Deliciously easy, these Candied Oranges are dipped into dark chocolate and sprinkled with salt to make for a citrusy, sweet treat. Made with just 4 main ingredients, these oranges can be used as a stunning garnish or simple snack all on their own.
With a chewy texture and sweet citrus flavor, these candied orange slices are perfect to munch on. They have a bright orange color and are dipped into dark chocolate. The sweet, candied taste is just short of perfection, even better than sour patch grapes!
Not only is this candied orange slices recipe great for a special snack, but it’s also my go-to garnish for refreshing drinks or topping something like my vegan coconut cake when I really want to impress guests.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to Make: With only 4 main ingredients the candy orange slices are pretty simple. In fact, the hardest part is waiting for them to boil!
- Versatile: There are so many uses for these oranges that you’ll find yourself making them over and over just to pair them with something new!
- Sweet Citrus Flavor: These oranges have the perfect taste, a blend of candied citrus, rich chocolate, and a sprinkle of salt to pull it together.
Ingredients
- Oranges: Use ripe oranges for the sweetest flavor, and try to choose ones without seeds.
- Dark chocolate: Use your favorite bar of dark chocolate, as it works for dipping better than chocolate chips for this recipe.
- Sugar: Plain white sugar is the easiest for the recipe as it will turn the oranges into a crisp, chewy, candied treat.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations
- Fruit: You can easily make candied tangerines or candied clementines in place of oranges for a more bite-sized snack.
- Candied lemons: This recipe works for candied lemons as well, but know that they won’t be as sweet. Not as much of a treat, but beautiful for decorating other desserts like my vegan lemon bars and mocktails.
- White chocolate: For a unique look and indulgent taste, dip the oranges in melted white chocolate instead of dark.
How to Make Candied Oranges
The oranges are boiled twice, as the first boil helps reduce any bitterness in the orange peels. From there, the second boil is to help candy them. Double boiling is what results in the sweetest bites.
Step 1: Prep the Oranges. Thinly slice the oranges after they’re washed and place them into boiling water for just 2 minutes. Then, place them into a wire rack.
Step 2: Boiling. Bring a fresh pot of water to a boil and add the sugar before placing the oranges into the water and reducing the heat to low. Boil the oranges for 45 minutes.
Step 3: Cooling. Remove the oranges from the water with tongs and place them on a wire cooling rack.
Step 4: Melt the Chocolate. Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Dip half of each orange slice into the chocolate, place on a baking sheet, chill until set, then sprinkle with flaky salt and serve.
Expert Tips
- Melting the chocolate: When melting the chocolate in the microwave, do it in intervals and stir in between. This ensures that the chocolate doesn’t burn.
- Choosing oranges: When choosing the type of orange you’ll use, consider the size. Clementines will give bite-sized treats and will have less chocolate coating whereas navel oranges will be bigger with more room for chocolate.
- Boiling the oranges: You want to flip the oranges every fifteen minutes or so while boiling, so that they candy evenly.
- Slicing: Use a very sharp knife when slicing the oranges so that they don’t look “torn”. If you’re using very large oranges, you’ll want to slice them in half.
- Storing: Once chilled, the oranges can be stored in an airtight container on the counter for roughly 2 months. If you can’t store them in a single layer, separate them with parchment paper so that they don’t stick together.
Serving Suggestions
The best part about chocolate-dipped candied oranges is that they have so many uses!
- Enjoy as a dessert or snack, all on their own, or served on a charcuterie board with crackers, fruits, and avocado hummus.
- Use them as a garnish on the side of creamy lemonade in the summer.
- Add them to the top of cakes like my vegan blueberry cake, for a pop of color.
Recipe Video
Candied Oranges Recipe FAQs
Any oranges can work to make candied oranges; however, each will have a different flavor. Clementines, cara cara oranges, and tangerines will be sweeter, whereas navel oranges will be less sweet.
You remove the bitterness from oranges when making candied oranges by boiling them quickly in water before you candy them.
If your orange slices are soggy, they did not boil in the syrup long enough to candy. You can try reboiling them in sugar water but they may fall apart a bit when submerged.
No, candied oranges do not need to be refrigerated and will last on the counter for up to 2 months. That said, you can pop them in the fridge if you want.
More Delicious Tropical Recipes
Candied Oranges
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1 ½ cups water
- 3 oranges
- 1 bar dark chocolate
- flakey salt
Instructions
- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil.
- Wash and thinly slice the oranges. Place the slices in the boiling water for about 2 minutes.
- Remove the oranges from the water and place them on a wire rack.
- Dump out the water. Bring a fresh 1 ½ cups of water and 1 ½ cups of sugar to a boil.
- Place the orange slices in the water and reduce the heat to low.
- Boil the orange slices for 45-50 minutes, flipping them around every 10-15 minutes.
- Once the oranges are done, remove them from the water and place them on the cooling rack.
- While the orange slices are cooling, melt the chocolate in the microwave.
- Dip one half of each orange slice into the chocolate and place on a baking sheet. Transfer them to the fridge until the chocolate hardens.
- Lastly, top them with flaky salt & enjoy!
Notes
- If your oranges have seeds, make sure they’re removed before you begin to boil the slices.
- Make sure to use a very sharp knife or a mandolin to slice the oranges so that they’re even and the skins don’t tear.
- When storing the oranges, make sure there is no water or moisture in the container. Any moisture will cause the oranges to expire faster.
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