Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken
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This slow cooker General Tso’s chicken is savory, sweet, and just spicy enough, with tender chicken coated in a glossy, sticky sauce that tastes better than takeout. It’s a mostly hands-off crockpot recipe that delivers big flavor on busy weeknights with very little effort.
This slow cooker General Tso’s chicken is all about big flavor with an easy, mostly hands-off approach. I start by lightly coating the chicken in cornstarch and quickly searing it so each piece gets a golden crust. That step makes a huge difference—it helps the chicken hold its texture and gives the sauce something to cling to later. The chicken then goes into the crockpot with a simple yet bold sauce made from soy sauce, honey, hoisin, rice vinegar, garlic, and ginger.
As it slowly cooks, the chicken becomes incredibly tender, and the sauce thickens into that glossy, sticky coating you want in a great General Tso’s chicken. The result is sweet, savory, tangy, and slightly spicy, with every bite packed with flavor. It has everything I love about the classic takeout dish, but made at home in a way that’s perfect for busy weeknights—prep it, turn it on, and come back to dinner that’s ready to serve over rice with broccoli.
Recipe FAQs
How long do leftovers last?
Store any extras in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.
Can I use chicken thighs instead?
Yes, you can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead.
Where can I find hoisin sauce?
Hoisin sauce is a popular Asian cooking sauce found in the international aisle of most grocery stores.
How to serve
While it’s typically served with broccoli and rice, in the pictures we keep things simple by serving this General Tso’s chicken with thinly chopped cucumbers. Our creamy cucumber salad also goes really well with this recipe!
It’s also a great meal for serving family-style with a few other Asian sides and a big bowl of warm rice. Try it with our spicy honey roasted carrots, sautéed green beans with garlic, or whole roasted cauliflower with sesame and ginger and our favorite coconut rice.
Crockpot General Tso’s Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts (cut into bite-sized chunks)
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- ½ cup hoisin sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 2 tablespoons minced ginger
- sliced green onions and sesame seeds (to serve)
Instructions
- Place the chicken in a bowl and sprinkle the cornstarch and pepper over the top. Mix the chicken around so that it is well coated.4 chicken breasts, ¼ cup cornstarch, ½ teaspoon pepper
- Heat the oil in a large, nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sear it until it is well browned on all sides, about 6 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.1 tablespoon cooking oil
- Add the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, garlic, and ginger to your crockpot and stir well. Add the chicken and stir to coat the chicken in the sauce. Cook for 3-4 hours on low heat, until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is very tender.½ cup hoisin sauce, ¼ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup honey, ¼ cup rice vinegar, 4 cloves garlic, 2 tablespoons minced ginger
- Serve with some sliced green onions and sesame seeds over the top.sliced green onions and sesame seeds
Video
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
This is the BEST Crock Pot General Tso’s Chicken. Kiss to you All!
Delicious and easy! Great flavor. Definitely a “keeper” that I’ll be adding to our repertoire. Thank you!
You’re very welcome!
Hi I just made this and my chicken is a very light brown (not like the picture!!) I didn’t use tomato paste, ginger, Chinese all spice (I made my own hoisin sauce but omitted food sensitivities). would this impact the color?
A change to the ingredients could definitely cause the color to be different than what is in the pictures. 🙂
Love love love your recipe – it’s so simple with simple ingredients, yet the flavor is tremendous!! I’ve tried several different general Tsao’s crock pot recipes and yours is by far the best. Thanks so much, we’re having it for dinner again tonight! 🙂
Hooray!! You just put a giant smile on my face. So happy to know you’re enjoying the recipes!
Yep, mine was burned when i checked on it at the 2 hour mark… will try 2 hours on low next time.
I’m so sorry to hear that happened to you! My crock pot is the only one I’ve ever used, but another reader mentioned that cooking times do vary from one to the other.
hi Kristen, such lovely recipes and pictures, thank you. I am sorry to be a bit dim …. but I didn’t quite understand the first post …. I am desp to make this next weekend as part of a Chinese banquet ….. co could I please just clarify that the chicken is coated and stir fried for 10 mins ….. and then slow cooked for a couple of hours in the sauce?? It seems like a long time for chicken breast pieces … but I guess the sauce needs to thicken and gloss and coat the pieces?? thank you so much. Maggie
It’s no problem at all!
While the chicken should technically be cooked through (or almost) after you brown it, the slow cook in the crock pot makes it super tender.
Hope that makes sense!
Hi Kristen,
I see that you skipped the part where you brown the chicken in the pan. I’d like to skip this part too to save time, but I’m wondering, did you still do all of Step #1, coating the chicken in cornstarch, etc…?
Thanks!
Yep … just follow the recipe as is. 🙂
Hi Kristen,
I have been looking for the quintessential General Tso’s Chicken recipe for years and you have hit it spot on! However, given crispy chicken pieces are part and parcel of a General Tso’ s dish, and given it takes only a few minutes to stir fry the chicken pieces, I couldn’t make myself put it all in the crock pot to cook for 4 hrs. I added a tsp of cornstarch to your sauce recipe and poured it over the cooked chicken and it was perfection. All in 15 minutes. Thank you for an excellent recipe.
Great idea to stir-fry the chicken pieces! Yum!
This was delicious! It was similar to something I learned to make when I lived in Hong Kong. I did add 1/4 teaspoon Five Spice Powder to the cornstarch. Also added 2 Tblsp. gojuchang and 1 Tblsp. sesame oil to the hoisin mixture. I also added cut asparagus during the last hour. I served with Basmati rice, roasted chopped peanuts and spring onions. This one is a KEEPER! Please keep them coming!
Great idea adding gochujang to the mix! I’ve already gone through a couple big jars of that stuff after meeting its acquaintance only a few months ago. Love it!
I think my crock pot (slow cooker here in the UK) cooks a little differently than yours as my chicken got a little frazzled! I turned it down to low after an hour on high then after 2 more hours it was done and the chicken pieces started to fall apart.
The sauce was delicious although maybe a little sweet for my palate but it went down a treat with my family, our Chinese take aways don’t offer this style dish so thanks Kristen for another fabulous recipe.
I wonder if there is a difference in the way crock pots cook? This is my first crock pot so I can’t say how it compares to others. I always thought they were the same!
Happy to hear the family liked it!
My crockpot cooked this in 2 1/2 hours on high. You bet every crockpot is different! 4 Hours and it would have been burned to a crisp!
I’m so glad you brought that up. I’m going to add a note to the recipe about keeping an eye on it. Thanks, Karen!
I had the same problem, chicken was overcooked in just 2 hours! Almost burned and turned to mush! Followed exactly.
Oh no! It sounds like our crock pots cook a little differently. I wonder if cutting the chicken into larger pieces would solve the problem of it cooking so quickly.
Made this for dinner last night and it was really, really good! The sauce was perfect. I added some carrots and red peppers to cook with the chicken and the carrots came out crisp tender and sweet, About a half hour before serving, I added some sliced mushrooms and broccoli. Everything came out so good on top of the jasmine rice. One note is that I used the LOW setting on my crock pot and everything was done in about 3 hours. Will definitely add this to my rotation. Way better than chinese restaurant fare.
Thank you so much for your feedback, Liz! I love that you added veggies to the pot. I’m going to do that next time I make this, too!
Thank you so much! I haven’t tried that hoisin sauce myself but it is on the list. If you make it I’d love to hear how it turned out. 🙂
Thanks, lovely!
I love that you get my crock pot thing! So happy I got over it though. Seriously, I’m so in love with it. 🙂
Ha ha that’s awesome! I promise the real thing is better than off your computer. 😉
I believe you that this is the best General Tsos Chicken! It looks perfect :). Yum!
Thanks, Annie!