This baked orange chicken is tastes better than any Chinese take-out you’ll get at a restaurant. Crispy coating of egg & cornstarch and then it’s baked in a sweet and delicious orange sauce. This is a dish that you will want to make over and over again.
post updated and republished July 2018
Do you guys every get excited about food that you just made?!? I may be the only weird one like that, but I literally could not stop gushing about this baked orange chicken. It was so delicious! One of those things that I could not believe that I actually made.
The only time that I’ve really ever had Chinese food is at the mall or as takeout from a nearby restaurant. I’ve never even attempted to make it at home until this recipe. Now I don’t think I will ever get takeout again because my entire family is obsessed over this baked orange chicken.
I will be completely honest with you and say that this recipe does require more work/prep than most other recipes I will post on here. This is definitely NOT a 30-minute meal.
But it is an amazing dinner that is worth the work. I promise.
How do you make baked orange chicken?
- Cut up 4 chicken breasts into small, bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle some salt and pepper over the chicken and mix it together to make sure that the pieces get coated.
- Place them into a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and add the cornstarch. Close the bag and shake to coat the chicken in the cornstarch.
- Crack 4 eggs into a bowl and in several batches coat the chicken pieces in the egg and then place in the pan of hot oil and let it cook.
- You do not need to let it cook all the way through. Only about 2 minutes on each side. You’re looking to get a nice crust on the chicken not to have it cook through.
- Let drain on a plate lined with a paper towel and do another batch.
- Place all the crispy chicken pieces into a 9×13 baking dish. Mix up the simple orange sauce and pour over the chicken pieces.
- Bake for 1 hour, stirring and re-coating the pieces every 15 minutes.
- Serve over rice and garnish with green onions and orange slices.
I know it may seem like it’s too much work. But, I promise it’s actually easier than what the long ingredient list and instructions read like. It will be worth all your efforts.
Let’s just say that my husband, who loves Panda Express’s Orange Chicken, says that this homemade version is even better 🙂
Tips for making Baked Orange Chicken
- Be sure and cut the chicken into small pieces. You don’t want them too large or else they will take forever to get that crispy coating. I aim for small, bite-sized pieces.
- I have to do about 4 batches of cooking the chicken in the oil when I make this recipe.
- I use prepared Orange Juice, I do not juice my own orange for the juice. But, you could do that if you wanted to.
- The recipe will not have tons of extra sauce so if you want it really saucy then maybe make 1 1/2 of the orange sauce recipe and reserve some for drizzling on the chicken when you serve it over rice. We like it as is so I just make the recipe as directed.
Try these other Chinese food favorite dinners
- crispy honey chicken
- slow cooker orange chicken
- baked sweet n’ sour chicken
- crispy Asian honey chicken
- pineapple teriyaki chicken meatballs
Baked Crispy Orange Chicken
Ingredients
crispy chicken
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1/2 cups cornstarch
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup canole oil
orange sauce
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 2/3 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinager
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- zest of one orange
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
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Heat the canola oil in a large skillet pan over medium-high heat.
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Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and sprinkle salt and pepper over the chicken pieces. Add chicken pieces to a gallon-sized Ziploc bag (or you can do this in a bowl) and add the cornstarch. Close the Ziploc bag and shake to mix it together and coat the chicken pieces in cornstarch.
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Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat with a fork.
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Take a handful of cornstarch coated chicken pieces out of the bag and place in the egg. Coat both sides of each piece and then place in the hot oil. Let cook for 2-3 minutes per side. You just want a nice crispy crust, you do not have to cook them all the way through. Repeat with the remining chicken pieces in several batches. It takes me about 4 batches to cook them.
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** Once chicken pieces are done place them on a plate lined with paper towels so they can drain.
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Add the crispy chicken pieces to the prepared 9x13 baking pan.
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Combine all the ingredietns for the orange sauce into a small bowl and stir with a whisk until mixed together. Pour over the chicken and stir to coat all the chicken pieces in the sauce.
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Bake, uncovered for 1 hour. Turning and mixing the chicken every 15 minutes to make sure it stays coated in the sauce.
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Serve over rice and garnish with green onions.
Recipe Notes
I just use prepared orange juice, I do not try to fresh squeeze it from oranges. You can do that if you want to.
An easy way to test if your oil is hot enough to use : grab a small pinch of flour and drop it into the oil, if it sizzles and bubbles then the oil is hot enough to fry and you're good to go.
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