Super Easy Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken. Cooked in a slightly sweet and tangy Chinese-inspired sauce. Way better (and healthier) than takeout! Serve with my Chinese Fried Rice, Lo Mein, or Chicken Chow Mein to make it a meal!
If you are short on time and want to have dinner on the table in under 30 minutes try my Easy 30-minute General Tso’s Chicken, with a side of Garlic Fried Rice!
General Tso’s Chicken is my all-time favorite take-out dish. It’s my go-to whenever I order Chinese takeout. This General Tso Chicken recipe turns out incredibly tender and juicy way better than the takeout version. It is coated in a sweet and tangy sauce. It tastes just like the General Tso’s Chicken you get at a restaurant!
You can also feel better about eating this dish because it is healthier than the takeout version! There is no deep-frying in this recipe just a little oil is used to sauté the chicken. You can also control the sweetness, saltiness and spice level when you make this at home!
To add an extra depth of flavor to this dish I brown the coated chicken in a hot pan. This gives the chicken a nice caramelization on the outside and helps it stay tender and juicy while cooking in the slow cooker. The cornstarch also helps to thicken up the sauce.
If you like this recipe then try out my other Crockpot Chicken Recipe!
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Ingredients
- Chicken Breasts: Cut into bite-size pieces. You can substitute chicken thighs as well.
- Cornstarch: This helps to thicken up the sauce.
- Hoisin Sauce: Can be found in the International Isle in the grocery store. It is thick, sweet, and slightly salty. It makes the perfect addition to the sauce!
- Rice wine vinegar: Can also be found in the International Isle in the grocery store. Resist the urge to substitute with another vinegar. I find that rice wine vinegar works the best in this recipe.
- Light brown sugar: Adds the perfect amount of sweetness to the sauce. Feel free to reduce the amount of sugar if you do not like it as sweet.
- Sesame oil: Also found in the International Isle in the grocery store or at Asian supermarkets. Sesame oil has a wonderful nutty flavor. A little goes a long way!
- For serving: I sprinkle the chicken with black and white sesame seeds and green onions! For a kick add some crushed red pepper flakes or a drizzle of Sriracha or chili garlic sauce!
How to make Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken
- Cube chicken thighs: Into bite size pieces.
- Coat in cornstarch: Add chicken and cornstarch to a large ziplock bag. Toss to coat the chicken with the cornstarch.
- Brown chicken: Heat oil in a large skillet or wok. Saute chicken until golden brown on both sides about 2 minutes on each side. (Note the chicken will not be fully cooked and that is ok)
- Add the ingredients to the slow cooker: Add the chicken to the slow cooker. Combine hoisin sauce, vinegar, sugar, and sesame oil in a medium. Pour the sauce onto the chicken and stir to coat the chicken.
- Cook on low for 2-3 hours. Or until the chicken reaches 165 degrees and is heated through. Depending on how big you cubed your chicken it might take more or less time.
- Serve: With green onions and sesame seeds for serving, if desired.
What to serve with General Tso Chicken
- Authentic Chicken Lo Mein
- Chicken Chow Mein
- The BEST Fried Rice
- Garlic Fried Rice
- Air Fryer Fried Rice
- Cauliflower Fried Rice
- White or brown rice. For a low-carb option try cauliflower rice.
- Steamed vegetables
- Crunchy Asian Broccoli Slaw
- Air Fryer Egg Rolls
- Garlic Green Beans
- Zucchini Noodle Stir Fry
- Japanese Cucumber Salad
storage instructions
- Reheat: Leftovers (chicken and sauce) in a saute pan over medium-high heat until rewarmed. You can also rewarm in the slow cooker as well!
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freeze in an airtight container or zip-top bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before reheating as above.
kelley’s tips
- You can use different meat! Try adding chicken thighs, pork, or beef instead, and increase the cooking time to 3-4 hours depending on the cut of meat.
- Vegetarian? No Problem! Cauliflower, broccoli, bell peppers, zucchini, and carrots are all delicious in this recipe! Use what you have on hand. You can dust the vegetables with cornstarch, or make a cornstarch slurry by adding it to water and then pouring it straight into the sauce.
- Enjoy a little heat? Me too! Sprinkle some crushed red pepper flakes in, or as a few dashes of sriracha for a little kick of spice.
frequently asked questions
What is Chinese General Tso Sauce made of?
It’s made of 4 simple ingredients that you may already have in your pantry. General Tso’s Chicken sauce includes hoisin sauce, rice wine vinegar, light brown sugar, and sesame oil. The meat is coated with cornstarch which thickens the sauce up beautifully.
How long do you cook boneless skinless chicken in the crockpot?
For this Slow Cooker General Tso Chicken recipe, I cooked the chicken along with the sauce for 2-3 hours in the crockpot. It turns out super tender and the chicken is absolutely bursting with flavor.
Is General Tso Chicken the same as Orange Chicken?
Not quite! Orange Chicken Sauce has marmalade, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and crushed red pepper flakes. On the other hand, General Tso Chicken contains hoisin sauce, rice wine vinegar, light brown sugar, and sesame oil. They are very different flavor profiles! One is orange-tasting, and the other has hoisin sauce which is made from fermented soybeans.
Is General Tso Chicken spicy?
This recipe for Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken is not spicy at all, however, if you like a kick of heat I recommend adding in crushed red pepper flakes or a few dashes of sriracha. A little spice is delicious in this recipe!
Here are more Chinese Takeout Recipes you can make at home!
- 20 Minute Beef and Broccoli
- Easy Kung Pao Shrimp
- Slow Cooker Mongolian Chicken
- Easy Pepper Steak
- 30 Minute Sweet and Sour Chicken
products i used
Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup hoisin sauce
- 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 4 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- green onions for serving, if desired
- sesame seeds for serving, if desired
Instructions
- Add chicken and cornstarch to a large ziplock bag. Toss to coat the chicken with the cornstarch.
- Heat oil in a large skillet or wok. Saute chicken until golden brown on both sides about 2 minutes on each side. (Note the chicken will not be fully cooked and that is ok) Add the chicken to the slow cooker.
- Add hoisin sauce, vinegar, sugar and sesame oil to a medium bowl and whisk until combined. Pour the sauce onto the chicken and stir to coat the chicken.
- Cook on low for 2-3 hours.Serve with green onions and sesame seeds for serving, if desired.
Nutrition Information
Did you make this?
I’d love to hear your feedback! Leave a review and make sure to share your pictures on social media! Don’t forget to follow @thechefsavvy.
Kenneth and Lynn Reif
I am making this for dinner tonight. I couldn’t find hoisin sauce so bought General Tso Sauce. Will that work?
Rick Anger
Great recipe! But General Tao chicken is supposed to be sweet and spicy, so i’m going to add a tsp of red pepper flakes! Thanks for recipe!
Rick
Lauren Start
I was excited to try this one, but it did not turn out well. The smell was off, but I thought maybe the flavor would end up okay. It wasn’t. It was super sweet and a light brown color. I think the sugar messed it up. Is 4 tablespoons correct?
Nathan
Hi Lauren,
I’m so sorry to hear that the recipe didn’t turn out well. 4 Tablespoons of brown sugar is what I use. In the future you can add a splash of soy sauce or water to cut down on the sweetness. Thanks you so much for giving this recipe a try though
Nathan
@chefsavvy
Sue Eiland
I think this recipe is EXCELLENT! We like spicy so we did add the crushed red pepper flakes. My husband literally commented that he could not stop eating it. It’s going to be one of our new favorites and I am thrilled that it’s so simple, but yet so yummy. Thanks Kelley
Nathan
Hi Sue,
I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed the recipe so much!
Thank you for sharing your comment and for trying out the chicken!
Nathan
@chefsavvy
Holly
This recipe is amazing! So easy and so tasty! Thank you so much! Huge hit at my house!
Nathan
Hi Holly,
I’m so glad everyone at your house liked the recipe! Thank you for trying it out!
Nathan
@chefsavvy
Renee
This recipe was great and my whole family loved it! We are about to start a kitchen remodel and I’m wondering how to prep this meal to add to my freezer meals.
Nathan
Hi Renee,
If I were to prep this meal for later, I would cook the chicken all the way through in the sauté pan and freeze it separate from the sauce so that it doesn’t get soggy. You can add the sauce ingredients in when you go to heat it back up. I hope that is helpful! Thank you for the comment!
Nathan
Rene
I wanted to love this as looked so easy, however I didn’t. It’s a good recipe to use as a base on which to adjust the ingredients to make it more suitable for us, but I followed exactly the recipe for the first try and it was ridiculously sweet. Hoisin is pretty much already liquid sugar and then adding extra sugar on top… way too sweet. We managed to salvage it by adding a LOT of chilli sauce and stirring chopped pieces into egg fried rice.
I followed the other reviews and cut the cooking time to 1.5-hours and the chicken was perfectly cooked. However, it didn’t look anything like the picture… I’m guessing if it was left in for 2-3 hours as the recipe states then it would cook off a bit more of the sauce? So yeah…. I might try it again, but with some serious alterations.
Kathy
All of the flavor with so little fuss!
devolina
You are so fascinating! much obliged for firing this up.
devolina
Thanks for sharing.