Slow Cooker Coconut Milk Chicken
Leftovers are always wonderful to eat, particularly stews, and slow cooker coconut chicken because the flavors become more deep and pronounced. This slow cooker Asian ginger chicken recipe is a perfect dish to have as a left over and it’s wonderfully versatile. This fork-tender coconut chicken, infused with plenty of fresh ginger in a rich tomato based sauce is fantastic and comforting. The slow cooker does all the work for you and what you have after about 4-5 hours is a rich stew to fuel the soul.
Video: Slow-Cooker Coconut Milk Chicken
Easy Crock Pot Chicken Recipe in Coconut Milk
Serve this chicken stew on just about anything you like. It’s satisfying on a bed of rice, noodles or pasta. Since there’s already potatoes in it and you don’t want the rice or noodles, serve this instead, with some crusty bread. Dipping the bread in the wonderfully ginger infused broth is just wonderful. Sometimes it’s great to have a quick and easy Asian recipe to make in the slow cooker on busy days when you’re juggling work and family!
You can customize the flavors as well by adding more or less fish sauce. Sure, fish sauce might sound scary, but the flavors are tremendous and it adds a rich flavor that you won’t even find odd. But if you’ve never cooked with fish sauce before, then you can certainly use soy sauce.
The best part about this chicken recipe is that is can also be cooked in the Instant Pot, which is a pressure cooker that is super versatile. The cooking time should be much quicker compared to the slow cooker. If you decide to make this Coconut milk chicken recipe, total cooking time should be about 40 minutes total.
Our Favorite Cookers & Goodies for Entertaining:
Whether you prefer a slow cooker, pressure cooker, or a multi-cooker, these kitchen counter appliances help make dinner a little easier for the busy household, plus with an added bonus of some of our favorite finds for entertaining:
The Crockpot 6qt. Slow Cooker – The original slow cooker. On this on the lid locks down which is great for transporting to potlucks and such. Simple, inexpensive and reliable.
Instant Pot Multi-use Pressure Cooker – It has cult-like following for a reason. It’s a pressure cooker and so much more. Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Sauté, & Yogurt Maker. It’s awesome! If you want a pressure cooker that has a few more bells and whistles (like hands free steam release), this Breville Pressure Cooker is also great.
Cuisinart Multi-Cooker – If pressure cooking is a not your thing but want a bit more than just a slow cooker, this multi-cooker is perfect for you. It can Sauté, Steam, and Slow Cook. Perfect to create those one pot meals.
Stoneware Radial Salad Plate – Hearth & Hand™ with Magnolia – We love the handmade feel of these salad plates that Chip and Joanna Gaines created for their Target collaboration. Beautiful everyday dishware.
Izon Mirror 5pc Silverware Set Gold – Project 62™ –The clean Modernist lines and subdued gold mirror finish on this flatware set.
Stoneware Mini Bowl – Hearth & Hand™ with Magnolia – For those who love it simple. We love the size, crafted feel, and sturdiness of these bowls, also from the new collection Chip and Joanna Gaines created for their Target collaboration. More Slow Cooker Recipes and Chicken Recipes
This recipe was originally published in 2013 and re-published in 2017 with a new video! Enjoy!
- 1 (14 oz-400ml) can coconut milk
- 1/2 cup (120ml) water
- 1 (8oz-227g) can of tomato sauce
- 2 Tablespoons (15ml) fish sauce (or soy sauce, but fish sauce makes it better!)
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 3 heaping Tablespoons (45ml+) minced ginger
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper , or to taste (optional)
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) kosher salt, or to taste
- about 1.5 pounds (680g) boneless chicken legs, thighs or breasts . We prefer thighs for richer flavor.
- 1 pound (455g) potatoes, cut into 1" pieces
- 2 medium carrots , peeled & cut into 1" pieces.
- Rice (for gluten free), pasta, noodles or bread for dipping
- In slow cooker pot, combine coconut milk, water, tomato sauce, fish sauce (or soy sauce), garlic, ginger, sugar, cayenne pepper, salt. Using a whisk, gently combine all ingredients together well to dissolve the tomato paste.
- Add chicken, potatoes and carrots.
- Cook on High for 4-5 hours. Stir about 2 times during cooking. Depending on how thick you cut your potatoes and carrots, cooking time will vary. After about the 3rd hour, pierce the chicken, potatoes and carrots to check for tenderness.
- Serve with rice, pasta, noodles or bread for dipping.
Deeba Rajpal (@vindee) says
YUM! Cannot get better than this! Cannot!!
Kalyn says
Love the new site; just wondering when you sleep?
JulieD says
I’m totally making this soon! I love slow cooker recipes and this looks so comforting!
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom says
I love this!! Totally going to be cooking this up in my slow cooker soon! 🙂
Alison says
I have a BF who cannot STAND cream of mushroom soup (even as an ingredient). The recipe sounds amazing though and I would love to make it for him! Do you have a possible substitution for the cream of mushroom soup? (If not, I’ll have to sneak it in while his back is turned!)
Peanut says
Hi Alison- we have a fresh and homemade cream of mushroom soup substitute that we’ll post soon for those who don’t like the canned version. But if your friend doesn’t like it at all, then you can try substituting cream of chicken soup. Or possibly even a cup of heavy whipping cream, and adding more flavor by adding an extra tablespoon or two of fish sauce. We do love the “sneak it i while his back is turned!”.
Candice says
Yum! this looks delicious. Unfortunately, I don’t have a slow cooker. Can it be made with a regular pot (e.g. dutch oven)?
Peanut says
Hi Candice- yes, you can certainly make it in a dutch oven. But if you do, try sauteing some chopped onions and garlic for added flavor. After you bring all the ingredients to a boil, you’ll probably have to simmer it on low for maybe about 1 hour? or until the potatoes and chicken are tender and fall-apart delicious. Experiment with it a bit and let us now how it goes!
Alison says
Thanks Peanut! This is great and so kind of you.
Abbe@This is How I Cook says
Congratulations on your new site. Looks like it will already take many hours to explore. And I LOVE exploring!
Diem says
This looks awesome. I might try substituting cream of mushroom with heavy whipping cream and fish sauce or wait to checkout your homemade version. Trying to eliminate processed foods from our diet and boy there’s a lot of extra stuff in canned foods. The new site looks great. I can’t wait to explore and find new inspiration for chicken & eggs. Love your photographs.
Peanut says
Hi Diem- After the final recipe testing with the homemade cream of mushroom soup version is finished, we’ll update this recipe with new notes. So keep checking back. Thank you so much for your support!
Megha says
Candice – I don’t have a slow cooker either; just made it in a regular pot and it turned out great. I used thighs and after bringing the liquid to a boil, let everything simmer on low for about an hour. The meat was really soft and everything tasted hearty & delicious.
I also added lime juice, red pepper flakes, and sriracha for some extra flavor & spice!
Sacha says
I found this recipe on foodgawker and made it for dinner recently, very delicious!
Although i substituted the mushroom soup for coconut milk, i live in Thailand and that is much easier to come by!
Kathy says
Oh man this looks delicious! Is it possible to leave out or substitute the sugar for something else?
Best Recipe Box says
Totally. You can either leave it out or sub honey or whatever your favorite sweetener is. Enjoy!
Best Recipe Box says
Hi Kathy, you definitely can omit the sugar and it still tastes delicious. But if you want that little extra sweetness, you can definitely try honey.
Darlene says
On your slow cooker asian chicken stew, are you using unsweetened or sweetened coconut milk?
Best Recipe Box says
Hi Darlene,
We are using unsweetened coconut milk. Most coconut milks we find here are unlabeled regarding sweetened vs unsweetened and we didn’t want to confuse people. In general for what we’ve found in the majority of grocery stores, so others know too, if the cans just say coconut milk, it is unsweetened. Sweetened coconut milk will often be sold as coconut cream.
Great question and hope that helps!
Joanna says
I just made this & it was a big hit. Had a lot of extra sauce so used it to make a chickpea curry with the rest of the leftovers. Two questions though – I see people talking about cream of mushroom soup…..where is that listed? Also, directions mention tomato paste but that’s not in the ingredient list. Is it supposed to be?
Kimberly says
this was DELICIOUS! prot ip – if you have a big enough crockpot, go ahead and double it to have some for the freezer!
A few adjustments I made – I used homemade chicken bone broth instead of water. also used sweet potatoes instead of white ones, mainly because I had some already cubed up in the freezer. Instead of white sugar, I used coconut aminos. I try to cook Whole30 friendly as often as I can! I also added a tablespoon of red curry paste and about a tsp of curry powder just for the extra flavor. I used a mix of thighs and breasts (all boneless/skinless). and, out of pure laziness, used baby carrots. turned out beautifully! Served over cauliflower rice and added a pinch of fresh basil. Next time I might add an onion – my fiance loves onions and requests them in just about every dish! this one is a keeper for us!