Tasty Tuesday: Crockpot Peanut Butter Chicken

Yesterday's post got kind of heavy, so if you read that ... Thank you.

I promise that today's post won't be anything like that.  Today's post is all about food (as any good Tasty Tuesday post should be).

Since my last two main dish recipes have featured beef, I decided to change things up and share a chicken based meal.  This recipe is extremely easy since you're basically just throwing everything in the crockpot and letting it work its magic.  It's also somewhat healthy (especially if you use reduced fat peanut butter), so it's probably a good recipe to share right before the new year because, let's be honest, most of us are going to resolve to lose weight or start eating better or start working out more often or some combination of these things.

The peanut sauce in this dish is rich, creamy, and slightly sweet.  It's not spicy like some peanut sauces, so it could be a good option for you if you want to try a peanut sauce but don't really like spicy food.  And while it's not my absolute favorite chicken and rice meal, it's a great option when I'm in the mood for chicken and rice but want something a little different.

I know that the color of the sauce isn't overly appealing, but at least it tastes good!

Crockpot Peanut Butter Chicken

Adapted ever so slightly from a recipe on Family Fresh Meals.


Ingredient List:

• 4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 5 and we had plenty of leftovers)
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 cup white onion, diced
• 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter (I used reduced fat and it worked just fine)
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 of a lime
• 2 tbsp honey
• 6 cups cooked rice (I used jasmine rice and I thought it really brought out the sweetness of the peanut sauce)
• Peanuts for serving

Instructions:

1.  Spray the inside of the crockpot with cooking spray.

2.  Place the red bell pepper and white onion in the bottom of the crockpot.  (The original recipe recommended this because they can act as a "stand" for the chicken to prevent it from drying out.)  I've never had an issue with chicken drying out in the crockpot, but I did follow these instructions since there isn't a ton of liquid in the peanut sauce.  You're also not adding any additional water or chicken broth, so it's definitely not a bad idea!  (If you're wondering, my chicken was tender and juicy when I followed this method.)

3.  Place the chicken breasts on top of the pepper and onion.

4.  Mix the chunky peanut butter, chicken broth, soy sauce, juice of 1/2 of a lime, and honey together in a separate small bowl.  Once everything is fully combined, pour the sauce over the chicken.  (I'd recommend trying to cover as much of the chicken as possible since, as I said before, you want to prevent it from drying out.  In order to do this, you may have to lightly stir the chicken and sauce around in the crockpot ... Just remember not to stir the peppers and onions up from the bottom.)

5.  Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6 hours.

6.  When approximately 15 minutes of cook time remain, shred the chicken with two forks.  (Although I usually remove meat from the crockpot when I shred it, I left it inside the crockpot for this step so I wouldn't lose any of the sauce.)  After shredding, replace the cover and continue cooking for the remainder of the time.

As I said earlier, I served the chicken over jasmine rice and topped everything with lightly salted peanuts.  I highly recommend using a peanut topping because it balances out the slightly sweet sauce with some saltiness.  I also served this with a side of Steamfresh vegetables (I used an Asian medley).