Slow-Cooker Chicken With Orange Sauce {And Grand Marnier}
As an Amazon Affilate, I earn commission on qualifying purchases.
This slow-cooker orange chicken with Grand Marnier sauce is an easy meal that can be thrown together in just a few minutes. The juicy chicken is slow cooked then finished under the broiler to crisp and brown the skin. The marinade is reduced after cooking ,and makes a tangy and flavorful orange sauce when finished with a splash of Grand Marnier and butter. It’s elegant enough for a holiday meal or special occasion, but easy enough for a busy weeknights.
The recipe an adaptation from one of my early posts from 2011; Slow Cooker Cornish Game Hens. While the Cornish game hens are generally easily accessible in most grocery stores, I realized that quite a few people are not as comfortable cooking them. So I decided to adapt the recipe for chicken pieces. I’m not sure why I waited so long to do it! If you’re looking for a copycat Panda Express recipe, I have a healthy Orange Chicken recipe similar to your favorite Chinese restaurant.
Ingredients for slow cooker orange chicken
We favor the juicier thighs, but if I’m making this recipe for company, I always add a few chicken breasts for those who prefer white meat. Avoid boneless skinless chicken breasts, as they tend to be drier. This recipe will serve 6-8. There are very few, simple ingredients that go into this easy orange chicken dish!
- bone-in chicken pieces breasts, drumsticks or chicken thighs.
Sauce ingredients:
- 2 oranges, zest and juice
- soy sauce or tamari
- garlic
- honey
- brown sugar
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- butter
- Grand Marnier
How to make this easy delicious orange chicken recipe
The chicken simmers in the slow-cooker on low for 5-6 hours, or on high for 3, and is then finished off under the broiler for a few minutes, just until the skin browns. Hands on time for this easy dish, is under 20 minutes!
Place chicken pieces in large slow-cooker.
- In a small bowl, mix together orange zest and orange juice, soy sauce, garlic, honey, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Pour mixture over chicken pieces.
- Cover and cook on high heat for 3 hours or on low for 6 hours.
- Pre-heat broiler to high. Place rack in upper 1/3 of oven. Remove birds from slow-cooker. Strain juices into a sauce pan.
- Over medium heat, cook juice until reduced by about half, and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. While sauce is reducing, Place chicken pieces on a foil lined baking sheet and brown under broiler about 5 minutes, or until skin is golden brown.
- When sauce is reduced, add Grand Marnier and whisk in butter, 1 Tablespoon at a time until sauce is smooth and glossy.
- Place chicken on a platter and pour over chicken or serve the flavorful sauce on the side.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container.
Leftover chicken? Use any leftover shredded or chopped chicken in this Chinese Chicken Salad with sesame seeds, green onions and Mandarin oranges.
What to serve with orange chicken
Mediterranean Pilaf or Wild and Brown Rice with Cranberries would make a nice side dish.
Looking for more slow cooker recipes?
Slow-Cooker Chicken With Orange Sauce {And Grand Marnier}
Ingredients
- 5 pounds bone-in chicken pieces breasts, thighs or drumsticks, trimmed of excess fat
- 2 oranges, zest and juice about 1/2 cup
- 1/4 cup gluten free soy sauce or tamari
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 Tablespoons honey
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 Tablespoons cold butter cut into small pieces
- 3 Tablespoons Grand Marnier
Instructions
- Place chicken pieces in large slow-cooker.
- Mix together zest and orange juice, soy sauce, garlic, honey, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Pour over chicken pieces.
- Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 6 hours.
- Pre-heat broiler to high. Place rack in upper 1/3 of oven. Remove birds from slow-cooker. Strain juices into a sauce pan.
- Over medium heat, cook juice until reduced by about half, and slightly thicker, about 10 minutes. While sauce is reducing, Place chicken pieces on a foil lined baking sheet and brown under broiler about 5 minutes, or until skin is golden brown.
- When sauce is reduced, add Grand Marnier and whisk in butter, 1 Tablespoon at a time until sauce is smooth.
- Place chicken on a platter and pour sauce over chicken or serve sauce on the side.
This is gorgeous! I wish my husband would eat chicken thighs, because I would think they would be best, but breasts would certainly be tasty as well!
Love this recipe as a twist on your original, Cynthia! I think it’s great for weeknight meals, weekend company and even picnics and potlucks! When can this go wrong!? Never!
Awesome recipe and I’m sure it’s a contest winner if you ever entered it!
Beautiful, healthy, comforting, balanced, tasty. I’m in. Thank you and have a pleasant day !
Thank you Jan!
Thanks for this wonderful recipe! I love oranges and I’ve tried many dishes with oranges before. And I’m glad I found this recipe online. I will be making this for my family very soon. They will surely love this. By the way, can I add some dried tangerine peel powder for this recipe?
Thank you!Sure, why not? Where do you get tangerine powder, by the way? Sounds really fab!
Can you use chicken tenderloins and without the he grand mariner?
Well, because it’s cooked in the slow cooker, the bone-in thighs take longer. I would cut the time in half. As for the Grand Mariner, you could substitute brandy or add more orange juice.
Chicken with orange sauce recipe sounds yummy and look fabulous! Thanks for sharing!!!
You’re welcome! Hope you enjoy it!
Question gal, did I read your instructions correctly? “Cook in the slow cooker on low for 3 hours or on high for 5”??
Hi Jayne…I think you might have read it backwards? Here it is from the recipe:Place chicken pieces in large slow-cooker.
Mix together zest and orange juice, soy sauce, garlic, honey, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Pour over chicken pieces.
Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 6 hours.
Pre-heat broiler to high. Place rack in upper 1/3 of oven. Remove birds from slow-cooker. Strain juices into a sauce pan. Over medium heat, cook juice until reduced by about half, and slightly thicker, about 10 minutes. While sauce is reducing, Place chicken pieces on a foil lined baking sheet and brown under broiler about 5 minutes, or until skin is golden brown.
When sauce is reduced, add Grand Marnier and whisk in butter, 1 Tablespoon at a time until sauce is smooth.
Place chicken on a platter and pour sauce over chicken or serve sauce on the side.
Hi Jayne…I see where you were confused…the body of the post was written backwards…the recipe card is correct.
Hi – I wan to cook this but don’t have a slow cooker. Do you have an adaptation of this for a regular oven please?
Sorry! Just seeing this!
From google:
How do I convert slow cooker times?
One to 1.5 hours on high or four to six hours on low in a slow cooker equals 15 to 30 minutes in the oven.
Two to four hours on high or six to eight hours on low equals 35 to 45 minutes in the oven.
Four to six hours on high or eight to 10 hours on low equals 50 minutes to three hours in the oven.
This looks good, I dont know that I would put in the oven after the slow cooker, that is just an extra step but pretty sure I could make it work without doing that.
you don’t have to, I just give it a few minutes under the broiler to crisp up the skin while I’m reducing the glaze.
This looks fantastic, I just bought a new crockpot, didn’t cost much more than replacing the broken crock from the last one so I just went new, I can’t wait to try the chicken and the crockpot!
This chicken is absolutely wonderful! juicy, wonderful mix of flavors with the orange and garlic, etc. Everyone loved it. there were no leftovers, and that never happens!
Thank you Sharon! I appreciate it!
FYI – No mention of pepper in the ingredients list, but it is mentioned in the prep text.
Thanks for letting me know Marg. I usually add it at the end to taste.