Crockpot Thai Chicken
Crockpot Thai Chicken is a really easy and delicious weeknight dinner, encompassing flavors that we all know and love about Thai food. These chicken thighs deliver big flavors and come in a creamy, silky and smooth Thai flavored sauce, slowly cooked to perfection.
I love simple dishes like this where the prep is done in no time at all, because when the prep is so easy, you’re more inclined to cook at home. Especially when that meal is done in your crockpot, because all you need to do is dump all the ingredients in it, set it and forget it. But besides the simplicity of this dish, is all the bold and delicious flavors of Thai chicken.
Crockpot Thai Chicken
If I had to pick one Asian cuisines over another, Thai would win all the time. I adore Thai food and because I love it so much, I always tried my hand at making and learning more about great Thai flavors.
Don’t get frightened by Thai cuisine, with a few staple ingredients, it really is simple to make. In this Thai chicken recipe I’ve used ingredients like coconut milk, peanut butter, fish sauce and some hot sauce. So if you’re wondering what this tastes like, it’s like a creamy coconut sauce that’s sweet and a bit spicy. But let’s look at the ingredients in more detail.
Ingredients In Crockpot Thai Chicken
- Chicken – I used boneless skinless chicken thighs, but chicken breast works just as well.
- Fresh ginger – grated. Did you know that you can keep your ginger lasting longer by freezing it in plastic wrap? When you need it, simply take it out of the freezer and grate it right from frozen.
- Sesame oil – a little bit goes a long way.
- Fish sauce – to me there’s no Thai food without fish sauce. It provides the sauce with a bit of saltiness and that “umami” flavor.
- Sriracha sauce – I chose Sriracha but feel free to use your favorite hot sauce. Use as much or as little as you like.
- Peanut butter – for sweetness and added creaminess to the dish.
- Red pepper flakes – for a bit of extra heat.
- Coconut milk – this is what makes the sauce creamy and delicious.
- Thai red curry paste – not only is this added for the great color but it will provide extra depth of flavor to the dish. It’s rich and complex, and sweet and savory.
- Salt and pepper – to taste.
Can I Use Frozen Chicken In The Crockpot?
Cooking frozen chicken in the slow cooker is not recommended, as there’s a risk of harmful bacteria contaminating the meat before it reaches a safe temperature. The food safety guidelines from the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service recommends to “Always thaw meat or poultry before putting it into a slow cooker”. However, if you do use frozen chicken, the cook time may need to be increased. Always use a meat thermometer to ensure that the internal temperature of the chicken is well above 165 degrees before consumption.
How To Make Thai Chicken In The Crockpot
This part is very easy, only a few steps.
- Add chicken to crockpot: Place the chicken in the crockpot directly. You can cut it up in smaller pieces if using chicken breasts.
- Combine the sauce ingredients: In a small bowl mix the rest of the ingredients together. Whisk until sauce is smooth. Pour the sauce over the chicken and toss the chicken with the sauce so that it’s fully covered. There should be enough sauce to fully cover the chicken, if not add a bit more water.
- Cook: Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or high for 4 hours.
- Garnish and serve: Garnish with parsley or Thai basil and serve over rice or noodles.
Can I Make This Thai Chicken In An Instant Pot?
Absolutely! Simply use the Saute mode to saute the chicken in a little bit of oil first, then add the rest of the ingredients. Close the lid and set the timer for 5 minutes on the poultry setting. Once the Instant Pot cycle is complete, wait until the natural release cycle is complete, should take about 10 minutes. Remove the lid and serve over rice or noodles.
Stovetop Thai Chicken
You can even make this in a skillet on the stove top. One easy way to do it is to mix all the ingredients together and add it to a skillet and let it simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce reduces and thickens a bit.
Storing Leftover Thai Chicken
This recipe will store for up to 5 days stored in a shallow airtight container. It also freezes well. Store again in an airtight shallow container and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw in the fridge and reheat on the stove when ready to eat!
More Must Try Delicious Recipes:
- Crockpot Salsa Chicken
- Slow Cooker Corned Beef
- Spicy Thai Chicken and Veggie Noodles
- Egg Drop Soup
- Thai Chicken Salad
- Pad Thai
- Sticky Honey Soy Chicken Wings
- Skillet Chicken Satay
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Crockpot Thai Chicken
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 6 hrs
Total: 6 hrs 5 mins
Serves: 6
Crockpot Thai Chicken is a really easy and delicious weeknight dinner, encompassing flavors that we all know and love about Thai food. These chicken thighs deliver big flavors and come in a creamy, silky and smooth Thai flavored sauce, slowly cooked to perfection.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 lb chicken thighs boneless and skinless, or chicken breasts
- 1 tsp fresh ginger grated
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 - 2 tsp Sriracha sauce or your favorite hot sauce
- 3 tbsp peanut butter
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 3 tbsp red curry paste
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add chicken to crockpot: Place the chicken in the crockpot directly. You can cut it up in smaller pieces if using chicken breasts.
- Combine the sauce ingredients: In a small bowl mix the rest of the ingredients together. Whisk until sauce is smooth. Pour the sauce over the chicken and toss the chicken with the sauce so that it's fully covered. There should be enough sauce to fully cover the chicken, if not add a bit more water.
- Cook: Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or high for 4 hours.
- Garnish and serve: Garnish with parsley or Thai basil and serve over rice or noodles.
Recipe Notes
- Typically when freezing coconut milk by itself it can separate slightly when thawed, although it’s still fine to use but it may be a bit grainy. In this sauce, it should freeze fine but again it might still look a bit grainy, but it’s fine to eat if the grainy texture doesn’t bother you.
- This recipe will store for up to 5 days stored in a shallow airtight container. It also freezes well. Store again in an airtight shallow container and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw in the fridge and reheat on the stove when ready to eat!
Nutrition Information:
Calories: 610kcal (31%)Carbohydrates: 4g (1%)Protein: 40g (80%)Fat: 48g (74%)Saturated Fat: 15g (94%)Cholesterol: 222mg (74%)Sodium: 582mg (25%)Potassium: 648mg (19%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 2g (2%)Vitamin A: 348IU (7%)Vitamin C: 4mg (5%)Calcium: 30mg (3%)Iron: 3mg (17%)
Michelle says
Sounds great!can Can you substitute peanut butter with almond butter?
Joanna Cismaru says
I cannot tell you for sure without trying it first, but I think the flavor will change a bit.
Susanne says
I doubled the recipe and the sauce is really thin. I thought it would be creamier, but it is watery. I wouldn’t double the water if you are doubling the recipe. I cooked it low and slow.
Beth says
I went home from work at lunch to whip this up. I am not sure if I was supposed to use an electric whisk? But I just hand whisked mine for quite sometime and it was not smooth. I Had to come back to work before being late and just dumped what I had over the chicken. It was still lumpy…. Did I ruin it? Will I be ordering take out when I get home?
jo says
No just a regular whisk should be fine.
Beth says
Thank you so much for this recipe! It worked out beautifully! Sooo tasty. I have never had such moist chicken. Definitely a keeper! I will definitely be raiding your site for more recipes.
jo says
I’m so glad you liked it Beth!
Cynthia says
What if I have no tomato paste on hand? Any substitutes?
Joanna Cismaru says
You can use tomato sauce instead, I’d probably use 1/2 cup of tomato sauce and cut down the water to a cup.
Robyn says
I’m super excited about this recipe… but do I use frozen or thawed thighs? Any options for sriacha? We are hot sauce people, but not that one currently. Thai chili paste, fresh chili paste, something my son makes with Chipotle and sun dried tomatoes and fire of hades, cholula, ?
jo says
Mine weren’t frozen, I thawed them out first, if you use frozen it’s going to take longer to cook them. You can use any hot sauce really, the one your son makes sounds amazing, I bet it would be really nice in this.
Robyn says
Okay. Defrosting, and I’ll keep you posted on the addition of Ben’s magic. 🙂
Robyn says
Awesome, amazing, incredible, irresistible! Thank you!
I added a diced onion at the beginning, halved baby potatoes 2 hours below dinner, and mukimame and basil just before serving. So perfectly easy.
jo says
LOL I’m happy you liked it. 🙂
Robyn says
Hi, Jo! Googled Thai Crock-Pot thighs… And found we’d already TALKED about this! My memory is terrible! Anyways, do you know if this would work with bone-in thighs? Would you cook longer, or brown them first?
Fenne Kieken says
Ypou can certainly use thighs with bones in and no need to cook longer.
Robyn says
Omgosh… I don’t know why that rated two stars… I think it’s phenomenal! Please delete these two posts and p.m. me if you can. RobynHarris@marykay.Com
Ev says
Made this yesterday. Didn’t have thighs so used breasts instead and and it was lovely. Made the sauce by itself today and I’m going to use it over some prawns with rice.
jo says
Glad you liked the recipe. That sauce would great over some prawns. 🙂
Ev says
It was beautiful with the prawns. Have another lot with chicken in the crockpot at the moment and I’m going to freeze it and see how it comes out.
Sara says
Hi Jo! The recipe has been simmering in the crockpot for about 3 hours now, the house smells delicious! The sauce, however, seems to have separated….Its not a consistent texture. Is that normal???
Thanks
jo says
It should be fine once you stir it.
Dawn says
Can’t eat spicy so can I nix the sriracha and chili flakes and still have a great meal??
jo says
Of course!
Carlene says
Oh no, I just realized I mis-read the recipe and put in a whole can of coconut milk, so I might end up with Thai Chicken Soup. Guess I’ll add in bunches of veggies the last hour or so of cooking and see what I come up with.
jo says
Lol no problem, you’ll just have extra sauce, which is the best part. 🙂
freeredis says
This recipe is easy and delicious. This is the same way I often dream up a daily dinner. I added spinach, basil and white onions. Next time I think I will sub galangal for ginger. I also used double hot sauce, Sambal Asli instead of sriracha. Tastes even better second day. Great job, thanks.
Anna | One Prickly Pear says
I made this for dinner and the smell was out of this world! The sauce was rich and delicious. The chicken was moist and tender. An absolutely amazing recipe! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
jo says
So glad you liked it Anna! 🙂
Aggie says
Your recipes are amazing. The ingredients are easy to find, the instructions are simple…. As a twenty-something who has recently realized that macaroni and cheese is not a smart choice for everyday living, your recipes make cooking easy, fun and delicious (not to mention that a lot of them seem very healthy). You should publish a cook book.
jo says
Thanks so much Aggie 🙂
SharonA says
I wanted to alert you that your cook and total times are off. You have 6 minutes cook time and 11 minutes total time. Otherwise, this recipe looks wonderful and it’ll be on my list of things to cook this week. It’s nice to find great looking crockpot recipes.
jo says
Thanks Sharon, it was supposed to be 6 hours, fixed.I hope you try it, this is one of my favorite crockpot recipes, lots of great flavor.
Rebecca says
Just got this all in the crock pot so I have to wait to eat it! I’m excited though. Mixing up the sauce smelled good enough!
I have lots of leftover coconut milk and tomato paste, what can I use those for?
🙂
jo says
Feel free to use the search on the right sidebar and search for coconut milk. For starters you could try these yummy Thai chicken meatballs.
Laura says
Tried this last night and it was amazing! I added an onion with chicken and some frozen peas 1/2 hour before it was done. Took remainder of coconut milk and cooked some jasmine rice in it. Will make again.
Wardah says
Is there any other method of cooking this dish for those without a crockpot?? I would love to try this out be unfortunately no crockpot at home 🙁
Traci says
I have made many recipes that are meant For crock-pots on the stove top. Cooking on the stove top “low temp” will probably cook it twice as fast. You will know the chicken is done when it pulls apart easily. Overlooked it will be stringy, you don’t want that. Use a good quality pot with a lid and stir from time to time.
Sandi says
Could this recipe be adapted to be cooked in the oven and if so for how long?
Sandi
Carol at Wild Goose Tea says
Here is what I am impressed about. Not so much that you made the recipe, but the fact you wrote down
the amount of ingredients you put in it. When I am creating like that—-or being a mad woman Lol—I
forget that. Sooooooo when it turns out wonderful, well that’s it. It turned out wonderful, but don’t expect it again. Thai food with peanut sauce is wonderful. Mr. Crockpot is my dear dear friend.
So of course I give this recipe a Thumbs Up!
jo says
Thank you Carol. Well I knew that if I didn’t write it down soon, I’d forget it, my memory is not what it used to be. LOL
Sue K says
Oh my goodness, the house smells like heaven. I only have half an hour left of cooking time in the crock pot! The sauce looks rich and golden and the chicken is starting to break apart. Thanks again for another keeper!
jo says
Hi Sue,
Oh you’re going to love it! 🙂
Judy says
Don’t have fish sauce meaning I can’t buy any.
Hiya Jo.
jo says
Hi Judy, haven’t seen you around here in a while. If you can’t find any fish sauce I’d substitute it with some light soy sauce. 🙂
Judy says
Thank you.
You’ve been making things I don’t make or don’t grab my taste buds but I’m here. Don’t worry. I’m not going to dessert YOU Jo. 🙂
Simone says
This looks great! I do have a question though.. My bf doesn’t like dark meat, whereas I love it. Does the cooking time change if I use breasts instead of thighs? Or half and half? Also, does it have to be boneless and skinless? Would regular bone-in pieces change anything? Thank you for any response. This recipe looks delicious, and I’m eager to try it!
jo says
Hi Simone,
This would be perfect with chicken breasts and half and half would also work just as well. I would use skinless breasts just because personally I don’t like the skin unless it’s crisp, but it’s just a personal preference. If you used bone-in pieces that would be great as well, because bones add more flavor. As far as the cooking time I don’t think it would matter much, 6 hours should be enough.