Enjoy a healthy, gluten free version of orange chicken by using a crockpot and adding freshly steamed broccoli before serving!
There is enjoying the entire process of cooking, and then there is throwing everything into a crockpot when you have to move a household of furniture and then sitting down to a ready, warm meal at the end of the day with no. additional. effort.
It was almost better than a full body massage after the toll our bodies took shlepping stuff to and fro. The beauty of the crockpot was undeniable! I originally wasn’t going to share this recipe with the blogosphere, because I tossed in a bunch of ingredients to make the sauce and crossed my fingers. We probably would still have eaten several portions each of this dinner even if it tasted bad, we were so in need of fuel after our day of lifting couches! But it turned out great and so light and fresh and healthy, and I used my last muscles to snap a couple of shots for you all.
While there are a many components of the sauce itself, if you enjoy making stir fries (which is most of us who had to feed ourselves in college) you will likely have many of these ingredients on-hand already, minus the fresh ginger. And you can adjust the ratios if you need more or less heat in your chicken. First step is mixing the ingredients for the sauce together, then secondly is pouring over chicken breasts in your crockpot. Then you let it sit for several hours before it falls away at the touch of a fork, and that’s when you shred your chicken using two forks. Do this about an hour before serving, so the shredded chicken can fully soak up all of the tasty liquid. Note - it will be more “liquidy” than “saucy”, as I didn’t add in any cornstarch or flour to bind the sauce. It really doesn’t need it.
Before serving, steam broccoli, and in a large bowl, mix the shredded chicken with the broccoli and pour over the additional sauce liquid from the crockpot. Serve topped with sesame seeds, sliced green onion, and more Sriracha over brown rice. You can even steam other vegetables alongside the broccoli and incorporate into the recipe - carrots, baby corn, bok choy - those are the first ones that come to mind that would go great with this recipe.
And that’s it! Honestly, three steps for a healthy, satisfying meal that has great flavor - you’d think that you’d been working all day at it. Well, your crockpot did the work for you, and now you get to reap the benefits. We certainly did, and had leftovers for the week!
- 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Juice of two oranges
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp gluten free Tamari soy sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- Squirt or two of Sriracha
- 2-3 heads broccoli, steamed
- Optional: Scallions and sesame seeds for garnish, plus more Sriracha for serving
- Place the chicken in a crockpot
- Whisk all remaining ingredients (minus the broccoli) thoroughly
- Pour over the chicken, and turn each piece to make sure it's coated with sauce
- Cook on high for 8-10 hours, or low for 4-6
- After cooking is done, shred the chicken using two forks in the crockpot
- In a serving bowl, mix the steamed broccoli with chicken and pour over any additional sauce from the crockpot
- Garnish with scallions and extra sesame seeds, and serve with brown rice!
Thanks for stopping by! 
This dish looks fantastic, and so healthy! Lately I’m becoming a true broccoli fan
I go through phases with vegetables and I am loving broccoli too right now