Crockpot Thai Chicken
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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%)
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
It should be fine once you stir it.
Can’t eat spicy so can I nix the sriracha and chili flakes and still have a great meal??
Of course!
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.
Lol no problem, you’ll just have extra sauce, which is the best part. 🙂
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.
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 🙂
So glad you liked it Anna! 🙂
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.
Thanks so much Aggie 🙂
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.
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.
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?
🙂
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.
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.
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 🙁
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.
Could this recipe be adapted to be cooked in the oven and if so for how long?
Sandi
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!
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
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!
Hi Sue,
Oh you’re going to love it! 🙂
Don’t have fish sauce meaning I can’t buy any.
Hiya Jo.
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. 🙂
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. 🙂
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!
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.