Sweet Peas and Saffron

meal prep recipes for busy people

Slow Cooker Ginger Peanut Chicken

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This Thai-inspired slow cooker ginger peanut chicken is so easy to throw together. It cooks along with baby potatoes, green beans and carrots for a complete meal!

No sautee slow cooker meals are so great because you can get them into the slow cooker quickly. From crockpot chicken fajitas to crockpot pulled pork, I have a ton of easy prep recipes for you on this site!

close up view of uncooked slow cooker ginger peanut chicken ingredients in slow cooker

Slow cooker ginger peanut chicken is another great one, and the best part is that it also includes green beans, carrots and potatoes for a complete meal!

Reasons you’ll ♡ slow cooker ginger peanut chicken

  • no sautéing means you can get the ingredients into the slow cooker quickly
  • you can cook a complete meal in the slow cooker
  • it has delicious Thai-inspired peanut ginger flavor

Recipe video

Watch the video below to see exactly how I prepped this slow cooker ginger peanut chicken. It’s so easy! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel, or on Facebook.

overhead view of Thai peanut chicken in slow cooker with carrots, beans and potatoes before cooking

Ingredient notes

  • chicken– this recipe calls for bone in chicken breast; because it is less ‘saucy’, boneless chicken breasts will dry out more in this recipe. You could also swap for boneless skinless chicken thighs.
  • beans– this is a bit of a long cook time for the beans; if you are picky about the texture of your beans, feel free to leave them out initially, adding them in during the last 1-2 hours of cook time.
  • peanut butter– this recipe calls for creamy peanut butter, but crunchy would be good as well. I used a sweetened peanut butter (Kraft) so if you use all natural, you may want to increase the brown sugar a touch.
  • carrots + potatoes– these hardy vegetables do well for a long cook time; if you are looking to swap, other root vegetables would be a good option. Sweet potatoes and parsnips are two options.

Start by mixing the sauce

The flavor base for this recipe is a simple sauce of peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and sesame oil. Start by heating the peanut butter gently in the microwave; this helps soften it, making it easier to mix the other ingredients in.

Add the remaining ingredients, and stir until smooth and completely combined. Taste to see if your tastebuds are happy; I used a sweetened peanut butter, so if you use natural peanut butter, you may need to increase the sugar a touch.

Reader tip- some readers have recommended doubling the sauce for this recipe.

Toss chicken in the sauce

We want to make sure our chicken absorbs as much peanut ginger flavor as possible while it cooks, so we toss it in the peanut ginger sauce before adding to the slow cooker. After tossing in the sauce, postition the chicken to one side of the slow cooker (stacked), and arrange the veggies on the other side. While the meal cooks, the sauce will liquify, moving to the other side of the slow cooker flavoring the other ingredients as well.

slow cooker peanut ginger chicken in slow cooker after cooking through

Cook on low heat

In general, the slow cooker works better when cooked on the lowest setting (1). The high setting can bring the pot to a vigorous boil, overcooking the chicken and ruining the dish. To avoid overcooking our chicken, we cook this recipe on the lowest setting for 4-5 hours.

Storage + reheating

  • fridge– store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days
  • reheat– heat in a frying pan on the stove or in a covered dish in the microwave until warmed through
  • freezer– I have not tried freezing leftovers; the beans and carrots might be quite mushy. Leave us a comment below if you give it a try!

Equipment

I have owned Crock Pot brand slow cookers for many years now and have been extremely happy.

  • this 6 quart slow cooker works great for a full batch of most recipes on my site
  • this 2.5 quart slow cooker works great for smaller half batches- though I have not tried a half batch of this particular recipe in it!

shredded peanut ginger chicken on a plate with the carrots, beans and potatoes

More slow cooker chicken recipes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe
4.67 from 3 votes

Slow Cooker Ginger Peanut Chicken with Green Beans & Baby Potatoes

Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Thai
Keyword: gluten-free, slow cooker
Calories: 518kcal
Author: Denise Bustard
Servings: 4
This Thai-inspired slow cooker ginger peanut chicken is so easy to throw together. It cooks along with baby potatoes, green beans and carrots for a complete meal!
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time4 hrs
Total Time4 hrs 20 mins

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce I use reduced sodium
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
  • 2 teaspoons ginger minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 2 bone-in skinless chicken breasts note 1
  • 8 oz green beans washed and trimmed
  • 2-3 carrots peeled and sliced into strips
  • 4 cups baby potatoes halved (roughly 1lb)

Garnish:

  • Cilantro leaves
  • Crushed peanuts

Instructions

  • Place the peanut butter in a microwavable bowl, and heat for 15 seconds. Stir, and return to the microwave for another 10 seconds, and stir again.
  • Add the soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and sesame oil to the bowl. Stir until smooth and completely combined.
  • Add the chicken breasts to the bowl, and turn to coat in the peanut sauce.
  • Place the chicken in the base of a slow cooker. Spread any peanut sauce remaining in the bowl over the chicken.
  • Place the potatoes beside the chicken, and top with the carrots and green beans.
  • Cook on the lowest setting for 4-5 hours.
  • Remove the carrots, green beans and potatoes from the slow cooker and arrange on plates.
  • Shred the chicken between two forks, tossing it in the peanut sauce, and serve. Garnish with cilantro leaves and additional peanuts.
  • Spoon any additional peanut sauce over the veggies.

Notes

1- boneless skinless chicken breasts do not do well in this recipe (they can dry out), and we recommend using bone-in skinless chicken breasts. Another option is boneless skinless chicken thighs.
2- If you want the sauce to have a bit of a kick to it, add a teaspoon or sriracha or your favorite hot sauce to the peanut butter/soy sauce mixture!
Storage
After cooking, cool completely, then store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Reheat
Heat in a frying pan on medium heat or in the microwave until steaming hot. Do not reheat more than once.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/4 batch | Calories: 518kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 748mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 19g

 

Reader Interactions

About Denise Bustard

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. read more

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Comments

  1. Arthur Tilanus

    Seems like a great recipe! I’m looking for some easy slow-cooker recipes to cook while in a camper, this looks like a winner! Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

  2. Leanne

    5 stars
    I make this recipe all the time, it’s one of my absolute favorites. It’s so quick to put together and tastes absolutely delicious. I follow the recipe to a T except I add garlic and usually double the sauce. Thank you Denise for sharing! Do yourself a favor and make this recipe!

    Reply

  3. Jenn

    This looks amazing! I love Thai food and I love quick and easy meals. I’m vegetarian; is there anything you would suggest in place of the chicken in the crockpot?
    Thank you!

    Reply

  5. Jackie

    5 stars
    I love this recipe, it is very popular in our house! Follow the directions to a T and you can’t go wrong ?Thanks for sharing it with us!

    Reply

  6. Adrienne Early

    4 stars
    I made this a few nights ago. I started it late, so I turned it high for an hour then turned it low for two plus. Unfortunately this was not nearly enough time for the potatoes, which were only half cooked.

    I also cooked low-mein noodles as a side, which went very well with the chicken and sauce. The half cooked carrots also were surprisingly a good texture to go with the meal. The green beans were from a can as my fresh ones had gone bad, so were fine with the short cook time.

    I think in the future I’d double the peanut sauce and just omit the potatoes (as the noodles were fantastic with it).

    These notes are not criticism, but so next time I make it I’ll have notes handy 🙂

    Reply

    • Denise

      Hi Adrienne, thanks for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful comment. I might have to retest this recipe, but suspect it may come down to different models of slow cookers. My slow cooker always cooks on the hot side!

      Reply

  7. Sara

    Hey Denise, is there an alternative to the potato’s that I could use? We are trying to go lower carb and trying to avoid potatoes, rice and pasta. I would love to make this with another veggie option.

    Reply

    • Denise

      Hi Sara, I’ve only ever made it as written but I think you would be able to make it without the potatoes. Maybe you could serve over spiralized zucchini or cauliflower rice (not cooked in the slow cooker though!)

      Reply

  8. Gynger

    I’m so disappointed! Have been looking forward to making this dish and I’ve finally made it, waited all day and just tasted it…Ugh!! Dry, dry, more dry and flavorless to boot. Waste of ingredients. Sorry, followed instructions exactly and it just didnt work.

    Reply

  9. Theresa@aloveafare

    Oh yes! Thai is also my favorite! I have been doing slow cooker Tuesdays at my house and leftover Thursdays with the slow cooker. So far it’s been great. This recipe looks so delicious. I look forward to making it Tuesday. Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply

  10. Jan Pinkerton

    Yum, Denise! We made this tonight with our fresh garden beans, and it was oh so delicious. I used regular potatoes, quartered, and they were perfect. And the addition of the sriracha sauce gave it an extra zing that we like. Thanks for posting it when we had a few chicken breasts staring at us from the fridge!

    Reply

  12. Helen @ Scrummy Lane

    Oh Denise, this is such a fabulous idea! I’m not at all surprised by the results of your survey… I make a baked peanut chicken that is one of the most popular recipes on my blog. I just love those satay tastes, and I can’t think of a better aroma to come home to after a hard day. 🙂

    Reply

  15. marcie

    Thai food is amazing — the flavors and textures are just off the charts! I love that you’ve made a Thai slow cooker meal — I definitely need to try this!

    Reply

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