As a nutritionist, I love a simple, versatile dinner that’s tasty, healthy and super easy. This slow cooker peanut butter chicken fits the bill! You can use chicken breasts or chicken thighs, and creamy or crunchy peanut butter. This is sure to become a new family favorite. Enjoy!
A Family Favorite Recipe:
I am introducing you to my kids’ favorite crockpot meal. If there is one food they love more than tacos, it’s peanut butter chicken. The peanut sauce is slightly sweet, a little acidic, and will leave your house smelling AhhhhhMAZING! You will love the way the chicken tenderizes and can even shred to create the most delicious bowl of goodness.
As a nutritionist, I love nothing more than easy healthy dinner recipes. This dinner is one that fits the bill! It’s high in healthy fat and protein, and can be a perfect meal when paired with some fiber; a side of broccoli or Brussels sprouts is a great option!
Short on time? This recipe is perfect. If your weeknights are super busy like ours, dinner can be ready with very little prep time. Less than 10 minutes!
How to make Slow Cooker Peanut Butter Chicken:
All you need is a slow cooker and these simple ingredients:
- Chicken breast or thighs
- Peanut butter (smooth or crunchy, your preference! You can also use another nut butter)
- Gluten-free Tamari Sauce, coconut aminos, or soy sauce
- Honey (omit if using coconut aminos)
- Rice vinegar (you can sub with apple cider vinegar)
- Chicken broth
- Garlic cloves
- Cilantro (for serving)
- Crushed red pepper (optional)
- Lime juice (optional)
All you need to do is stir the peanut sauce ingredients (peanut butter, coconut aminos, honey, rice vinegar, chicken broth, and garlic), throw in your chicken breast, hit start, and be on your way. Cook on 4 to 6 hours in your slow cooker. I always set mine to 6, then check at the 4 hour mark.
It’s that easy you guys!
Tips for Serving and Storing:
- Make it creamier: stir in 1/2 cup of coconut milk!
- Serve with some veggies over rice or cauliflower rice. It tastes so delicious with my Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice.
- For veggies, my favorite companion is my oven Roasted Lemon and Garlic Broccoli.
- Storing: in the fridge for up to 5 days (perfect for meal prep lunch), or freeze for up to 3 months.
Can I make this in the Instant Pot?
Yes! You can make this recipe in the Instant Pot. You will need to increase the chicken broth to 3/4 cup, or use the more liquid part of coconut milk. Note that the nut butter has a tendency to create the burn signal so be sure to add in more liquid than you would use in the slow cooker. I recommend following my recipe for Instant Pot Cashew Butter Chicken to get the right liquid ratio.
Is there a Paleo option?
You can easily make this a paleo meal by substituting cashew butter or almond butter for the peanut butter. I would suggest trying my Cashew Butter Chicken recipe for a Paleo option!
Also, use coconut aminos in place of GF Tamari or soy sauce. When using coconut aminos, you will most likely not need any honey. You can stir the sauce and taste before adding it to the slow cooker to test it out.
Now it’s your turn to try!
Be sure to rate the recipe below and comment if you make it! Also, tag me on Instagram @wholesomelicious with your creations. I love to see them!
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Easy Slow Cooker Peanut Butter Chicken
As a nutritionist, I love an easy, versatile dinner that's tasty, healthy and super easy. This Slow Cooker Peanut Butter Chicken fits the bill! You can use chicken breast or chicken things, and creamy or crunchy peanut butter. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs chicken breast or chicken thighs
For the Peanut Butter Sauce:
- 1/2 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
- 1/4 cup GF Tamari Soy Sauce or Coconut Aminos*
- 1/4 cup honey**
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 3 large garlic cloves minced
For Serving:
- 1 tbsp crushed red pepper (optional)
- 1 tbsp lime juice (optional)
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro (optional)
Instructions
-
Place chicken breasts into your slow cooker.
-
In a small bowl, whisk together sauce ingredients: peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, chicken broth, and garlic cloves. Sauce will be slightly lumpy, but make sure it's well incorporated. Pour on top of chicken.
-
Set your slow cooker to cook on low for 6 hours. You can check on it at the 4 hour mark to see if it can easily shred. If not, let it continue to cook until the 6 hour mark.
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Serve over rice with roasted vegetables and be sure to top your chicken with the sauce. Add optional crushed red pepper, lime juice, and cilantro on top.
Recipe Notes
*If using coconut aminos, you will most likely not need the honey as the coconut aminos is already sweet.You can stir the sauce together in a bowl beforehand and taste it to determine if you want to use any honey.
Recipe adapted from Parade Magazine:
This recipe sounds really good! Do you think I can get by with creamy PB?
Yes! Of course. I just love crunchy peanut butter, but I have also used creamy too!
Do you think substituting white wine vinegar or Apple cider vinegar in place of the rice vinegar?
Yes, absolutely. I think out of those 2, apple cider is best đŸ™‚
Do u know about how many carbs in this peanut butter chicken?
Yes, according to nutrition facts posted in yummly, per serving it is 21g of carbohydrates. Hope that helps!
I used the “My Fitness Pal” website to calculate and it said 28g Carbs, 2 of which were fiber, 21 sugars
If i wanted to bake this what would the baking instructions be?
Hi Cheri, cover chicken with sauce in a shallow baking dish. Bake at 350 for 25 mins. It won’t be as tender, but still tasty!
Tried this tonight – amazing! Cooked it on high for 3 hours, then turned to low for an hour and a half – came out really well (didn’t have time to start it early so I took a chance!) Served it on edamame noodles with bean sprouts, broccoli and snow peas. This is a definite win!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I’m not sure why, but I made this sauce per=recipe and it was so salty that I dumped it out and made my own version. The amount of Vinegar and Soy Sauce this recipe calls for seems to be the culprit.
Hi Zeke, sorry it didn’t turn out! I use the gluten-free tamari brand soy sauce, and sometimes the low sodium variation. Perhaps it was the type of soy sauce?
Don you think I xold swap soon sauce for Worcester
Yes, you could swap out the soy sauce and use Worcestershire sauce. I would cut the vinegar in half if you are going to do that. Only use 1-2 tbsp of rice vinegar.
Hi! This recipe sounds deliciously easy! However, I really hate the smell and taste of soy sauce…do you reckon I can leave it out completely? Or swap it for something else? Thanks in advance!
Hi Jamie! The soy sauce gives the recipe that salty/sweet taste. Have you tried coconut aminos as a substitute? Otherwise I would add more chicken broth in it’s place, and cut the honey in half. It would still be tasty!!
Use Teriyaki sauce…. I have a similar recipe that is made with pork instead of chicken and includes julienned red bell peppers and uses Teriyaki instead of soy sauce… I found the chicken to be very bland and added Teriyaki sauce… was perfect.
Hi. Im a bit confused. Is it 4 or 6 hrs for cooking. It says both. Thanks
Hi Erin, it depends on your slow cooker. For most it should only take 4 hours.
Hi Amy,
Recipe sounds amazing. Do you think I could swap out sunflower butter for the peanut butter if someone has a peanut allergy?
Yes, absolutely!
Hello, I just put everything in the crockpot. I have four options on my crockpot: 4hrs on high, 6hrs on high, 8hrs on low and 10hrs on low. If I chose 6hrs on high, will it be too much?
Hi Catherine, I would do 8 hours on low and then take it out early (between 4-6 hours)
Made this for dinner tonight. It was yummy. I served it with rice noodles and chopped peanuts on top. Have some left for lunch tomorrow!
Glad you enjoyed it Suzanne!
This turned out delcious. One of my favorites a great recipe. Thanks for sharing.
simon
Hi I’m going to try this but wondering does it work well with boneless thighs as well? What about bone-in legs? Thanks!
Yes, it will definitely work with thighs. I have not tried with bone-in because the chicken gets so tender and will shred.
HAs anyone made this in the instant pot? What setting would you use? I love this recipe!
Yes! Use the manual setting, set it to 8 minutes on high pressure. Use a quick release!
I used the instant pot to your specifications (first time I’ve actually used it other than rice right before) and it came out great. However the valve never rose and there was no pressure when I did the quick release. Is that the experience you had? Wondered if iit had something to do with the sauce being so thick? Thanks!
Hi Ryan, That’s definitely weird and has never happened to me. Did you have the valve set right? I’m actually surprised the chicken still came out if there was no pressure. You could maybe try to add some more chicken broth next time, but the sauce will be runny.
Can I make this without lime juice, I’m allergic to citrus fruits. If so should I substitute with something?
Hello, I am very excited to make this! I am just wondering where the nutritional facts are so I can calculate it within my weight watchers app. Thank you!
For the slow cooker peanut butter chicken it says to cook for 6 hours and then it says 4 hours. I was wondering if it is 4 or 6?
It is between 4-6 hours, depending on your slow cooker. I find mine is perfect at 4 hours. Start with 4 hours, and then check to see if it needs more time
Really beautiful tasting sauce and tender chicken. The whole family enjoyed it. My daughter who was visiting demanded the recipe! Served with rice noodles and brocolli. Will become a regular dish in our house. Thanks.
Love to hear that! Thank you đŸ™‚
I made this last night. I used bone in chicken legs and baked it at 325 for about 90 minutes. I took the meat off the bone and rough chopped it. Served over ramen noodles discarding the seasoning packet. Loved the sauce. This is a keeper!
Sounds like a delicious adaptation!!
Could I make this in the instant pot vs. the slow cooker?
Yes! Add in a bit more chicken broth, about 3/4 cup total. Add ingredients and use the manual setting at 8 minutes, quick release.
I used regular vinegar. Any way to correct?
I wanted to make this without using honey so substituted 2 tsp liquid stevia and enough water to make the 1/4 cup measurement of the honey. It turned out really well.
The basics of this recipe are great, but I find that it needs only 1-2Tbsp vinegar. I also completely left out the honey and it was still delicious.
This sounds delicious! And I have extra peanut butter to do things with. Can I make this with split breasts (on bone)? Would you cook it meat side down? Thanks.
You say chicken is done when you can shred it. But the pictures show whole pieces.
Hi Sunny, yes I kept them whole for the picture. But they are tender enough to pull apart. You can serve them whole if you like!
Do you think this would freeze okay before cooking? Combine all the slow cooker ingredients in a bag, freeze, thaw overnight then cook?
Yes, my only suggestion would be to blend the sauce in a blender or food processor so that the peanut butter is well incorporated. It will freeze better that way! Hope that helps.
Hi! I made this delicious chicken dish for dinner tonight and it was a HUGE hit!
Thank you for sharing!
Julianne, so glad you loved it!
So good …. will definitely make again! One comment …. Cook Time says 6hr but instructions say 4hrs. I did it in the Crock Pot for 4hrs and it was perfect!
Thank you, Dawn!
I made this tonight for dinner with steamed broccoli and rice and the consensus here was that it was just okay. I would have wanted the peanut sauce to be a little thicker and sweeter.