Finally, a simple way to candy oranges that doesn’t require at least a day to dry! No more cluttering up your house to make this simple treat—and no more wondering what to do with the surplus of oranges from your tree once you’ve hit your limit on juicing, baking, and pawning them off on everyone you know!

I debated whether this was even a recipe worth sharing. I mean, it’s not complicated or difficult. The hardest part of this recipe is how much (hands off) time it takes. So am I really adding to anyone’s life with this? But then I realized I do have something about candied oranges worth sharing!

This recipe takes about 1/4 the time of your typical candied orange recipe.

Every recipe for candied oranges that I read on my journey to my first ever candying venture required AT LEAST twenty four hours. Some take a couple days. Days. Who has time for that? Who has room in their house to let oranges dry for days??? So I had the idea to store my oranges in the oven so they were out of my way and not making me crazy in my post-Christmas, declutter everything phase, and it hit me that I could probably speed up the dry time by baking them.

It was perfect!

Now I’m ready to candy all the things…

How to make candied orange slices

These are crazy simple. Wash fresh oranges to remove any wax, pesticides, and dirt (since you’ll be eating the rind).

Slice your oranges with your sharpest knife into 1/8 inch slices. Discard the end pieces and any that won’t slice properly (or dice the funny shaped ones up).

Bring sugar and water to a simmer in a large, wide pot and turn down to low.

Simmer the oranges, covered, for at least an hour or until translucent. While they simmer, be sure to gently flip the top oranges every 15 minutes since they float and may dry out.

Remove oranges to a paper towel to dry slightly. Reserve the orange sugar syrup to use in a cocktail (it’s now orange simple syrup) or another recipe, if desired. While the oranges dry slightly, preheat the oven to 175 (or lowest possible setting).

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the oranges on it, making sure none overlap. This may require a couple baking sheets.

Bake for 1-2 hours, checking every 30 minutes or so. The should be slightly tacky but mostly dried and hardened when they are done.

Let cool until easily handled. They should be dry to the touch, similar to actual candy.

Use or eat as desired! Optionally, you can dip the dried oranges in sugar or melted chocolate.

Tips and notes for this recipe

Use your sharpest knife

If you noticed in one of the earlier pictures, I have some janky looking slices. I used a knife that’s in desperate need of sharpening (and older oranges—see below). If your slices are uneven, you’ll end up with either tough parts of the candied orange or you can end up with a shriveled mess if it doesn’t end up as a circular slice. Plus, these look and taste best if the slice is about 1/8”. To get that, you need a SHARP knife, as well as fresh oranges (again, see below).

Luckily, you can cut them in half after they bake, removing any odd sides! It was actually easier to stand them up that way!

Use fresh oranges

I used homegrown oranges that had been given to me a few weeks prior. While I’d kept them in the fridge, they still had become somewhat soft (though they were still perfectly safe to eat). This made it so hard to slice them! The actual fruit part will shrivel up during simmering, which may be fine depending on your plan for these. You can dice the peel if that’s all that’s left and use it in or on things like this orange spice loaf cake. I wanted them to go on top of cupcakes, so I had no use for diced candied oranges. So…learn from my mistakes and use fresh oranges!

You might also like:

Candied Ginger Orange Spice Loaf

Orange Olive Oil Cake

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White Chocolate Cranberry Orange Thumbprints

Easy Candied Orange Slices

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prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: 1 hour
bake time: 1-2 hours
total time: about 3 hours (mostly hands off)

Servings: about 24-30 orange slices

Ingredients:

2-3 large oranges (freshly picked/purchased)
2 cups sugar
1 ½ cups water

Instructions:

First, be sure to wash the oranges with fruit and vegetable wash or diluted white vinegar to remove wax, dirt, and pesticides, since you’ll be eating the peel.
Using your sharpest knife, cut the oranges into slices roughly ⅛ inch thick. A sharp knife and very fresh oranges makes this much easier. If you can’t quite get the last section to slice cleanly (because you have nothing left to hold onto), you can chop it up into any shape you’d like. Be careful to keep the fingers holding the orange curved to prevent cutting yourself.
In a large pot, bring the water and sugar to a simmer and cook until sugar is dissolved. Add the orange slices, adding a little more water if necessary. If you need to add a significant amount of water, be sure to add some more sugar as well.
Simmer, covered, for about 1 hour, until the fruit is translucent and the peel has softened but isn’t falling apart. If possible, very gently flip the top slices a few times as they simmer so they are evenly candied.
Preheat oven to 175 (or lowest setting). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Gently remove the slices to the cookie sheets, leaving a little space between each slice to help them dry evenly. Bake for 1-2 hours, until dry but still slightly tacky. The oranges should haven hardened enough to keep their shape but not so much that they can’t be bent and shaped. Basically, dried like candied fruit. :)
Let cool to room temperature for at least an hour before using or storing.
Optional: once dried, you can dip these in regular sugar, spiced sugar, or chocolate!

Enjoy! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 month.