A homemade take-out-style favorite made with less oil and sugar. This orange chicken takes less than 45 minutes and will satisfy those take-out cravings – it’s made with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, fresh orange juice, and a touch of sugar for sweetness. Serve it with rice to make it complete.
Orange Chicken
You probably already know that cooking favorite take-out dishes at home means we know exactly what’s in it – in this case, flavorful boneless skinless chicken thighs and a delicious orange sauce made with fresh squeezed orange juice, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and just enough brown sugar to give it a little sweetness without it being overbearing. It’s my favorite way to make orange chicken – also known as a take-out guilty pleasure.
And, as is the case with a lot of take-out favorites, homemade orange chicken really doesn’t take too long to make, so be sure to prep all of the ingredients before you get started cooking – it goes fast and you don’t want to be worried about squeezing an orange while the chicken is cooking. Get everything ready to go at the start and it will be smooth sailing.
Some Ingredients You’ll Need
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs: Thighs have a higher fat content than chicken breasts, which means they don’t dry out as fast while they cook and have a bit more flavor, but you can substitute boneless, skinless chicken breasts if you like them better.
- Cornstarch: I like to lightly coat the chicken before cooking it and I also add some to the sauce so it thickens as it cooks.
- Red bell pepper: The bell pepper cooks in the pan after the chicken and adds a pop of color and freshness.
- Oranges: fresh oranges are best for this orange chicken recipe and you will need squeeze three to four to get one cup of juice. I like to use a fine-mesh strainer to catch all the pulp.
- The sauce also has soy sauce, ginger paste, and rice wine vinegar.
- There are two big differences in this homemade orange chicken and what you might order for take-out:
- Sweetness: Some take-out versions I’ve had are cloyingly sweet and so I wanted to dial it back for this version. There’s a small amount of brown sugar in the sauce that adds just enough sweetness without being overwhelming
- Crispiness: Instead of frying the chicken in a lot of oil I used just enough oil to coat the pan. The chicken does not develop a crispy coating, which I’m okay with since cutting back on the oil makes it a less messy process (no hot splattering oil) and a little healthier than traditional take-style orange chicken.
- Serve the orange chicken with rice – I followed this method for cooking white rice in an Instant Pot (aka my new favorite kitchen gadget) – and garnish it with fresh green onion.
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Orange Chicken
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
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Pin RecipeDescription
A homemade take-out-style favorite made with less oil and sugar. This orange chicken takes less than 45 minutes and will satisfy those take-out cravings – it’s made with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, fresh orange juice, and a touch of sugar for sweetness. Serve it with rice to make it complete.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces and seasoned with salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch, plus 1 teaspoon
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- 1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (from about 3 oranges)
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 cup diced red bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Cooked white rice, for serving
- Sliced green onions, for garnish
Instructions
- Place the cut up chicken thighs in a large bowl. Add the cornstarch and toss the chicken to coat it evenly with the cornstarch.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger, orange juice, orange zest, and brown sugar. Add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and whisk until it’s dissolved into the mixture.
- In a large non-stick pan heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken pieces until they are cooked through, turning once while cooking. Transfer the cooked chicken to a clean plate.
- In the same pan, cook the bell pepper until it starts to soften, about two to three minutes. Add the orange sauce and bring it to a boil, stirring frequently. Let the sauce bubble and simmer until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add the chicken back to the pan and stir to coat it in the sauce.
- Sever with cooked white rice and garnish with sliced green onions.
Notes
I prefer boneless, skinless chicken thighs for this recipe because they have a lot of flavor. That said, if you prefer boneless, skinless chicken breasts you can use them in place of the thighs.
I love the ginger paste you can buy in a tube – so much easier than dealing with fresh ginger. Look for it in the produce section at the grocery store.
I like to use a fine mesh strainer when I squeeze the oranges – it catches all the pulp so it doesn’t end up in the sauce.
Nutrition estimates do not include the rice or garnish.
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Calories: 339
- Sugar: 10.4g
- Sodium: 480.7mg
- Fat: 14.1g
- Carbohydrates: 16.9g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 34.6g
Keywords: orange chicken
Judy K. says
June 12, 2018 at 11:56 amWhat a fabulous dish!!! My husband just made this for me (lucky me). It is so easy, so delicious, and so healthy. April, your Orange Chicken is one of your many dishes we are eager to make for our friends. A lot of the preparation can be done ahead of time which gives us more time to spend being with our friends and family. We decided to substitute the rice for monk beans (bean sprouts). This is a good alternative if you don’t eat rice. Also, the boneless chicken thighs were soooo flavorful. Good choice over chicken breasts. Thank you!
★★★★★
April says
June 14, 2018 at 11:02 amSo glad you liked it!
Suzi says
June 12, 2018 at 9:21 amI loved this – will definitely keep me from ordering take-out. Easy to make, too!
★★★★★
April says
June 14, 2018 at 11:03 amYay! Always great to bust the take-out cravings 🙂