This Crockpot Orange Chicken is easy to make and tastes so much better than take-out! No breading, no frying, and just a few simple ingredients and you’ve got a delicious batch of Orange Chicken that will satisfy the whole family!
If you love better than take out recipes you can make at home, you’ll love these other favorites, like Beef and Broccoli and Egg Fried Rice.
Crockpot Orange Chicken Recipe
Orange Chicken is definitely a contender when it comes to everyone’s favorite Chinese take-out. Everyone in my family loves it – it’s probably the one take-out food that we can all agree on. A little tangy, a little spicy and a little sweet, Orange Chicken is super crave-worthy and all around delicious!
My crockpot Orange Chicken combines the flavors you love with a healthier way to cook it – no breading and no frying!
Why you’ll love Crockpot Orange Chicken
- It’s healthier than take-out.
- It’s super easy to make right in your slow cooker.
- Just add a side of rice for a complete meal!
How to Make Crockpot Orange Chicken
To make this Orange Chicken in your slow cooker:
- Dice up the chicken into 1-inch chunks and season with salt and pepper.
- Add some onions and bell peppers if you like, and cook it all together for about an hour and a half on high or 3 hours on low. The chicken and veggies put out a lot of liquid, so you’ll need to drain that before adding the sauce. I recommend removing the meat and veggies from the crockpot and just pouring the juice out. You can also keep the juices for making soup another time!
- To make the sauce, combine spicy barbecue sauce, orange marmalade, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ginger, garlic and cornstarch. Whisk the sauce together until it’s nice and smooth. For a spicier sauce, add a teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
- Pour the sauce into the slow cooker and return the chicken and veggies. Stir it all up so the chicken is completely coated in sauce, then cover and cook on low for about an hour. The sauce should thicken, but if you want it a bit thicker, spoon some of the sauce into a small dish and mix with some more cornstarch, then add it back to the crockpot. Stir and let it stand for ten minutes. You can repeat this until your sauce is a thickness you like.
We love our crockpot orange chicken served on a bed of sticky white rice and garnished with sesame seeds and green onions.
For more delicious Asian take-out inspired recipes, try these:
- Honey Lemon Chicken & Green Beans
- Shrimp Fried Rice
- Asian Salad with Peanut Dressing
- Teriyaki Turkey Rice Bowl
Crockpot Orange Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 small onion
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup spicy barbecue sauce
- 1 cup orange marmalade
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
Instructions
- Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and place into the slow cooker.
- Removes seeds and membranes from bell peppers and cut into bite-sized pieces. Cut onion into bite-sized pieces.
- Add the chicken, vegetables and ½ teaspoon of salt to the slow cooker and cook on low for 2 1/2 hours or on high for 1 1/2 hours. Drain juices.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together barbecue sauce, orange marmalade, soy sauce, ginger, red pepper flakes, garlic and cornstarch until smooth. Pour the sauce over the chicken in the slow cooker and stir to coat well. Cover and cook on low for 1 more hour.
- Sauce will seem thin, but will thicken as it stands.
- Serve hot over a bed of rice with veggies on the side.
Nutrition
Leighann Batemon says
March 4, 2019 at 7:22 pmCould you use orange juice thickened with corn starch in this recipe? I don’t have orange marmalade and don’t want to run out and grab some, but I have an excess of orange juice. 😀
Kristin says
March 4, 2019 at 7:32 pmI’m not sure that would work, but you could try it! I’m all for making the recipe work for you!