This 30-minute skillet recipe for orange chicken is easy to make and so delicious! It’s an easy dinner recipe that your whole family will love.
My girls two favorite Chinese take-out dishes are orange chicken and sesame chicken. After my Honey Sesame Chicken was such a huge success with my family, I decided to try making Orange Chicken.
My plan was to make the orange chicken in my Crockpot like I did the sesame chicken, but I made a 30-minute skillet recipe instead.
UPDATE: This recipe was originally shared in August of 2014 and has been very popular. But after many of my readers expressed their disappointment in this recipe, I decided to update it in July 2016 to make it milder with less orange flavor as they requested.
For those of you who loved the original version, you can still print it here.
For the rest of you, I hope this updated version is more in line with what you were looking for.
Disclaimer: This post contains links to products for making this recipe. If you use those links, I may earn a commission. Learn more here.
How To Make Orange Chicken
Step One:
Start by cutting 1 1/2 pounds of chicken breasts into chunks (about 1 – 1 1/2 cubes). Mix together soy sauce, cornstarch, and water.
Add the chicken and stir to coat. Allow the chicken to marinate for 5 minutes.
Step Two:
While it is marinating, prepare the orange sauce so that it is ready when you need it later.
Whisk together orange juice, dark brown sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, orange zest, and optional sriracha sauce.
Step Three:
I made this orange chicken a little healthier by opting not to deep fry the chicken pieces. Instead, the chicken in sauteed in two tablespoons of oil.
Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet. Remove the chicken from the marinade with a slotted spoon and carefully add it to the skillet.
Stir-fry the chicken, over medium-high heat, for 5-7 minutes until golden and cooked through.
Step Four:
Add the orange sauce to the chicken and cook for 4-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened.
Your kitchen should be smelling pretty amazing by now and your family will be coming into the kitchen asking what you are making!
Step Five:
Sprinkle with sesame seeds and sliced green onions, if desired and serve the orange chicken over rice or noodles.
We really enjoyed this orange chicken and ate the leftovers the next day. Vanessa said that she has never tasted orange chicken that actually tastes like oranges and that she really liked it! I love that the entire meal can be made in less than 30 minutes.
Orange Chicken 30 Minutes Skillet Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil for frying
- Sesame seeds & sliced green onions for garnish if desired
Marinade:
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoon water
Orange Sauce:
- ¾ cup fresh squeezed orange juice
- 2 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 2 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce optional
Instructions
- Start by cutting 1 1/2 pounds of chicken breasts into chunks (about 1 – 1 1/2 cubes). Mix together soy sauce, cornstarch, and water. Add the chicken and stir to coat. Allow the chicken to marinate for 5 minutes.
- While it is marinating, prepare the orange sauce so that it is ready when you need it later. Whisk together fresh squeezed orange juice, dark brown sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, orange zest, and optional sriracha sauce. Set aside.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. Remove the chicken from the marinade with a slotted spoon and carefully add it to the skillet. Stir-fry the chicken, over medium-high heat, for 5-7 minutes until golden and cooked through.
- Add the orange sauce to the chicken and cook for 4-6 minutes, stirring often until the sauce has thickened.
- Top with sesame seeds and sliced green onions, if desired. Serve over rice or noodles.
Amy says
My husband, kids, and I all really enjoyed this orange chicken. I served it with rice and steamed broccoli. The recipe was also very easy and quick to make, which is great for a weeknight meal. We’ll definitely be making this again!
Elizabeth says
Used oranges from our tree and made some minor substitutions based on what I had on hand (regular vinegar for rice vinegar and oyster sauce for hoisin sauce.) Quick, easy, and really delicious. Not too sweet but just right.
Elizabeth says
Used oranges from our tree and made some minor substitutions based on what I had on hand (regular vinegar for rice vinegar and oyster sauce for hoisin sauce.) Quick, easy, and really delicious. Not too sweet but just right.
Nicole says
This was easy and delicious. It is now going to be a staple in my household. Thank you!
Trish Olivier says
This is a keeper. Made exactly as written except I’m a baby and only used 1/2 teaspoon of sriracha. It was a very flavorful and light orange chicken! Fresh and simple to make but an abundance of flavor. Thank you.
Shaun says
No salt added 🧂 how was it tasted?
Sharlotte Williams says
My family and I love this recipe. It was quick and easy, and so tasty. Everyone wolfed it down!
Meagan says
Hi there. I made this and my sauce never turned bright orange like your picture shows. Just curious if I did something wrong.