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Home » Slow Cooker » Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

April 1, 2018 By Sara 75 Comments

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

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This slow cooker orange chicken is breaded chunks of chicken tossed in a sweet and savory Asian sauce and cooked in the crock pot. A take out copycat that’s perfect for a busy weeknight!

Love Panda Express? You can make Panda Express style orange chicken at home right in your slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken Recipe | Copycat Orange Chicken | Crock Pot Orange Chicken | Slow Cooker Chicken Recipe #orange #chicken #orangechicken #slowcooker #crockpot #dinner #dinneratthezoo

Slow cooker orange chicken served over a bowl of rice.

Orange chicken is one of those dishes that is universally loved, there’s just something about that breaded chicken coated in orange sauce! This slow cooker orange chicken tastes a lot like the fast food favorite, but it’s made at home in your slow cooker with less oil. It’s sure to become a family favorite!

How to make orange chicken

I know that the premise of most slow cooker recipes is to toss everything in and go, but in this case, we’re going to start by breading and browning the chicken. It’s an extra step, but it’s the best way to replicate the coating you get on restaurant style orange chicken. If you’re really pressed for time, you can absolutely skip this step and instead just put cut up raw chicken in the crock pot with the sauce. It will still be delicious, although not as close of a match to the Panda Express version.

Breaded chicken in a slow cooker is the basis of orange chicken.

After your chicken chunks are in the slow cooker, it’s time to make the sauce out of orange marmalade, soy sauce and sesame oil. The sauce gets tossed with the chicken and the whole thing cooks for a few hours on low.

Breaded chicken in a slow cooker coated with a sweet and savory sauce.

The cornstarch in the chicken coating means that this sauce will thicken as it cooks. If you prefer a lot of extra sauce to serve with your orange chicken, you can double the sauce ingredient amounts before you place them in the slow cooker.

The end result is an amazing dinner that tastes a lot like the Chinese restaurant classic! Slow cooker orange chicken is best served over a bowl of steamed rice.

Slow cooker orange chicken inside a crock pot, topped with sesame seeds and green onions.

My kids request this meal all the time and I’m happy to oblige. Yes, it’s an extra step to pre-cook the chicken in its coating, but I really think this is totally worth the extra effort!

More Asian food favorites

  • Homemade Egg Rolls
  • Cream Cheese Wontons
  • Firecracker Chicken
  • Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
  • Mongolian Beef
Slow cooker orange chicken served over a bowl of rice.
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4.7 from 30 votes

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

This slow cooker orange chicken is breaded chunks of chicken tossed in a sweet and savory Asian sauce and cooked in the crock pot. A take out copycat that's perfect for a busy weeknight!
Course Main
Cuisine Asian
Keyword orange chicken, panda express orange chicken, slow cooker orange chicken
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 20 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 486kcal
Author Sara Welch

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch chunks
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup orange marmalade
  • 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
  • cooking spray
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 2 tablespoons sliced green onions

Instructions

  • Place the chicken pieces in a bowl. Add the cornstarch and salt and pepper. Toss to coat the chicken in the cornstarch mixture.
  • Heat the oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until browned. You may need to work in batches.
  • Coat a slow cooker with cooking spray and add the chicken to the slow cooker.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the orange marmalade, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and garlic. 
  • Pour the sauce over the chicken and gently stir to coat.
  • Cook on LOW for 2-3 hours.
  • Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions, then serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 486kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 90mg | Sodium: 530mg | Potassium: 584mg | Sugar: 36g | Vitamin A: 80IU | Vitamin C: 4.6mg | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 1.2mg

Filed Under: Asian Food, Dinner, Slow Cooker Tagged With: Chicken

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Comments

  1. Wendy says

    January 31, 2021 at 3:14 pm

    Love this recipe! I made it quick on one skillet. After cooking the chicken I added the sauce, and cooked on low for 20 minutes. Delicious! Don’t need to go out and take out anymore. Yay!

    Reply
  2. Laurie Rasmussen says

    January 4, 2021 at 7:14 pm

    Haven’t made it yet.. maybe for dinner tomorrow. Would it be weird to add brown sugar to this recipe?

    Reply
    • Sara says

      January 4, 2021 at 7:34 pm

      That should work fine!

      Reply
  3. Tiffany O says

    December 6, 2020 at 8:52 am

    5 stars
    Thank you for the recipe! It was delicious and a big hit!

    Reply
  4. Gail says

    November 12, 2020 at 2:44 pm

    5 stars
    Made this tonight for tomorrows dinner. I doubled the sauce and it is very thin. Could I thicken it up with a cornstarch slurry. Really taste good thin sauce and all. Thanks

    Reply
    • Sara says

      November 12, 2020 at 6:31 pm

      Yes you can add a cornstarch slurry during the last 30 minutes of the cooking time!

      Reply
  5. Olive Jackson says

    October 7, 2020 at 7:54 am

    5 stars
    I don’t normally leave reviews but this recipe was awesome. I made it last night and served it with a side of steamed broccoli and jasmine rice. I will definitely be making it again. We were hungry so I didn’t want to wait for it to cook in the slow cooker so I just cooked it all on the stove instead but I will try it in the slow cooker next time. Thank you!

    Reply
  6. JoAnn says

    June 28, 2020 at 9:36 am

    5 stars
    I made this 2 weeks ago for my Daughter’s Birthday Dinner. My family is used to my “substitutions” whenever I cook pretty much anything, so when I didn’t have Orange Marmalade on hand, I pureed a small can of Mandarin Oranges and added that plus .25 cup of granulated sugar to the sauce mixture (I missed having the rind, but no one else seemed to notice it was missing, lol). Sprinkling the final presentation with Sesame Seeds is a MUST! IMHO, that simple addition “made” the Dinner. (I served Jasmine Rice and a stove-top Garlicky Bok Choy dish as sides). Very definitely a “keeper” recipe. And one that’s easy enough to prepare that it can be served up anytime and not just for special occasions. 5 Stars.

    Reply
  7. Julie says

    June 15, 2020 at 5:40 pm

    5 stars
    Easy and delicious! I was asked to double it for next time!

    Reply
  8. Tara says

    June 9, 2020 at 2:57 pm

    5 stars
    My family looooooved this! Doubled the recipe and it turned out fantastic!

    Reply
  9. Donna says

    May 17, 2020 at 2:53 pm

    could I leave out the rice vinegar and the sesame oil? Or do I need to make a trip to the grocery store? Lol

    Reply
    • Sara says

      May 17, 2020 at 3:29 pm

      I haven’t tried it this way, my best guess would be that you can omit the sesame oil but use a different vinegar for the rice vinegar, such as 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar.

      Reply
      • Debbie Williford says

        September 9, 2020 at 2:02 pm

        I just made this taste good but I got it to thick what can I do?

        Reply
        • Sara says

          September 10, 2020 at 5:17 pm

          You can add a little water or chicken broth to thin the sauce!

          Reply
  10. Alex says

    March 10, 2020 at 1:16 pm

    I made this meal, it was delicious! Wondering if it is gluten free and if not what could I substitute to make it GF?

    Reply
    • Sara says

      March 11, 2020 at 10:20 am

      You would need to swap out the soy sauce for something else such as a gluten free tamari sauce!

      Reply
      • Mary C says

        May 9, 2020 at 9:22 pm

        There are several gluten free soy sauce. La Choy is a good one

        Reply
    • Jessica says

      October 1, 2020 at 1:55 am

      What about Bragg’s amino acids? My gf’s allergic to soy & uses those instead

      Reply
      • Sara says

        October 1, 2020 at 3:30 pm

        I believe that should be ok!

        Reply
    • Jenna says

      January 5, 2021 at 9:17 pm

      You could also use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce!

      Reply
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With 3 young kids, dinner can feel like feeding time at the zoo! I'm a mom on a mission to create easy, healthy and family friendly recipes ...Read More
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