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Light and incredibly delicious Slow Cooker Orange Chicken recipe. A healthier twist on traditional Orange Chicken and full of flavor. This single serving Crockpot chicken recipe is so easy to make and tastes so much better than takeout!
Single serving “Crock pot” and slow cooker recipes have been so popular lately with our One Dish Kitchen readers and I’m excited to share this simple Slow Cooker Orange Chicken recipe with you today.
For popular Slow Cooker and Crockpot recipes CLICK HERE.
Why This Recipe Works
- This slow cooker orange chicken is so easy to make. The recipe features two boneless, skinless chicken thighs placed on a bed of sliced onions and topped with an incredible orange sauce made with orange preserves, orange juice, ginger, garlic, and soy sauce.
- All of the ingredients are placed in a slow cooker and in a few hours you are able to enjoy a flavorful, hearty meal for one.
- You’ll notice that this version of Orange Chicken is a little different than the popular “Panda Express Orange Chicken” version. The chicken pieces are not breaded and I personally love it this way because the wonderful flavors from the sauce really come through.
- Cooking the chicken in the slow cooker makes the chicken incredibly tender and is lovely served over a bed of rice with the fragrant orange sauce poured over the top.
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Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken: Use 1 to 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
- Orange preserves or marmalade: Use low-sugar or regular orange preserves for incredible flavor.
- Orange juice: Use freshly squeezed or bottled orange juice.
- Soy sauce: Adds great flavor! Use low-sodium or regular soy sauce.
- Garlic and onions: I use 1 garlic clove and 1/2 of a small onion.
- Ground ginger: I use ground ginger for convenience. You can use 1/4 teaspoon of fresh minced ginger instead.
- Salt and black pepper: For flavor.
- Sesame seeds: This ingredient is optional but I love sprinkling a small amount over the top of the chicken and the sauce after cooking.
How To Make This Recipe
- Place thinly sliced onions into the bowl of a small Crockpot or slow cooker. Place the chicken thighs on top of the onions.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the orange preserves, orange juice, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper. Pour over the chicken.
- Cook the chicken on high for 3 hours or on low temperature for 6 hours.
- Serve with brown or white rice and top with sesame seeds.
RELATED: Recipes For Empty Nesters – The Joy Of Cooking For Two
Frequently Asked Questions
For my slow cooker single serving meals, I use a small 1.5-quart slow cooker.
If you don’t have a small slow cooker, you can modify a large slow cooker by placing a smaller oven-safe bowl inside the bowl of the slow cooker.
If you already have a large slow cooker but still want to make any of our slow cooker recipes for one, follow these easy steps to modify your slow cooker:
* Place an oven safe bowl inside the base of a slow cooker.
* Fill the bowl with the ingredients and cover the slow cooker with the lid.
* Cook as directed.
* The photo shows how I make Red Beans and Rice For One in a large slow cooker. Keep in mind that slow cookers work best when they are about three quarters of the way full.
* When choosing the right oven-safe bowl to place inside your slow cooker, make sure that when the ingredients are placed inside the bowl, they take up at least two thirds to three quarters of bowl.
When the bowl isn’t full enough, the food inside will cook faster and possibly burn.
Expert Tips
- Feel free to adjust the amount of spices you use according to taste.
- I love using chicken thighs because they stay moist and tender. You can use a boneless, skinless chicken breast instead if necessary.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- This crockpot orange chicken recipe can be doubled if you would like to make a little extra. You will need to use a crockpot or slow cooker that is larger than 1.5-quarts. A 3-quart would work well if doubling the recipe.
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this crockpot orange chicken recipe, you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
- Onions: Cioppino, French Onion Soup, Caprese Chicken
- Chicken: Chicken Chili, Chicken Cacciatore, Chicken and Dumplings
- Orange juice: Orange Oatmeal Cake, Cranberry Orange Scones, Mini King Cake
- Soy sauce: Cashew Chicken, Pork Stir Fry, Fried Rice
- Ground ginger: Soft Ginger Cookies, Mini Spice Cake, Pumpkin Pie
- Garlic: Tomato Salad, Guacamole Salad, Spinach Manicotti
Other Single Serving Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes
If you like this slow cooker orange chicken, you might also like to try these single serving slow cooker chicken recipes:
Serving Suggestions
You might like to serve any one of these single serving side dish recipes with your orange chicken:
For more information on the cooking and baking dishes I use in our “recipes for one”, please visit our FAQ page.
For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.
If you’ve tried this slow cooker orange chicken or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
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Recipe
Slow Cooker Orange Chicken For One
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ small onion , thinly sliced
- 2 boneless skinless chicken thigh (about 7 ounces)
- ¼ cup low sugar orange preserves
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- pinch ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon sesame seeds , optional
Instructions
- Place the sliced onions in the bowl of a small slow cooker.
- Place the chicken thighs on top of the onions.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the orange preserves, orange juice, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper. Pour over the chicken.
- Cook on low for 6 hours (or cook for 3 hours on high).
- Serve with your choice of rice and top with sesame seeds, if using.
Notes
- Feel free to adjust the amount of spices you use according to taste.
- I love using chicken thighs because they stay moist and tender. You can use a boneless, skinless chicken breast instead if necessary.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- This orange chicken recipe can be doubled if you would like to make a little extra. You will need to use a crockpot or slow cooker that is larger than 1.5-quarts. A 3-quart would work well if doubling the recipe.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Was so very easy – not a huge amount of ingredients and quick to put together! Plus mine was ready at about 5 hours on slow. (Maybe even earlier but I had not checked.) Try to use the low sugar orange preserves if possible. I did not have and used regular marmalade, so for me it was a tad too sweet but that is my personal preference. Feel that the sauce needed thickening at the end.
Very good, simple, fast recipe! (LOL for a slow cooker!) I especially like that the ingredients are what I generally have on hand. I also like that there is no prepping with breading involved. Served over Jasmine rice which I did in my rice cooker. Talk about an easy, no stress, open lid and serve dinner.
This is my favorite slow cooker chicken dish. I serve it over rice in a bowl for a delicious meal.
This was great. I had to sub apricot for orange preserves and chicken broth for the orange juice but it was fantastic. I just retired myself and am looking for ways to stop wasting so much food and to be able to enjoy my love of cooking on a daily basis. Next up is the Italian chicken. I have high hopes for it!
Delicious! So easy. Doubled with no problem. These recipes help with portion control. Bought 3 quart slow cooker just so I could try these recipes. Ready to try Joanie’s other slow cooker recipes!
Perfect every time !
This was really, really good!!! So glad I found your website, and thank you much for the info on adapting a large slow cooker for smaller recipes. Will be making this recipe often!
Perfect every time, just as written ! For a retiree just learning how to cook, you have given me hope !!
I am cooking again after 40 years. I have made this recipe several times and it gets better each time. I substituted cut-up chicken breasts for the thighs with a double recipe (it fit great in my 2 qt. slow cooker) when I had company – my guest did not leave any leftovers.
I leave out the pepper as I do not care for it. However, I have used freshly grated ginger and it is a wonderful addition.
Tried the Orange Chicken recipe, if I make it again I will definitely use chicken breast, did not care for thighs. I kinda changed the recipe at the end of cooking by making it into a stir fry but not much orange flavor, I finally added a jar of PF Chang’s Orange Chicken sauce which did give it more flavor.
I love this recipe. The chicken is so delicious and just falls apart because it is so tender. I serve it over rice so I can enjoy the “juice” that is left over.