Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken is the easiest recipe for a favorite Chinese dish! Tender chicken pieces in a spicy, sweet and tangy sauce!
From main dishes made easier like this crockpot chicken to fast, classic sides like Chow Mein, you can recreate all the flavors of your favorite Chinese Dishes at home. This easy recipe for General Tso’s Chicken has all the delicious flavor but is made in the slow cooker for a convenient dinner without having to order it or turn on the stove.
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken Recipe
When it comes to easy meals, you can’t beat a good Slow Cooker dinner that has little prep work and doesn’t take all day to cook. This slow cooker version of a Chinese takeout favorite is sure to be on your go-to list of crockpot dinners! The juicy, flavorful chicken is smothered in a sticky, sweet sauce that makes General Tso’s Chicken so tasty but there is almost no hands on time. You just combine everything in the slow cooker and let it cook while you go about your afternoon until dinner time.
Not only is making General Tso’s Chicken in the slow cooker so much easier, it is a little bit healthier and you get tender chicken every time. Cooking the traditional recipe in a wok can be a bit tricky at first because food cooks very quickly at a high heat. I love this slow cooker version because you don’t have to worry about burning anything plus it frees up your stove and oven (and time!) to make your side dishes.
Ingredients
- Chicken Thighs: Chicken thighs are great for slow cooking because they are dark meat with a higher fat content. They don’t dry out easily and are more flavorful than chicken breast. You can also use bone-in thighs but you’ll need to increase the cooking time.
- Rice Vinegar: Rice vinegar is slightly sweeter than regular vinegar and it is also has salty notes. The closest substitute would be apple cider vinegar.
- Soy Sauce: There is added salt from the hoisin sauce and rice vinegar so it’s best to use soy sauce with low sodium.
- Hoisin: Hoisin sauce tastes almost like a cross between soy sauce and garlicky BBQ sauce. It’s got a deep savory flavor and just 2 tablespoons will add a lot of depth and flavor to the sauce.
- Sugar: The sugar balances out the heat from the ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes, and the salty umami flavors of the soy sauce and vinegar.
- Red Pepper Flakes: This is normally a spicy dish, so you’ll need ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes. It might not seem like a lot, but a little goes a long way. Taste the sauce before adding more.
- Garlic: Garlic is a signature seasoning in most Asian dishes. The fresh garlic works great for slow cooking because it will release its flavor slowly for a more deeply flavored dish.
- Ginger: Fresh ginger packs a big punch of bright flavor and a slightly spicy zing without needing too much. For a quick peeling hack – use the sides of a regular spoon to scrape away the root covering.
- Green Onions: For a little pop of freshness and to add some more Asian flavor, you add sliced green onions at the end with the cornstarch slurry.
- Cornstarch Slurry: You combine 2 tablespoons of water and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to make a cornstarch slurry that helps thicken your sauce at the end.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
Slow Cooker: You’ll need a standard 5-6 quart slow cooker for this recipe to easily fit the chicken thighs and sauce. It’s okay for the chicken to overlap a bit. You don’t want to use a small slow cooker because it won’t cook as evenly.
How to Make
Time needed: 4 hours and 35 minutes.
- Mix the Sauce
Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, Hoisin sauce, sugar, red pepper flakes, garlic, and ginger to the slow cooker. Whisk together until combined.
- Cook the Chicken
Add the chicken thigh pieces to the sauce and stir to coat the chicken and distribute it evenly. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hours, or on high for 2- 2 ½ hours.
- Thicken the Sauce
In a small bowl, add the corn starch and water and whisk until combined. Stir the cornstarch mixture and green onions into the sauce. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened.
Can this be made ahead of time?
Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken is a great meal prep dish that you can make right from the freezer, no need to defrost first. See below for freezing instructions. You can also prep the sauce and chicken pieces and refrigerate them in a sealed bag overnight then dump everything in the slow cooker the next day.
Nutritional Facts
Tips for Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken
Make it a Freezer Meal
To make this a freezer meal, add the chicken pieces to a large freezer safe bag. Whisk all sauce ingredients, except cornstarch and water, in a bowl and pour in the bag to coat the chicken. Freeze bag flat on a baking sheet until solid so easier to store. Cook from frozen in slow cooker for 5-6 hours on low, breaking in half if needed to fit in crock pot.
Use Bone-In Chicken
You can use this sauce to make bone-in chicken thighs or breasts, or even chicken wings, in the slow cooker too! Bone in chicken takes a little longer to cook, so add 1-2 hours, using a meat thermometer to make sure it reaches 165 degrees internal temperature.
What to Serve With General Tso’s Chicken
Make a healthier takeout-inspired dinner by serving this General Tso’s Chicken with Baked Brown Rice or Steamed Rice and veggies. Panda Express Steamed Veggies or Roasted Broccoli are easy and tasty kid-friendly veggies. If you want even more spicy heat, try these Spicy Sichuan Green Beans.
How to Store
Store: You can keep General Tso’s Chicken in the slow cooker on warm for up to 4 hours, or at room temperature for up to 2 hours. Once cooled, store Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken with sauce in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Reheat: Reheat in a skillet over low medium heat until hot.
Freeze: Cool completely and transfer cooked chicken and sauce to a sealed container. Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating on the stove top.
Ideas to Serve Crockpot General Tso’s Chicken
Tacos: Use a pork shoulder, whole chicken breasts, or beef roast to make shredded General Tso’s taco meat. Top your tacos in flour tortillas or lettuce wraps with toppings like shredded cabbage, kimchi, radishes, sesame seeds, and green onions.
Vegetables: Add stir fry vegetable favorites like green and red bell peppers, onions, zucchini, broccoli, and carrots, cut in 1 inch pieces, to the crockpot for a more complete meal.
Bowls: Serve the chicken and sauce over steamed rice and pile on some cooked vegetables for an easy lunch bowl. You could also swap the rice for Asian noodles like Stir Fry Garlic Noodles.
Frequent Questions
No hoisin sauce? You can mix ¼ cup molasses (or honey) and 2 tablespoons each soy sauce, creamy peanut butter, rice vinegar. Season with ½ teaspoon of garlic powder, ½ teaspoon sriracha, and 1 ½ teaspoon cornstarch and mix until combined.
Yes, normally General Tso’s Chicken is a pretty spicy dish. This recipe is a bit more family friendly, but there is still some heat. The nice thing about making this dish at home is that you can make it as spicy or mild as you want.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger , minced
- 2 pounds skinless chicken thighs , cut into 1-inch chunks
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup green onions , thinly sliced
Instructions
- To your slow cooker add the rice vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sugar, red pepper flakes, garlic, and ginger.
- Add in chicken chunks and mix well.
- Cook on low for 4 hours.
- Mix water and cornstarch and add to slow cooker with green onions, stirring in gently.
- Cook on high for 30 minutes.
Nutrition
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Variations
Chicken: You can use any kind of chicken pieces, including chicken breasts or bone-in chicken. If you use bone-in skin-on chicken, brown chicken before adding to the crockpot. Instead of chicken, try boneless pork loin or chuck roast cut into pieces.
Sauce Seasonings: Sauce swaps and additions you can use are brown sugar, cayenne pepper, apple cider vinegar, ground ginger, chili paste, or oyster sauce. For an extra Chinese sweet barbecue flavor, use a ½ cup hoisin sauce or use regular Barbecue Sauce.
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