Orange Chicken - quick and easy Chinese dish with chicken in a citrus sauce. Perfect served with rice and steamed vegetables.
Citrus and chicken go so well together in this dish, just like in my Firecracker Chicken. I serve it with my perfect Instant Pot Rice.
If you are a fan of quick takeout inspired dinners, like my Sesame Chicken, you will love this Orange Chicken. I skipped the heavy breading and frying the meat to simply saute it in oil and then simmer in a delicious honey orange sauce. It's easy yet bursting in flavor. A perfect quick meal for busy weekdays! This Orange Chicken is as quick and easy as browning the chicken, mixing the sauce ingredients in one bowl and letting everything simmer together. Serve with rice and steamed vegetables, like broccoli or Asian vegetable mix for a simple yet flavorful meal. You can use this recipe for meal prep and keep portions in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Ingredients
- boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
- orange juice
- honey
- low-sodium soy sauce
- apple cider vinegar
- minced garlic
- orange zest
- cornstarch
Instructions
- Start by dicing the chicken into bite-size pieces. You can use boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl or a measuring cup, combine orange juice, honey (or brown sugar), soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, garlic, ginger and orange zest. Whisk well. Add cornstarch and whisk well. Set aside.
- Heat up olive oil in a skillet. Add chicken and cook until done and starts to brown. Add sauce to the pan and cook on medium-low heat until it thickens.
- Serve with rice and steamed vegetables.
Panda Express copycat
To make this Orange Chicken just like the restaurant, you need to coat the chicken pieces in a simple breading. Mix 1 large egg with 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. Dip each chicken piece in the batter, then cook on the pan or fry in oil. Follow the recipe below for the sauce.
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What to serve with orange chicken?
- You can serve this Orange Chicken with rice and steamed broccoli, as shown in the photos.
- You can add Asian vegetable mix right to the pan with chicken and sauce, stir fry style.
- You can skip the rice and serve the saucy chicken in lettuce wraps for an even healthier, low-carb meal.
Can I make it ahead of time?
Yes! You can make this chicken two ways: cook the chicken, cool completely and store in a container, in your fridge. At the same time, cook the sauce in a saucepan and keep in a jar in the fridge. When ready, heat up everything together in a skillet and serve over rice. You can also follow the recipe and cook chicken and sauce together, cool completely and store in the fridge for up to 2 days. The sauce will thicken so you may need to add a little water to it while reheating.
How to store leftovers?
Keep any leftovers of this dish in a container with lid, in the fridge for up to 4 days.
More Asian dinner recipes:
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Orange Chicken
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- zest of ½ orange
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated ginger
Instructions
- Cut chicken into bite size pieces, season with salt and pepper.
- Heat up olive oil in skillet. Add chicken and cook until done and it starts to brown.
- In a mixing bowl or measuring glass cup, whisk together orange juice, honey, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, garlic, ginger, orange zest and cornstarch. Whisk well.
- Add to chicken and cook on medium-low heat until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat.
- Serve with steamed vegetables and rice or in lettuce cups.
Notes
- You can use boneless skinless chicken thighs in this recipe.
- The nutrition value does not include rice and broccoli.
- Please note, that the nutrition value can vary depending on what product you use. The information below is an estimate. Always use calorie counter you are familiar with.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted on January 11th, 2019 and updated on January 14th, 2020.
Jacki says
Hoping to try this very soon! If making the sauce ahead of time, do you think this would work well freezing just the extra sauce in jars?
Beverly says
There are only 2 of us. Can I freeze half after it's made.
Anna says
Absolutely! Just make sure to cool it completely first, then place it in a freezer bag.
Dakota Tannery says
I used fresh orange zest, don’t do it. The flavoring overpowered the taste of the actual sauce.
Krissy Allori says
Orange chicken is a favorite of my sons. I loved being able to make this for him. It was good and really easy to make.
Anna says
That's wonderful, Krissy! Thank you!
Beth says
This was so tasty! Used chicken breast and it came out great!
Anna says
Awesome! Thank you, Beth!
Angelia Carter says
Do you think any other types of meat can go with the sauce
Laura Reese says
Thanks for such a delicious recipe. The flavors are so good. We will make it again.
Anna says
Thank you, Laura!
Kara says
I added peppers and thinly sliced carrots. Oh goodness, so yummy!
Anna says
Perfect! Thanks, Kara!
Grace says
Hi, just wondering how much ginger and what type to use. Ingredients list doesn’t have it but your blog. Sauce mix tastes great so far, just wondering if the ginger should be fresh or powder? Love your site, already picked a few more recipes to try.
Thanks Grace
Anna says
Hi Grace! I apologize for that. It should be 1/2 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger or 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger. I hope this helps! PS: If you like the sauce already, you can skip the ginger.
Joan says
Made this tonight. It was delicious and easy and we would make it again for sure. My husband did his with chicken thighs and I did my with chicken breast. We doubled the sauce so we could each add to our pans. We also added carrots, celery, onions, sugar snap peas, and water chestnuts. We garnished with sliced green onions. The dish was perfect and tasty and we loved the sauce. Thank you!