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Move over take out menus, this homemade Orange Chicken Recipe is here and couldn’t be more flavorful and easy to make. This chicken recipe is full of savory and orange citrus flavors that really pack a punch! Why settle for fast food when you can make your very own orange chicken at home? Panda Express has nothing on us! 🙂 Serve over rice or other Chinese inspired sides, like my Chow Mein or Veggie Stir Fry.
What is Orange Chicken?
Orange Chicken is a popular staple menu item for many Chinese food restaurants. Bite size chicken pieces are battered in a corn starch/flour mixture and fried and toss with a tangy orange sauce. My orange sauce consists of orange juice, soy sauce, ginger, sugar, rice vinegar and, best of all…fresh orange zest, which really brings out that orange flavor! Making it at home is such a game changer. This is the BEST Orange Chicken you will ever have!!
How to Make Orange Chicken
For full recipe details, see the printable recipe card down below. Here is what you can expect when making this easy orange chicken recipe:
Make the Orange Chicken Sauce
Heat sesame oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add fresh garlic and sauté for a couple minutes until fragrant, being careful not to burn.
Add sugar, orange juice, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and fresh ginger. Give it a stir.
Add cornstarch slurry and increase heat to bring to a boil. Stir in orange zest.
Keep your delicious orange sauce on the lowest heat while you fry chicken, stirring occasionally.
Fry the Chicken
Heat oil in large dutch oven pan or deep fryer. Beat eggs and place in a shallow dish for dredging.
Combine flour and cornstarch in a 2nd shallow dish. Cut boneless skinless chicken breast into bite size pieces.
Dredge diced chicken pieces in egg first, then flour/cornstarch mixture.
Drop the pieces of chicken one by one into hot oil and fry for 2-3 minutes, flipping chicken over in oil halfway through until it’s golden brown. This will need to be done in batches to avoid overcrowding.
Remove crispy chicken pieces to a plate lined with paper towels to soak up any excess oil.
Pro Tip: Use a neutral oil for frying, like peanut oil or avocado oil. Save your good olive oil for something else…this isn’t the place.
Toss Chicken + Sauce Together
Toss cooked chicken pieces in orange sauce to thoroughly coat. Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions. Serve hot over white rice.
What Is the Best Chicken to Use?
There isn’t a cut of chicken that is better than the others for making orange chicken. I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs. I like that chicken thighs are slightly juicer than chicken breast tends to be. They are also very forgiving if you have a tendency to overcook. Still, boneless skinless chicken breasts will work fine as well. Feel free to use what you prefer or have on hand.
What to Serve with Orange Chicken
Since Orange Chicken packs a huge punch in the flavor department, I like to pair this with plain white rice. You can also use cauliflower rice, or brown rice if you prefer. Other sides dishes that go great with orange chicken is my Ramen Stir Fry or Better Than Take-Out Fried Rice. You really can’t go wrong with either choice. Serve Crab Rangoon as a delicious appetizer if you’re looking to really wow your family.
If you’re looking for something lighter or just aren’t in the mood for rice, then steamed vegetables are your best choice, especially steamed broccoli.
And if you want to make your Chinese orange chicken even more flavorful, you can add a sprinkle of chopped green onions on top, or if you want to intensify the flavor of fresh oranges, you can add more orange zest or the orange peel.
Storing Leftover Orange Chicken
Are you wondering what you can do with the remaining chicken? You have two options, depending on when you want to eat it next – if in the next few days, you can refrigerate it, and if later on, you can freeze it.
- Refrigerate – Store leftover Orange Chicken in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days. To reheat, place in a skillet over low heat.
- Freezing – Orange Chicken freezes great and stays fresh for 3 months. Allow to thaw before reheating.
If you aren’t sure whether you’ll have time to prepare my orange chicken recipe on the day you want to serve it, you can always meal prep.
- Make Ahead – If you’re short on time, frying the chicken before needed is an option. Make the orange sauce and toss in chicken. Over medium heat, reheat the chicken pieces in the sauce until they are warmed through.
Orange Chicken FAQ
Yes. While freshly squeezed out juice would be ideal for this orange chicken sauce, store-bought orange juice will work as well.
Yes, just substitute regular flour for gluten-free flour and soy sauce for a gluten-free one, like Tamari.
If you follow my recipe to the tee, then your orange chicken will not be spicy. However, if you want to add a bit of heat to your dish, you can add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
Yes, you can – in this case, instead of using chicken, you can use plant-based protein, such as tofu.
More Chinese Inspired Dishes to Try!
- Kung Pao Chicken (Family Favorite!)
- Easy Pork Potstickers
- Beef and Broccoli
- Cauliflower Fried Rice
- Pineapple Fried Rice with Pork Medallions
So, the next time you get a craving for orange chicken, skip the take-out line and make it at home!!
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! It’s in our meal rotation on the regular. The printable recipe card is below. Be sure to save, print, bookmark or share this recipe. Have a great weekend, friends! 🙂
If you make this recipe, I would really appreciate it if you would give it a star rating and leave your review in the comments! If you have a picture of your finished dish, post it on Instagram using the hashtag #laurenslatest and tagging me @laurens_latest.
Orange Chicken
Ingredients
for sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 inch ginger fresh, grated
- 1 cup orange juice freshly squeezed, about 2 oranges
- orange zest from 2 oranges
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with water to create a slurry for thickening
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds for garnish
- 2 scallions chopped, for garnish
for chicken
- oil neutral oil for frying
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
Instructions
for sauce
- Heat sesame oil in pot over medium heat.
- Add garlic and saute for a couple minutes until fragrant, being careful not to burn.
- Add sugar, orange juice, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and ginger. Give it a stir.
- Add cornstarch slurry and increase heat to bring to a boil.
- Stir in orange zest.
- Keep on the lowest heat while you fry chicken, stirring occasionally.
for chicken
- Heat oil to 350° F in large dutch oven pan or deep fryer.
- Place beaten eggs in a dredging pan.
- Combine flour and cornstarch in a 2nd dredging pan.
- Dredge chicken pieces in egg first, then flour/cornstarch mixture.
- Drop chicken pieces one by one into hot oil and fry for 2-3 minutes, flipping around in oil halfway through. This will need to be done in batches to avoid overcrowding.
- Remove chicken pieces to a paper towel lined platter.
- Toss cooked chicken pieces in orange sauce to thoroughly coat.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions and serve hot over a bed of white rice.
Great recipe, came out excellent!
Ellen, I’m so glad!!
Darn it, forgot to give a rating on my review. 5 stars!! 10/10 recommend.
Thank you Elizabeth, I appreciate it! 🙂
I LOVE this recipe!! I love a lot of your recipes, but this one is one of my all-time favorites. I’ve looked for a good orange chicken recipe for a long time and this one does not miss! It turned out exactly as pictured when I followed the directions. We just made this last week and I am making again tonight. After losing most of my taste and smell from a COVID infection many months ago, I can actually taste this and that makes me so happy. Thank you so much.
Great to hear Elizabeth!! 🙂
Hi, i made this last night and it is very flavoful great tangy orange flavor.
When i cook i always prep all the ingredients first before i start to cook.
However your first instruction is : Heat sesame oil and i didnt have any ready since i didnt see it in the ingredients. I used some of the oil for the chicken but i’m sure the sesame would have added a great taste to the sauce.
take care
Deanna
Hi Deanna, thank you for catching that! Just added to the recipe card ingredients list.