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This Orange Chicken recipe tastes just like the popular Panda Express dish, but made with simple ingredients right at home. Tender chicken in tangy sauce beats restaurant takeout any day!
Featured with this recipe
Orange Chicken takes center stage whenever I decide to have a Chinese food night. This may not be the exact Panda Express Orange Chicken recipe, but our copycat recipe comes pretty close. I rarely get Chinese takeout anymore because it’s so much cheaper to make it at home, and it tastes so fresh.
My favorite part of this meal is the homemade tangy orange sauce. The vibrant orange flavor complements the tender chicken chunks perfectly.
How to Make Orange Chicken
Don’t be scared off by the long list of ingredients. I promise you have most of these on hand.Just a little of this and a little of that adds up to one incredibly easy orange chicken recipe.
- First, trim any fat from the chicken and then cut it into bite size pieces. In a resealable plastic bag or in a large bowl, combine the cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Crack the egg into a small bowl. Whisk the egg with fork until the yolk and egg white are blended. Now dredge the chicken by dipping it into the egg mixture then the coating it with the cornstarch mixture. It’s easiest to do this by dipping all of the chicken pieces at once and adding them to a resealable plastic bag then shaking the bag until all of the chicken is coated evenly. Once the chicken is dipped into the egg, it can also be rolled into the cornstarch mixture in a bowl to coat one at a time.
- Next, heat the oil in a deep fryer or wok to 375 degrees F. Deep-fry chicken in batches until completely cooked. Remove it to drain on paper towels.
- Then, make the sauce and pour it over the cooked chicken.
- Lastly, gently stir to coat the chicken in sauce.
Lighten It Up
Because this recipe is fried, it may not be considered the healthiest Panda Express copycat recipe (see our other copycat options below). If you are looking for a healthier alternative, instead of frying, heat a little oil in a large skillet and cook chicken on each side for 5-7 minutes or until cooked through and THEN add the sauce. You can also just fry until the chicken is cooked on the outside and then place the chicken on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until cooked through (165 degrees F). You will still get a little bit of a crispy texture and still have all the flavor! Try reducing the sugar amounts or even use a sugar substitute (may affect sweetness and flavor).
Air Fryer Panda Express Orange Chicken
To fry your chicken in the air fryer, you just need to make sure you are coating your chicken with cooking spray before it cooks. All air fryers are different so check the correct temperatures and times for chicken pieces. We cook ours at 350 for about 10-12 minutes on each side, spraying any parts of the chicken with dry flour with cooking spray while turning. Just make sure the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F before serving.
Gluten Free Panda Express Orange Chicken
Because we use a cornstarch coating for this recipe instead of flour, it is REALLY close to being gluten free. However, as you can see in the recipe below, we use soy sauce in the orange sauce, which contains gluten. The good news is, GF soy sauce is easy to find. Just replace regular soy sauce with a gluten-free brand and you should be good to go. As always, check labels on everything to make sure you’re working with gluten free ingredients.
Frequently Asked Questions
Orange Chicken is a variation of General Tso’s Chicken (which IS an authentic Chinese dish). Orange Chicken is definitely “Americanized” and much sweeter, made with brown sugar and soy sauce. If you are able to find an Orange Chicken in China, it will probably be “Orange PEEL Chicken” which is a similar dish that is flavored with orange rinds, creating a much tangier flavor.
Originally, Orange Chicken wasn’t breaded and the sauce was made with leftover orange and lemon peels. So it was citrusy, but kind of bitter, not sweet like it has become today.
Generally, orange chicken is made with dark meat, which is juicier and more flavorful than white meat. But you can use whichever you prefer when you make it at home.
Store leftover orange chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Please do not reheat in the microwave! The chicken will no longer be crisp. Stir-fry leftovers in a wok or skillet with a little bit of canola oil or sesame oil over medium-high heat. You can also reheat orange chicken in an air fryer for great results!
What to Serve with Orange Chicken
We pull out all the stops when putting together a Chinese feast. Sure, you can make things simple by serving this dish alongside some steamed broccoli or stir-fry vegetables and steamed white or brown rice, but if you’re wanting to wow friends and family with a scrumptious Asian-inspired spread, try a few of these delightful recipes:
Orange Chicken Recipe
Video
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts
- 1 cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 egg
- vegetable oil, for frying
Orange Sauce
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 ¼ cup water, divided
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ⅓ cup rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons chopped green onion, plus more for garnish
- red pepper flakes, to taste
Instructions
Chicken
- Cut chicken into bite-size pieces. Combine cornstarch, salt, and pepper in a resealable plastic bag. In a small bowl, use a fork to beat the egg until the yolk and egg white are blended.
- Dip chicken pieces into beaten egg. Shake in cornstarch mixture to coat.
- Heat oil in a deep fryer or wok to 375 degrees F. Deep-fry chicken in batches until completely cooked. Remove it to drain on paper towels.
Orange Sauce
- In a small bowl, combine cornstarch with ¼ cup water and mix thoroughly. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan combine the remaining 1 cup water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Whisk ingredients together over medium heat for a few minutes.
- Stir in brown sugar, orange zest, ginger, garlic, and green onion. Bring to a boil Slowly stir the cornstarch mixture into the sauce until it thickens.
- Place fried chicken in a large bowl and pour sauce over the top.
- Fold the sauce into the chicken or toss gently to coat. If desired, add red pepper flakes and garnish with green onions.
This is so good, I had a hard time not eating it all before serving it to my husband. So much better than take away.
This tasted just like Panda Express! My family thought I got take out haha. Thanks for a great dub for the real thing.
Glad I can make this delicious orange chicken at home and no need for me to rush to the mall to get my Asian food fix! YUM!
This is so good! Better than takeout!
This is exactly what we were looking for! It’s so tasty and taste better than take out!
My family loves Chinese food and all things chicken! This copycat orange chicken recipe is a real winner!
Can you make the sauce and refrigerate for several days before using?
I don’t see why not!
How do you think this would be with half the sugar? We’ve cut out most sugar and wondering if 1/2 cup would still taste ok?
SHA-ZAAM, this is off the chart fantastic. We just finished having it for dinner. Thank you sooooo much!
Used an orange off my tree, didn’t have fresh ginger so used ground and didn’t have green onions so threw in some dehydrated. I fried the chicken in my big skillet all together, just kept turning until done, drained the oil and poured the sauce on and stirred. I don’t like it hot or spicey so didn’t add the pepper flakes. So yummy and better than Panda ???? Will make again!
Yum! That all sounds delicious. Fresh oranges from your own tree? Yes please! That sounds amazing!
I got everything to make this recipe but don’t have a deep fryer or wok. Suggestions?
A large skillet would work 🙂
I made this and I have to say I was VERY impressed. Never new I could make something like this in my own kitchen and it taste as if I ordered it in a 5* restaurant. Everyone thought I’d ordered out. Thank you. It will BE made often.
I am not sure how I happened to come upon this website/blog? But I am excited to try the orange chicken. I have looked at some of these question/answers and glad to see that you are a part of them. That is something I always hope to see! I will look at your whole blog tomorrow (when then the sun is new for me 🙂 ) and enjoy it all then, I am sure. Thank you very much! From an old lady and her husband. Linda B
Hi Linda, Thank you for visiting our site! We hope you enjoy it!