Prepare for a mind-boggling flavor frenzy with this Orange Chicken Recipe! It’s so irresistible… the mere thought of having leftovers may seem laughable! Just 4 ingredients and 5 minutes of prep is all you’ll need, then your crockpot will take over!
Orange Chicken Recipe
Round and round the table.. the smiles never seem to stop!
Believe me, this crockpot orange chicken is your hot ticket to household fame.
Alaina writes: “My husband loved this, and said it tastes better than most Chinese take out food.”
It serves up a mouth watering flavor extravaganza with its perfectly sweet and tangy flavors… that finish off with a lively hint of heat.
With each delightful bite, you’ll be enchanted by the mesmerizing flavors dancing in your mouth!
So what’s the secret to making this taste bud thrilling chicken so darn delicious?
I know it sounds crazy, but bbq sauce is actually the secret to that savory indulgent sauce you’ll be craving on repeat!
Just try it and you’ll understand!
So this week give your chicken dinner a marvelous upgrade.
You’ll kick up the flavor using hardly any ingredients. Then leave all of the work to your slow cooker.
Sound good?
Then… simply serve with a side of rice or noodles, and dinner is done.
So skip the Chinese Orange Chicken takeout tonight and go grab your Crockpot instead.
There’s no need for restaurant takeout when you can create something even better at home!
With sweet orange marmalade, and just three more ingredients, this delicious asian slow cooker recipe is about as easy as it gets!
Then… do yourself a huge favor and try this groovy Slow Cooked Sweet and Sour Chicken, too!
So what are you waiting for? Let’s get dinner started, shall we?
Here’s what you’ll do to make your Crockpot Orange Chicken with barbecue sauce…
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Can You Make Orange Chicken Without Orange Juice?
Yep, you sure can!
For this clever crockpot orange chicken breast dinner, we’ll actually use orange marmalade instead of orange juice to give the sauce that epic orange-y flavor we all love!
Marmalade also helps to keep the sauce thick, while providing a delightful flavor that will leave your taste buds singing with delight!
Ingredients
So are you wondering… what ingredients are in orange chicken? Well, as crazy as it sounds, this easy orange chicken sauce is made with just 3 simple ingredients.
Here’s what you’ll need to grab at the grocery store this week..
- Orange Marmalade – to infuse that sweet pop of orange flavor
- Soy Sauce – to give that distinct Asian flavor profile. Coconut Aminos can be substituted.
- Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce – you won’t want to substitute anything here, as the flavor will change drastically with other brands.
You’ll also need a 5 – 6 quart Crock Pot to get the job done.
Oh I know, I know… you’re probably thinking why in the world would you have bbq sauce in orange chicken?
Well just trust me… when you mix these three flavors all together you’ll end up with the most delicious orange chicken sauce ever!
It just works!
If you’d like to give it a little extra kick, go ahead and add a pinch of red pepper flakes, too!
How to Make Orange Chicken
So how do you make Orange Chicken at home?
It’s actually really easy thanks to this simple slow cooker recipe.
With just 3 steps, making your own copycat orange chicken is going to be so easy!
1. Cook Chicken in Crockpot: You’ll just toss your chicken in the crock pot, let it cook, and later drain the juices.
2. Cube Cooked Chicken: Then you’ll pull the chicken out and cube it and place it back in the slow cooker, or leave it as is as chicken breasts.
3. Add Orange Chicken Sauce: Finally, you’ll mix up some perfectly sweet and tangy orange chicken sauce, pour it over the chicken in the crock pot, let it cook a little longer, and serve over rice or chow mein noodles. You can even top it off with some sesame seeds and sliced green onions.
That’s It! SO easy, and dinner is done!
Scroll down for the printable recipe card with detailed, step-by-step instructions.
What Do You Eat With Orange Chicken?
This most agreeable dish goes great with a variety of sides.
To start, I recommend serving this popular chicken dinner with a side of Rice… YUM!
Then, try also serving it along with these tasty sides…
- Brown Rice
- Fried Rice
- Chow Mein
- Udon Noodles
- Egg Rolls
- Spring Rolls
- Cream Cheese Won Tons
- Ginger Soy Dipping Sauce for Egg Rolls, Spring Rolls & Won Tons
- Egg Drop Soup
- Sweet and Sour Coleslaw
Orange Chicken Reviews
Here’s what your frugal friends are saying about this easy Crockpot Orange Chicken Recipe…
Ryan writes: “Yummy! My family asks for this one all the time.”
Kaitlyn writes: “This was so easy and tasted great!”
John writes: “Made the orange chicken recipe and it was delicious! It was so good my wife and I had it two days in a row!”
Savannah writes: “This was SO good! My entire family enjoyed it!”
Kate writes: “Delicious and super easy to make!”
Karen writes: “This has become my 6 year old granddaughter’s favorite meal!”
Candy writes: “I made this for company and we all enjoyed it very much!”
Kaley writes: “I tried it and really liked it! I’m planning on making it again soon! I made fried rice to go with it.”
Dawn writes: “Great over rice!”
Alaina writes: “My husband loved this, and said it tastes better than most Chinese take out food.”
Laura writes: “Family loved it and it was very easy.”
Kristy writes: “Quick, easy, and delicious!”
Jay writes: “My grandsons and I love this chicken recipe and it was sooo easy.”
Elaina writes: “A good meal for my 3 picky eaters!”
Trevi writes: “Terrific recipe!!!”
Valerie writes: “It was great! Easy and will make again. My hubby loved it.”
Rebeka writes: “Tastes just like orange chicken without breading!”
Liza writes: “I used Coconut Aminos instead of the soy sauce because I have to watch my sodium intake. My husband is diabetic so I also used sugar free marmalade and barbecue sauce. It was very good!”
Darcy writes: “Very easy to make. I added broccoli and carrots during last 30 minutes.”
Ashleigh writes: “Made it on the stove instead. Cut chicken into large chunks and cooked. In a saucepan I heated the marmalade and bbq sauce and let it simmer for about 10min. Added about a cup to the chicken and let that simmer for another 10min. Nice tangy orange taste. Definitely keeping this one around.”
Crockpot Orange Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, thawed
- 3/4 cup Smuckers Sweet Orange Marmalade
- 3/4 cup Sweet Baby Ray’s Original BBQ Sauce (it’s SO good!)
- 2 tbsp. Soy Sauce
Instructions
- Gather your ingredients.
- Cook chicken in Crockpot on HIGH for 3 hours or LOW for 6 hours (covered)
- After 3 hours on HIGH or 6 hours on LOW, drain juices from crockpot
- At this point… you can either leave the chicken breasts whole, or remove, cut into cubes, and transfer back to crockpot.
- Mix together bbq sauce, orange marmalade, and soy sauce.
- Pour mixture over chicken, and cook on high for 30 more minutes, or until done. (covered)
- Serve with rice and Enjoy!!
Notes
- For answers to Frequently Asked Questions or tips for common substitutions and variations, please refer to the detailed information above this recipe card.
- Follow The Frugal Girls on Pinterest for more Easy Recipes and Fun Tips!
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!That’s it ~ now wasn’t that easy??
Seriously, this Crockpot Orange Chicken is so simple to make! Give it a try, and let me know you think.
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So have you tried this Crockpot Orange Chicken yet?
Leave a comment & share!
I am always looking for new chicken crockpot recipes and this easy orange chicken is calling my name! With the price of takeout these days, making easy recipes at home is the way to go! I love that the sauce only has 3 easy ingredients to deliver a great orange flavor, and who BBQ sauce would work so well in this Asian inspired recipe? Genius flavor pairing!
3 Ingredient dinners really are the perfect solution for a hectic week!
This Crockpot Orange Chicken was delicious! I was hesitant with only 3 ingredients, but I gave it a try in my crockpot. I had 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts that were rather thick, so I tenderized them slightly to flatten out. And since they did not completely fill the bottom of the crockpot, I added a tablespoon of butter hoping they wouldn’t burn or dry out. Six hours on slow and they were swimming in juice, drained off then followed the recipe for the sauce., adding the pulled apart chicken, which practically fell apart as I was it cutting up. I made full recipe of sauce since I wanted to be sure to have enough to cover the basmati rice I served with it. Delicious. Very easy. Perfect for the 2 of us with some leftovers. Thank you!
You’re very welcome, Theresa… I’m so glad to hear you loved it! 🙂
I made this in an instant pot. The chicken breast comes out incredibly moist and tender in about 35 min. Cooked chicken in 1/2 cup chicken broth on high 15 min., released pressure after 10 more, Removed breast,. Poured off liquid to save for soups. then shredded breasts Added chicken to another pan with marmalade, bbq sauce, soy sauce, and simmered covered 20 more minutes. Total time was less than an hour.
Frankly, I gave away my crock pot and slow cookers 30 years ago because I never used them. So I don’t want another one, but I love my instant pot! It fits my life style.
Great tip – thanks so much for sharing!
I used Primal Kitchen Original Unsweetened BBQ sauce to lessen sugars and used low sodium soy sauce. Also added some broccoli at the last 30 mins and some red bell peppers.
Very good and easy dish!
Those sound like some delicious twists, Mary… thanks so much for sharing!
Good idea!
I made this last night and it was a big hit. I will make again. It was so nice to have dinner in cooking while I got housework done.
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the Orange Chicken, Shene! And I agree… I just love easy set-it-and-forget-it dinners like this! 🙂
Has anyone ever cooked it on the stove? If so how long?
Can you use a different brand of bbq sauce instead of Sweet Baby Rays??
Hi Britt… you can, but it will drastically change the taste. I highly recommend using Sweet Baby Ray’s for this particular recipe. 🙂
I made the mistake of cooking the chicken with the sauces in the beginning. The sauce definitely was too watery that way.
I just did this too! Is there any way to fix it?
Just drain some of the liquid and add some more bbq sauce keep high another 30 mins and it thickens up again I did it too I’m a rush thought it was a dump and cook recipe lol
This is my husband’s favorite orange chicken recipe. He is a orange chicken freak. It is easy, tastes great. All our friends love it !
Haha… so glad your husband and friends have been enjoying the orange chicken, Michele! It’s definitely a family favorite here, too! 🙂
Hi I want to make orange chicken in the Crock-Pot but I have chicken pieces how long for the chicken pieces instead of the full breast and is it frozen or thawed
Do I still cook for three hours with chicken peices or will the fall apart
Hi! Can I ask if I can cook everything together at the same time instead of adding the sauce later? What will happen if I cooked it with the sauce from the beginning? Thanks!
Hi Sylvia, if you cook the chicken in the sauce from the beginning you’ll end up with a very watered down sauce. Draining the juices and adding the sauce later will ensure a thicker and much more flavorful sauce. Hope that helps! 😉