Slow Cooker Mongolian Chicken is a fuss-free dinner that's brimming with bold, savoury-sweet flavours. Tender chicken is coated in a rich, glossy sauce made with soy, garlic, and a touch of brown sugar, creating a melt-in-your-mouth meal the whole family will love. Pair it with fluffy jasmine rice for a comforting dish that tastes like a takeaway classic!
With the slow cooker doing all the work, this recipe is perfect for busy days. Its bold, glossy sauce transforms simple ingredients into a flavour-packed family meal with minimal effort.
Calories in Slow Cooker Mongolian Chicken
This recipe serves 4 and is 365 calories per serving
If you're looking for more recipes within the same calorie range, you'll find an abundance of options in my dedicated collection of 300+ calorie recipes.
If you're following a calorie-controlled diet or a healthy eating plan, it's important to calculate your daily calorie intake using a reliable calorie calculator. Please note that the calorie counts provided are estimates and can vary based on specific ingredients and serving sizes. Personalizing your calculations is essential to meet your individual needs. By using a calorie calculator, you can make informed choices and stay on track with your dietary goals.
See the recipe card for full nutritional estimation.
Ingredients Notes
To make this recipe you will need the following ingredients:
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs: These thighs stay juicy and tender as they soak up the rich sauce, offering a succulent texture that's perfect for slow cooking.
- Salt and Pepper: Essential for bringing out the natural flavours, with salt balancing sweetness and pepper adding a mild kick. These basic yet essential flavour enhancers are key for elevating the taste of your dishes. No food will ever be bland when these are used to season to taste.
- Cornstarch: Thickens the sauce, giving it a glossy, smooth texture that clings to the chicken.
- Soy Sauce (Dark and Light): A mix of dark for umami and depth, and light for a milder saltiness, creating a balanced sauce base.
- Water: Helps to increase the volume of the sauce without adding extra sodium. By diluting the soy sauce, it ensures the sauce stays rich but not overly salty, balancing flavour and health.
- Brown Sugar: Adds natural sweetness and caramel-like depth, balancing the savoury and sweet elements.
- Garlic and Ginger: These aromatics provide a savoury, fragrant base with garlic's mellow depth and ginger's warm, spicy lift.
- Sesame Oil: Adds a nutty, toasty flavour, giving the sauce richness and depth.
- Green Onions (Spring Onions): adds a mild onion flavour that complements the richness of the sauce. They also add a pop of colour.
Once you've gathered all the ingredients and prepared them accordingly, you're all set to create this easy and delightful recipe.
See the recipe card for specific quantities and instructions.
Choosing the Best Slow Cooker
Choosing the best slow cooker can significantly enhance your kitchen experience. Look for one with both low and high temperature settings to adapt cooking times to your schedule. A sear and sauté function can be beneficial for browning ingredients directly in the cooker, although it's not necessary for this Slow Cooker Mongolian Chicken-simply combine everything, set it, and let it cook to perfection.
Also Consider a slow cooker with a keep-warm function to maintain your meal at the ideal serving temperature until you're ready to eat. Removable, dishwasher-safe inserts make cleanup easy. Choose a slow cooker that fits your needs and lifestyle to make your cooking effortless and enjoyable.
Variations on Slow Cooker Mongolian Chicken
This recipe is incredibly versatile, and you can easily adjust it to suit your tastes or dietary preferences. For those who enjoy a bit of heat, adding some chilli flakes is a great way to spice things up without overpowering the dish. Start with a pinch and adjust to your preferred spice level-this small addition can make a big impact!
You can also add vegetables into the slow cooker to make the meal even heartier. Consider adding sliced bell peppers, baby corn, or snow peas for extra crunch and colour. Just be mindful of the quantity of vegetables you add, as too many may affect the ratio of sauce to ingredients, potentially making it a bit too dry. Keep the vegetable additions moderate to ensure the sauce remains rich and glossy, creating the perfect balance of flavours.
Sides for Slow Cooker Mongolian Chicken
For a simple and satisfying side, I love pairing Mongolian Chicken with fluffy jasmine rice and a sprinkle of fresh green onions. If you're looking to add more variety, here are some great suggestions:
- Noodles: A great alternative to rice, offering a slightly chewy texture that complements the sauce.
- Broccoli: Its slight bitterness contrasts beautifully with the sweet, savoury sauce.
- Bok Choy: Lightly sautéed, it adds a delicate, slightly sweet flavour.
- Snap Peas: Crisp and fresh, they offer a nice texture to balance the dish.
- Green Beans: Tender-crisp beans add a lovely snap and subtle sweetness.
- Stir-fried Baby Corn, Peppers, and Onion: A colourful mix that adds crunch and a touch of sweetness to complement the flavours of the chicken.
These sides not only complement the flavours of the Mongolian Chicken but also provide variety, ensuring a well-rounded and satisfying meal for everyone at the table.
More Slow Cooker Recipes
Looking for some more slow cooker recipes? Check out the following:
See more Slow Cooker Recipes →
or if you would like more recipe ideas - head on over to the FULL RECIPE INDEX where you will find over 900 delicious recipes with calories and you can search by meal type, ingredients, course, diet and more.
All recipes on Slimming Eats have estimated nutritional information for your convenience.
FAQ for Slow Cooker Mongolian Chicken
While slow cooking is ideal for tenderising chicken, cooking it for too long can cause the meat to become stringy and overcooked. For best results, stick to the specified cooking time to ensure the chicken remains tender and in pieces, without falling apart.
While you can use chicken breasts, thighs are recommended for their tenderness and ability to hold up during slow cooking. Breasts are leaner and can yield less flavour, as they tend to release more liquid, which may dilute the sauce. This could affect the overall richness of the dish, so for the best flavour and texture, chicken thighs are the preferred choice.
You can use a zero-calorie sweetener, but it may not provide the same results as brown sugar. Sugar is essential for creating the characteristic glossiness of the sauce and contributes to the caramelisation process, which adds richness and depth. While a sweetener will add sweetness, it won't offer the same texture or caramelised flavour, so the overall sauce may lack the same depth and shine. If you opt for a sweetener, be sure to taste the sauce and adjust to your liking.
Absolutely! Vegetables like bell peppers, baby corn, or snap peas can be added to the slow cooker. Just be sure to keep the quantity of vegetables moderate, as adding too many may affect the sauce-to-ingredient ratio, resulting in a drier dish.
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Recipe Card
Slow Cooker Mongolian Chicken
Slow Cooker Mongolian Chicken is a fuss-free dinner that’s brimming with bold, savoury-sweet flavours. Tender chicken is coated in a rich, glossy sauce made with soy, garlic, and a touch of brown sugar, creating a melt-in-your-mouth meal the whole family will love.
Ingredients
- 700g (25oz) boneless skinless chicken thighs, raw (sliced into bite size pieces)
- salt and pepper
- 3 tablespoon of cornstarch (cornflour)
- ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) of reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons of dark soy sauce
- ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) of water
- 4 tablespoons (50g) of brown sugar
- 3 cloves of garlic (crushed)
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger root
- 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
- 3 spring onions (green onions/scallions) (sliced in half lengthways, then cut into 1.5-inch pieces)
- optional: pinch of red chilli flakes for some heat.
Instructions
- Add the chicken pieces to a bowl and season with salt and black pepper.
- Sprinkle over the cornstarch and toss until the chicken is evenly coated.
- Transfer the chicken to the slow cooker.
- In a small jug or bowl, mix together the soy sauces, water, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken.
- Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 4-5 hours.
- Add the green onions (spring onions) during the last half hour of cooking.
- Serve with your favourite sides and enjoy!
Notes
Please see below for full nutritional info and additional details about recipe:
- Calories - scroll down to nutritional info box
- WW Points and other Slimming or Weight Loss programs - due to plans regularly changing and updating, we recommend calculating with the official tools you get as a member to those plans to ensure accuracy of values.
- Dairy Free Friendly
- Freezer Friendly ❄️
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Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1 SERVINGAmount Per Serving Calories 365Total Fat 16gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 214mgSodium 733mgCarbohydrates 21gFiber 13gSugar 3gProtein 34g
Nutritional information and values etc are an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only. Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information. It is always advised that you calculate by the ingredients you use.
Mumsie says
Just made this today -absolutely delicious - thank you Siobhan I love this site!
Anne thompson says
Made this a few times. It's easy to prepare and is delicious