Slow Cooker or Instant Pot General Tso’s Chicken (Paleo)

This simple General Tso’s Chicken is bursting with a sweet and slightly spicy flavor! Only a few ingredients, and can be made in the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker!

Oh heyyyyy friends, just another Asian dish in your Instant Pot or Slow Cooker without all the junk! Besides our favorite taco night, I make Asian dishes A LOT. Reason is they go over really well with the whole family. Kids love an Asian dish, and an excuse to enjoy rice. I can always chop up some raw veggies, serve with edamame, or roasted broccoli for a complete meal.

PLUS, I make most of my Asian dishes in the slow cooker or Instant Pot. So seriously, these dishes are my “go-to” on busy weeknights. And if we have any leftovers, they make a great lunch!

How to make Instant Pot General Tso’s Chicken:

General Tso’s Chicken is that dish that is deep fried with that nice coating and super sugary/salty and spicy glaze. It’s the kind that clogs your arteries in seconds, gives you crazy indigestion, and is loaded with MSG. Sounds super appetizing, right? hahaha! No worries, I’ve cleaned it all out for you, and still left you here with loads of good flavor.

Here are the ingredients we need:

• chicken breast
• arrowroot powder
• avocado oil or olive oil
• coconut aminos or soy sauce
• white wine vinegar
• tomato paste
• honey
• almond butter
• coconut sugar
• garlic
• minced ginger
• red hot chilis or crushed red pepper if you like it spicy!

We start by coating the chicken in arrowroot. In a separate bowl, combine ingredients to make a sauce: coconut aminos, white wine vinegar, tomato paste, honey, almond butter, coconut sugar, and ginger.

Heat up the Instant Pot using the saute function. Add oil and garlic, then saute the chicken for a few minutes until lightly golden on each side. Remove the chicken. De-glaze the pan with water, and be sure to use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape the bottom. Now pour in the sauce, and place the chicken back in the pot. Secure the lid and cook!

Use a quick release, and remove the lid. Stir the mixture, add in additional arrowroot starch if it needs to thicken up!

Serving/Storing: 

Serve over cauliflower rice or rice. Sesame seeds, green onion, and shredded carrots make great additions! This recipe will keep well in the fridge for up to 1 week.

You can also freeze, and thaw out on the stovetop.

Slow Cooker:

I’ve given instructions for both the Slow Cooker and Instant Pot. If I had to choose, I would definitely pick the Instant Pot because I can make everything in the same pot with minimal clean-up. In order to get that little extra crispy skin, you need to saute before adding the sauce. The Instant Pot makes this so easy!

But for the slow cooker option, you will not need the additional water. It also tastes best if you saute the chicken first on the stovetop before placing in the slow cooker.

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Slow Cooker or Instant Pot General Tso's Chicken (Paleo)

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 4 hours

Total Time 4 hours 5 minutes

Servings 4

Author Amy Rains

4.75 from 4 votes

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Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs chicken breast cut into 1-2 inch pieces
• 3 tbsp arrowroot powder
• 2 tbsp avocado oil or olive oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup coconut aminos or soy sauce*
• 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp almond butter or favorite nut butter
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• 2 tbsp fresh minced ginger
• 3 tbsp red hot chili pepper chopped*
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds optional
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion optional

Instructions

1. For your Slow Cooker:
2. Place your chicken into a air tight container or large ziplock bag. Sprinkle the arrowroot powder on the chicken, and shake to coat so each piece is covered.
3. Heat a large skillet to medium high heat, add in cooking oil to coat. Place chicken inside the pan once hot, and saute on each side for a few minutes until the outside is lightly browned. Place the chicken inside your slow cooker.
4. In a medium sized bowl mix together these ingredients: coconut aminos or soy sauce, vinegar, tomato paste, honey, almond butter, sugar, garlic, ginger, chili flakes, and water. Whisk until somewhat smooth (may be chunky from the paste and nut butter). Pour on top of the chicken. Note that if your slow cooker generally cooks pretty fast, it might need more liquid. Add in an additional 1/2 cup water or chicken broth, and you can always thicken the sauce at the end.
5. Cook on low for 4 hours. Remove the lid, if sauce isn't thick enough, add additional tbsp of arrowroot powder and cook for another 20 minutes.
6. Serve with rice, or cauliflower rice. Top with sesame seeds and green onion to serve.
7. For the Instant Pot:
8. Place your chicken into a air tight container or large ziplock bag. Sprinkle the arrowroot powder on the chicken, and shake to coat so each piece is covered.

9. Select the saute function. Once hot, add your cooking oil. Place garlic and chicken in the Instant Pot. Saute for just a few minutes, until the chicken is lightly browned on each side. Select the cancel function and remove the chicken from the pot. Place the water in the pot, and deglaze the pan.

10. In a medium sized bowl mix together these ingredients: coconut aminos or soy sauce, vinegar, tomato paste, honey, almond butter, sugar, ginger, chili flakes, and water. Whisk until somewhat smooth (may be chunky from the paste and nut butter). Pour into the Instant Pot, and using the liquid, deglaze the bottom of the pot scraping up any browned bits. This will help from preventing the "burn" to appear on the IP. Now add the chicken back to the pot with the liquid.

11. Secure the lid to your Instant Pot. Select the Manual function, and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. Use a quick release, and once steam is completely vented, open the lid.
12. Check to see if the sauce needs to be thicker. Add in an additional tbsp or arrowroot powder for thicker sauce, and select the saute function. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.
13. Serve with rice, or cauliflower rice. Top with sesame seeds and green onion to serve.

Recipe Notes

*If using coconut aminos, you will not need the addition of honey since it's sweeter than soy sauce. 

**you can use 1 - 2 tbsp crushed red pepper in place of the red hot chili pepper. Vary up the spice by using just a little bit of the red hot chili pepper, or adding in additional red pepper flakes for more spice.