Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken
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An easy slow cooker version of the family favorite General Tso’s chicken and it’s soooo much better than takeout!
Okay, first things first. I worked as a waitress in a Chinese restaurant for 3 years in high school and we had this chicken dish on the menu. It was called General Tsao’s Chicken. But in all of my Asian food eating experience, I always see it spelled General “Tso’s” Chicken – – – > no “a” involved in the Tso part. So my waitressing past wants me to spell it General Tsao, but for the sake of everyone else on the planet who is going to see this recipe, I am spelling it without the “a”, just so we can all be on the same page her.
In all reality, I’m still confused about how it is supposed to be spelled.
But I’ve eaten a LOT of General Tso’s chicken in my day. It’s easily in my top 5 favorite Chinese dishes. Kung Pao, a natural favorite. Tangerine Chicken, oh my gash I could eat it all day. And Cantonese Flat Noodles, with char sil. Mmmmmmmmm. Oh heaven my mouth is watering. I need Chinese food!!!!!
Okay, sorry. Got a little carried away there for a second.
Like I said, I’ve had a lot of General Tso’s chicken and this slow cooker version is one of the best I’ve ever tasted! I absolutely love that it’s made in a crockpot, so incredibly easy and extra flavorful because it gets to marinate for a while. Just 15 minutes prep before you toss this in the slow cooker and then you just let it goooooooo (yes, like Frozen. I’m a Disney buff.) A few hours later you’ve got dinner on the table the whole family will LOVE! You just can’t beat this kind of flavor and minimal prep.
What people are saying about this Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken
“I have made this twice and it is good. I made the following changes that, for my family’s tastes, worked nicely…So-o-o-o-o good !” – Mike
“This was a super flavorful addictive dish! I did not do it in the crock pot because my morning was super busy but I was able to whip this up while my rice cooked. I loved that is was super quick and so delicious. Where I live overseas there are not many Chinese restaurants but I crave Chinese all the time so this was a winner. I am looking forward to trying your other Chinese dishes as well! I shared this on my fb page and then it was shared multiple times by my friends.” – Grace
“What a great recipe!! I have shared this recipe with a few girl friends and the reviews are awesome.. easy, flavourful and crazy delicious..great stuff :)” – Wendy
“This was a super flavorful addictive dish! I did not do it in the crock pot because my morning was super busy but I was able to whip this up while my rice cooked. I loved that is was super quick and so delicious. Where I live overseas there are not many Chinese restaurants but I crave Chinese all the time so this was a winner. I am looking forward to trying your other Chinese dishes as well! I shared this on my fb page and then it was shared multiple times by my friends.” – Kalia
Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts , (about 2 pounds), chopped into bite size pieces
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 cup corn starch
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Sauce
- 4 tablespoons hoisin sauce , (can be found in the Asian section at most markets)
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- steamed or fried rice for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oil in a nonstick pan or skillet over medium heat. Whisk together corn starch, salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and pepper.
- Add corn starch mixture and chicken pieces to a large zip lock bag. Seal and shake to coat chicken.
- Add coated chicken pieces to pan. Saute 1-2 minutes until browned. (It chicken will still be raw in the middle at this point, that’s okay)
- In a bowl combine all sauce ingredients and whisk to combine. Add half to the crockpot along with chicken pieces. Cook on low for 4 hours.
- Immediately before serving, Add remaining sauce to the crockpot and stir gently. Serve with rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe adapted from Favorite Family Recipes.
I made this recipe in a post on my blog. The link is . I did not reproduce the recipe but linked back to yours. It turned out great. Thanks for a good recipe.
The Old Fat Guy
I cannot wait to try this! I review recipes all the time on my blog and this is high on my “try next” list! I love the crock-pot, and I’m thinking about taking out the pieces and broiling them for a bit after they’re cooked, to add that fried texture…thanks for the inspiration!
I used this as a starting point for a vegan version O_o and it turned out really well! I subbed 8 (2 packs) boca chicken patties cut into quarters for the breaded chicken. It’s already breaded so it saved me some prep! I also added about a cup (maybe 1.5) of chopped broccoli, half of a cut red bell pepper, and a small handful of red onion slices with the “chicken.” For the sauce, well, a “general tso’s sauce” was cheaper than the hoisin sauce at the grocery store, and it had less sugar, so I got that instead. I increased the amount of sauce to 1/2 c general tso’s sauce, and decreased the amount of vinegar and soy sauce by half each. (so 1/2 c gen tso’s sauce, 2 tbs vinegar, 2 tbs soy sauce). Everything else in the sauce I kept the same. I added half the sauce, mixed in the chicken, layered vegetables on top and then drizzled the rest of the sauce – so I did add everything in the beginning. Cooked on high for 2.5 hrs. Thanks for the idea!
The difference between Tsao and Tso has to do with dialects of Chinese. Tsao is Cantonese, Tso is Mandarin. Both are correct. Tsao is pronounced like sow, as in a female pig, Tso is like so, as in I am so interested in trying this! Thanks for the tip about the option of not breading!
Well there ya have it, Tso and Tsao! Thanks Lucy!!
I love, love, love Asian food. Can’t wait to try your recipes!!
OMG! Thanks for sharing!
My family loves General Tso’s Chicken and a crock pot recipe would be a time saver! Thanks for sharing. I hope you don’t mind I shared our link on my Bestfoodies Facebook Page and I pinned it as well!
can i double this recipe? Looks AMAZING!!!!!!!!
Sure!
I love General Tso’s!! And a crock pot version is a dream. I have a question: do you know whether I can freeze this, before I crockpot it? Maybe even fry the chicken, and freeze chicken and sauce in separate Ziploc bags? Just wondering…. Thanks!
Hi Jackie! You know I haven’t tried it myself but I bet you could just freeze the chicken in ziplock bags and then add it and the sauce to the crockpot when you’re ready to cook. Just keep an eye on the cooking time and try not to let too much moisture collect in the ziplock when you freeze the chicken, otherwise your chicken might end up a little soggy when it thaws out. 🙂
I made this today after seeing it on Pinterest. The flavor was good, but it did turn out mushy, and after only three hours on low was fully done. If I make it again, will double the sauce and probably make it on the stovetop, possibly skipping the cornstarch breading and adding a bit of cornstarch to the sauce instead.
Hi, Reese, I have only made this on the stove top so far and it is an incredible dish. The cornstarch coating works really well on the stove top and will not be one bit mushy. The sauce thickens nicely as well. But if you forego the coating then you will need it in the sauce as you say. But I would suggest doing the recipe as is on the stove top. I am a Chinese food addict and this is a recipe I have made a lot since I found it here.
I completely agree. It was good, but it didn’t taste like General Tso’s chicken to me at all. Disappointing
Hi Jamie, sorry this recipe didn’t meet your flavor expectations – I’ve had general tso’s chicken from so many different restaurants and it always tastes different at each one since none of them have the same recipe but I’m glad you at least enjoyed this dish!
4 hours is way too long to cook this. There is not nearly enough liquid to keep it from burning. I sort o salvaged it by adding chicken broth when it started to burn but this need to either cook way less or have more liquid. Sauce is great though.