Tender chicken bathed in a rich, creamy and nutty satay sauce – all made with ease in the slow cooker.
If you’ve never made satay chicken in the slow cooker, your life is about to change for the better. This recipe is loaded with flavour and has the most gorgeous sauce – you’re going to love it. Follow me…
Satay Chicken
What makes this recipe stand out from the rest is the layering of flavours. The first layer being the chicken, of course. The sauce is going to be magical, but what’s the point if the chicken is unseasoned?!
Using Chicken Thighs
More often than not, when using the slow cooker, I’ll use thigh over breast because it’s far more difficult to overcook. The higher fat content also adds heaps more flavour to the sauce too. Here we’re just going to dice it into large bite-sized pieces and coat it in a simple concoction of store-bought spices.
Frying the chicken
I know – it’s always a ‘sigh’ moment when a slow cooker recipe asks you to fry something beforehand. BUT – it is a seriously quick step, and it will make a noticeable difference. Frying the chicken helps build up a golden crust (aka develop flavour) and it also helps lock in the seasoning. You can then soak up the excess flavour by frying the onion, garlic and ginger.
Process add seasoning to chicken (photo 1), mix (photo 2), add to pan (photo 3), fry then remove (photo 4), add onion, garlic & ginger (photo 5), fry then remove (photo 6).
Satay Chicken in the Slow Cooker
Once the chicken and aromatics have been fried, it’s plain sailing from there. Just combine everything in the slow cooker and you’re going to go.
Satay Sauce
Because we’re using peanut butter (and quite a bit of it) the sauce will get quite thick. As such, I add in some coconut milk and chicken stock to keep everything nice and creamy/saucy. I also add some soy sauce and honey for a nice salty, sweet contrast, along with some sriracha and curry powder for heat and lime juice to balance everything out.
Extra Goodies
Towards the end of cooking, I love throwing in some red pepper, green beans and water chestnuts to bulk everything out and add some more texture.
Process shots: combine everything in the slow cooker (photo 7), cook (photo 8), add pepper, beans and water chestnuts (photo 9), cook again (photo 10)
Slow Cooker Satay Chicken FAQ
I wouldn’t say it was particularly spicy, but it’s got some heat in it from the curry powder and sriracha. You can reduce the sriracha if you’re not good with spice at all, but it is pretty mellow.
Yep! These are just my faves. Just make sure it’s veg that’ll cook quickly (i.e. peas or mangetout).
Yes – just allow to completely cool then tightly store in the fridge for up to a few days. Reheat until the chicken is piping hot again.
How to serve Satay Chicken
My go-to is rice, but flatbreads or even noodles would be great. I love adding crushed peanuts at the end, but that’s totally optional. If you find it’s a little watery, just leave the lid off so it can reduce down and thicken up.
For another satay chicken recipe check out my Thai Satay Chicken Skewers!
For another similar slow cooker recipe check out my Slow Cooker Chicken Curry!
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this slow cooker satay chicken shall we?!
How to make Satay Chicken in the Slow Cooker (Full Recipe & Video)
Slow Cooker Satay Chicken
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Medium Sized Mixing Bowl & Tongs (for seasoning the chicken)
- Large Pan & Wooden Spoon (for frying the chicken)
- Slow Cooker
- Jug (for stock)
- Whisk
- Serving Spoon
Ingredients
Chicken
- 600g / 1.3lb boneless skinless Chicken Thighs, diced into large bite-sized pieces (see notes)
- 2 tsp Mild Curry Powder
- 1 tsp EACH: Cumin, Ground Coriander, Turmeric
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Paprika
- drizzle of Oil
Satay Sauce
- 1 large White Onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
- 1 tbsp finely diced Fresh Ginger
- 1x 400ml / 14oz can of Full-Fat Coconut Milk
- 160g / 5.6oz Smooth Peanut Butter
- 120ml / 1/2 cup Chicken Stock
- 3 tbsp Honey
- 2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
- 2 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
- 1-2 tbsp Sriracha (see notes)
- 1 1/2 tbsp Mild Curry Powder
- 1 Lime, juice only
To Serve
- 1 Red Pepper, diced into chunks
- 1 can of Sliced Water Chestnuts (net weight 225g/8oz, drained weight 140g/5oz)
- handful of Green Beans, trimmed and diced into chunks (~100g/3.5oz – work to preference)
- handful of Crushed Peanuts (optional)
- Rice and/or Flatbreads (or even noodles)
Instructions
- In the slow cooker, whisk together the coconut milk, peanut butter, chicken stock, honey, soy sauce, sriracha, curry powder and lime juice until well-blended.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, coat the diced chicken in the seasoning. Add a drizzle of oil to a large pan over medium-high heat and once hot, space out the chicken. Fry for a few minutes on each side to build up a nice crust (important to lock in the seasoning and develop flavour). Place in the slow cooker, leaving any excess oil/fat behind (chicken doesn't need to be cooked through at this point).
- Top the pan up with oil if needed, then add the onion, garlic and ginger. Sweat it all down until soft and golden, then scrape into the slow cooker (be careful the garlic/ginger doesn't burn).
- Give everything a mix, then pop on the lid and cook on HIGH for 3 hours or LOW for 6 hours. Mix in the green beans, red pepper and water chestnuts, then cook for a further 30 minutes for HIGH or 1 hour for LOW, or until the veg has softened. The consistency should be perfect at this point, but if it's looking a little watery, just leave the lid off the reduce. Check for seasoning and adjust with salt or soy sauce if you think it needs it.
- Serve with rice and/or flatbreads with crushed peanuts on top (optional).
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
