Crock Pot General Tso’s Chicken has a little more of a kick than sweet and sour chicken, and better flavor. A great chicken recipe for the crock pot!
Crock Pot General Tso’s Chicken
I love this version of General Tso’s chicken. More times than not, General Tso’s chicken is what I will order at Chinese restaurants. It has a little more of a kick than sweet and sour chicken and I like the flavor better. Before this recipe I would always make our original recipe for General Tso‘s but ever since I came up with this crock pot version, I haven’t gone back to the old one (the old one is equally delicious… this way is just a little easier). I came up with this crock-pot version the other day when I didn’t have a lot of time in the late-afternoon to prepare dinner. I made this during my kids’ naptime. This pairs great with our restaurant-style fried rice recipe!
If you say “Tso”
Sometimes the most difficult part of ordering food in an ethnic restaurant is pronouncing the names without sounding like an idiot. There are a lot of differing thoughts on the pronunciation of this favorite Chinese food dish in America. According to SpoonUniversity.com, it is perfectly acceptable to pronounce it “so” — just omit the “T.” But according to my husband, Jared’s, experience working in a Chinese restaurant, it is more correctly pronounced “chow.” Either way, you are going to want to be eating this amazing General Tso’s Chicken while you think about saying the recipe name.
More recipes like Crock Pot General Tso’s Chicken
If you like the ease of crock pot cooking, or the flavor of Chinese food, check out some of these recipes below:
- Chinese BBQ Pork (Char Siu)
- Crock Pot Cashew Chicken
- Coconut Curry Chicken with Peanuts
- Sesame Chicken Stir Fry
How to make Crock Pot General Tso’s Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts cut into inch pieces
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup "lite" soy sauce
- 1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
- 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 teaspoon fresh ginger finely grated
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup cornstarch mixed with 1/4 c. water
- 4 green onions sliced
Instructions
- Combine flour, salt, and pepper in resealable food storage bag. Add chicken. Shake to coat with flour mixture.
- Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Brown chicken about 2 minutes on each side (it doesn't need to be cooked all the way through at this point). Set aside.
- In the Crock Pot, whisk sugar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and cayenne until well combined.
- Add chicken to crock pot and cook on low for 3-4 hours. If you would like your sauce thicker add water/cornstarch mixture about 30 minutes before serving. Stir it in SLOWLY, folding it into the chicken. You won't want your breading to be scraped off of your chicken pieces so be gentle!
- Garnish with green onion and serve.
Equipment
- Crock Pot Slow Cooker
Nutrition
April says
I love general tsos chicken and this was sooooooo good! Never ordering it from a restaurant ever again.
Kristyn says
This is seriously so good & the idea of the crock pot is even better!
Jen says
I’ve been leaning more on my slow cooker to help with dinner due to our crazy schedule. This was perfect! So easy to make and full of flavor. Thanks!
Melissa says
We really enjoyed this recipe! Thanks!
Beth Pierce says
I know what I will be making for dinner tonight! This looks easy and amazing too! Delish!
Mandy says
This was not good. Soggy and not good flavor. Waste of time and ingredients. 👎🏼
Favorite Family Recipes says
I’m so sorry this didn’t work out for you. I am trying to figure out what could have gone wrong. What about the flavor was off?
Stacey says
I am making this now and the sauce is very thick and I the chicken and sauce is burning on the sides of the crockpot. I’m only 2 hours in, any thoughts on why this would have happened?
Erica says
Hmmm… I am not sure. I do know that every Crock Pot can be different. Some have different “hot spots”. It sounds like yours might cook a little on the hot side. You definitely don’t want the chicken to be overcooked and dry. Maybe next time check the chicken after an hour. If you have a meat thermometer, you can check it to see if the internal temperature is showing it is done. I would say reduce it to “warm” as soon as you see that the chicken is done. Hope this helps!
Shyann says
I’ve been making this in home EC and I get to try it tomorrow! I promise I will tell results!
Shyann says
I apologise for responding late! The chicken was AMAZING and was very delightful! (The instructions are VERY true when it says to stir carefully) The sauce turned out great and I even paired it with white rice
Irene Stiger says
My husband doesn’t like chicken breast, l used boneless skinless chicken thighs didn’t bread them or brown just dumped,set and forget. Until time to add slurry. Was GREAT!!!!!
Cheryl says
Could someone tell me what kind of pineapple juice you used? Should this be the kind from the juice isle or should I use the juice from canned pineapples, which the label shows has “no added sugar?” My grocery store does not carry a sugar-free pineapple juice. Thanks for any advice.
Trish says
For chicken recipes, i usually just dump uncooked thawed chicken into the crock pot. Less time and less cleanup! 🙂 For these Chinese recipes, is it really necessary to brown the chicken in the skillet first?
Echo says
You do what works best for you! If you find it easier and to your taste, feel free to adapt these recipes any way you want to. We are happy to give you a start. 🙂
Melinda says
What size crockpot?
Erica says
It shouldn’t matter what size but I used my 5 qt. Hope this helps!
Lori in Atascocita says
Oh. Em. Gee. Finally had the time to make this and it is the best General Tso’s Chicken I have had in over a decade! I am so loving it!
Most recipes I adjust or tweak ahead of time and then have more ideas of how to make them better afterward too. This recipe I made almost exactly (only used dried ginger powder instead of fresh) and I do NOT plan on doing anything different the next time. I have been craving General chicken for a while, but haven’t found any local restaurant that has a great recipe. I’ll never order out for Chinese again!
Thank you so much for sharing this awesome recipe.
Erica says
Yay Lori!!! We are so glad you liked it! It is one of my favs too 🙂
Tami G says
How much ginger powder did you use for the recipe?
Erica says
If using powder instead of fresh, use about half the amount (so about 1 tsp)
Mrs. Ramirez says
I’m in the process of making this, but it looks more brown than red?! I made 4lbs of chicken so I added more of the ingredients.. Wondering if I didn’t put enough of something? It’s still cooking and I haven’t put in the cornstarch water mixture?!
Charbel says
I am going to definitely have to try these. I am always looking for new crock pot recipes, and these look great!
Rachelle says
Is fresh ginger the Ange as ginger root?
Rachelle says
Oops I meant is it the same?
Erica says
Yes, fresh ginger root
Mary says
This is one I can’t wait to try…perfect for a rainy day.
Meredith says
Would this work with tofu?
Debbie says
Is there any nutritional info available for this recipe?
Erica says
We don’t have it on hand, I know there are places online like at livestrong.com that you can put in a recipe and it will tell you the nutritional info. Hope this helps!
Pam says
This recipe is better than any I have had at a restaurant. It is a keeper. I made broccoli, carrots, red bell pepper and hot pepper to add to it. We loved it!
George Whipps says
Hello. I liked the recipe we had it last night very tasty chicken we had it with tex-mex rice mixture with some broccoli and carrots I put soya sauce over the broccoli. thank-you for the recipe George whipps
Janet says
I tried this today and it was spot-on just like what I would find in a good restaurant. Definitely going to keep this recipe.
Jessica Santana says
How many servings is this? I need 8 servings
But I really want to try this! Dinner party tonight!!
Erica says
I would say it serves 6-8.. if you are doing other dishes along with it you should be fine with 8. If you are worried about it, just add another pound of chicken.
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says
This looks great, I love a good crockpot recipe!
Melissa @ Freeing Imperfections says
I made this last night, and it was AMAZING! I actually halfed it, thinking the full recipe would be too much, but I so regret doing that now because of how good it was.
I will definitely be making this again!
Melisa says
Made this yesterday and everybody loved it! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Kimberley says
Delicious! Just made this for dinner. Will definitely make it again! Served it with white rice, steamed broccoli and fresh pineapple slices.
Breanna says
We made this for sunday dinner and everyone loved it! It was delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Jessica jones says
Just made this today… it’s till cooking, but I tasted the ‘broth’ and WOW. This is going to be soooo good! I’m going to pair it with some quinoa and steamed string beans!
thanks, oh I shared your recipe/website on my facebook page. 🙂
Jessica jones says
oh and I’m shocked at how QUICK it all came together!!
Deborah says
This is totally calling to me – and I love that it’s made in the slow cooker!