Easy Orange Chicken Recipe

Name: Easy Orange Chicken Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 6 whole boneless chicken thighs (or 2 lbs. of chicken tenderloins ); ¼ cup all purpose flour; 1 tbsp. corn starch; 1 tsp. black pepper (or less to taste, fresh ground); 1 tsp. onion powder; 1/2 tsp. ginger powder; 1/2 tsp. salt; 1 tsp. paprika (to add color to the chicken); Vegetable oil for frying; ¾ cup fresh orange juice; 1½ tbsp. corn starch; 2 tbsps. vegetable oil; 3 tbsps. low sodium soy sauce; 1½ tbsp. rice vinegar (or white vinegar); 2 tbsps. brown sugar; ½ tbsp. grated ginger; 2 cloves fresh garlic (minced); ½ tsp. black pepper (fresh ground); 1 tsp. orange zest; Chili flakes (optional to add heat)

4.98 from 194 votes

Rate this Recipe

Total 30

Cook Time 15

Serves servings

By: Mariam Ezzeddine | December 17, 2019This post may contain affiliate links, read my disclosure policy for details

The Panda Express Chinese take-out classic, made in your own kitchen. This delicious and Easy Orange Chicken recipe is our family’s favorite homemade Chinese take out recipe. It’s made with crispy homemade boneless chicken bites that are covered with an authentic homemade orange chicken sauce you will love! This dish comes together in just 30 minutes!

Orange chicken recipe served on a bed of white rice with chop sticks on the side.

If you enjoy the Chinese Orange Chicken from places like Panda Express or P.F. Chang’s, then you will not only love this recipe but prefer it. It has the same authentic flavor of the classic takeout orange chicken but costs less. It’s definitely a win-win in our home.

If you love making Asian inspired recipes, check out some of my other takeout recipes you can make at home. My favorites are Easy Beef Lo Mein Noodles, Healthy Orange Chicken, Teriyaki Salmon Stir Fry and General Tso’s Chicken.

Why you’ll love this Panda Express Copycat recipe

Made with delicious Homemade Orange sauce. This sweet and savory sauce is made at home with fresh orange juice and ingredients you actually know.
An easy stir fry. Easy to prep and made mostly with kitchen staple ingredients, this easy Orange Chicken goes from pantry to table in 30 mins.
Better than takeout. You will not miss takeout with this richly flavored orange chicken on the menu. Half the price and none of the guilt with extra added ingredients!

How to make Orange Chicken Sauce

This is the most important part of the whole dish. Getting the right orange chicken sauce flavor completes this dish!

Orange Sauce Ingredients

Here is what orange chicken sauce is made of:

Orange juice: I like using fresh squeezed orange juice for this recipe but you are welcome to use store bought squeezed orange juice.
Soy Sauce: Grab the low-sodium. Can replace with amino liquids.
Vinegar: You can use rice vinegar or regular white vinegar.
Spices: Black pepper, fresh ground preferably.
Thickening Agent: Corn Starch is used to thicken the sauce.
Sweetener: Brown sugar is added to sweeten up the sauce but you can use honey if you like.
Herbs: Fresh garlic and grated ginger. Adding those 2 ingredient as fresh, makes a whole difference.
Spicy: If you would like to make the recipe spicy, you can always add cayenne pepper or chili flakes to the sauce. (optional)
Oil: Vegetable or can use sesame oil. I am not a huge fan of sesame oil’s taste so I opt out and use vegetable oil. You can also use tasteless coconut oil.

Cooking the simple orange sauce

To prepare the orange chicken sauce, bring all the sauce ingredient together in bowl or cup and whisk to well.

orange sauce mix in a measure cup with a whisk inside the cup.

Heat up a skillet or frying pan and simmer the sauce on medium-low heat until it thickens up.

orange chicken sauce cooked in a white skillet.

How to make Easy Orange Chicken Recipe

To prepare the chicken, cut the boneless chicken thighs or tenders into small pieces, about 1/2 inch long. You do not want the pieces to be too big
Toss the chicken pieces in a bowl and coat with the flour, corn starch, black pepper, onion powder, salt and ginger powder. I also add a little bit of paprika to make the color of the chicken come out a little more orange after frying.

small cubed chicken in a glass bowl after being mixed with the flour and spices.

In a deep fraying pan, fry the pieces of chicken leaving some space between them to avoid over crowding. They will only need to be fried for about 2-3 minutes at the most until golden brown, because the pieces are small. Over cooking the chicken makes them chewy so be careful there. I
Note: If you cut the chicken pieces bigger than 1/2 inch cubes, add more cooking time. I do not recommend using bigger pieces. They are supposed to be bite sizes.

fried chicken bites over the orange chicken sauce in a white skillet before mixing.

Once the chicken is done cooking, drain well using a spider strainer spoon and transfer over to the cooked sauce. Toss well with the sauce and allow the chicken and the sauce to cook together for another 1-2 minutes.

fried chicken bites over the orange chicken sauce in a white skillet after mixing with the sauce.

Serve this simple Orange Chicken Recipe with some homemade Lo Mein Noodles or over white rice. Garnish with sesame seeds and chopped green onions to add color (optional).

Orange chicken recipe served on a bed of white rice with chops sticks on the side.

Recipe notes and tips

Use a large non-stick pan/skillet or wok.
Opt. out for skinless boneless chicken tenderloins if you don’t like thighs.
Cut your chicken into even, bite sized, pieces. This way they’ll cook evenly.
If you prefer a milder sauce flavor, you can easily adjust the amount of orange zest in the recipe.
You can reserve some of the sauce to place on rice or double up on the sauce ingredients to make it extra saucy.
Make sure your skillet is nice and hot.
You can use store bought orange juice is you have to but don’t skip the orange zest.

FAQs

What is a good side dish for orange chicken?

I personally think that orange chicken is best served over rice or with Lo Mein noodles. For the rice options, you can use regular white rice or fried rice. Other similar noodles to Lo Mein or similar noodles are also great choices.

How can I make orange chicken healthier?

You can make a few swaps to this recipes to make it a bit healthier. For the chicken, you can air fry them instead of deep frying them. You can also swap brown sugar for honey. Or try making my Healthy Orange Chicken recipe.

What is orange chicken sauce made of?

Most Orange Chicken Sauces are made with orange juice, rice vinegar, fresh garlic, brown sugar, soy sauce, fresh ginger, red chili flakes (optional), and orange zest.

Is homemade Orange Chicken better than take out?

Everything made at home is always cleaner than take out. So the answer for me would be yes. Anything you make at home is always made with the best quality of ingredients and is not stuffed with additives and preservatives. This orange chicken recipe is made with simple ingredients and made in just 30 minutes so you wont have any problems.

What is the difference between General Tso Chicken and Orange Chicken?

Both are made with coated, crispy chicken with sweeter sauce, but general Tso’s chicken is more of a chili based sauce and it is a bit darker in color. Orange chicken usually has a lighter-colored sweet, sour, savory glaze. It’s not as spicy because dried red chilies aren’t use in this dish.

How can I store and reheat Orange Chicken?

Any leftover orange chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3- 4 days. Since the sauce is on the chicken, overtime, the chicken will not be as crisp as it was when served immediately. You can also freeze orange chicken in an air tight container for up to 1 month.

To reheat, you can make a new batch of orange sauce and warm the chicken in a skillet with the sauce or simply heat the leftovers in a microwave.

Similar Takeout recipes

I hope you enjoy all the recipes I share with you, including this delicious Easy Orange Chicken recipe. I hope you try it, enjoy it, rate it and share it with your friends and family!

If you try this recipe and like it, please leave a rating and use my hashtag to share it with me on INSTAGRAM so I can see your delicious recreations! Also, follow me at Cookin’ With Mima on FACEBOOK |INSTAGRAM |PINTEREST for all of my latest social posts and recipes.