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!
Looks yummy! I have apricot preserves leftover from another recipe,so I’m going to try substituting that this time.(but I do have Sweet Baby Rays..my favorite!)Hope it turns out 🙂
Ooh ~ that might be a tasty twist on it for sure! Let me know how it turns out, Cindy!
Here’s another fun Crockpot Recipe using Apricot Preserves:
https://thefrugalgirls.com/2012/10/crockpot-apricot-chicken-recipe.html
Enjoy!!
It was yummy! The flavors went well together..will try the orange marmalade next. Thanks for the link to he other recipe.
You’re very welcome, Cindy! I’ll have to try your version, too! 😉
~ Heidi
I just made this tonight and it was delish, thank you for the recipe!! I have an over-zealous crockpot so after 3 hours the chicken was dry (but still tasted amazing) so next time I will do 2.5 hours and cut Into chunks before serving. What a great recipe, so easy! Thanks again!
You’re very welcome!
AMAZING. I added some sweet chili sauce that I had sitting in the fridge. . . kicked it up a notch!
Any idea as to nutritional info on this one, or how it could be calculated? Doesn’t make sense to me to add up the calories from ALL of the marinade since you don’t eat even close to all of it.
I was wondering the same thing. Usually I just add up all the ingredients and divide by how many servings but since majority of the sauce will still be in the bottom of the pot.
The sweet chili sauce sounds like a delicious idea!
Could you use bone in chicken breast?
I haven’t tried it that way, but if you do… let us know how it turns out!
I made this tonight and I was skeptical at first about not putting any liquid in with the chicken. But, It came out great! I sprayed the bottom very well and loaded it up with about 3 lbs of breasts. I couldn’t stand how sad they looked bare, so I sprinkled some red onion and salt and pepper over them which helped flavor the meat as they cooked. I had to be away from it for about 5 hours so I set it on low. The chicken was so tender and moist that I ended up serving it shredded over rice. I also made extra sauce to serve on the side. Thanks for an easy, delicious recipe!
Ooh ~ I bet it was delicious shredded over rice, Claire! I’m so glad you liked the recipe!! 😉
~ Heidi
This was WONDERFUL! Thank you for great, way recipe.
Aww… you’re very welcome, Sandy! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Heidi,
Have you ever tried this cutting the chicken into chunks? Do you think that would work just as well, except adjust the timing?
Thanks for posting this yummy recipe. Will be making it this week!
Karen
Hi Karen ~ yes… I have cut this into chunks as well, and it works great! What I do is cook the chicken as chicken breasts for the first 3 hours. Then I remove the chicken, drain the juices, and cut the chicken into chunks. I place the chicken back in the crockpot, add the sauce, and cook for an additional 30 minutes. It turns out just as delicious this way, too! 😉
~ Heidi
Hi Heidi,
I made this last week and it was really delish and so easy. Thanks for sharing!
Karen
You’re very welcome, Karen! I’m so glad you liked it!! 😉
~ Heidi
If I want to make this orange chicken breast dish, can’t I pre-cut the chicken breasts, boil it just enough, then add it into the crock pot to cook all the ingredients altogether? Also was thinking of using all organic ingredients since I want it none high fructose & keep it natural & diabetic friendly orange marmalade 😉
I usually cube at the end after cooking, to ensure the chicken doesn’t get dried out.
Very tasty, thanks for the quick and easy recipe! The chicken was so moist that it fell apart so most of it was chunky or shredded and it went great over some Jasmine rice with steamed veggies!
You’re very welcome, Tiffany! I’m so glad you liked it!! 😉
~ Heidi
thinking about making this with all the ingrediants on low for 8hrs. then serving over rice! thoughts??
I was thinking of doing the same did you try it? if so how did it turn out?
I’m trying it right now.. I’ll let you know if it works!!!
Hey Whitney, did it work?? I have to be gone all day and am wondering how it turns out when all is thrown in together, cooked on low for 8hrs.
I have done this with Hawaiian chicken recipe with similar ingredient’s bbq, pinapples, chicken turns out great super moist and flavorful. trying this recipe the same so it has a lot of time to soak up the juices. 🙂
You can, but the sauce will end up significantly thinner and watered down in terms of flavor. You may want to reserve some of the sauce for the end when serving.
Wounder if u could use like popcorn chicken or a small breaded chicken
That actually sounds amazing. Maybe make or buy premade breaded chicken and toss it in a bowl of this mixture and throw it in the oven for a few minutes!