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!
Sweet and Sour Chicken, Pineapple Chicken, and Sticky Sesame Chicken are more Asian chicken recipes to enjoy next!
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.
More Recipes to Try
- Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Copycat Recipe – tender and flavorful, just like the restaurant favorite.
- Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken – sweet, savory, and better than takeout!
- Slow Cooker Broccoli Beef – rich flavor with hardly any effort.
When you make this recipe, snap a photo and tag me on social – I love connecting with you and seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
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.
Now you must share with us a recipe for Tangerine Chicken!! PLEASE?
I adapted this recipe for the stove if anyone is interested: I made the sauce, minus the water, added a teaspoon of sesame oil and a teaspoon of minced fresh ginger. I cut the chicken into pretty small pieces so it would cook quickly. I dredged the chicken in a whisked egg before the corn starch and fried it on the stove over medium-high heat to golden brown. Then drained it on paper towels while I gave the sauce 5 mins over medium high to boil and thicken, I tossed in some veggies (carrots, broccoli, green beans) that I briefly cooked in the microwave. I only added the chicken and some toasted sesame seeds right before serving to keep the coating crispy.
It was amazing, I definitely recommend it if you want the chicken to stay crispy! The sauce is thick and has an amazing sweet/salty/savory quality that is exactly what I look for in Chinese food! I also scaled it down to one person serving my making a quarter recipe. Fridge to dishes took less than an hour!
Also I cooked the udon noodles in 1tsp sesame oil.
We absolutely love this recipe!! I did, however, double the sauce. We like the extra sauce mixed in with rice 🙂
This was a wonderful recipe tasted better than take out. My family loved it!
This sounds yummy! Will have to try it. Thanks for sharing
Hi, I’ve just purchased a slow cooker/pressure cooker, and your recipe for General Tso’s Chicken is the first thing I have made. Bloody scrumptious, is the the best way to describe this, being from Australia an American recipe is not something I would usually choose. My only fault is it isn’t spicy enough, but that’s easily fixed, I am so glad for the Internet as this is how I found your recipe, and it is one I will cook over and over with a few tweaks. I posted a photo of my dish, and I have been told it looks just like yours. Thank you for such an easy to follow recipe, my next dish will be from your website.
Okay you just made my day haha, “bloody scrumptious”!!! I am a spicy food lover – to the extreme! My husband always has to remind me to tone it down because he says that my idea of a spicy dish most people can’t handle haha! This is really good with added sriracha sauce if you have it on hand, or toss in some extra crushed red pepper flakes!
The chicken turned out a bit too soggy. It didnt need 4 hours in the crock pot… just 2 or maybe even less. 1 cup of cornstarch is also way too much. I ended with a lot left over and I dont like things getting wasted. The sauce was amazing though. I’ll definitely make this recipe again… just not in the crock pot 😀
I had the same problem with the time. I took it out of the crock pot at 2 hours because it started burning. If I had left it for 4 hours, it would probably be a black lump by the time it was done.
HI, I’ve recently stumbled across your website (via Pinterest).. I made this last night, followed the recipe exactly and it was YUM YUM YUM…. thanks!
My only problem now is, deciding what next recipe of yours to try 🙂
What do the calories look like for this? I’ve been trying to eat a lot healthier, but I still crave things like Chinese food. It would be nice to find a tasty alternative.
Hi Celia! I don’t have nutrition stats on hand but my favorite source is http://www.myfitnesspal.com – you can just plug in my url for this recipe and it will calculate nutrition stats for you!
I made the General Tso last night. It was fantastic and a sure keeper. I made as the recipe stated with no changes.. Thanks for a great dinner!