggie to the crockpot, exactly as I wrote in the recipe.
You’re not adding 1/2 cup cornstarch straight into the slow cooker, you’re adding it to the baggie for the chicken to be coated with. Not every ounce of it is going to stick; take the chicken out of the bag, and place in slow cooker and carry on with the recipe. If you were to add 1/2 cup cornstarch directly into the slow cooker, yes I can see where that would be a pasty mess but that’s not what I wrote to do. Can’t determine if that’s what you did or not.
If you think reducing the cornstarch will help you next time, go for it. Thanks for trying the recipe.
The recipe calls for 1/3 a cup of cornstarch NOT 1/2 cup, that could be the problem. You put in almost twice as much cornstarch.
I have GOT to make these. The photos are mouthwatering.
Do you happen to know the nutritional values?
No I don’t but there are online nutritional calculators that you can use to plug the data into.
I’ve checked nutritional values. I portion provides about 750 kcal | Protein 49 g | Fat 48.5 g | Carbohydrates 36 g | Fiber 3.7 g | Sugars 1.85 g. Peanuts do the job! The good news is that with one serving you also get daily requirements for Vitamin B3 and B6 .