I love Chinese takeout. A lot. Especially if it’s been a crazy or stressful day. It’s by far my favorite comfort food group, and my favorite thing to eat as I binge watch Netflix. That being said, my WW points definitely do not like takeout! This Szechuan Chicken is a great substitute and ZERO points for the blue and purple plan (green plan is 3)! All three kids even ate it with no complaints, and asked for me to make more soon! Another great thing about this, is that it’s cooked in the crock pot so it’s easy! I served it with cauliflower fried rice (Upcoming recipe, it’s amazing). But you could easily serve it over some minute brown rice with soy sauce and it would be equally good and even easier. My usual disclaimer – my prices listed below are based on my local Publix pricing, mostly organic foods, and they assume you are starting from a bare pantry and have to purchase everything whole. (For example, I had soy sauce, garlic, onion, tapioca, and a pepper at my house already, but I include the costs anyway in case you don’t). It’s really a “worst case” price I guess. It could be made for much less to fit any budget. In previous posts I tried to break down how much the actually amount of ingredients costed based on amount used, but it’s too difficult and I’d rather give you a more conservative estimate. So, assuming these things, 5 servings of Szechuan Chicken costed 23.42 total/ $4.68 per person. Which, even on my pricier calculations, is MUCH less expensive than our local Chinese Takeout and much healthier. Also, next time you make it, you will how have the costlier ingredients like tapioca, ginger, picante, and so forth.

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes $5.52 (BOGO)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup picante sauce (I used hot) $2.79
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce $1.49
• 1/2 tablespoon quick-cooking tapioca $4.75
• 1 cup chopped onion $0.52
• 2 garlic cloves, minced $0.50
• 1 teaspoon jarred ginger instead $3.75
• 3 cups chopped broccoli florets $2.19
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cut into pieces $1.91

Instructions

1. Grease your slow cooker with nonstick spray.
2. Place the chicken in the slow cooker.
3. Season the chicken to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Place the remaining ingredients in the slow cooker and toss/stir to combine.
5. Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours or on LOW for 3 to 4 hours, stirring until the chicken is done and vegetables are crisp-tender.
6. Season to taste with additional salt, pepper and soy sauce.
7. Serve with brown rice and additional soy sauce, if you want! (I did!). Enjoy!

Nutritional Information

Serving: 1- cups, Calories: 208, Carbohydrates: 12.5g, Protein: 38g, Fat: 1.3g, Blue Smart Points:0 Green Smart Points:3Purple Smart Points:0