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Skip the takeout for dinner, without putting in a lot of work, with this crockpot Mongolian Chicken! It’s full of flavor, packed with protein, and great for you.
This healthy Mongolian chicken recipe is the perfect meal for a busy week. It’s one of my favorite high-protein crockpot meals because it comes together in just a few hours.
Tastes like takeout, but is way better for you! Customize it with your favorite veggies or enjoy it as outlined in the recipe.
If you like Chinese chicken dinner ideas, you will love my Healthy Egg Roll in a Bowl and Low-Calorie Chicken Teryaki Broccoli!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Healthier Than Takeout: Some days you just want your favorite takeout dishes, but this Mongolian chicken recipe is way healthier and is better for you! It’s full of veggies and protein in a rich sauce without a lot of sugar.
- Same Great Flavor: This healthier Mongolian chicken recipe will satisfy your cravings because it tastes just as good, if not better!
- Convenient, Hands-Off Cooking: After you chop your chicken and veggies, this recipe is as simple as dumping the ingredients into the crockpot and letting it cook.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Chicken Breast: Use lean boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs for this recipe. It’s packed with protein, but isn’t high in calories.
- Cornstarch: Sprinkling this on the outside of your chicken helps tenderize it, keep it moist, and give the outside a great texture.
- Soy Sauce: Use a low-sodium soy sauce or try coconut aminos if you prefer not to use soy sauce.
- Truvia Brown Sugar: This zero-calorie sweetener helps deepen the flavor of the sauce without adding a lot of extra sugar and calories.
- Garlic & Ginger: Fresh garlic and ginger add an extra burst of flavor to the sauce. You can use jarred as well, but fresh is best.
- Broccoli: Fresh broccoli florets add a crunch to the dish, as well as fiber and nutrients. Frozen broccoli will be too soggy, so I don’t recommend using it.
- Brown Rice: Cook a side of brown rice to serve the Mongolian chicken dish over.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations & Dietary Modifications
- Add More Veggies: You can add more vegetables to the dish to customize it to your liking. Zucchini, water chestnuts, mushrooms, and peppers all taste fantastic in this sauce.
- Try a Lower Carb Option: If you don’t want to use rice and are looking for a low-carb option, try serving it over cauliflower rice instead.
- Use a Different Meat: This recipe works well with turkey, shrimp, or ground beef. If you use shrimp, it will probably only take an hour to cook, just monitor the internal temperature so it doesn’t become tough and rubbery.
How to Make Mongolian Chicken
Take all of the work out of dinner with this Mongolian-style chicken in the crockpot! It’s simple to throw together, and the slow cooker does all of the work without sacrificing the flavor you love.
- Step 1: Toss Chicken in Cornstarch. Add your chopped chicken pieces to a large mixing bowl and season them with salt and pepper. Then sprinkle the cornstarch over the chicken and toss to coat each piece of chicken.
- Step 2: Transfer Chicken to Slow Cooker. After letting it sit for 10 minutes, transfer the cornstarch-coated chicken to your slow cooker.
- Step 3: Mix the Sauce. Combine soy sauce, water, Truvia brown sugar, garlic, ginger, olive oil, red pepper flakes, and sesame seeds in a small bowl.
- Step 4: Pour Sauce Over Chicken. Pour that sauce over the chicken in the slow cooker. Then secure the lid and cook the dish for 2-3 hours on high or on low for 4-5 hours.
- Step 5: Add the Vegetables. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, add the broccoli, carrots, and spring onions to the slow cooker.
- Step 6: Cook Until Tender. Replace the lid and let the Mongolian chicken finish cooking. Prepare brown rice according to the package instructions, then serve the chicken, veggies, and sauce over the rice.
Expert Tips
- Let the Chicken Sit In Cornstarch: Allow the chicken time to rest in the cornstarch for at least 10 minutes, so it has time to tenderize the meat and seal in the moisture. Adding it to the slow cooker without letting it sit won’t result in as tender or moist chicken.
- Cut Chicken Into Uniform Pieces: Cut the chicken into 1” uniform pieces to ensure it all cooks at the same rate. This helps avoid having overcooked and undercooked chicken in the dish.
- Add the Vegetables in the Last 30 Minutes: Waiting until the last 30 minutes of cook time ensures that your veggies are still crisp and crunchy and not soggy. If you like your vegetables a little more tender, you can add them 45 minutes to 1 hour before the dish finishes cooking instead.
- Storing: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can also freeze leftovers, without the rice, for about 3 months.
Serving Suggestions
This slow cooker Mongolian chicken is an easy weeknight meal when you’re craving takeout but want a healthy dinner. It’s very hands-off, but packed with flavor. You can serve it over rice, noodles, or vegetables. This recipe will definitely become part of the regular meal rotation!
- Eat even more veggies for dinner and pair this Mongolian chicken with a healthy Asian broccoli salad.
- I’m always a sucker for lettuce wraps when I get takeout, but these homemade healthy chicken lettuce wraps are so much better for you.
- Skip using brown rice and serve your Asian chicken dish over my healthy fried rice instead!
Recipe FAQs
If you don’t feel like waiting for the crockpot to cook your dinner, you can absolutely make it on the stove. Start by browning the cornstarch-covered chicken in a hot skillet over medium heat. Once it’s browned, remove the chicken and use the skillet to make the sauce. Then add the chicken and vegetables to the sauce and cook them until the sauce thickens, the veggies are tender, and the chicken has an internal temp of 165° F.
Absolutely! Add all of your ingredients, minus the cornstarch, to the Instant Pot, then set it to Manual High Pressure for 6 minutes. Do a 5-minute Natural Release, then a Quick Release to relieve the rest of the pressure. Switch the Instant Pot to saute, then add the cornstarch mixed with water, and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the sauce thickens.
The chicken and veggies release water as they cook, and the moisture stays trapped in the slow cooker. If your sauce is too thin, you can remove the lid of the crockpot for the last 20-30 minutes of cooktime. You could also stir in a cornstarch slurry of equal parts cornstarch and cold water to help thicken the sauce.
Yes, you can prep all your ingredients in advance. Chop the chicken and vegetables the night before and store them in the refrigerator. Then all you need to do the next day is dump them in the crockpot and let them cook.
For an individual serving, reheat in the microwave in 60-second intervals, stirring between each one, until it is heated through. For larger portions, reheat leftovers in a skillet on the stove over medium heat until they are warmed through. Be sure to thaw frozen leftovers in the refrigerator for 24 hours before reheating them.
More Delicious Asian Chicken Dishes
Dinner
Cashew Chicken Casserole
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Healthy Orange Chicken
Low Calorie
Instant Pot Healthy Kung Pao Chicken
If you tried this Mongolian Chicken recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below.
Mongolian Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb Chicken Breast, boneless, skinless, chopped into 1 inch pieces
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- ¼ cup Cornstarch, or tapioca flour
- ⅓ cup Low Sodium Soy Sauce, or coconut aminos
- ¼ cup Water
- 3 tablespoons Truvia Brown Sugar, or sugar of choice
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 teaspoons Garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons Ginger, minced
- 1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 tablespoon Sesame Seeds, for garnish
- 2 Green Onions, or spring onions, sliced in half lengthways, then cut into 1.5-inch pieces
- 2 cups Broccoli Florets
- 1 cup Carrots, sliced
- 1 cup Brown Rice
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the chicken pieces and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the cornstarch on top and toss to combine.
- Transfer the chicken to the slow cooker.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the soy sauce, water, sugar, garlic, ginger, olive oil, red pepper flakes and sesame seeds.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high 2-3 hours or low 4-5 hours.
- During the last half hour of cooking, add the broccoli florets, carrots and spring onions.
- Cook the brown rice according to package instructions then serve the chicken, vegetables and sauce over the rice.
Notes
- Ensure your chicken is tender and moist by letting it sit coated in cornstarch for 10 minutes before adding it to your slow cooker.
- Cut the chicken into equal 1” pieces to ensure it all cooks at the same rate.
- Wait until the last 30 minutes of cook time to add the vegetables so they are still crisp and crunchy.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What is the timing for this please? just 1-2 hours on low in the steps, 3 hours in the overview – both seem short compared to other recipes! Thanks
1-2 hours is accurate. I updated the overview – thanks for pointing that out!
The instructions states to add paprika. I can’t’ find it in the ingredient list. Maybe I’m missing it? Do we really need paprika and if so how much? Thought I would let you know. Can’t wait to taste it. Thanks for all the yummy recipes. Thanks.
It was missing and I updated it. THANK YOU for letting me know!
Awesome. Thank you.
This is totally my type of meal, I will have to give it a try soon!
I hope you do!