Slow Cooker Satay Chicken is a wonderfully creamy and flavourful meal that is incredibly easy to prepare in the slow cooker. This easy dinner recipe creates tender chicken gently cooked in a rich, nutty satay-style sauce.
Made with chicken, peanuts, coconut milk and vegetables, this comforting dish is perfect for busy weeknights when you want a simple meal that cooks quietly during the day and is ready when you are.
Originally published August 13, 2021. Updated March 12, 2026.
A Delicious Peanut Satay Dish
Satay has to be one of my favourite flavours for savoury dishes. Possibly because I LOVE peanut butter, so if you are a fan of peanut flavouring this is one for you to try.
Perfect For Busy Winter Weeknights
We are about to head back into term two for school here and the days are getting shorter and cooler so out comes the slow cooker for many of our weekday meals.
For us winter means we are busier than ever with sports on every night of the week, so coming home to a house smelling of warm prepared meals is such a treat.
How To Keep Your Slow Cooked Chicken Tender And Juicy
Slow cooker meals are great, they are so incredibly easy to prepare but the outcome is always so tasty. Your slow cooked chicken should turn out tender and juicy. If you’d like to understand why it sometimes turns dry, you may enjoy my guide on how to keep slow cooker chicken juicy.
Ingredients You’ll Need For Satay Chicken In The Slow Cooker
Many of the ingredients in this recipe are pantry staples, which are great to have on hand to create delicious family meals.
The ingredients you will need for this Slow Cooker Satay Chicken are:
- Chicken Thighs
- Onion
- Capsicum
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Chilli Flakes or Ground Chilli
- Paprika
- Brown Sugar
- Soy Sauce
- Peanut Butter (Smooth)
- Coconut Milk
- Chicken Stock
- Salt & Pepper
- Lime Juice (Optional)
- Coriander (Optional)
If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s safe to add raw chicken to the slow cooker, I explain exactly how it works in this guide to cooking raw chicken in a slow cooker.
How To Cook Satay Chicken in the Slow Cooker
The best bit about this recipe, and many that are created for slow cookers, is that you simply dump all of the ingredients into the slow cooker and leave it to cook. This is exactly what you do here, just set and forget.
You can cook this recipe on LOW for 5 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours. I prefer to use Chicken Thighs as they stay lovely and moist throughout the cooking process, but chicken breast could work too – though it can dry out when being cooked in a slow cooker.
If your sauce turns out thinner than you’d like, my guide on How to Thicken Slow Cooker Sauce shares several easy ways to achieve a richer consistency.
This recipe makes a large serving, feel free to halve the recipe if that better suits your needs.
You Can Adjust The Chilli To Suit Your Taste
I have included dried ground chilli in this recipe. You can omit it but with just the right amount it adds a lovely flavour to the finished product, if you like extra heat add in more, but chilli does tend to increase in intensity the longer it cooks. You can use chilli flakes or ground chilli.
Adding Vegetables And Serving Suggestions
I have served this with some rice and you can add vegetables to the satay chicken at various stages of the cooking process, red capsicums and green beans are lovely added about an hour before serving.
Any leftovers are perfect the next day too!
How To Store Leftovers?
This will keep well until the next day, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and heat well and stir before serving, or serve cold in wraps or rice paper rolls.
Slow Cooker Satay Chicken Recipe
The full ingredient list and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
Slow Cooker Satay Chicken
Slow Cooker Satay Chicken is a creamy, flavourful dinner made with chicken, peanuts, coconut milk and vegetables, slowly cooked together for a simple and comforting family meal.
Ingredients
- 1 KG of Chicken Thighs, skinless, boneless, cubed
- 1 Small Onion, finely diced
- 1 Cup Coconut Milk, 250 mls
- 1 Cup Chicken Stock, 250mls
- 2/3rds Cup Peanut Butter, 165 mls
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce, 30 mls
- 1 Tablespoon Peanut Oil, 15 mls
- 2 teaspoons Garlic, minced,
- 1 teaspoon Fresh Ginger, minced
- 1 teaspoon Paprika, ground
- 1/2 teaspoon Chilli, ground (or 1 teaspoon chilli flakes or to your taste)
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon each of Salt & Ground Pepper
- 1 large Red Capsicum, finely sliced
Optional
- Green Beans, trimmed and halved
- Fresh Coriander to garnish
- Lime Juice to taste (1-2 tablespoons)
- Peanuts, diced
Instructions
- Set up your slow cooker
- Remove any excess fat from the chicken thighs and dice into 2cm chunks
- Peel and finely dice the onion
- Add the chicken thighs and onion to the base of the slow cooker
- In a medium bowl add together the coconut milk, chicken stock, peanut butter, soy sauce, peanut oil, garlic, ginger, paprika, chilli, brown sugar and the salt and pepper
- Whisk together until well combined
- Pour this sauce over the chicken and onion and stir to combine
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 3 hours or LOW for 5-6 hours, until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
- One hour before cooking time is completed add the finely sliced red capsicum (and green beans if using) and continue to cook for a further hour.
- Once cooked, remove the lid and stir through a little chopped coriander leaves, and if you have some on hand add lime juice a little at a time to your taste.
- Serve over rice and if you like garnish with coriander and finely diced peanuts
- Enjoy!
Notes
I use a 6 Litre Slow Cooker
This will keep well until the next day, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and heat well and stir before serving, or serve cold in wraps or rice paper rolls.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 603Total Fat: 42gSaturated Fat: 18gUnsaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 258mgSodium: 732mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 1gSugar: 6gProtein: 51g
This nutrition calculation for Just Slow Cooker Recipes has been automated, please use your discretion with the calculation and use your own if unsure.
More Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes To Try
This recipe originally appeared on my other website Just A Mum – here you will find many other delicious meal ideas.
And if you enjoy easy family dinners like this one, you might also like my collection of slow cooker chicken recipes with plenty of simple meals perfect for busy weeknights. For example:
- Slow Cooker Apricot Chicken
- Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken
- Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken
- Slow Cooker Whole Roasted Chicken
I’d Love To Hear Your Feedback
I hope you love this Slow Cooker Satay Chicken as much as we do. It’s such a lovely comforting dinner for busy weeknights and one I come back to again and again.
If you try it, I’d love to hear how it turned out for you in the comments below.
Also, if you enjoy this recipe, please leave a ⭐ rating in the recipe card above. Your feedback helps other readers and really supports my recipes.
Thank you so much for visiting and taking the time to try this recipe. I hope you find plenty of slow cooker inspiration here on my blog.
If you’d like to see more of my latest recipes and kitchen adventures, be sure to follow along on Pinterest.
Happy cooking!
Anna
I made this a few nights ago and have to say it was absolutely delicious! I served it over rice the first night, and the second night I just stirred some noodles into the leftovers and it was just as good. This is going into my handwritten book of recipes to make regularly.
I am so pleased you enjoyed it!