Sweet and sour chicken is a family favorite – one of the very few meals that everyone in my family enjoys. What makes this recipe even greater is that you can cook it in your slow cooker /crockpot and leave it be – and enjoy a delicious dinner without slaving over the stove!
Ingredients:
- 1-pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon of fresh ginger, minced
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- ⅓ cup of tamari or low sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce – if you do not have this simply use ½ teaspoon of brown sugar instead.
- 3 tablespoons of honey (can also use brown sugar)
- 1-tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- ¼ teaspoon of sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon of black pepper
- sea salt to taste (optional)
- 1-cup pineapple chunks (fresh or canned)
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1″ pieces
- 1 green bell pepper, cut into 1″ pieces
Sauce slurry
- 3 tablespoons of cool water
- 2-3 tablespoons of cornstarch
Directions:
- Spray inside of slow cooker with non-stick coating spray.
- Place chicken inside the slow cooker.
- In a medium bowl whisk together chicken broth, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, honey, vinegar, tomato paste, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and black pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and push chicken down making sure chicken is covered with sauce.
- Cover slow cooker with lid and cook chicken on low heat for 5-7 hours or high heat for 2-3 hours.
- Tear or shred chicken with two forks into chunks if you are using whole chicken breasts.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Pour in to slow cooker and whisk gently with chicken mixture. Gently fold in pineapple chunks and bell pepper.
- Cook mixture on high for an additional 20 minutes until sauce thickens and the pineapples and bell peppers are slightly tender.
- Season to taste with salt
- Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and green onions if desired
- Serve over brown rice or quinoa.
