Slow Cooker Mongolian Chicken is a set it and forget it five ingredient recipe that is sweet, spicy, and full of garlic and ginger flavors!
Slow Cooker Mongolian Chicken takes almost no effort at all and you’ll LOVE the dinner you end up with. The leftover sauce is so good I often add a cornstarch slurry to it and cook it on the stove top to thicken it. Then I add it to everything!
On top of the chicken of course, but also over rice the next day. I actually sometimes will use leftover rice and use this thickened sauce as s mix in for a quick fried rice.
Mongolian Beef is actually one of the most popular recipes on the site, so a chicken version is long overdue! I actually also have a ground mongolian beef recipe coming up, with such an easy set of ingredients all things Mongolian beef are a huge hit in out house.
Some tips/tricks about this Slow Cooker Mongolian Chicken:
- I used spices instead of fresh ginger and garlic to mix things up and make this a true pantry recipe. I also found it had better texture in recipe testing as minced ginger tends to get chewy in an unpleasant way in the slow cooker.
- Dark brown sugar adds an extra depth of flavor because of added molasses. If you only have light brown sugar it will work too, but flavors won’t be as deep.
- I always use lite soy sauce to keep the sodium/salty flavor in check. Careful if using regular soy sauce.
- I keep the green onions out of this dish because they got a bit slimy in the slow cooker during testing. If you add them fresh in the last five minutes, I’m sure it would be delicious!
Can I make this Mongolian Chicken in the oven?
Yes, absolutely. Keep the chicken in a smaller baking pan, perhaps an 8×8 or 9×13 pan (if using a few more pieces of chicken) and keep things cozy to keep the liquids around the chicken. Cook at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
Can I make this Mongolian Chicken in a skillet?
YES! You may want to use sliced/diced chicken thigh meat and add a bit of canola oil to the pan first. Then brown the chicken on medium high heat for 4-6 minutes on each side and add in the remaining ingredients until caramelized and cooked through.
Want more Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes?
- Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken
- Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken
- Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken
- Slow Cooker Jerk Chicken
- Slow Cooker Indian Butter Chicken
Want more Asian Recipes?
- Honey Orange Firecracker Shrimp
- PF Chang’s Orange Peel Chicken
- California Pizza Kitchen’s Kung Pao Chicken Spaghetti
- General Tso’s Chicken
- Panda Express Recipes… every single one in fact: Panda Express Recipes Index
- Many more Chinese food options…
Tools Used in this Slow Cooker Mongolian Chicken recipe:
Slow Cooker: Love this slow cooker and how programmable it is, it has been a workhorse for me… until…
My New Slow Cooker: This recipe was made in this slow cooker. For larger roasts I also brown the meat in the insert and not lose a bunch of the flavor by transferring the meat and leaving the browned bits behind. If you’re thinking of a new slow cooker, consider it if your budget is open.
Soy Sauce: Nothing much to say here except Kikkoman has the best flavor overall and I always recommend reduced sodium.
Ingredients
- 5 chicken thighs , bone in and skin on
- 1/4 cup lite soy sauce , low sodium
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger , or 2 teaspoons ginger, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder , or 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
- sesame seeds and sliced green onions , for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients and set the chicken into the slow cooker skin side up.
- Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
- Garnish with sesame seeds or green onions (optional).
Nutrition
Can you make this with pork loin?
I suppose you could. I haven’t tested this recipe with Pork Loin. Please let us know what you think if you sub out chicken for pork loin!
Can I substitute honey for the sugar?
yes!
Omg! Yummy
Thanks Susan and thank you for the five star review!
Can boneless, skinless chicken thighs be used in the Slow Cooker Mongolian Chicken recipe? If so, would there be changes to the instructions & what are the new information instructions?
Certainly. Cooking times would be shortened by about 20 – 30 minutes. To be sure your chicken is thoroughly cooked use a meat thermometer at the thickest part of the thigh to see if the inner temperature is at least 165 degrees. Enjoy!
Yes I used boneless skinless
My son is making this for dinner now.
I’ve been making this recipe for a very long time! It’s my default whenever I need a quick and ez meal as I almost always have the ingredients, and it’s delicious!
Thank you Peggy and thanks for the 5 stars!
PS, I added a corn starch slurry to get more of a gravy consistency out of the sauce and served it with mashed potatoes! Mmmm good!
Really easy and wonderfully tasty! I served it to friends and they asked for the recipe!
Do you change cooking times for boneless and skinless thighs?
Over all, cooking times remain constant for thighs; however, as a precaution, 30 minutes or so before time is up, I would check the inner temperature of the thickest part of the meat to see if it is at 165 degrees in order to not over cook.
My husband doesn’t like to try new things but I keep trying to sneak new recipes in! He absolutely loved this recipe! I was busy running around Christmas shopping and forgot to put this in the crockpot so I made it in the oven. Came out juicy and delicious!
Great! So glad you guys enjoyed the recipe and thanks so much for the 5 star review! Happy Holidays!
I loved this easy recipe, I also added 1/2 tsp of Ground chili and garlic, for a little heat. Thank you
Sounds tasty! Thanks Lesa for trying our recipe and for the 5 star rating!
I made this recipe. It was so easy and amazingly delicious.
One of my friends was wondering if it’s possible to cut down on the amount of dark brown sugar.
Sure! And thanks Carole, for the 5 stars!
I used sugar substitute
I seasoned my chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Placed it in my pre heated air fryer at 385. Placed thighs in crockpot and followed the rest of the recipe. Loved it soooo….. will repeat. If you double up with the sauce careful not to double up with the sugar. Thank you!
Delicious! My book club loved it, my grandkids loved it, my husband loves it! EVERYone loves it and so do I. Not only is it easy but it is fabulously flavorful!
thank your sharing your fantastic recipe.
Not:e: I placed thighs on a sheet, drizzled each thigh with some sauce from crockpot, and out under the broiler for 2 minutes. Arranged on a platter, then I added toasted sesame seeds and chopped green onions. Looked beautiful; tasted GREAT!
Delicious!!!
I made a LOT of this dish (using the oven method) for a group of about 40 people that I cook for weekly. I think it was the most well received dinner I have ever made! I highly recommend it! It was on point- restaurant quality!
Hello can this recipe be put in the cooking pot then, into the slow cooker the next day
Very tender chicken! I cooked it in the oven due to deciding that was what is for dinner tonight. I had left over rice from the Chinese restaurant and poured some of the sauce over it. I would highly recommend this recipe!!
This was so easy and delicious. The chicken feel off the bone and the sauce is so good. I added a teaspoon of red pepper flakes because we like it spicy but next time might kick it up a bit with chili sauce. VERY GOOD
I am making this tomorrow for dinner. We like sauce. Will it hurt to double it with 4 bone in chicken thighs?
Made this recipe and it turned out delicious! But the top/skin of my chicken thighs got none of the sauce and stayed color-less. Are we supposed to do anything to the chicken before just placing in the cooker? How does the chicken skin have so much color in the picture?
That is what I was wondering. Putting fresh chick w skin in crock doesn’t look or taste as described
Hi Buggs and Candice, were the chicken pieces skin side up and covered in the spice mixtures?
I made this last night for dinner. I did use b/s breasts instead of thighs as we did not have any thighs. I think next time, and there will be, and if I use breasts, I will slice them first. I served with plain rice however next time, I may try pineapple rice.
Thanks for the recipe, I have all the spices required. Seldom do I have fresh ginger. You know my pantry!!!
Great recipe, love the simplicity! I unfortunately did not have enough sauce, so I will probably double it next time. Paired this with rice.
Will try the recipe soon but before I even cooked, I wanted to say thank you for including both the fresh and powdered options for the garlic and the ginger. Small things like that make life so much easier.
Not to be stupid but do you put the sauce in the bottom of the slow cooker or pour the sauce over the chicken before cooking. I assume the latter.
Mix the sauce ingredients first in the crockpot then place chicken on top. I flip around the chicken to get sauce on all its sides then arrange them skin side up.
Hi, Sabrina
This sounds a very tasty recipe, as do others in your collection. However, I have a question: can this, and your other recipes be frozen? I ask this because, as a single man in my 70s, this amount of food would be far too much for me and I know I am not a good enough cook to reduce the volume of food without ruining the recipe; freezing it is better.
Hi! Yes most of my recipes can be frozen, I love saving portions for later!
I will be making this again! It was so easy to put together and came out delicious!
Only had light brown sugar, but it was wonderful! Grilled baby boc choy and basmati rice finished dinner!
I’m so excited to make this! How do I adapt for an instant pot?
I haven’t tested it in an instant pot but I’ll add it to my research list. Thanks for the suggestion.
Just look up Instant Pot Mongolian chicken, and adjust the cooking time using Sabrina’s recipe. That’s what I did.
When I poured the mixture over the chicken it slid right off. Do I need to turn the chicken over into the mix maybe halfway thru?
You don’t need to but you can. It’ll all reduce down and cook into the chicken while in the slow cooker. I even like to spoon mine over when served.
Hello, I don’t normally post, but wow! This was a great recipe! Really loved it and the chicken was so tender! I did put it in the oven for 15 minutes after and it gave it a slightly more glazed chicken.
Wish I could send a pic!
Anyway, thanks again for a great recipe.
Yay!! I’m glad you enjoyed it! You can always post to instagram and tag @dinnerthendessert
I love seeing what everyone is making!
any recipes for diabetics
I don’t have anything specific so you’d have to figure out the nutritional information.
Going to make this with bones chicken thighs should I cut back the time in the slow cooker
I made this using swerve brown sugar as my husband is diabetic. Served with cauliflower rice and steamed broccoli. It was delicious.
After I made your leftover Christmas Ham (bone-in) and Bean soup, I bookmarked your site. It’s the first place I look for a recipe. It was that delicious! Once again, this dinner was so mouthwateringly good, once again proving your talents as a chef. Bravo!! PS I followed exactly, however my new slow cooker was really hot so it was done in a little over 2 1/2 hours. And I added broccoli and mushrooms I cooked in the wok. Served over rice. I wish I had some this morning.
I’m glad you’re enjoying the recipes, Sherrill! Slow cookers can be tricky at times so I’m glad you know yours runs hot.
Hi, I’m trying this recipe for the first time! As I’m using chicken breast do I need to add any liquid eg stock to stop it drying out?
Helen
No need to add anything additional but I could suggest cutting back on the cook time.
Making this for the first time, using boneless skinless thighs #10. Should I adjust the other ingredients? And how long should I cook in slow cooker on low? Thank you
If you’re using 10 lbs of chicken, I’d suggest splitting it into multiple slow cookers or making this in the oven.
Can I use a combination of breast and thighs and of so how long???
Sure, you might need to cut back the cook time by around 30 minutes. You don’t want the breasts to dry out.