Hayden’s California Orange Chicken

Hayden’s California Orange Chicken–an easy slow cooker dinner made with tender chicken thighs, fresh orange juice, ginger and garlic for a simple, flavorful take on orange chicken.

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Hayden’s California Orange Chicken

I LOVE orange chicken but I don’t want to deal with breading and frying chicken at home. This slow cooker version gives a sweet, tangy, gingery orange flavor with basically none of the work. It’s definitely a different texture than “normal” orange chicken but it still has tons of flavor (and less calories). I served this over rice with a side of veggies, strawberries and cornbread for Sunday dinner.

For the story on the name of the recipe…we asked Reagan’s boyfriend, Hayden (who’s from CA), what one of his favorite foods was and he responded orange chicken. He’s in college right now so I created a recipe that a college student you make fairly easily. In the notes section I included a line about how to cook this on the stove if you don’t have a slow cooker and want to eat right NOW.

Ingredients/Substitution Ideas

• Fresh-squeezed orange juice–I bought one large orange and used the zest and then squeezed it and got about ½ cup out of it
• Orange zest–I used a zester*
• Low sodium soy sauce–or tamari for a gluten-free option.
• Brown sugar
• Fresh gingerroot
• Garlic–fresh garlic cloves or jarred minced garlic
• Seasoned rice vinegar–unseasoned rice vinegar works too
• Boneless skinless chicken thighs
• All-purpose flour–for a gluten-free option, skip the flour and thicken the sauce with a cornstarch slurry at the end.
• Sesame seeds–optional, but they make a great finishing touch.
• Green onions

Steps

In a bowl whisk together the orange juice, zest, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic and vinegar.

Cut the chicken thighs into bite size pieces and add them into the slow cooker. Toss the flour in with the chicken and stir to coat.

Pour the sauce evenly over the top of the chicken.

Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours. 

Stir and serve over rice. Top with sesame seeds and green onion.

Notes/Tips

• Serve it over rice (I cooked my rice in the Instant Pot) with a side of broccoli (steamed or roasted).
• I was only serving Greg and me so I made a small amount. You can easily double or triple this recipe.
• The zest is where a LOT of that bright orange flavor comes from. Zest the orange before squeezing it and you can get both ingredients from the same orange.
• Try to keep the chicken pieces roughly the same size so they finish cooking at the same time.
• Want a little heat? Add a squirt of sriracha to the sauce.
• To make this on the stove: stir together the sauce, coat chicken in flour, add chicken and sauce to a pan on the stove over medium low heat, cover pan with a lid, simmer until chicken is cooked through and sauce has thickened.
• Store leftover chicken and sauce in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for 4 days. You can freeze this chicken. Let it cool completely and freeze it with the sauce in an airtight container for up to about 3 months.
• Tools:
  • Glass measuring cup*
  • Juicer*
  • Zester*
  • Garlic Press*
  • Little whisk*
  • Slow Cooker*
  • Kitchen shears* (to cut the chicken)

Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for. 

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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.