Slow Cooker Orange Chicken Recipe

This slow cooker orange chicken recipe takes a traditional take-out dish and makes it fresher, lighter, and easier than anything you can get by navigating DoorDash. Thanks to the slow cooker, the typical artery-clogging American Chinese food becomes a dish you'd be proud to serve to company, or eat all by yourself.

According to Ksenia Prints of Thermocookery, the slow cooker is likely one of the kitchen's most underrated tools. Far from just being a retro fad, the slow cooker helps busy professionals cook homemade meals with minimal effort. In the case of this orange chicken, the Crockpot completely transforms what is typically a breaded, deep-fried chicken dish swimming in a sugary sauce of dubious consistency. Instead, what you end up with are boneless cuts of chicken that taste juicy and are served coated in a homemade sauce that is tart-sweet and caramelized from fresh orange juice and honey. So when you're tucking into your bowl of rice with slow-cooked orange chicken, you can rest assured that you're saving money, and what's more, you even have leftovers for the next day.

To make the chicken and its sauce, you will need boneless skinless chicken thighs, chicken broth, orange juice, orange zest, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, garlic, fresh ginger, and red pepper flakes. To thicken the sauce, we will make a slurry of cornstarch and, if needed, water for thickening. Finally, for topping the dish, assemble sesame seeds and green onions. You can also accompany the chicken with rice.

Place the chicken in the slow cooker.

Whisk together the chicken broth, orange juice, zest, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes.

Pour the sauce over the chicken.

Cook on low for 3–4 hours.

Remove ½ cup of the cooking liquid and whisk it with cornstarch. Add water if needed, starting with 1 tablespoon.

Stir the cornstarch slurry back into the slow cooker and cook on high for 10–15 minutes until the sauce thickens.

Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions. Serve over rice, if desired.

• Copycat Din Tai Fung Green Beans Recipe
• Classic Shrimp Egg Rolls With Homemade Duck Sauce Recipe
• Walnut Broccoli Stir-Fry Recipe
• Stir-Fried Bok Choy With Tofu Cream Recipe
• Easy Fried Rice Recipe

You might think that orange chicken has its origins in a remote and rural Chinese province, but we are sorry to disappoint you. In truth, orange chicken has about as much to do with traditional Chinese food as pineapple chicken — it may be slightly inspired by it, but it has changed so drastically over time that any resemblance is completely accidental.

In fact, orange chicken is a Chinese-American dish that has been around for a few decades. It was actually developed by the Chinese takeout chain we all know and love, Panda Express, by a Taiwanese chef named Andy Kao. It was meant to be another variation of General Tso's chicken, but it became so popular that it took on a new life of its own.

However, the dish was, in fact, inspired by a traditional Chinese recipe. It bears resemblance to a tart and sweet mandarin chicken dish from Hunan, a province in south-central China. So you can rest assured that, though orange chicken has travelled a long way from China, it was still inspired by its country of origin.

There are some variations you can make in this recipe to make it your own while still cooking the orange chicken in the slow cooker. One approach that would keep it close to the original takeout version is to give it a breading, but still keep it on the light side. One way to keep the coating from a typical orange chicken recipe and give it a crispier mouthfeel before mixing with the sauce is to bread and bake your chicken. You can then finish it off in the slow cooker and give it a glossy, saucy appearance while ensuring that the meat is soft.

You can also make this dish even fresher by adding supremed slices of mandarin orange into the mix. You can also add other vegetables like bell peppers. Another favorite addition of ours is to add a star anise and a cinnamon stick when the chicken cooks in the sauce, to give it a richer, more aromatic flavor.

• 5-Spice Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe
• Crock Pot Bang Bang Chicken Recipe
• Classic Kung Pao Tofu Recipe
• Crispy Sweet and Sour Pork Recipe
• Homemade General Tso's Chicken Recipe