This awesome slow cooker Orange Chicken shortcut recipe is ridiculously simple to make! Chicken is smothered in the tastiest sweet and tangy orange sauce, slow cooked to tender perfection. It takes minutes to throw together, letting your cooker do most of the work. Serve chicken and sauce over rice with your favorite veggies. A meal the whole family will love, including the pickiest of eaters!
Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch bite size pieces
*1 cup Smucker’s Sweet Orange Marmalade (see tips below)
*1/2 cup Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce (See tips below)
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Add 30 minutes before chicken is ready to serve
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 Tablespoons water
Directions
Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place chicken evenly in bottom of cooker.
In a medium size bowl mix orange marmalade, BBQ sauce, soy sauce, vinegar and ginger – mix well. Pour over chicken and mix well, coating evenly. Cook on high 2 1/2 to 3 hours. *See cooking time in tips below.
30 minutes before chicken is ready to serve, in a small bowl mix cornstarch and water, mixing well (no lumps), add to chicken and sauce in cooker, mix well. Cover and continue to cook for an additional 30 minutes.
Serve chicken and sauce over rice with a side of your favorite veggies (broccoli, green beans, sugar snaps, carrots). For added flavor, sprinkle the top of chicken with sesame seeds (optional). Enjoy!
Tips
*Cooking times will vary depending on your slow cooker/crock pot. Adjust cooking times accordingly. Some slow cookers may take 3–4 hours on HIGH and 4–6 hours on LOW. Chicken should reach a safe 165°F before serving.
*This dish is on the sweet side. If you are not a fan of sweet chicken, you may not care for this recipe. For less sweet, you can reduce the orange marmalade to 1/2 to 3/4 cup and increase the amount of BBQ sauce to 3/4 cup.
Add the cornstarch mixture 30 minutes before chicken is ready to serve.
Fresh chicken breasts are best for this recipe, verses frozen bags of chicken – fresh chicken produces less juice/liquid while cooking.
Sesame seeds sprinkled on top are a great addition.
Add some heat and extra flavor with a dash of crushed red pepper or cayenne pepper for a tasty sweet and spicy kick.
I have only used Smucker’s Sweet Marmalade and Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce and highly recommend using them for this recipe.