Fabulous Orange Chicken
This orange chicken recipe made healthier, (baked not fried), is a tasty, family-friendly meal. The sauce is especially fabulous!
My husband loves Orange Chicken.
I found a knock-off Panda Express recipe that I thought I would try but as I started making it I realized it was going to be a disaster (I hate it when that happens) so I pulled out another version from Blog Chef, combined the two and the result was incredibly delicious.
Plus, I found a few work around areas that will make this dish very speedy in the future.
You can certainly deep fry the chicken for an authentic crispy coating but I actually prefer the lighter, easier version I’ve typed up below because the chicken really holds onto the delicious orange sauce.
And I don’t know about you, but I believe orange sauce is meant to be held on to.
Simple and delicious, this is one of our favorite meals!
What to Serve With This
- Baked Brown Rice
- Summer Corn Salad or Grilled Corn Salad
- Creamy 5-Cup Fruit Salad or fresh, seasonal fruit
Fabulous Orange Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch cubes
- ½ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons oil or butter
Sauce:
- 1 ½ cups water
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- ⅓ cup rice vinegar
- 2 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon finely minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons green onion
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350. In a shallow dish combine the flour, garlic powder and pepper. Dip each piece of chicken in flour mixture and coat evenly.
- Pour oil (or melt butter and pour) in a shallow baking dish, large enough to accommodate chicken in a single layer. Arrange chicken in pan and bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan combine water, fresh orange juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, orange zest and whisk over medium heat for a few minutes. Then stir in brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and green onion and let it come to a boil. Combine cornstarch with water and let it dissolve and add it to the sauce until thickened.
- After chicken has baked the 30 minutes, turn each piece over and pour 1/2 sauce mixture evenly over chicken. Bake another 30 to 40 minutes basting frequently.
- Serve chicken over rice with extra sauce on the side
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from Blog Chef
Perfect. I used whole chicken Maryland’s and browned the chicken first on top of the stove. Then I poured half a cup of orange sauce over the chicken, put the lid on, and baked for 30 minutes in the oven. Absolutely delicious.
This recipe was good. It is lower in fat for sure than the orange chicken you would order at a chinese restaurant. I made this twice, I followed the recipe the fist time. The second time I changed the way I cooked the chicken. After I flowered the chicken, I browned it quickly in a skillet using sesame oil.
I then finished cooking the chicken in the sauce for about 15 minutes in the oven at 350*This gave the chicken a little bit of that crisp texture without the deep fryer, than the sauce was perfect, over jasmine rice and steamed broccoli. YUM!
Thanks for the recipe.
Sooo good and a flavorful sauce! Decreased the sugar a bit and added cayenne for some spice!
Hi Mel! Tonight I made your Sweet & Sour Chicken (baked) and it was AMAZING so I came back to find more recipes. Our whole neighborhood is basically turning into a MKC fan club, we just love you! I found myself here at Orange Chicken and I was somewhat expecting it to be a very similar recipe to the Sweet & Sour but just a different sauce. In my journey to be a better and more knowledgable cook I would love to understand the differences (in particular, why corn starch on the Sweet and Sour Chicken but flour on the Orange Chicken and why the 2-step browning and then baking for Sweet and Sour but not here? Are these parts of the recipes swappable do you think or is there a pretty noticeable texture difference that you are going for between the two recipes?). I’d love to hear from you if you have the chance! Thanks for everything!
Hey Lindsay! Happy you are loving the recipes. Makes my day! About these two recipes, it really is just a matter of them being posted around the same time using two completely different recipes so that is why the method and ingredients (flour vs cornstarch) are different. Having said that, I think if you loved the sweet and sour chicken, you could use that method for coating and baking and use the sauce from the orange chicken for a different flavor. Does that make sense?
I’m a first time poster to you website Mel though I have visted many times. Always longing to try some of the fabulous recipes on here. My oldest son, who is 12 has been begging me to make Orange Chicken for awhile. I’ve always dimissed it b/c I’m on a diet or just because I am afraid that I’d eat the whole thing! Today that all changed. I finally made something of Mel’s!!! After years of sitting on the sidelines I did it and there are no regrets! This dish holds up to the name and more!!! I love the sauce. It was not difficult and I also liked that you baked the chicken instead of frying it. Eventually I will try your Sweet and Sour chicken and I plan to follow directions just as you have them. Thanks Mell for a truly great site. I’ve been a long time admirer. This dish did not disappoint.
I’m so happy to hear this, Monika. Thank you!
My family loves this!!! It’s amazing and mels instructions are super easy to follow!
I made this today for my family (3 girls 10, 12, 14, and my beautiful wife).
I am truly glad I found this recipe, without frying the chicken first. Trying to be health conscious and serving a delicious meal are sometimes difficult.
I also poured all the sauce on the chicken, not reserving the had it says to serve on the side. They absolutely loved it.
Thanks.
Can this dish be frozen??
I’ve never tried, sorry I’m not more help!
Made this tonight as i thought it might entice my 2 year old to eating some veggies and definately will be adding to my receipe stash. I think i will try halfing the sugar in attempt 2. Husband says “that was delicious” thinking id have left overs for tomorrow!!I did modify the receipe slightly by adding lots of veggies after id turned the meat over and added the sauce. Yum! Will be checking out some of your other receipes now.
I was looking for an orange sauce to use for my 2nd half of my Costco orange chicken. (We usually use all the sauce that comes with it for the first half and terriyaki sauce for the 2nd half. But my husband was really wanting orange chicken tonight.) Anyway, this was the perfect sauce to go with their chicken and the stir fried veggies I also cooked. A+, will totally make this again!
This is hands-down THE BEST ORANGE CHICKEN EVER!!!! Thank you so much for sharing this. I have been looking for years for the right balance of sweet, tangy, orange sauce. My husband, 6 children and I thank you for this recipe – what a huge hit in my house!!!
This was so yummy. I don’t think it is at all like Panda’s orange chicken (since theirs has zero orange flavor), but that orange tastes good. I accidentally added all the sauce, and since it turned out okay, I might keep doing it that way.
We love this recipe, Mel! So delicious. I usually cook the chicken on the stovetop to speed things up, and I like adding a little extra ginger plus some red pepper flakes to the orange sauce. Thanks for the yummy dinner!
Melanie,
I could be at your web site all day! I love reading new recipes and love making them from scratch. I like to know what’s in the food I eat. Thanks again, as this recipe for Orange Chicken sounds good. I have a recipe section on my computer for saved recipes, and today, created a Mel’s Homemade file just for collecting your recipes.
Thanks, Bonni! I hope you enjoy any of the recipes you make!
I never leave comments on recipes but have to on this one. My family thinks it’s better than Panda Express! This is the second meal I’ve made from your website and they all say “keep them coming”. Thanks, Mel. I know it must be time consuming but we appreciate it!
So happy to hear that, Jane!
I made this, but cut the chicken into chunks and coated with the flour mixture and then cooked in a wok, added broccoli and onion and sautéed, and then poured the sauce mixture over the top and let it thicken in the wok. It was seriously amazing flavor and a full meal in one pan. YUM!
Mel,
Please don’t use my whole name — I should have put jvogue in the first blank for “name.”
Joan – I usually use the white and green parts.
Mel, Do you use the whole green onions, or stop when you get to the green “chivey” part. It appears in the picture that you’re just using the white part.
Jvogue
Hi Mel — I think I understand, but just to clarify — the question mark after the 2 (regarding the chicken cubes) means “twenty-something” cubes? It’s a perfectionist thing, sorry if it’s a dopey question. 🙂
Hi Maureen, the ? Mark actually means 2-inch cubes. I’ll fix that on the recipe!
This was ok for us. I have made the firecracker chicken and sweet and sour chicken, plus about a dozen other recipes from this site that my family LOVES!!! From that I assumed we would likevth
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on camera bag purse. Regards
My husband is not a fan of Asian food but I made this tonight and he thought it was great. I have been hungry for this since I saw a pin on Pinterest but didn’t want to fry the chicken. Thank you so much for this recipe. It was wonderful.
I tried this for supper tonight. Yum. This is definitely a keeper! Thanks.
I made this recipe a while back and I must have doubled the sauce recipe so I had some sauce left over. I froze it in a jar to await inspiration. Let me tell you that I baked some frozen meatballs in the sauce, served it with rice and vegetables and it was WONDERFUL! My family loved the first meal AND the second. I love double-whammies like that! 🙂
I love this chicken..in fact I haven’t made anything on this site that I haven’t loved. Tonight when I made it, I changed it up a bit (which I never do, because I’ve learned you’ve already perfected it and even when I see an ingredient, I’m not sure I want to add-I always just tell myself that Mel knows best-and I’ve never been wrong on that one). But tonight I replaced the butter with cocnut oil (have you cooked with that stuff yet? Hello-yummio!!!!) I have to say it took it up a notch in our book and I didn’t think that was possible!!!