Copycat Slow Cooker Panda Express General Tso Chicken
Whenever I would take my daughters and their friends to the mall, they would always want to stop in the food court for Panda Express General Tso chicken. They loved it so much that I tried to recreate a recipe version at home. The kids weren’t impressed.
Then I struck on the idea of making it in the slow cooker — because, frankly, that was easier for me — and voila, my copycat of Panda Express general tso chicken made in the Crock Pot. It is now kid-approved.
Copycat Slow Cooker Panda Express General Tso Chicken
If you think you can’t make a stir-fried dish in the slow cooker, this recipe will change your mind. With the right ingredients and the right mix of sauces, you won’t believe how delicious a Crock Pot version of this mall food court staple will taste.
In fact, this copycat recipe is quickly challenging my Fried Chicken in the Crock Pot as my family’s favorite chicken and slow cooker dinner recipe. I have a feeling your family will feel similarly once you try it.
Then, all you need to do is make some rice in the Instant Pot to serve along with it. And with that, all of your favorite kitchen gadgets will have helped you to get dinner on the table without stressing out or breaking a sweat.
Ingredients Overview
Step-by-Step Instructions
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Slice and dice all of the vegetables called for in this recipe:
- bell peppers (three colors)
- onions
- garlic
- ginger
- green beans
Mix the cornstarch and egg.
Add the chicken pieces to the cornstarch-egg mixture. Stir to combine and coat the pieces.
Mix together the garlic, hoisin, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, ginger and red pepper flakes.
Place the cornstarch-covered chicken pieces on the bottom of your crock since you want them to cook first. Then add the remaining vegetable ingredients — peppers, onions — except for the green beans. You’ll add them in later.
Pour the sauce over all of the ingredients in the crock. Cover and cook on low for three to four hours. You’ll want to stir every now and then to prevent the sugars from burning and the chicken from sticking to the bottom of the crock.
Thirty minutes before the cooking time is up add the green beans and stir to mix. Place the cover back on and let the dish cook through. My programmable Crock Pot has a “keep warm” setting so I can let the dish simmer until everyone is home and ready to sit down for dinner.
Notes
Some Crock Pot cooks don’t like to put raw meat in their crocks. So they’ll brown it in a pan before adding it to the slow cooker. I’m not one of those people so I approach this as a dump ingredients recipe so I can set it and forget it.
However, if it makes you uncomfortable to add raw chicken, you can coat it with the egg and cornstarch, brown it and then put it in the crock with the rest of the ingredients. But, to be honest, why bother. Isn’t the whole idea of using a slow cooker to have a recipe with the fewest steps possible towards the final dish?
This recipe calls for chicken tenderloins. However, I know that, unless they’re on sale, tenderloins can be an expensive cut of meat. So feel free to substitute boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs. Just make sure you cut them into small pieces, such as cubes, before adding to the crock.
The recipe calls for frozen, cut green beans. You can use store-bought frozen or green beans you froze yourself.
Another time saver: buy already-sliced onions and peppers in the produce aisle at the grocery store so your prep is that much easier.
You can buy jarred minced garlic as an easy substitution for doing it yourself with fresh garlic.
Copycat Slow Cooker Panda Express General Tso Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken tenderloins cut into small pieces
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1 egg
- 1 bell pepper, red sliced
- 1/2 bell pepper, yellow sliced
- 1/2 bell pepper, orange sliced
- 1 onion, small diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3/4 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 cups green beans cut and frozen
Instructions
- Slice and dice all of the vegetables called for in this recipe.
- Mix the cornstarch and egg.
- Add the chicken pieces to the cornstarch-egg mixture. Stir to combine and coat the pieces.
- Mix together the garlic, hoisin, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, ginger and red pepper flakes.
- Place the cornstarch-covered chicken pieces on the bottom of your crock since you want them to cook first.
- Then add the remaining vegetable ingredients — peppers, onions — except for the green beans. You'll add them in later.
- Pour the sauce over all of the ingredients in the crock.
- Cover and cook on low for three to four hours. You'll want to stir every now and then to prevent the sugars from burning and the chicken from sticking to the bottom of the crock.
- Thirty minutes before the cooking time is up add the green beans and stir to mix. Place the cover back on and let the dish cook through.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Please note that nutrient values, if included with the recipe, are estimates only. Variations can occur due to product availability/substitution and manner of food preparation. Nutrition may vary based on methods of origin, preparation, freshness of ingredients, and other factors.