Slow Cooker Kung Pao Chicken
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Saucy Slow Cooker Kung Pao Chicken with a spicy kick! Simple ingredients bring a ton of flavor to this easy-to-make family favorite.
Kung Pao Shrimp, Kung Pao Chicken, and Kung Pao Noodles are more tasty recipes to try next!
I’ve officially had Kung Pao Chicken twice in the past 36 hours. I made this slow cooker version a couple of nights ago for dinner and instantly fell in love. If you’re a sauce person – like me – you’ll want to double this sauce because it is finger-lickin’ good.
But that was only the first time I had Kung Pao Chicken this week. Last night my husband came home from a business trip and we went out to dinner with my parents. They picked a Chinese restaurant I haven’t been to in years and I ordered the same thing I always ordered back in the days – Kung Pao Chicken. And here is the real kicker – I was disappointed because this slow cooker version was so much better. Like…. soooo much better.
Plus I’m pretty sure that this recipe is healthier than any restaurant Kung Pao Chicken. And easy! Just brown the chicken, throw it into the slow cooker with the sauce, let it work its magic for a few hours, and then add the last couple of ingredients. Perfect Kung Pao Chicken made with simple everyday ingredients and loaded with tons of flavor. I’m in love!
More Recipes to Try
- Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken – tender chicken coated in a sticky, irresistible sauce-can’t get much better than that!
- Slow Cooker Korean BBQ Pork Tacos – sweet, savory, and loaded with Korean inspired flavor in every bite.
- Slow Cooker Sesame Beef – minimal effort for a whole lotta flavor!
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 Kung Pao Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
Sauce
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons chili paste
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ⅓ cup water
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- ⅓ cup peanuts , (see note)
- optional: cooked rice, green onions
- 2 teaspoons sriracha , or ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Drizzle a large sauce pan with oil and saute chicken over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until browned
- Add chicken to a greased slow cooker. In a bowl whisk together sauce ingredients: garlic, soy sauce, chile paste, vinegar, brown sugar, sriracha and 1/3 cup water. Pour sauce into the slow cooker. Cook on high 3-4 hours or on low 5-6 hours.
- About 10-15 minutes before serving, drizzle a pan with oil and saute peppers, zucchini, and garlic for 2-3 minutes until veggies are tender. Add to slow cooker.
- Whisk together corn starch and cold water til dissolved. Add to slow cooker and stir. Allow to thicken for 5-10 minutes. Serve over rice and garnish with peanuts and green onions as desired.
Notes
*double sauce ingredients if you like extra sauce – we do!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This sounds delicious but I think there must be an error in the duration of cook time. Still not corrected??
Sorry for the confusion, it’s updated now!
Tiffany, I’m planning to make this for my family latter this week. I have a quick question about the chicken breast. I’m noticing a big difference in chicken breast sizes these days. Sometimes they are so big that one can be 3/4 of a pound and other times they are so small that 3 can be 3/4 of a pound. So can you tell me approximately how much the chicken breast should weigh in this recipe? Thanks!
Hi Sherri, It’s so true, chicken breasts to vary in size – I generally think of each chicken breast called for in the recipe being “medium size”. If you have a very large one, that could serve as 2 breasts, whereas if you have very small ones you will probably want to use 2 of those to equal one medium breast. I think the best way to put gauge how much chicken you need for a recipe like this is to go off of what your family would need to feed 4 people. If it’s a little more or less chicken than I used, that’s okay! It doesn’t have to be exact. 🙂
Shouldn’t it be 3-4 hours on high, or 5-6 hours on low? I’m confused.
Do you have a good Cashew Chicken
Recipe? Would be great if Slow Cooker!
Connie
Coming soon! 🙂
What type of vinegar would you recommend?
White distilled vinegar, rice wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar all work well. 🙂
How many people will your recipe feed?
This recipe will feed 3-4 🙂
How would you suggest freezing this? I am trying to prepare make-ahead meals…I am thinking I would cook the chicken then throw everything in a zip lock and freeze?
Hi Carissa – the ziplock method tends to be pretty good for these types of recipes!
So, would you freeze the veggies too, or would it be better to saute them right before serving? We all know how soggy peppers and zucchini get. Being a shift worker, it is nice to make and freeze leftovers.
Thanks! Tries the General Tao/Tsao on the stove top last night as I didn’t have time to slow cook it. It was AMAZING!! Thank You so much!
I’d go with saute and serve rather than freezing because of the water content!
Thank so much! Will try it that way.
Tried the Kung Pao Shrimp tonight, it was Delish! I don’t imagine the shrimp would freeze very well either…
Sounds delicious, and I am going to try it! But don’t you mean “Cook on high 3-4 hours or on low 5-6 hours,” not the other way around?
Correct! That’s a typo sorry! 🙂
Hi!
How much garlic should we use when we saute the peppers, zucchini and garlic?
I am excited to try this recipe!
Thanks,
Joann
Hi Joann, sorry for the confusion – I’ve updated the recipe to be more clear! 🙂
Should that be low for 5-6 hours and high for 3-4hours instead?
Yep – just need to update that typo, sorry! 🙂
That’s what I was thinking too.