Slow Cooker Black Pepper Chicken {Freezer Meal Friendly}

By Sarah Olson

14 Comments

Jun 04, 2020Updated Jun 25, 2025

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Slow Cooker Black Pepper Chicken is a delicious Asian inspired meal that is great over rice.

Slow Cooker Pepper Chicken {Freezer Meal Friendly}

Hi all! This Slow Cooker Black Pepper Chicken is Freezer Friendly. You can put this uncooked meal in the freezer and cook later in the month or throw in the slow cooker right away.

Chicken thighs with celery and black pepper sauce in sauce.

This meal works out great for a freezer meal. A few veggies, chicken and an easy sauce go into a freezer bag. If you aren’t into freezer meals this meal can be placed directly into the slow cooker the day of too.

How to make Black Pepper Chicken:

  • Chicken – Chicken thighs are more flavorful and are very tender after being cooked in the slow cooker.
  • Vegetables – Thick cut celery and diced onion
  • Seasonings: Chicken bouillon, soy sauce, rice vinegar, plenty of black pepper, ginger and garlic powder come together to make a magical sauce for this black pepper chicken.
  • Thickening agent – I use a touch of cornstarch in this recipe to give the sauce some texture.
slow cooker with raw chicken, onion, and celery and black pepper.

How long do I cook?

  • Place the lid on the slow cooker.
  • Cook on LOW for 6 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time.
  • Serve over rice and enjoy!

Here are my other great chicken recipes:

bowl of black pepper chicken with bowl of white rice with fork on side.

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bowl of pepper chicken with rice on side.

Slow Cooker Black Pepper Chicken

4.67 from 3 votes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Total Time: 6 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 5
By: Sarah Olson
Slow Cooker Black Pepper Chicken is a delicious Asain inspired meal that is great over rice.

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Equipment

Ingredients 
 

  • 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 2 cups sliced celery
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 1/2 cup hot water
  • 1 chicken bouillon cube
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar, or white vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp. corn starch
  • 1/2 tsp. coarsely ground pepper
  • 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Instructions 

  • Add the chicken, celery and onion to the slow cooker.
  • In a small bowl whisk together the water, chicken bouillon cube, you may need to smash the chicken bouillon cube to get it to dissolve. Then whisk in the soy sauce, vinegar, cornstarch, pepper, ground ginger and garlic powder until smooth.
  • Pour this sauce over the chicken and veggies in the slow cooker.
  • Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours. Serve over rice. Enjoy!

Freezer Meal Instructions:

  • Make the sauce as directed above, then let the sauce cool down in the fridge for a bit. Add the chicken, celery, onion and cooled sauce into a gallon-sized ziplock bag. Squeeze out all the air, and place in to the freezer. Freeze for up to 1 month. When ready to cook, thaw freezer bag out in the fridge, this usually takes about 36 hours. Cook as directed above.

Nutrition

Calories: 266kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 172mg | Sodium: 1683mg | Potassium: 645mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 225IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.

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14 Comments

  1. Alex says:

    5 stars
    Excellent! I don’t have a slow cooker so I baked in covered dish at 350 for 50 minutes, and everything turned out delicious, the sauce thickened to the perfect consistency. I also used grated fresh ginger bc I didn’t have ground, but made no other changes.

    Reply
  2. Miranda says:

    What if my family isn’t the biggest fan of celery? What would your suggestion be as far as a substitute veggie??

    Reply
    1. Sarah Olson says:

      I think carrots would work good.

      Reply
    2. Lili daoud says:

      Use the celery for flavor and serve uktinmartely with another vegetable. The celery gives it amazing fla for

      Reply
  3. Philip says:

    how much chicken broth equals 1 bouillon cube

    Reply
    1. Sarah Olson says:

      1 cup usually.

      Reply
      1. Philip A Eisenwasser says:

        4 stars
        came out real good thank you

    2. Lili daoud says:

      Use broth instead of the water

      Reply
  4. Drea says:

    Would bone in thighs work?

    Reply
    1. Sarah Olson says:

      Yes, those will work fine.

      Reply
  5. Mike says:

    5 stars
    Deeelicious! No changes or additions needed.

    Reply
  6. Nikki says:

    Do you think this recipe would work with chicken breasts as well? Or would it be too dry? Looks delicious!

    Reply
    1. Lili d says:

      I do this with breasts and even doing a Turkey breast for thanksgivibg. Amazing flavors

      Reply
  7. Chris Baker says:

    Freezer friendly meals are so hard to plan out. Same with meal prepping. I always have a hard time knowing what will freeze well and what won’t. This recipe sounds delicious, thanks for sharing 🙂

    Reply