This “peanutty” Thai chicken crock pot recipe is by far my favorite recipe creation! It’s ridiculously easy to make, delicious, and as of yet I have not gotten sick of it!
You can make enough tweaks to this recipe to change up the flavor if you’d like. The crock pot gets a ton of use in my house, and this meal is usually in it once a week. What’s wonderful about the crock pot is that you can make a ton of food all at once without having to spend all day in the kitchen. I usually throw everything in on Sunday morning and then have my lunches done for the week within a few hours with minimal work!
Now, let’s get to it…
Ingredients:
1.5-3lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs A 3lb package of chicken will usually make enough for 5-6 meals. If you use less chicken, you end up with more sauce. Either way, it’s delicious.
16oz. jar of your favorite salsa* or 1-15oz. can diced tomatoes (and flavor you choose-I love the kind with jalapenos or chilies in them, or fire roasted) If you use plain tomatoes, the flavor of the sauce will likely be bland.
1/3 cup Sunbutter or other nut butter (I think the sunbutter is the closest substitute to peanut butter and gives the most authentic “peanut” flavor). You can use peanut butter if you’d like. My next experiment is going to be to try this with PB2!
2 TBSP Lime Juice (I’ve also used lemon)
2TBSP Coconut aminos, tamari, or soy Sauce.
2 tsp. fresh grated ginger or 1 tsp. ground ginger
Cilantro and lime wedges for garnish
Ground chili paste or hot sauce-optional (for extra flavor or heat)
*The flavor of this dish can be changed a LOT depending on what type of salsa or tomatoes you use. Make sure if you use salsa you get a high quality organic or all-natural salsa without added sugar (check the label!)
Tools:
Crock Pot
Measuring spoons and cups
Mixing bowl and whisk
Small blender (optional)
Forks for shredding
Directions:
Take the chicken and toss it in the crock pot-no need to cut it up, just throw those suckers in there.
Mix the tomatoes or salsa, sunbutter, lime juice, coconut aminos, and ginger in a bowl with a whisk or in a mini blender if you don’t want any tomato chunks.
Pour the heavenly sauce you have just concocted on top of the chicken. Cook on high for 4 hours in the crock pot (or 7-8 hours on low if you won’t be home). You could also just make the sauce and use it on top of veggies, or as a dressing for slaw or salad.
Once it is done, remove the chicken one piece at a time and shred with a fork. The chicken will be extremely tender, so this should be easy to do. You may wonder what the heck is going on in your crock pot before you shred it…looks like a pool of brown sauce with some chicken floating around.
If you are planning on eating it right away, return the shredded chicken to the crock pot and stir around to make sure the sauce and chicken are thoroughly mixed.
If you want more sauce, you can mix in a little extra chicken broth or some hot sauce for a little pizzazz.
Final Note:
You can dress this chicken up in a lot of different ways for a complete and delicious meal. My favorite way to eat it is with zucchini noodles, but it’s also great on top of some spinach or romaine for a salad, or you can sauté some cabbage or other mixed veggies in some broth or coconut oil and serve it with the chicken as a stir fry. If you want more carbs, serve it over rice…it’s DELICIOUS and healthy! Enjoy.