This Thai Peanut Chicken is ridiculously easy and ridiculously delicious. Tender chicken thighs in a creamy, flavorful sauce, all cooked together in one pot. Serve over cauliflower rice for a healthy low carb dinner!
We’ve been making Thai-style Peanut Chicken for at least 15 years now, and my whole family loves it. We usually just grill up some thighs and whip up the sauce a blender. We serve it with coconut cauliflower rice for a delectable dinner.
But this Slow Cooker Peanut Chicken is a little different. It’s the same basic premise, but you just dump all the ingredients into your slow cooker and let it do its thing. Three to four hours later, you have a spectacular meal. And you barely had to lift a finger!
One bite and my husband and I were hooked. The chicken is so succulent, the sauce is so creamy, and rich, and it has that unique Thai umami. This will easily become one of my favorite keto chicken recipes.
Why you will love this Thai chicken recipe
In case it’s not readily apparent, I love Thai food and Thai flavors. But a lot of takeout contains noodles, rice, or sugar sauces, so I usually try to make my own at home. I have a delicious Keto Pad Thai recipe with cabbage noodles, and my Thai Basil Chicken is fantastic too.
Making Thai Peanut Chicken in a slow cooker is kind of a no-brainer. This is what I call a dump-and-run recipe, where you just pop everything into the pot and walk away. Aside from slicing the pepper and whisking the sauce, you have almost no prep work.
And the chicken comes out of the pot mouthwateringly tender, while the sauce becomes rich and creamy. The flavor is out of this world!
Each serving has only 4g net carbs, making it an ideal keto dinner recipe. I see this going into regular rotation in our house!
Ingredients you need
- Chicken thighs: I recommend boneless, skinless thighs for this recipe, as the skin can get very rubbery in a crockpot.
- Red pepper: Thinly sliced red pepper adds color, flavor, and nutrition!
- Peanut butter: Creamy natural peanut butter is perfect for this Thai Peanut Chicken recipe.
- Tamari: I prefer this stronger, gluten-free version of soy sauce as it adds more flavor.
- Vinegar: The original recipe I had for peanut sauce always took a touch of vinegar, and I enjoy the tanginess it adds.
- Fish sauce: Fish sauce is one of the ingredients that gives Thai food its unique flavor!
- Seasonings: Salt, pepper, garlic, red pepper flakes, ginger.
- Garnish: Chopped peanuts, cilantro, and lime wedges.
Step by step directions
1. Lightly grease the ceramic interior of a slow cooker. Pat the chicken dry, and place in the bottom of the pot. Season with salt and pepper, then top with the red pepper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, tamari, vinegar, fish sauce, garlic, red pepper flakes, and ginger. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of warm water to help thin out the sauce and make it smooth.
3. Pour the sauce over the chicken in the pot.Cook on low for 3 ½ to 4 ½ hours, depending on how big your chicken thighs are. They should reach 165ºF on an instant read thermometer.
4. Remove the chicken and red peppers with a slotted spoon and whisk the sauce left in the pot until smooth. Garnish with chopped peanuts, chopped cilantro, and slices of lime.
Expert Tips
You could use bone-in, skin on chicken, but I find that the skin gets rubbery when cooked in a crockpot. If you do go that route, I recommend browning the thighs in a skillet first.
You could also use breasts but they may take longer to cook through. If the chicken breasts are the really large enhanced kind, I recommend cutting each of them in half for more appropriate serving sizes.
I know many people will ask if they can use an Instant Pot for this recipe and I honestly don’t think it will be quite as good. Pressure cookers force a lot of liquid out of chicken, and the sauce may be a bit too soupy. If you do try that, I recommend manual high for about 10 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally. If your Instant Pot has a slow cooker function, I would just use that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Peanut sauce typically contains a combination of creamy peanut butter, soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, and ginger. We find that the addition of a little vinegar gives it a unique tanginess as well.
For a healthy low carb meal, serve this recipe with coconut rice or zucchini noodles. You could also serve it over Palmini noodles.
Store any leftovers in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
More recipes you will love
Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- Salt and pepper
- 1 medium red pepper thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 ½ tablespoon tamari (or soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- Peanuts, lime slices, and cilantro for garnish.
Instructions
- Lightly grease the ceramic interior of a slow cooker. Pat the chicken dry, and place in the bottom of the pot. Season with salt and pepper, then top with the red pepper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, tamari, vinegar, fish sauce, garlic, red pepper flakes, and ginger. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of warm water to help thin out the sauce and make it smooth. .
- Pour the sauce over the chicken in the pot. Cook on low for 3 ½ to 4 ½ hours, depending on how big your chicken thighs are. They should reach 165ºF on an instant read thermometer.
- Remove the chicken and red peppers with a slotted spoon and whisk the sauce left in the pot until smooth. Garnish with chopped peanuts, chopped cilantro, and slices of lime.
Nikki in Chicago says
I made this last night and it was a hit! One of our new favorites. I saw the recipe too late for the slow cooker, so I just made it like a stir fry and served it with rice on the side. Had to add a bit more water to make the sauce more saucy since it was really thick, but it didn’t water down any of the delicious flavors. It was so easy and tasty, I’ll definitely be making it again and again and again! YUM!
Barry says
I don’t have a crock pot or slow cooker or Instant pot, can I cook this over gas or in the oven and if yes for how long?
Carolyn says
I am sorry, I haven’t tried it that way.
Nikki in Chicago says
Hi Barry, see my comment I just posted. I found the recipe too late for the slow cooker, so I cooked it like a stir fry and it worked out perfectly! So delicious. Add a bit more water to make it a little more saucy.
Deb says
I’m giving the recipe 5 stars because I have made it 3 times in the last month!
Carolyn, I’m curious why you used GROUND ginger while the garlic was actually minced cloves. Does slow cooking adversely change the flavor?
Carolyn says
No, it’s just ground ginger is easier to come by for most folks. And easier to prep for cooking.
Deb says
DELICIOUS!
There was plenty of sauce so we ate this over cauliflower rice.
I have now made this 3 times. This last time I was out of town and forgot my fish sauce. I found oyster sauce but it wasn’t quite the same. The fish sauce is not over powering or “funky” at all but adds a “depth of flavor”. Do try to find the fish sauce! (even the small town I was in stocks it but it was temporarily sold out. It costs about $3-$7 but if you like Asian recipes you will use it frequently.)
Be sure to use the lime and chopped peanut garnish. (I also like what the cilantro adds but out of courtesy to my DIL I let people add that on their own)
Even the non-keto diners appreciated this and I appreciated that it was easy and mostly hands-off!
Deb says
DELICIOUS!
Be sure to use the lime and chopped peanut garnish. (I also like what the cilantro adds but out of courtesy to my DIL I let people add that on their own)
Even the non-keto diners appreciated this and I appreciated that it was easy and mostly hands-off!
Arlene Travnik says
I love new chicken recipies!
Gretchen says
This was really good, the whole family approved! I did not heed your warning and did this in the instant pot anyways as I didn’t have time to use the crock pot. I added a little extra water to the peanut sauce but it was still really thick. I did manual cook for 12 minutes and natural release, but a lot of the chicken was still raw. The sauce liquified a bit more though, so stirred everything up really good and did manual cook for another 10 minutes and natural release again (only took a few minutes to release), and it was perfect! Made coconut rice for the not keto family and coconut cauliflower rice for the keto ones, and everyone really liked it. The flavor is so good!
Anu says
Delicious and simple, what a great recipe! We made this exactly as written and it was a breeze to put together and a joy to eat 🙂 Thank you so much for another winner!
Teresa says
Wow! Made this for lunch today and it was delicious. The peanut sauce has great flavour. Thank you for another great recipe!
Carolyn says
Glad you liked it!
Maureen F says
This chicken recipe is all you promised,! Both quick and easy and very yummy. I used chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces. Amazing! Thanks for another great dinner!
Carolyn says
So glad you liked it!
Tree says
We only use almond butter since my husband can’t eat peanuts. Do you see any reason this substitution wouldn’t work?
Carolyn says
Not at all! Should work well.
Renee Nevitt says
Would this still be good without the fish sauce? We can’t use it as it has way too much sodium! Thank you, we really love your recipes!
Carolyn says
Yes… it won’t quite have that unique flavor but peanut chicken is always tasty!