Make Slow Cooker Orange Chicken and Broccoli for an easy and delicious weeknight dinner. Everything cooks in the crockpot to keep this high protein meal simple and perfect for busy nights.
If you’re looking for more high protein slow cooker dinners, try this crockpot chicken and peppers recipe or slow cooker turkey chili.
high protein
Hands off cooking
Quick Look: Orange Chicken and Broccoli
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 👩🍳 Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes – most of it hands off
- 🕖 Total Time: 2 hours 40 minutes
- 🥦 Servings: 4
- ⚡️ Calories: 305 calories and 41g protein per serving (based on nutrition panel)
- 🔥 Cooking Method: Chop and cook in slow cooker
- 🛒 Main Ingredients: Chicken breast, broccoli and savory orange sauce
- ⭐️ Difficulty: Easy! Most of the work is hands off cooking done in the slow cooker
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- High protein comfort meal – this slow cooker orange chicken is a cozy and comforting dinner, but it’s also packed with protein to keep you full.
- Better than take out – I love orange chicken, so it is so nice to have this take out alternative at home! It’s so flavorful that you won’t even miss the take out.
- Make ahead dinner – you need less than ten minutes to bring this dinner together. You put everything in the crockpot to cook, and then just add your broccoli towards the end to finish the dish!
For another take out inspired dinner, try this beef and broccoli next.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts – I used boneless skinless chicken breast to keep this recipe quick and simple. You could also use chicken thighs.
- Navel oranges – I love using fresh orange to flavor this orange chicken. You’ll use both the zest and the juice to get the best flavor.
- Soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, garlic and ginger – mix these ingredients with the orange juice and orange zest to make a flavorful sauce for the chicken to simmer in.
- Cornstarch and cold water – make a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce towards the end of cooking.
- Broccoli florets – add chopped broccoli into the pot towards the very end of cooking with the cornstarch slurry so that it is the perfect al dente texture instead of too mushy.
I love making recipes like this that are like. a healthier takeout at home. Some of my other favorite asian inspired chicken dishes are this easy chicken and veggie stir fry and ginger scallion meatball stir fry.
How to make Slow cooker Orange Chicken and Broccoli
Step 1: Cut chicken breast into bite sized pieces and place in the slow cooker.
Step 2: Mix orange juice and zest, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, garlic and ginger. Pour into the slow cooker. Toss to coat the chicken.
Step 3: Close slow cooker lid and cook on low for 2 hours. Increase heat to high after 2 hours.
Step 2: Stir in cornstarch slurry and chopped broccoli. Cook for 30 minutes and then serve.
Mad’s Expert Tips for the Best Slow cooker Orange Chicken and Broccoli 🥦
- Save time with pre-grated ginger and garlic – I like to use frozen ginger and garlic cubes in my sauce to save prep time. Each frozen cube is equivalent to either 1 tsp grated ginger or 1 clove of garlic so it is very easy to measure.
- Skip the cornstarch slurry if you don’t have it – I love a thick sauce like sticky takeout, but it doesn’t change the flavor at all. If you don’t have cornstarch, potato starch or arrowroot starch on hand, just skip the slurry step!
- Add extra veggies with the chicken – vegetables like onions and bell peppers can cook longer without getting too mushy. If you want to add more veggies like those to this slow cooker dinner, mix them in with the chicken and sauce mixture at the beginning of cooking.
- Add a little spice to the orange sauce – if you like a sweet and spicy sauce, add crushed red pepper or sriracha to the sauce to make it spicy.
This sauce reminds me a little of the sauce I used for this sweet and sour chicken meatballs. Feel free to add some steamed broccoli into that sauce for an extra hit of veggies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use chicken thighs instead?
Yes! I love to use chicken thighs for this slow cooker orange chicken. You can use it in the same amount and same timing. I find that it results in a juicier final dish.
What is orange chicken sauce made of?
It typically includes orange juice, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger and some kind of sweetener. I used brown sugar to sweeten. Some people use things like orange marmalade to add orange falvor and sweeten. You should also add some kind of starch to thicken the sauce.
Is it better to cook chicken in a crockpot on high or low?
For a more tender chicken, I prefer to cook it on low. For this recipe, I begin the cooking on low and only increase the heat to thicken the sauce.
Storage and Reheating
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To reheat, put the orange chicken and broccoli in the microwave or in a small sauce pan on the stovetop until warmed through. Add fresh toppings after reheating.
Check out these other slow cooker dinners
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
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Recipe
Slow Cooker Orange Chicken and Broccoli
Ingredients
- 1.5 – 2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 navel oranges – zested and juiced about ½ cup orange juice and 2 tbsp zest
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp grated ginger
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp cold water
- 12 oz broccoli florets any large florets cut into smaller pieces
Instructions
- Cut chicken into bite sized cubes and place in a slow cooker.
- Whisk together orange juice, orange zest, soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar. Pour into the slow cooker along with the garlic and ginger. Toss to coat the chicken evenly.
- Close the lid and cook on low for 2 hours.
- After 2 hours increase slow cooker heat to high. Whisk together the cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Pour into the slow cooker and mix evenly into the chicken and sauce, then stir in the broccoli.
- Close the lid and allow to cook on high for about 30 minutes. At this point the sauce should have thickened and broccoli should be tender
- Serve over rice with green onion and more orange zest.
Recipe Notes
- Save time with pre-grated ginger and garlic – I like to use frozen ginger and garlic cubes in my sauce to save prep time. Each frozen cube is equivalent to either 1 tsp grated ginger or 1 clove of garlic so it is very easy to measure.
- Skip the cornstarch slurry if you don’t have it – I love a thick sauce like sticky takeout, but it doesn’t change the flavor at all. If you don’t have cornstarch, potato starch or arrowroot starch on hand, just skip the slurry step!
- Add extra veggies with the chicken – vegetables like onions and bell peppers can cook longer without getting too mushy. If you want to add more veggies like those to this slow cooker dinner, mix them in with the chicken and sauce mixture at the beginning of cooking.
- Add a little spice to the orange sauce – if you like a sweet and spicy sauce, add crushed red pepper or sriracha to the sauce to make it spicy.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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