Sweet Chili Chicken in a Crock-Pot

Have you ever wished to take back a recipe when you sit down to eat? As soon as you sit down to eat you want to completely go back six hours and choose to cook the recipe in a different way? This Sweet Chili Chicken in a Crock-Pot meal is one that I wish to go back in time and cook the chicken on the stove like I usually do, instead of putting it in a Crock-Pot. In this blog I am going to give the full recipe AND how I would have cooked this meal before following the recipe.

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Published October 16, 2021
Updated March 17, 2022
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Cost breakdown for this recipe

One reason this was on our menu was because I was craving a meal with Sweet Chili sauce. What I was NOT looking forward to, was the actual end result and taste of this meal. Anyhow, below is a cost breakdown for each ingredient that went into this meal, including the homemade Sweet Chili sauce.

Making sauces from scratch is one way to cut the cost in a meal in such a dramatic way. Instead of buying one jar, 7-ounces of sauce, you can make three times that amount for typically the same cost. The cost of a jar of Sweet Chili Sauce, 6.7-ounces, is $3.49. Making this Sweet Chili Sauce recipe is $1.10

Chicken $9.53
Peppers $2.99
Brown Rice $3.19
Green Beans $1.19
Snap Peas $1.19
Pineapple $1.69
Ketchup $0.60
Soy Sauce $0.10
3 Garlic Cloves $0.20
Brown Sugar $0.20
Sugar $0.20
Apple Cider Vinegar $0.40

The total cost for this recipe was $21.48.
That is $3.38 per serving. And let me tell you, we have LOADS of it for leftovers. Making this recipe is so cost effective if you want a lot of food, to feed a lot of people. If you were to buy Sweet Chili Pineapple Chicken from a restaurant, you would pay close to $13.70 per serving. We would pay close to $80 to buy enough servings to feed our family. I don’t know about you, but we sure like saving $70 on a meal!

What to change

This recipe, in theory is perfect. It has vegetables, meat and a delicious sauce. What I was unaware of was the resulting dryness of the chicken. The original recipe that I was referencing said to put this meal at a HIGH temp for 5-6 hours, when I should have put it at LOW for 5-6 hours. The chicken ended up dry and I highly recommend not using a Crock-Pot with this meal, unless you are only putting it on LOW for 5-6 hours, so the chicken is fully cooked, yet moist.

Another way to make this chicken is to cook it on the stove in a Wok, and when the chicken is cooked, add the vegetables and make it into a stir fry. Add the sauce last and save some to drizzle over the top. Check the bottom of the post, after the recipe, for my Stir Fry Variation for this recipe!

Sweet Chili Pineapple Chicken Recipe

Sweet Chili Chicken Ingredients

1 1/2-pound Chicken
3 Peppers, yellow, red, orange
Brown Rice
Green Beans
Snap Peas
1 Pineapple
Sweet Chili sauce

Sweet Chili Chicken Directions

1. Cube the chicken to 1-2-inch pieces and then place them into the Crock-Pot.

2. Rinse the bell peppers, core and cut the pineapple, wash the green beans and snap peas, and then set aside.

3. Now that the vegetables are washed and prepped, place them on the chicken in the Crock-Pot.

4. Make the Sweet Chili sauce and then carefully pour it over the vegetables and chicken.

Sweet Chili Sauce Ingredients

1/3 cup Ketchup
4 tsp Soy Sauce
3 Garlic Cloves
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

Sweet Chili Sauce Directions

1. Firstly, place 1/3 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 4 tsp soy, 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes, and 2 garlic cloves minced in a sauce pan and heat to medium-high until boiling.

2. Reduce the heat to simmer for 10-minutes or until thickened. For this meal I doubled the recipe of sweet chili sauce to cook the food in the Crock-Pot.

5. Cover the Crock-Pot and then cook on LOW for 4-5 hours.

Finally, serve with rice, top the chicken and vegetables with more sauce, if you prefer to make more, and enjoy!
~Monica

Final result

I love making Oriental-flavored foods. For example, some of my favorite meals include stir fry, beef & broccoli, Sushi, Crab Rangoons, Spring rolls, and Teriyaki anything. My family, on the other hand, is not a fan of stir fry-based meals. So, with this recipe I was hoping to make a meal that he would enjoy, a hearty dinner full of flavor.

As a result, this meal was not my favorite, and to be honest, I would never make it again in this same way. The recipe I followed called for a cook-time on HIGH for 6-8 hours, which I should have never listened to. As a self-proclaimed Chef, I should have never cooked this meal that long.

Since making this recipe, I have altered the directions to give a more accurate time to cook so the chicken is not terribly dry. I was literally shocked at the dryness of the chicken when we sat down for dinner, and the vegetables were all either way over cooked or practically mush. For instance, the green beans were so over cooked they were like wilted yarn strings. I would have made this recipe not in a Crock-Pot, but as a Stir-Fry so the vegetables would have been cooked each to perfection.

Crock-Pots are amazing for certain recipes. This Sweet Chili Chicken, however, was not a win and therefore gets a one-star review.
⭐

Recipe for Sweet Chili Chicken

Ingredients

1 1/2-pound Chicken
3 Peppers, yellow, red, orange
Brown Rice
Green Beans
Snap Peas
1 Pineapple
Sweet Chili Sauce

Directions

1. Firstly, place chicken in the base of a Crock-Pot.
2. Secondly, wash and cut peppers, pineapple, green beans and snap peas.
3. Then place all of the vegetables in the Crock-Pot.
4. Make the Sweet Chili sauce and then pour it over the vegetables in the Crock-Pot.
5. Cover the Crock-Pot and cook on low for 5-6 hours, or until the chicken reaches a temperature of 165 degrees.
6. Finally, serve with rice and any extra sauce you reserve from the Crock-Pot.

Sweet Chili Sauce Recipe

1. place 1/3 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 4 tsp soy, 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes, and 2 garlic cloves minced in a medium pan and heat to medium-high until boiling.
2. Reduce the heat to simmer for 10-minutes or until thickened.

Stir Fry Variation

1. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a Wok.
2. Cook chicken until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove chicken from the Wok and place in a bowl, then set aside.
3. Wash and cut pineapple, peppers, green beans and snap peas then set aside.
4. Place all of the vegetables into the still-warm Wok and cook until tender.
5. Make the Sweet Chili Sauce and let it simmer for 10-minutes until thick.
6. Place the chicken back into the Wok, with the vegetables, and finally cover with sauce.
Serve with rice and enjoy!
~Monica

A few of my favorite things

Having a Crock-Pot to make meals is very convenient. However, you have to have a good one as not all Crock-Pots are made the same. For example, do not buy one that is off brand as they just do not work the same. This one in particular is dishwasher safe for both the lid and the stoneware which comes in handy when our boys are doing dishes. Check it out by clicking the link to Amazon below.

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