No need to order take-out with this scrumptious sweet and spicy Slow Cooker Thai Sweet Chili Chicken! It’s got the classic Chinese food breading but without all the grease of frying!
I love, love, LOVE Chinese food! Even though it lacks the gooeyness of cheese and creaminess of… cream! It never ceases to satisfy me. Oh, but I guess there are those crispy Crab Rangoon or wontons (whatever you want to call them) that are heavenly pillows of cream cheese… but something tells me those aren’t an authentic Chinese dish.
I have many memories of eating Chinese food from getting take-out, delivery, buffet, family-owned restaurant, Panda Express in the mall food court, PF Chang’s (where I met my mother-in-law for the first time!). Let’s just say, I have had my share of fortunes.
For some reason, when I eat Chinese food it’s like all sense of portion control goes out the window. Anyone else have that problem? Maybe it’s because I’m eating at a buffet and I want to get my money’s worth or just because it’s just too dang good to call it quits.
Unfortunately, my favorite Chinese dishes happen to be the worst for you because they’re fried. I’m all for eating a little fried food every once in a while but if I ate it as much as I wanted to I’d have a heart attack before I’m 30! So what’s a girl with a big appetite for Chinese food to do? Whip out the slow-cooker. Seriously, that thing works magic!
To still get that yummy breading on your chicken without deep frying it, all you have to do is coat it in a little cornstarch and brown it in 1 tablespoon oil. Then just toss it in the slow cooker with the sauce, let it cook on low for a few hours and voilà! It’s amazing. AND it’s a lot easier than frying (don’t have to worry about oil temp, your house smelling of fried food, thousands of calories…).
Not only is the chicken awesome in this Slow Cooker Thai Sweet Chili Chicken, but the peppers, onion, and pineapple add more flavor and texture while also helping to make this a complete meal. Oh, and let’s not ignore pretty much my favorite Asian sauce- Thai Red Sweet Chili Sauce. Deliciously sweet with a little bit of heat for a nice kick. Your whole family is going to LOVE this dish, it’s one of my best crock pot recipes!!! Serve it over white rice or throw together some yummy Vegetable Fried Rice to have on the side.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds bone-less skin-less chicken breast cut into chunks
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ¼ sweet onion chopped
- ⅔ cup Thai Red Sweet Chili Sauce
- 2 cup pineapple about 1/2 pineapple, chopped
- 2 red bell peppers chopped
- 4 green onions thinly sliced
Instructions
- Place meat and cornstarch in a ziplock bag and shake until chicken is evenly coated.
- Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and brown on all sides, about 2-3 minutes.
- Spray the bottom of slow-cooker with cooking spray and then place chicken, onion, and sauce in. Stir until all the chicken is coated in sauce. Cook on low for 1 1/2 hours and then throw in the pineapple and bell peppers and cook for another 1 1/2 hours until peppers are tender.
- Add the green onions and serve over rice.
Love Thai food says
This makes a pretty dish, but very weak flavor, very bland. Not even salt? I added some but not nearly enough, added a couple Thai chilis, but no help. Very disappointing, wish I hadn’t made the full recipe, as now we have way too many leftovers we really don’t want to eaat.
Aubrey Cota says
I’m sorry to hear that.
Liz says
Sounds so good. Thank you and have a good week.