Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken (Easy + Flavorful)

Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken in bowl with chopped peanut and cilantro garnish.

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!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 5

Total Time 5 10

Servings servings

Calories 396kcal

Author Samantha Skaggs

Equipment

6-quart or larger Slow Cooker

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
½ cup chicken broth
Salt + freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup unsweetened canned coconut milk
½ cup unsweetened natural peanut butter crunchy or creamy
4 cloves garlic minced
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes more or less to taste
Chopped peanuts for garnish
Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
Rice, rice noodles, or lettuce leaves for serving

Instructions

Arrange chicken breasts in a large slow cooker. Season generously with salt and pepper and pour the chicken broth into the bottom. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours, or until chicken is fall-apart tender.
Remove chicken from slow cooker to cutting board, cut into chunks, and shred. Drain the liquid from the slow cooker and wipe it out. Return the shredded chicken to the empty slow cooker.
In a medium bowl, whisk together coconut milk, peanut butter, garlic, honey, soy sauce, lime juice, rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, and red pepper flakes until smooth. Pour over chicken in slow cooker and stir to coat.
Cover and cook on LOW for 45 minute to 1 hour longer, stirring halfway through, or until the sauce is thickened and everything is heated through.
Serve chicken and sauce over cooked white or brown rice, cooked rice noodles, or stuffed inside large lettuce leaves, as wraps. Garnish with chopped peanuts, fresh cilantro, and additional red pepper flakes, if desired.

Video

Notes

Your chicken should be fall-apart tender...if it's not, you need to cook it a bit longer! 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.
Leftovers may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Leftovers may be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before gently reheating.
This recipe was modified in 2025 to accommodate modern day slow cookers, which run hotter than older models. If you had success with and are looking for the old/original recipe -- where the raw chicken was cooked directly in the sauce -- you can find it HERE. Please note that the video for this post was created for the original version of the recipe.

Nutrition