Slow Cooker Honey Orange Garlic Chicken recipe is tender, juicy chicken with a sweet and savory sauce made with a few ingredients. Try today!
Orange and Honey Garlic Chicken is the perfect make-ahead main dish for busy weekdays! Just prep your ingredients and marinate the chicken the night before, then pop it in the crock pot in the morning and let it cook as you go about your day. When you get home, you’ll have a delicious whole chicken full of amazing flavor. For slow cooker Chicken Recipes with similar flavors that use chicken pieces instead of an entire chicken, check out my Slow Cooker Orange Chicken and Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken recipes.
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Slow Cooker Honey Orange Garlic Chicken Recipe
This is sure to become your go-to slow cooker recipe for the most flavorful and juicy chicken. This skin-on, bone-in whole chicken is easily cooked in a crock pot with a finger-licking good sticky sauce. The orange, honey, and garlic flavors soak into the chicken so you get that amazing flavor throughout. This recipe makes a perfect dinner because it’s easy, only uses a few simple ingredients, and you get a delicious, juicy chicken without any basting. Next time you want a main dish you can set and forget, try this recipe out!
Ingredients
- 1 Whole Chicken : I used a whole chicken, about 4-5 lbs for this recipe. It should rest snugly in your slow cooker with the ability for the lid to fit properly. If you want to substitute other cuts of chicken, check out my Variations section
- 6 Cloves Garlic: I use a lot of minced fresh garlic so it’s packed with garlicky flavor! You can also use 3 teaspoons of garlic powder if you don’t have fresh.
- ¼ Cup Honey: I like to use an orange blossom or wildflower honey to go with the orange flavor but you can use any flavor. Just make sure it’s real honey!
- ¼ Cup Orange Juice: Freshly squeezed juice tastes the best, but store-bought works too. Again, make sure to use the real stuff, 100% orange juice.
- ¼ Cup Low Sodium Soy Sauce: Soy sauce adds some salt and umami to balance out the sweet and tangy flavors and gives the chicken a beautiful golden brown color.
- Cornstarch Slurry: Mix 2 Teaspoons Cornstarch with 1 Tablespoon Water to create a slurry that thickens the glaze without clumping.
How to Make
Time needed: 7 hours.
- Marinate the Chicken
Mix the garlic, honey, orange juice, and soy sauce, cover the chicken with the marinade, and place in a large ziplock bag or bowl. Seal and marinate in the fridge overnight, or for at least an hour if you’re short on time.
- Prepare the Foil Coils
Take two pieces of heavy-duty aluminum foil, roll each one lengthwise into a long tube, then shape them into flattened S curves. These are used as a rack to help keep the chicken elevated.
- Set Up and Cook
Place the marinated chicken breast side down on top of the foil coils. Pour any leftover marinade over the chicken. Set the slow cooker to low and cook for about six hours.
- Thicken the Glaze
Remove the chicken from the slow cooker carefully and transfer the cooking liquid into a saucepan on the stovetop. Mix the cornstarch with the water then stir the slurry into the liquid. Whisk until it has a nice and glossy glaze.
- Finish and Serve
Pour the thickened glaze over the chicken. Carve, garnish with optional sesame seeds and chopped green onion, and serve with white rice or brown rice.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken 4-5 pounds , fully defrosted
- 6 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a large ziplock bag or in a large bowl and marinate overnight (or a minimum of 1 hour).
- Using heavy-duty aluminum foil, cut two 18-inch pieces.
- Roll each piece the long way, loosely, so the foil tube is as long as possible, then curve it like an oven heating coil, like a flattened S.
- Place the chicken on top of the foil, breast side down, and add any remaining marinade over the chicken.
- Cook on low for 6 hours.
- Remove chicken from the slow cooker gently.
- Add leftover liquid to a saucepan.
- Mix cornstarch and water until well combined then pour into saucepan and boil until glaze is thickened, stirring well.
- Pour glaze over chicken to serve.
Nutrition
Chef’s Note: Making It Juicy & Flavorful
To make sure my chicken comes out as tender as possible, I put it breast-side down in the crockpot. It may look strange, but it helps to keep the breast meat moist. Since the breast is easier to dry out it’s important to keep it down in the crockpot, where it won’t dry out and will remain succulent, and helps ensure it doesn’t overcook. Also, to get all the delicious flavor out of this recipe it’s important to give the chicken time to marinate before putting it in the slow cooker. For the best results, add all your ingredients to a large freezer bag and let it marinate for the full night in the fridge. If you forgot to set up your ingredients last night, make sure to at least let the chicken marinate for an hour before cooking it in the slow cooker.
Can This Be Made Ahead?
Crock Pot Honey Garlic chicken is also a great recipe to prep further in advance. Just put all the ingredients in a freezer bag like you usually would. Instead of leaving the chicken to marinate in the fridge, store it in the freezer until the next time you’re ready for a slow cooker dinner. Let the Chicken defrost for a full 24 hours before prepping it in the crockpot. Once it’s thawed you can cook it in the crockpot as usual, and enjoy!
Nutritional Facts
What to Pair with Honey Orange Garlic Chicken
Cook up some Sautéed Green Beans and white rice for an easy side, and enjoy the perfect slow cooker chicken dinner!
How to Store
- Store: Don’t leave Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken at room temperature for more than 2 hours. If you want to keep it out longer, keep your chicken in the crock pot on low so it stays warm. Let the chicken cool before storing it. To make storing easier cut the chicken into smaller pieces and keep it in a ziplock bag or other airtight container. It will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freeze: To freeze the chicken, store it in an airtight container and keep it for up to 6 months. Let it defrost overnight in the fridge before reheating it.
Alternative Cooking Methods
- Instant Pot Honey Orange Chicken: Using a smaller chicken, turn the saute function on and sear the chicken on all sides. Use the insert to keep the chicken off the bottom, pour the marinade over the chicken, seal the lid, and cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. Allow a natural pressure release for 10 minutes, then do the quick release. Remove the chicken. Add the slurry and stir until thickened. Pour the glaze over the chicken when ready to serve.
- Oven-Baked Honey Orange Chicken: Set the oven to 300 degrees. Place the marinated chicken in a baking dish, cover with foil, and bake for 2-3 hours. For a crispy finish, remove the tin foil during the last 20 minutes and increase the temperature to 400 degrees.
Frequent Questions
A lot of soy sauce is made with wheat. You can substitute with tamari sauce which is similar but is not made with wheat.
Yes, you can use chicken wings. The cooking time will be shorter around 4 hours on low. Be sure to check to make sure they’re fully cooked before serving.
Either fresh or bottled orange juice can be used. Fresh juice will give a slightly brighter flavor, but bottled juice works well if it’s more convenient.
Variations
- Chicken Thighs: You can prepare the same recipe using chicken thighs. Still, allow the chicken to marinate in the sauce for extra flavor. Cook 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs in a crock pot on low for 6-7 hours, or high for 3-4.
- Skinless Chicken Breasts: Chicken breasts cook faster than chicken thighs or a whole chicken would. First, allow the chicken breast to marinate as usual. Then pour all the ingredients into your crockpot. Decrease the cooking time to 3-4 hours on low for 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
- Add-ins: There are lots of flavor variations you can try in your Slow Cooker Chicken recipe. Try whisking in some hoisin or teriyaki sauce into your honey garlic sauce. You can even add some spice with red pepper flakes.
Related Posts
More Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes
Photos used in previous versions of this post.
is ot for crockpot can i use my own ingredants and wings if so will the time cjang how
I’m sorry Jaime, I’m not sure what you’re asking. Could you clarify a bit more for me?
Hi. You can disregard my question. I will use bottled juice.
Hi Sabrina! I am trying this recipe tonight. To clarify, do I use fresh squeezed orange juice or bottled orange juice? Thank you!
Hi there, I was wondering if you can make this in the oven? I was thinking maybe covered slow & kinda low then a quick broil for a little crispness. What do you think? Ty
The picture of chicken looks like it brown. Or is that orange sauce over the chicken?
Hi! It is the sauce.
Sabrina,
I would love to make the Slow cooker honey garlic chicken but want to use boneless,skinless
Chicken breast Can I and how long should I cook it for? Thank you for all your great recipes it’s greatly appreciated!!
Hello Betsy, thank you for your comment. I’m sure you can use boneless, skinless chicken breast. However, I’m not sure how long it will take to cook to get the same result.
My family enjoyed this recipe. It was very tasty and juicy! I served it last night with mashed potatoes and it was a perfect combo! Thank you and please keep on sharing awesome recipes like this!
Sounds perfect! Thanks for the 5 stars, Natasha.
One of our favorite chicken recipes! Comes out perfectly every time!
Yay!! Thanks for the 5 stars, Jennifer.
Yum – I made your recipe it was so delicious! Making this again soon, my family love it!
I love it when the whole family is happy! Thanks for letting me know, Melissa.
Hi, Sabrina! I love your recipes! Yours is the only recipe blog I subscribe to!
You should know, however, that this Honey Orange Chicken recipe IS NOT GLUTEN FREE, even though it says so in your 4th paragraph.
Most soy sauce that we can buy in the United States has wheat as an ingredient which makes it NOT gluten-free. But I substituted about 1/2 cup Tamari Sauce (milder than soy with no wheat) and it worked GREAT! I added more tamari than soy because the tamari is milder
Thanks for letting me know what would work as a gluten free alternative. I appreciate it!
I sautee the chicken for 4 hrs, it could have used more time. I ran late so I cooked the chicken on high for 3.5 hrs for a 4 lbs chicken, it was well cooked. For the gravy, I added more OJ, soy sauce and honey to add more flavor. Next time I will sautee the chicken overnight.
Thanks for your feedback.
Hi, I was just wondering if you need to do the “foil” thing even with just the chicken thighs or breasts?
If you’re not worried about getting the skin crispy, you don’t need to worry about the foil. You could always pop them under the broiler at the end too. Enjoy!