Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken |Cooking With Amanda

This might surprise you, or it might not, but I even love peanut butter when it's in something savory. I don't always need it in something sweet or in a dessert. I even love it savory.

It took me a long time in life to discover this though. I was out at a restaurant with friends a few years ago, and somebody ordered Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce as an appetizer. That was my first experience with peanut sauce on chicken, and I was sold immediately. I was skeptical to try it, but once I did, it won me over fast.

If I'm out at a restaurant, and the menu offers chicken skewers with peanut sauce, I almost always order them. I tell myself that it's also a smart nutritional choice because it's healthy fats + protein. Ha!

But I also like to make peanut sauce at home, as long as it's a slow-cooker recipe. I can cook, but I don't love to cook, so the majority of my 'cooking' is done by slow cooker… if that even counts! It is my favorite kitchen appliance, by far! Except for my coffee maker, actually.

I love that I can just throw everything in the slow cooker, turn it on, and come back a few hours later to a completely cooked meal. I whisked together the sauce ingredients, poured them over a few chicken breasts, and a few hours later, dinner is ready.

I've discovered that people have different preferences for their peanut sauce though. I like this recipe exactly as it's written, but my S.O. likes his peanut sauce to be more peanut-buttery. If that's the case, just give it a taste when it's done, and if you want more peanut-buttery taste, it was easy to adjust. I heated a little peanut butter in the microwave so that it was thin, and it whisked in beautifully.

For me, the key ingredients to this sauce are the red pepper and sesame oil. I love the spicy kick that the red pepper adds, and the sesame oil is critical. It adds smokiness, nuttiness, and just an all-around deepness to the sauce. The sesame oil is just so potent for being such a small amount, and it has an intense, roasted essence. I love it.

This recipe couldn't be easier, and you can never have enough slow cooker dinner recipes on hand! Give it a try, and let me know what you think!

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Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken Recipe

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Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
3-4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch strips
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 15 ounce can coconut milk
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper, to taste
cooked rice, optional
steamed broccoli, optional

Directions

Drizzle the olive oil into the bottom of the slow cooker pot.
Place the chicken strips in the pot.
In a large microwave-safe bowl, heat the peanut butter for 1 minute, or until melted and thin.
Stir in the coconut milk, cornstarch, sesame oil, honey, soy sauce, ginger, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and salt & pepper, whisking until smooth.
Pour it over the chicken in the slow-cooker pot, and stir until chicken is coated.
Set the slow-cooker to 'low' and cook for 3-4 hours, or until chicken is tender.
Serve with rice and/or broccoli.