Slow cooker Sunday is temporarily back with this protein packed, easy to make, and absolutely delicious Slow Cooker Orange Chicken recipe! It’s healthier than the alternative, low in sugar, and uses simple ingredients you might already have on hand.

Start this one with a small mixing bowl and your slow cooker. If you don’t have a slow cooker, I link to mine below within the recipe card. Not only is it affordable but I’ve been using the same one for over a DECADE!

Add into your small mixing bowl 1 cup of a lower sugar orange juice, 2 ounces of a low sodium soy sauce, 4 tablespoons of brown rice syrup or honey, 2 teaspoons of minced garlic, 1 ounce of rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon of ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of optional crushed red pepper for a kick, 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds, and a little orange zest. 

Pro tip? Make your own “lower sugar” orange juice by simply mixing 1/2 cup of a regular orange juice with 1/2 cup of water.

Give those ingredients a mix until everything is incorporated.

Next, add 1 tablespoon of oil into the bottom of your slow cooker. I like a toasted sesame oil for this recipe.

Slow Cooker Chicken

From here, add in 3 pounds of fat trimmed chicken breast or thighs and pour over your mix. I’ll almost always use what’s on sale that week however if I had to breakdown why I’d use either, this is what I’d say:

• Breast have less calories and will give you more protein.
• Thighs are typically cheaper and will give you a juicier (more fat) final result that’s almost impossible to “overcook”.

I’m partial to thighs 90% of the time. If your only concern is meeting specific macros, I’ll include the nutritional information for both below.

Cover your slow cooker orange chicken and let it cook on low heat for around 3-4 hours.

Orange Chicken Sauce

To thicken up your sauce, mix together 4 tablespoons of corn starch and a little cold water. Using cold water will prevent it from clumping. If you want a thinner sauce, use less corn starch. Alternatively, if your sauce isn’t thick enough after 4 tablespoons, add more.

Pour that into your slow cooker after 3-4 hours on low heat and put it on high heat for 45 minutes-1 hour. When everything starts to thicken up, it’s done.

Another thing you can do prior to adding in your corn starch is to cut up or shred your chicken. Cutting or shredding it up will make it much easier to portion your orange chicken.

The easiest and quickest way to portion any slow cooker recipe is to weigh the entire recipe then simply divide by however many servings you want. For a more in depth article on portioning, you can check that out here.

Add this slow cooker orange chicken recipe onto some rice, pair it with broccoli, top it with green onion and more sesame seeds, and/or anything else you want.

Ready for dessert? How about an Orange Cream Protein Cake!?