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Baked Orange Chicken

Published : Updated : by Together As Family 52 Comments

This Baked Orange Chicken 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.
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Baked Crispy Orange Chicken | Chinease Food | Dinner Recipe | Orange Chicken | Baked Orange Chicken | 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. #dinnerrecipes #easydinnerrecipes #orangechicken #chicken #dinner #chineasefood

BAKED ORANGE CHICKEN BREAST RECIPE

When it comes to dinner recipes I like to keep it simple with easy, 30-minute recipes. But on those activity-free weeknights or weekends I love making this crispy baked orange chicken. 

Orange chicken is a restaurant favorite and now you can make it at home. Not only will it be healthier, but it's so much better and tastes fresh!

Baked Crispy Orange Chicken | Chinease Food | Dinner Recipe | Orange Chicken | Baked Orange Chicken | 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. #dinnerrecipes #easydinnerrecipes #orangechicken #chicken #dinner #chineasefood

HOW TO 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 the chicken 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 9x13 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. 

Baked Crispy Orange Chicken | Chinease Food | Dinner Recipe | Orange Chicken | Baked Orange Chicken | 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. #dinnerrecipes #easydinnerrecipes #orangechicken #chicken #dinner #chineasefood

MY TIPS FOR THIS RECIPE

-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 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.

-People always comment on the 1 hour cook time. Yes, it is correct. And no the chicken does not get tough and dry. When you fry the small chicken pieces you are just wanting to get a nice crispy coating. You do not need to cook it to temperature. 

Baked Crispy Orange Chicken | Chinease Food | Dinner Recipe | Orange Chicken | Baked Orange Chicken | 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. #dinnerrecipes #easydinnerrecipes #orangechicken #chicken #dinner #chineasefood

TRY THESE OTHER CHINESE FOOD RECIPES

Baked Crispy Orange Chicken | Chinease Food | Dinner Recipe | Orange Chicken | Baked Orange Chicken | 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. #dinnerrecipes #easydinnerrecipes #orangechicken #chicken #dinner #chineasefood

Baked Orange Chicken

This Baked Orange Chicken 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.
4.2 from 26 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: baked orange chicken, baked orange chicken breast recipe, baked orange chicken with orange juice, crispy orange chicken, orange chicken
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 403kcal
Author: Jessica

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 canola 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 vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • zest of one orange

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside. 
  • Heat the canola oil in a large skillet pan over medium-high heat.
  • 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. 
  • Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat with a fork. 
  • 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. 
  • ** Once chicken pieces are done place them on a plate lined with paper towels so they can drain. 
  • Add the crispy chicken pieces to the prepared 9x13 baking pan. 
  • 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. 
  • Bake, uncovered for 1 hour. Turning and mixing the chicken every 15 minutes to make sure it stays coated in the sauce. 
  • Serve over rice and garnish with green onions.

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. 

Nutrition

Calories: 403kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 172mg | Sodium: 1274mg | Potassium: 431mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 258IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 1mg

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.

Baked Crispy Orange Chicken | Chinease Food | Dinner Recipe | Orange Chicken | Baked Orange Chicken | 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. #dinnerrecipes #easydinnerrecipes #orangechicken #chicken #dinner #chinesefood

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Joanna @ Everyday Made Fresh

    i love orange chicken! I haven't had it in a while, I'm going to have to figure out how to do this one egg free for my daughter. I love the idea of baking it, the last time I did make it, it took forever!
    Reply

    • Together As Family

      I wish it didn't take so long, which is exactly why I don't make it often ;) But, the results are worth it. Egg-free?? I wish I could help.... My kids don't have any allergies so I'm clueless.
      Reply

    • Georgia

      I'm not sure how it would effect it but you could potentially try buttermilk!! Good luck!!
      Reply

    • Aymee

      We just did some coated in just corn starch and fried with out the egg for our son with allergies. Worked just fine :)
      Reply

  2. Bridget Morgan

    Oh my gosh, this is AMAZING!! Definitely a winner with my whole family; even my girls (they are extremely picky). Even though it takes a long time to make, I will most certainly add this to my monthly menu! I also toasted some sesame seeds and sprinkled those over the chicken. YUM! Thanks Jessica.
    Reply

    • Together As Family

      YAY!! I'm so happy you all loved it Bridget! It is a favorite in our house for sure. I agree, it takes more time to make but it is so worth it :) Thank you for coming back and leaving your feedback.
      Reply

  3. Karen

    Excellent and definitely worth a little more work to make it. Thanks for sharing!!
    Reply

    • Together As Family

      So happy to hear. Yes, it is a bit more work but it's totally worth it. Glad you enjoyed it :)
      Reply

  4. Barbara

    YES! I am quite sure people get tired of me endlessly talking about great recipes. But after picking out the best ingredients, destroying the kitchen (even without the help of a 2-year-old) to make the recipe, and getting it on the table is no small feat! Don't let anyone steal your bragging rights. I love to cook. I love to cook for someone that enjoys the food. I just pinned two chicken recipes from you and if they turn out for me you had better believe they will hear all about it! Sticky fingers and ALL. Thanks for the recipes AND helpful tips. Keep celebrating! Barb
    ★★★★★
    Reply

    • Together As Family

      Thanks Barbara. I love to cook too. Messy kitchen and kids running around and all!
      Reply

  5. Together As Family

    Yes, very good point about the flour for testing the oil. I meant to add that but I guess I forgot. For some reason, the chicken does not get over baked and tough. Hopefully you can actually try it for yourself and then you might think differently :) Thanks for your comment.
    Reply

  6. Ashley

    I haven’t made this yet, but what about just using an actual bottle of just orange sauce from the store?
    Reply

    • Together As Family

      I think so?? But I can't say for sure as I have never done that. I think the store bought sauce would be much thicker, so you may need more of it so it does not turn into a thick burnt texture in the oven.
      Reply

  7. Nastassia

    This was delicious!!! Even with a little less brown sugar. Do you think this can freeze well? I doubled the recipe and have so much chicken that I don’t think we will get through it fast enough. Thanks for a yummy dinner recipe!
    ★★★★★

    5 stars

    Reply

    • Together As Family

      I would guess that it would not freeze well just because of the coating on the chicken but I am no expert when it comes to freezing so it may be just fine. If I have leftovers I like to make wraps with them (lettuce, tomato, and whatever else you want) or use them for salads.
      Reply

  8. Abby

    I totally thought the same thing but am willing to give it a try as suggested with the hour oven cook time! I like to try recipes as written and then modify, if needed, the next time I make them. This blog is usually spot on though. :-)
    Reply

    • Together As Family

      So sweet of you. Thank you :) Yes the 1 hour cook time seems extreme but somehow it just works!
      Reply

  9. Diana K.

    My family loved it.
    ★★★★★

    5 stars

    Reply

  10. Faith

    Hello!! The chicken was a hit, but my sauce turned out very liquidy, which wasn’t what I expected. Is it supposed to be liquidy??
    Reply

    • Together As Family

      It is liquidy but once you add into the baking dish and let it bake for an hour with the chicken, it thickens up really nicely.
      Reply

  11. Julie Franklin

    I am super excited to try this! I plan to serve it this weekend for a dinner party. Can you tell me how many this serves?
    Reply

    • Together As Family

      It makes a 9x13 baking pan and I would safely say it feeds 6 adult sized portions. But that also could vary depending on if there are side dishes, rice, etc. As a main course with nothing else, it will feed 6 adult portions. Serve it with some rice and maybe egg rolls and it's a hearty meal for sure :) Hope that helps.
      Reply

    • Verenice

      Do you think it will make a big difference if I use vegetable oil instead of canola oil?
      Reply

  12. Verenice

    Do you think it will make a big difference if I use vegetable oil instead of canola oil?
    Reply

    • Together As Family

      No it won't. Vegetable or canola will work just fine.
      Reply

  13. LYN TONEY

    I've made this several times for my husband and grown boys. We all LOVE it. I'm going to the store to get the ingredients I don't have to make it again tonight! It is SO GOOD!

    5 stars

    Reply

  14. Family of 4

    I rarely feel compelled to leave a review, but this one is worth coming back to. My kids both loved it and that's saying a LOT. My husband and I worked together to prep. I popped it in the oven, played soccer with my kids, practiced piano, kids did homework, fed the chinchilla, kids showered, and dinner was ready. They were starving and had two helpings with a side of broccoli and stir fry rice. Ah-MAZING and so much better than take-out. I wonder if I can crisp the chicken one day, then pop them in the oven with sauce the next day. Thoughts?

    5 stars

    Reply

    • Together As Family

      So happy to hear this is a hit! And thank you for your review :) As far as crisping the chicken before, I don't think it would work because it would have to be stored in the fridge and doing that would make the crispy chicken soggy. But then again I've never tried it so I can't say for sure, but my best guess is that it would not be as crispy if you fried the chicken one day and cooked it in the next.
      Reply

  15. Jan

    Hi, can’t this be made using a different type of vinegar? If yes, what would you recommend? Thank you!
    Reply

    • Together As Family

      Any vinegar would work in this recipe. I would stay away from balsamic vinegar as that's a completely different flavor profile. Regular white vinegar, apple cider, rice wine vinegar would all work just fine.
      Reply

  16. Catherine

    This was amazing! I have to admit I was skeptical of the one hour baking time so I creeped a few comments first to see what others had done, and I followed the directions as written, turned out FABULOUSLY! I'm trying to stay a bit healthy so I just served it with brown rice and a green salad, it was fantastic. Also if anyone was wondering about how it freezes, I did freeze some to test it out and if you've ever bought trader joe's frozen orange chicken, that's kinda how it is after but it's more dry. Not the best from frozen, but also not the worst. Thank you for such a great recipe!
    Reply

    • Together As Family

      Thanks so much for your comment and your freezing experience. So happy to hear you loved this recipe!
      Reply

      • JoAnn

        How many calories does this dish have per serving? Looks delicious!
        Reply

        • Together As Family

          I don't do calorie counts for this type of dish. It's just way to hard to "accurately" say the calorie count because of the frying the chicken pieces in the oil. I am no dietitian so I don't want to share false information. Thanks for stopping by :)
          Reply

  17. Jane

    This is well worth the time and effort! Despite a few goofs on my part ( added granulated sugar and didn't realize it should have been brown sugar until too late and oopsie I forgot the vinegar lol) this turned out delicious! Next time though - and yes there WILL be a next time I'll only bake it for 45 minutes or so. When I stirred it at 30 minutes the sauce was starting to thicken and it was looking and smelling good - at the 45 minute mark the sauce was already burning around the edges of the pan. And though I only used 2 chicken breasts....one meal and leftover for just me...I made the full amount of sauce and there still wasn't much left. Next time i'll do a larger batch of sauce to be able to pour some over my rice. Thanks for a great recipe!
    ★★★★★

    5 stars

    Reply

    • Cynthia

      Wow! This turned out so delicious! It was definitely worth the effort and waiting an hour for it to cook in oven. It was so tender and flavorful. I do recommend doubling the sauce., that is what I did and it was perfect! This will be in our meal rotation from now on. Thank you so much!
      Reply

  18. Sheila Hass

    This was so good!
    Reply

  19. Deana Jones

    Enjoyed making this orange chicken today, doubled recipe and doubled juice. Family gave thumbs up so its going on my "make again" recipe book. I made the recipe exactly as written and it was great!
    ★★★★★

    5 stars

    Reply

    • Maggie

      It's a winner! My family devoured it! The only I wish, I did was save sauce on the side, because as the sauce thickens in the oven, it costs chicken. I wanted more sauce. Mmmmm... Thanks for the recipe! Worth the waiting time!
      Reply

  20. Sierra

    This turned out amazing! Next time I would try one 1 1/2-ing the recipe for just a little more sauce but it was great the way it was. Will be making again
    ★★★★★

    5 stars

    Reply

  21. Shannon

    This recipe was more labor intensive than I was ready for, but that being said it turned out amazing. I used tapioca flour instead of cornstarch that worked just fine. The chicken was super juicy and tender. I used one pack of chicken breasts and one pack of chicken thighs. Highly recommend this, just be ready for a little mess!
    Reply

    • Together As Family

      Yes, a mess and more prep time. I agree, I can only make this on a weekend when my husband is at the house. During the weekdays there is no way! haha :) Thanks so much for your comment.
      Reply

  22. Anna

    Wow this is a great recipe! I just substituted apple cider vinegar. I also brined the chicken breast beforehand to keep it tender while I was deciding what recipe to make... may not have been necessary. The chicken was tender and perfectly cooked and I appreciated not needing breadcrumbs as they are hard to find where I live. Everyone in my family approved and I will make again for sure. Thank you!
    ★★★★★
    Reply

  23. Dottie

    Chicken was overbaked, 30 minutes would have been plenty of time. Should have used by better judgement. The sauce was outstanding. Will make again but will not bake as long and will use only have as much orange zest.
    ★★★★☆
    Reply

    • Karen H

      I made sure to baste the chicken every 15 minutes in the sauce and mine turned out crispy and delicious, not dry at all. I was worried about the long length of cooking time, but I think it needs it to develop the rich, gooey sauce.
      ★★★★★
      Reply

      • Together As Family

        YES! Exactly this. As long as you are basting the chicken and stirring it around every 15 minutes, then it should not come out dry. I am always skeptical of the long cook time but every time it comes out just fine! Thanks so much for your comment and rating. I appreciate it.
        Reply

  24. Rachel

    Made this for the second time tonight! Great recipe
    ★★★★★
    Reply

  25. Abby

    I love your crispy honey chicken recipe- could I use that recipe with this sauce? Essentially making 2 batches and then tossing in 2 sauces - one honey chicken and one orange chicken??
    Reply

    • Together As Family

      Yes I think that would work just fine. Now I am curious too so you'll have to let me know! :)
      Reply

  26. Karen H.

    This was easy and delicious. I am going to cook for my guests tonight again as it was so tasty. The only ingredient I did not have was the garlic salt which I substituted for fresh garlic and a little more salt.
    ★★★★★

    5 stars

    Reply

    • Together As Family

      Fresh garlic is a great substitution! I hope your guests loved it.
      Reply

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  1. […] you love Chinese food try this BAKED ORANGE CHICKEN. Same concept as this one but with a sweet & tangy orange […]
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