Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken (Easy + Flavorful)

Thai Peanut Chicken made in the slow cooker features tender chicken stewed in a flavorful coconut milk and peanut sauce, garnished with peanuts and cilantro and served over rice, rice noodles, or in lettuce wraps!

For more easy, Asian-inspired dinners, you'll also enjoy Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken, Easy Fried Rice, Instant Pot Egg Roll in a Bowl, Ground Beef Stir Fry, 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. As a bonus, it's ridiculously easy to make.

What is Thai Peanut Chicken?

Chicken breasts are seasoned and slow cooked until fall-apart tender.

The cooked chicken is then shredded and returned to the slow cooker along with a flavorful sauce of coconut milk, peanut butter, and other goodness. That's when the Thai Peanut Chicken heats through and soaks up the fabulous sauce.

Then it's simply a matter of garnishing with crunchy peanuts and fresh cilantro 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 involved. 😉

Tweaking the Recipe

I originally posted this Thai Peanut Chicken recipe ten years ago, with directions to cook the raw chicken in the sauce. Back then, I used my original, older-model slow cooker, which cooked much slower (AKA, cooler) than most modern day slow cookers.

But in the years since first sharing this recipe, some people have had issues with the peanut sauce burning. And since that time, I have had to replace my own old slow cooker with a shiny new model. I've discovered myself that this sauce is indeed prone to over-thickening and even burning if the particular crock pot used runs hot.

Thus presented the dilemma that this recipe worked great for some people and didn't turn out for others, depending on their particular model of slow cooker and how hot it ran. So I decided to trouble-shoot a new process of cooking to ensure that this Thai Peanut Chicken will turn out perfect in any slow cooker!

And that's the updated, new-and-improved recipe I'm sharing today. 🙂

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.
• Chicken broth, salt, + freshly ground black pepper. For slow cooking the chicken.
• Coconut milk. Meaning the real stuff from a can. I use full-fat coconut milk (and I try to buy coconut milk with no added guar gum), 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.
• Unsweetened peanut butter. I prefer chunky, although creamy would be fine. I also like to use all-natural peanut butter.
• Garlic. Glorious garlic...don't skimp!
• Honey. For natural sweetness.
• Soy sauce. Use low-sodium to give you more control over the ultimate saltiness of your dish.
• Fish sauce. Optional but recommended, for extra umami.
• Lime juice. A bit of acidity helps balance the fat and creaminess from the coconut milk and peanut butter.
• Rice wine vinegar. For more acidity, plus extra Asian flavor. If you don't have rice wine vinegar (also called rice 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 quick steps away from getting it on the table.

1. Arrange chicken pieces in the bottom of your slow cooker, season with salt and pepper, and pour chicken broth into the bottom.

2. Cover and cook on LOW until the chicken is cooked through and fall-apart tender. 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 drying out the chicken. Newer model, hotter running slow cookers can cook chicken breasts as quickly as 3 or 4 hours. You need to be familiar with your slow cooker in order to determine the appropriate cooking time for this recipe. (Hint: If your chicken isn't falling apart, it needs to cook a bit longer!)

3. Remove the chicken to a cutting board and pull it into chunks. Drain the liquid from the slow cooker, wipe out any fat, and return the shredded chicken to it.

4. Stir together the sauce by whisking all of the ingredients in a bowl until smooth.

5. Pour the sauce over the shredded chicken in the slow cooker. Stir to combine.

6. Cover and cook on LOW for up to an additional hour, stirring halfway through, or until the sauce is thickened and everything is heated through.

7. Serve your Thai Peanut Chicken over rice or rice noodles, garnishing with plenty of chopped peanuts and fresh cilantro. (Truly, don't leave off the peanuts and cilantro...they take this recipe to the next level!)

Ta-daaaa!

Who needs take-out?

Add an optional side salad drizzled with flavor-packed Asian Salad Dressing and dinner is DONE.

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
• Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken
• Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa
• Slow Cooker Honey Lime Pulled Pork Tacos
• The BEST Easy Slow Cooker Recipes Collection

Recipe originally published on May 14, 2015, and updated on October 13, 2019, August 1, 2020, September 24, 2021, and April 1, 2025. The original recipe was modified in 2025 to accommodate modern-day slow cookers, which run hotter than older models.