Description
This Slow Cooker Kung Pao Chicken is a flavorful and easy-to-make recipe featuring tender chicken pieces cooked with crunchy peanuts, bell peppers, zucchini, and dried red chilies in a tangy and slightly sweet sauce. Perfect for a hands-off dinner prepared in your slow cooker.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken cut into bite size pieces
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons oil
- 8 dried red chilies seeded and sliced
- 1 red bell pepper cubed
- 1 zucchini cubed
Sauce Ingredients
- 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 the chicken: Toss the cubed chicken with the cornstarch until evenly coated.
- Brown the chicken: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Quickly brown the chicken pieces until they develop color, but are not fully cooked through.
- Add to slow cooker: Transfer the browned chicken to the slow cooker. Add the red bell pepper, zucchini, and sliced dried red chilies as well.
- Make the sauce: In a mixing bowl, combine the water, lite soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup, minced garlic, ground ginger, and peanuts. Stir well to mix all ingredients.
- Cook: Pour the sauce mixture over the chicken and vegetables in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
- Serve: After cooking, stir the dish, adjust seasoning if needed, and serve hot over rice or noodles for a complete meal.
Notes
- To reduce spice level, reduce the number of dried red chilies or remove them altogether.
- For gluten-free option, use tamari or gluten-free soy sauce instead of lite soy sauce.
- Brown the chicken just enough to get color; it will finish cooking in the slow cooker to remain tender.
- Feel free to add other vegetables like carrots or snap peas for extra crunch.
- If you prefer a thicker sauce, you can stir in a cornstarch slurry near the end of cooking and cook uncovered for 15 minutes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 700 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 18 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 30 g
- Cholesterol: 90 mg
