Description
Slow Cooker Kung Pao Chicken is a flavorful and easy-to-make Chinese-inspired dish featuring tender bite-sized chicken pieces, crunchy peanuts, and a deliciously tangy and sweet sauce. Perfect for a hands-off dinner, this recipe uses a slow cooker to meld the vibrant flavors while keeping the chicken juicy.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken and Coating
- 2 pounds chicken cut into bite size pieces
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons oil
Vegetables and Chilies
- 8 dried red chilies seeded and sliced
- 1 red bell pepper cubed
- 1 zucchini cubed
Sauce
- ⅓ cup water
- ⅓ cup lite soy sauce
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅓ cup peanuts
Instructions
- Prepare Chicken: Toss the cubed chicken with the cornstarch until evenly coated to help thicken the sauce and give the chicken a light crust.
- Brown Chicken: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Quickly brown the chicken pieces in batches just until they develop some color, not cooked through, to enhance flavor.
- Assemble in Slow Cooker: Add the browned chicken to the slow cooker. Then add the cubed red bell pepper, zucchini, and sliced dried red chilies on top.
- Make Sauce: In a mixing bowl, combine water, lite soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup, minced garlic, ground ginger, and peanuts. Stir well to blend all ingredients.
- Combine & Cook: Pour the sauce mixture evenly over the chicken and vegetables in the slow cooker. Cover with lid and cook on low for 4 hours to allow flavors to meld and chicken to become tender.
- Serve: After cooking, give everything a gentle stir to coat the chicken and vegetables with the sauce. Serve hot over steamed rice or noodles as desired.
Notes
- Seeding the dried chilies reduces heat; leave some seeds if more spiciness is desired.
- Brown chicken lightly for better texture and flavor, but avoid cooking fully before slow cooking.
- Peanuts add crunch and authentic texture—do not omit or substitute with other nuts for best results.
- Adjust brown sugar amount to taste for sweeter or less sweet sauce.
- Vegetables can be changed or increased according to preference.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 10 g
- Sodium: 700 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 30 g
- Cholesterol: 90 mg
