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This easy Slow Cooker Orange Chicken and Broccoli has all of the flavors that you crave, but it’s a whole lot healthier than take-out! Instead of breading and frying the meat, you simply toss the ingredients in the Crock Pot and move on with your day. A family-friendly Crock Pot dinner will be ready and waiting for you a few hours later!
Making Restaurant Favorites At Home
You know those easy dinners that you can pick up from the Chinese restaurant or buffet that are coating in more breading and sticky sweet sauce than actual meat?
Kids love those dishes, but they’re not the healthiest and they’re a pain in the neck to try to make at home!
Once again, my Crock Pot comes to the rescue! I can create the same type of Chinese-inspired dinner in my own kitchen with less work, using ingredients that I know and recognize.
Best of all, the Slow Cooker Orange Chicken tastes absolutely amazing!
These little bite-sized pieces of tender chicken are coated in a sweet-and-savory sauce with a hint of orange zip. By adding the broccoli to the slow cooker at the very end, you get crisp-tender veggies that aren’t mushy and over-cooked.
This Slow Cooker Orange Chicken gives you the ease of a Crock Pot dinner with the taste, flavor, and texture of a restaurant meal!
Can You Freeze This Orange Chicken?
Yes, this orange chicken will freeze well. You can also store it in the fridge for a couple of days just make sure the chicken is piping hot right through before serving.
More Chicken Recipes To Try;
- Garlic Sesame Chicken
- Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole
- Dump and Bake Jerk Chicken
- Creamy Chicken Penne Pasta
Slow Cooker Orange Chicken and Broccoli
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 lbs. total), cut into bite-sized pieces
- Salt and pepper
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ cup orange marmalade
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 bag about 16 ounces or 5 ½ cups broccoli florets (if using frozen, allow to thaw first)
- Rice for serving
- Optional: sliced green onions and sesame seeds for serving
Instructions
- Spray liner of a slow cooker with cooking spray.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper and place in a large zip-top bag. Add cornstarch to the bag, seal the bag, and toss to coat the chicken pieces. Place chicken in the bottom of the prepared slow cooker.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together orange marmalade, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and ginger. Pour sauce over chicken. Stir to make sure that all of the chicken pieces are coated in sauce.
- Cover slow cooker and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours (or on HIGH for 1 ½ - 2 hours). During the final 15 minutes of cooking, add broccoli to slow cooker. If the sauce looks too thick at this point, feel free to add water, as necessary, to reach desired consistency.
- Spoon chicken, broccoli, and sauce over rice. Garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds, if desired.
Nutrition
This recipe for Slow Cooker Orange Chicken and Broccoli was originally posted in February, 2013. The photos were updated in August, 2017.
I love takeout orange chicken, but I have yet to try making it on my own. I’m loving this slow cooker version, Blair! Definitely healthier and I’m sure a million times better than the restaurant version. Love the addition of broccoli, too!
Thank you, Gayle! This is such a great way to enjoy it at home without much effort. 🙂
Got to try this. Sounds awesome!!! Your 5 ingredient honey garlic chicken is definitely “a keeper”. Thanks for sharing.
Yay! I hope that you love it, Diana! 🙂
Really looking forward to trying this recipe! Should this be refrigerated or frozen if I am looking to make a large portion and eat through the week? I’m wondering what would be safe (I think cooked chicken lasts a few days in the fridge if I’m not mistaken) while also maintaining as much flavor as possible.
Thanks!
Hey, David! I’m so glad that you’ll give it a try! The cooked chicken should stay fresh in the refrigerator for at least a few days (and probably up to 1 week), so I’d go that route. I think freezing it might change the texture of the meat, sauce, and broccoli, so I wouldn’t suggest that. Enjoy!
This sounds really yummy; out of curiosity though, does the Broccoli get mushy being in the slow cooker for 15 minutes? Or does it come out al dente? Thanks Blair!
Hi, Heather! It’s not too mushy! I prefer my broccoli still a little bit firm, so the 15 minutes works well. You can add it sooner if you like your broccoli softer, OR another great option that I often will use is to purchase a steam-in-bag microwaveable broccoli. Then you can microwave your broccoli to the exact texture that you like and just stir it into the chicken mixture right before serving. 🙂 Enjoy!
Made it tonight, but used whole chicken thighs as I didn’t have any chicken breasts in the freezer. Also microwaved the broccoli. The sauce was delicious – will definitely be making this again. Many thanks for the recipe!
Wonderful! Thanks for letting us know, Judie! I’m glad that you enjoyed it! 🙂
I have a question … I cook for several different people, some like rice others don’t, some have to try to remain on very low carbohydrate diets. So here is my question…. Can one omit the rice and use veggie noodles (Example: zucchini noodles) instead?
Hi, Teresa! Of course! You can serve the chicken and broccoli over regular rice, brown rice, or even cauliflower rice. It’s great on its own, and it will definitely work with your veggie noodles as well. Whatever your family prefers! 🙂
Judie
That recipe sounds Yummy
Do you have one for chicken n broccoli with the the brown sauce? I would love to make that one also
Thank You
Rose
I love the combination of flavours here, my family love oranges too so a win win!
I can’t wait to try this! It’s in my crockpot as I type this. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Awesome! Enjoy, Kelsie!
Hi!! If I want to make this in my instant pot would I set it to pressure cook? And how long would it need to cook for? Thank you!!
Hey, Nichole! I honestly don’t know, since I haven’t tested this particular recipe in the Instant Pot. I think it would work if you want to play around with it, but I can’t offer any specific times. If you want a similar Asian-inspired dish that’s perfect in the Instant Pot, you can try this Chicken Teriyaki Recipe: https://www.theseasonedmom.com/healthy-slow-cooker-teriyaki-chicken-ginger-bok-choy-salad/
or this Garlic Sesame Chicken: https://www.theseasonedmom.com/instant-pot-sesame-chicken/
Tried this tonight and honestly if you love marmalades you will like the taste of this. Hubby and I were not really fans because I felt that all I tasted was the orange marmalade.
My family absolutely loves this recipe. When I make it now, I use 3 lbs chicken and double the sauce because they always want leftovers the next day. I’m fact, my family has lived every one of your recipes that I have cooked this far. Thank you so much
That’s so good to hear, Nanette. Thank you for taking the time to leave me a note and let me know! 🙂
Does the calories listed include the rice, or just the chicken?
Hi, Brie! The nutrition information is automatically calculated based on the measurements for the chicken, sauce, and broccoli included in the recipe. The rice, sesame seeds, green onions, or any other optional toppings/sides are not included in that calculation.
I’d make this again but in a skillet. I’d brown the chicken, and heat the sauce in a separate pan adding a cup of orange juice and pour it over the chicken in the pan. The broccoli can steam in the microwave, and then I’d assemble the bowls rice broccoli orange chicken. The flavor was great but the sauce would definitely need to be melted and thinned. I also increased the sauce by half. This would work with chicken tenders as well.
Hi! Question. I know you say serving size is 1/6 of recipe. Do you know what measurement this equates to? We are on a pretty strict calorie-deficit diet at the moment and will need to know how much it actually equates to to tell if it’s worth making for us. Thanks!!
Hi, Nicole! No, I’m sorry — I don’t. The recipe software automatically calculates the nutrition information, so the details provided are just an rough estimate. I would suggest using your preferred nutrition calculator of choice, and entering the specific ingredients that you use. That’s the best way to get a more accurate calculation, and you can measure out your individual portions.
I HAVE NOT TRIED THE SLOW-COOKER ORANGE CHICKEN YET I AM GOING TO.
We hope you enjoy it, Almeda!