This freezer Asian Peanut Chicken can be assembled ahead and stashed in the freezer until you're ready to cook it up in the slow cooker or Instant Pot! Vegan and low carb options listed.
Our Freezer Meal Prep Challenge is nearly upon us and that means I've been testing freezer meals like crazy!
This Asian peanut chicken recipe is a great one because you can really change it up depending on your diet; I've included some swaps to make it low carb, and vegan!
Not only that, but this recipe can be cooked in either a slow cooker OR an Instant Pot. How's that for versatile?!
This Asian Peanut Chicken
- can be assembled ahead and frozen as a freezer crock pot meal
- can be made gluten-free, vegan or low carb
- can be cooked in a slow cooker or an Instant Pot
How to make it
This Asian peanut chicken is adapted from the Thai Peanut Chicken Marinade recipe in this post! I simply increased the sauce a bit for a larger volume to cook in the Instant Pot or slow cooker.
- Combine the peanut sauce ingredients, chicken breasts, sweet potatoes, onion and carrots in a slow cooker or Instant Pot.
- Pressure cook for 5 minutes or slow cook for 3-4 hours.
- Stir in the spinach (this is optional but makes it a more balanced meal).
- Serve over rice!
A few important points
- when cooking in the Instant Pot, slice your chicken breasts in half so that they cook through in the 5 minutes
- you may want to leave the carrots out of the slow cooker or cut them very small as they might not cook through in 3-4 hours on low
- to swap the sweet potatoes, onions & carrots for low carb options like zucchini, broccoli or asparagus- you will need to add these during the last hour of cooking in the slow cooker or after the chicken has cooked in the Instant Pot. Select sautee and cook them in the sauce for a few minutes.
How can I serve Asian peanut chicken?
We served over rice (or cauliflower rice).
How do I prep it as a crockpot freezer meal?
Simply combine the ingredients in a sturdy freezer bag (or one of these awesome eco-friendly silicone freezer bags
!), and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight before cooking as directed.
Can I swap for chicken thighs?
Absolutely. Slow Cooker- you can cook for 4-5 hours on low for boneless skinless chicken thighs (I do not recommend skin-on chicken thighs for the slow cooker as they will release a lot of fat during the cook time). Instant Pot- cut them in small chunks and pressure cook for 5 minutes.
Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!
Freezer Asian Peanut Chicken
Ingredients
- ¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup natural peanut butter
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon chopped ginger (or 1 teaspoon powdered)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup water
- 4 cups 1 inch sweet potato cubes (1 large sweet potato)
- 2 carrots (peeled & sliced)
- 1 red onion (sliced)
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (each breast cut in 2 lengthwise for Instant Pot)
To serve
- 4 handfulls spinach
- peanuts
- green onions
- rice or cauliflower rice
Instructions
- Instant Pot- Combine all ingredients in the Instant Pot. Pressure cook for 5 minutes; allow pressure to naturally release for 5 minutes before releasing the rest.
- Slow Cooker- Combine all ingredients in a 5 or 6 quart slow cooker. Cook for 4 hours on low.
- Add in the spinach and stir into the sauce until it is wilted.
- Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and return to the sauce.
- Serve over rice or cauliflower rice.
To Prep Ahead and Freeze
- In a gallon sized heavy duty freezer bag, add the soy sauce, peanut butter, garlic, ginger, maple syrup, sesame oil, red pepper flakes and water. Squish it all together until it is roughly combined.
- Add in the sweet potato cubes, carrots, red onion and chicken.
- Squeeze as much air as possible out of the bag and freeze flat.
- Thaw completely before cooking as directed above.
Tips:
gluten-free: use tamari or coconut aminos in place of soy sauce vegetarian & vegan: swap the chicken for a 15 or 19 oz can of chickpeas (drain and rinse first; they can go in the freezer too!) low carb: swap maple syrup for 1.5 tsp monk fruit sweetener; omit the sweet potato and carrot.
- Instant Pot- After chicken has cooked, remove from the pot, select 'sautee' an add in some low carb vegetables: green beans, broccoli, zucchini. Cook for 5 or so minutes until softened. Serve with cauliflower rice.
- Slow Cooker- Add low carb veggies such as green beans, broccoli, zucchini during the last 1 hour of cooking.
Nutrition Information
© Sweet Peas & Saffron - Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Denise Bustard is the creator of Sweet Peas and Saffron, a meal prep-focussed food blog. With a PhD in biochemistry, Denise takes a scientific approach to perfecting her recipes. You can find Denise's work featured on Huffington Post, MSN, Self and more.
Iris Peterson says
Great recipe , my sweet potato did go a bit mushy but I will cut them a bit bigger next time . Also I add more veggies corn, celery & peas that’s what I had in my fridge .My family all loved it .🇦🇺
Sara says
This was terrible. Definitely don’t make it in the slow cooker. The chicken was flavorless and the sweet potatoes were mush, and the sauce was bland and watery. Could be an ok recipe made fresh on a stovetop, but so so bad as a freezer slow cooker meal.
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Sara, sorry to hear you did not enjoy this recipe. It seems that people either love it or don't enjoy this one at all. Hopefully, you find some other freezer meals here on Sweet Peas & Saffron to enjoy! Thanks for your feedback.
Allison says
I made this recipe tonight in my instant pot and it was really, really bad. Flavorless and the consistency of baby food. I will try to salvage what I can, I hate wasting food like this.
Jessy says
I found that adding 2 tablespoons of sesame oil was way too much, it would overpower the peanut flavor. I only added 1 tablespoon instead , and even that was too much. I tried to save it with some coconut milk and fish sauce.
Denise Bustard says
Hi Jessy! Thank you for the feedback. Were you using toasted sesame oil?
Sukaina says
I made the IP version with chickpeas. Dind't see your instructions so I cooked it for 7 min and QR lol It's one of my favorites and always on rotation. I have to buy a trivet of pot in pot so it could be a one pot meal with rice. Thanks Denise, delicious as always.
Denise Bustard says
Hi Sukaina, I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed! Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to leave a review, I really appreciate it!
Anne says
This was just terrible. I’m sorry....I followed the directions to a t and it looked and tasted like the baby food you get in the little bottles. I couldn’t even get through half a bowl of this. I hate wasting food but this is headed for the trash 🙁
Denise Bustard says
Hi Anne, thanks for the feedback. Seems like this recipe is either 'love it' or 'loathe it'.
Suzie says
This recipe has become a staple in my household! I've made it with chicken and since recently transitioning to pescatarian subbed chickpeas- both delicious! I've shared this recipe with folks intimidated by cooking since it's so easy and yummy. Excited to try your moroccan lentils next.
Denise Bustard says
Hi Suzie! Wow, I'm so happy to hear your family has enjoyed this recipe! That makes me so happy 🙂 Thanks so much for taking the time out of your day to come back and leave a review <3
Mo says
I will give 5 stars because it was so easy to prepare. I am just about to cook it in my slow cooker on low for 8 hrs as my slow cooker lives up to its name. I will let you know how I get on. I am also defrosting some spinach and will add that an hour before the end of cooking time. After reading the comments above I am prepared for Asian Soup for our evening meal but that is fine with me. I am using the Crockpot Instant Pot. I could not bring myself to pressure cook this recipe as 5 minutes does not sound enough to me. I love your ideas.
Denise Bustard says
Hi Mo! I hope you enjoy the flavor as well. Thank you for coming back to leave a review, I really appreciate it!
Jackie says
I don't have an instapot or crockpot...how can I cook this on the stove top?
Denise says
Hi Jackie! Here are the directions for stove top:
Stove Top- add an extra ¼ cup water or more if the pot seems to be getting dry. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes (stirring every 5-10 minutes), or until sweet potatoes are soft and chicken is cooked through.
Add in the spinach and stir until wilted.
Alison says
Absolutely love the flavours in this dish, will definitely make again. However mine also burnt in the Instant Pot and wouldn't come to pressure. Maybe it's because in the UK our peanut butter is much thicker and not runny. I did add a little more water to compensate but it still burned in the IP!
Anyway, will be very happy to try in slow cooker and stove top in future. Still really easy and so so tasty. Thanks for another great recipe 😁
Denise says
I'm so sad to hear you got the dreaded burn warning, Alison 🙁 Thank you for reporting back. I appreciate the feedback!
Laura says
Happy Nrw Year. I'm a big fan of your videos but can't always adapt for our family due to your small portion sizes. I know you mentioned having 2 small kids but our boys are growing and there is no way 1 sweet potato and 2 chicken breasts serves 4. 300 calories just isnt enough for dinner and without more instructions on the instant pot I don't know how easy it is to just "make more." I appreciate your reading my feedback. Made the Korean beef for lunches and loved but had to triple the recipe! 🙂
Denise says
Hi Laura, I suspect I will be in your shoes when my boys hit the teenage years! If you ever want to change the serving size on these recipes, you can hover your mouse over the serving size number on the recipe card and drag it to get the portions you'd like. This recipe is meant to be served over rice, so that would probably be another 100-150 calories, and you're welcome to add in more chicken if you'd like to up that. I am unsure on doubling the whole recipe. It may be possible in the 8 quart Instant Pot.
Toni says
So delicious! Didn't add the red pepper flakes as I was making it for my toddlers and didn't want it to be spicy. Turned out perfect in the instant pot! The whole family approved!
Denise says
So happy to hear you enjoyed, Toni! Thanks so much for reporting back 🙂
Bill Switzer says
Had to finish the recipe in a slow cooker after the third “food burn” alarm from the instant pot.
Each time I took everything out, scoured the liner pot down to bare metal, put everything back in, even added some water to thin out the sauce.... still tripped the burn alarm before the pre-heating could build enough pressure to start the timer.
So instead of an easy “set it and forget it” meal I’ve had to use like 3 times the pots and equipment to deal with a recipe that my instant pot doesn’t want to cook.
Super super infuriating. Instantpot is going in the instant garbage.
Denise says
Hi Bill! Please don't give up on your Instant Pot 🙁 If you have a sensitive one, which it sounds like you do, you can stick to recipes that have higher liquid amounts. I have lots of soups, stews, and chicken recipes that would work great for you! https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/category/instant-pot/
Kelli says
Could you cook this and then freeze the cooked meals individually? I’m trying to get a few freezer meals together that I can grab and go on busy days!
Denise Bustard says
Hi Kelli! That should work, and if you are looking for more ideas of pre-cooked freezer meals, check out these posts: https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/freezer-friendly-lunches/ and https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/freezer-friendly-lunch-meal-prep-recipes/
Fran Bellas says
We really liked this dish. I prepped, froze, thawed and then cooked for 4 hours on Low in Crockpot. It was great. My sweet potatoes were a bit smashed so I would cut larger and more consistent next time. Flavor was great. I used PB2 powder and water as my peanut butter and was pleased with the flavor and consistency. Served some over rice and mine without. Teen wouldn’t eat it because she doesn’t like combined food or cooked carrots...choose my battles. I will prep this again for sure.
Denise says
So happy to hear this worked for you with PB2! Thanks for your review, Fran <3
Melinda Gross says
We used all carrots, sweet potato just didn’t strike me as an Asian dish vegetable, and wound up with a bit of a soup like consistency as well. Next time we’re going to try cooking the rice in it as well so hopefully that absorbs some. The flavours are phenomenal though! So good, everyone had seconds and wanted some for lunch the next day.
Denise says
Hi Melinda! I totally get that you wanted to swap the carrots with sweet potatoes, but without the sweet potatoes to 'thicken' the sauce, it will definitely end up more soupy. Glad you enjoyed the flavors though 🙂
Lynda says
Made this today in the crockpot, served with a side of white rice. I was disappointed; won't be making it again. Just didn't care for the flavors. Thanks for posting though, it was fun making something new. 🙂
Denise says
Hi Lynda, I'm so sorry you didn't like it but surprised as well...we actually had it for dinner tonight and were all commenting about how much we enjoyed it. I guess tastebuds are just different?
Lauren says
Tried this and will be making again. IT was easy, dairy free and my husband went back for seconds. I accidentally cooked it for 4 hrs on high instead of low, so it mushed a little, bit it was still really good.
Denise says
I'm so happy you enjoyed it, Lauren! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review <3
Krystal says
Mine came out looking like soup! I’m not sure what I did wrong. It looked like watered down peanut butter. Lol. I’m still trying to get used to my instant pot. Any ideas of where I could have gone wrong?
Thanks!
Denise says
Hi Krystal! It definitely shouldn't look like soup, but one thing I have noticed about the Instant Pot is that when you take the lid off, things often look really soupy, but thicken/set up within a few minutes. Did this happen for you?
XO
Marj says
Delicious 😋! Only had my Instant Pot for a week so I am still experimenting, this was very easy to make and the end result was amazing, went straight to the top of my husband’s list favourite meals. I decided to try Pot in Pot to cook the rice and it came out great too.
Denise says
Wow, I am SUPER impressed you did pot in pot, I haven't even tried that yet and I've owned my IP for 2 years. Time to get on it! Thanks for your review, Marj!
Brittany Audra @ Audra's Appetite says
I am seriously SO Excited about this recipe I don't even know where to begin! I love savory Asian peanut sauces, and sweet potatoes, and any recipe I can make in my crock-pot!!! Will definitely be trying this fall 🙂
Denise says
Woo hoo! Thanks, girl, hope you enjoy!