This easy chicken crock pot recipe is a delicious twist on Orange Chicken, which is usually fried and breaded. Flavorful, healthy – and it’s all done in the crock pot! Oh yeeeeah… some amazing stuff happenin’ here!
Delicious and tangy Orange Chicken made in your slow cooker! This Crock Pot Orange Chicken is super simple to prepare, and it tastes so much better than takeout.
Hey Hi, friends! What’s going awn?? I hope today finds you enjoying the almost Spring-like weather. It’s 60 degrees here, but that darn wind is killin’ it! Feels like 42.5 degrees.
I also have an update on that egg-tapping. I lost to an 8 year old. I bet her egg was made of wood. She broke everyone’s eggs!
Also? And to get you up to speed… Last night I tuned into my DVR and OD’d on… get ready for this… a show about people marrying each other without ever meeting. Uhmmm, OH.MAH.GAH. I.AM.HOOKED. Holy Moly.
And? When I start posting crock pot/slow cooker recipes, know that I am in over my head. As in, I have so much work, I can hardly breathe. As in, I have to watch all the reality shows recorded on my DVR while my family thinks I’m slaving over the hot stove. But, you didn’t hear this from me. Just sayin’.
The Origin of This Crock Pot Orange Chicken Recipe
In all honesty, this, my dear friends, should be called the accidental Orange Chicken. I’ll ‘splain.
You see, I intended to recreate my faaaaavorite OLIVE GARDEN Apricot Chicken, and not my other faaaaaaaavorite, Orange Chicken from P.F. Chang’s.
Instead of grabbing the apricot preserves jar, I somehow grabbed the one next to it, which was the orange preserves jar, and didn’t even notice until I came home and my house smelled like P.F. Chang’s and not the Olive Garden. I can read, I promise. I am smarter than I appear.
That night, when I saw our two-year old inhale almost everything on her plate, I knew I had to remake this beauty and share it with you all. It was a delicious accident and I’m glad I made it. So that’s that.
Well!!?? What are we waiting for? Grab them ingredients and let’s do this! You only need, like, 7 things, including salt and pepper.
P.S. 300 calories per serving. Just sayin’. Again.
Advice. Per me. While you can combine all the ingredients in the crock pot and let it do its thing for a few hours, I like to brown the chicken just for a minute or two on the stove before placing it in the crock pot. That’s a personal preference, but you can do as you please.
Now, to go and get some of my smart marbles back, I am going to tune into a book. Trashy TV, I’ll miss you.
ENJOY!
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WATCH HOW TO MAKE CROCK POT ORANGE CHICKEN
Crock Pot Orange Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 (4-ounces each) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
- 3/4 cup low-sugar orange preserves ( I like to use the one with pulp in the preserves; adds texture )
- 3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 garlic cloves , finely chopped
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger , or to taste (I use just a little less than 1/8 teaspoon in mine)
- toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Lightly grease crock pot insert with cooking spray.
- If browning the chicken, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet and brown all chicken pieces, 2 minutes per side.
- Place chicken breasts on the bottom of the crock pot, one next to another, and season with salt and pepper.
- In a mixing bowl, combine orange preserves, orange juice, soy sauce, garlic and ginger; mix until combined.
- Pour over the chicken.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours, or on HIGH for 2.5 to 3 hours.
- In the meantime, prepare the sesame seeds.
- In a frying pan, heat the sesame seeds over medium heat, shaking the pan frequently, cooking just until fragrant; about 30 seconds. Set aside.
- Remove chicken from slow cooker and transfer to a plate.
- Spoon the orange sauce over chicken.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and serve.
Video
Notes
Recipe Source: DIETHOOD
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
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I just have to say that YOUR comments are darling and make me smile. I’ll cook anything you suggest. You are REAL. You should be on tv. I’m going to make your Crock pot honey garlic chicken first because I have the ingredients in the house. BTW, is it ok if I use boneless thighs instead of breasts?
Thank you.
Thanks for the kind words! ❤️😊
You can use boneless thighs, but they won’t need to cook as long as bone-in thighs. I’d start checking for doneness around 2-hour mark.
I noticed that this recipe calls for both orange juice and orange preserves. However, the video shows it being made with no orange juice. Which one is correct?