This Easy Orange Chicken recipe is easy to make and loaded with flavor. The crispy chicken thighs are tossed with the most delicious sticky orange sauce. Topped with green onion, sesame seeds and red pepper flakes, this chicken recipe is perfect any night of the week.

Enjoy this chicken over a bed of rice for the ultimate homemade meal. Once you try this recipe, take out will be a thing of the past.

Easy Orange Chicken – Healthyish Foods

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

For this recipe, I used Smart Chicken’s boneless skinless chicken thighs. The thigh meat offers a lot of flavor and is super tender. If you’re new here, Smart Chicken is the reason I started eating meat again after 9 years.

Smart Chicken’s chickens are fed a high-quality diet, humanely handled, and never given antibiotics, hormones, or animal by-products. The result is the best product I’ve ever tried.

This post is sponsored by Smart Chicken. I was compensated for my time. However, all opinions are my own.

Recipe Ingredients

  • Chicken Thighs: For this recipe, use Smart Chicken’s chicken thighs. The thigh meat offers more flavor for this recipe. Be sure to cut the thighs into bite sized pieces for easy eating.
  • Cornstarch / Seasoning: Dust the chicken in cornstarch, kosher salt and cracked black pepper before pan frying.
  • Oil: This recipe calls for vegetable oil or avocado oil for frying the chicken. Once the chicken is crispy and cooked through remove it from the pan. Place it on a paper towel to absorb excess grease. Wipe out any excess oil from the pan using a paper towel.
  • Orange Sauce: Whisk together orange juice, brown sugar, orange zest, low sodium soy sauce, rice vinegar, minced garlic, minced ginger, and cornstarch.
  • Rice: Enjoy this chicken over a bed of cooked rice. White, brown or basmati would all work great.
Easy Orange Chicken – Healthyish Foods

How to Make Homemade Orange Chicken

Grab a large mixing bowl, combine orange juice, low sodium soy sauce, rice vinegar, minced garlic, minced ginger, light brown sugar, orange zest, and cornstarch. Whisk until well combined and set it aside.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large sauté pan.

Cube your chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces using poultry scissors or a knife. Add the chicken to a bowl. Dust the chicken with kosher salt, cracked black pepper and cornstarch. Toss until the chicken is well coated in the cornstarch and seasonings. Shake off any excess cornstarch.

Fry the chicken until crispy or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the crispy chicken from the pan and place it on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.

Carefully, use a paper towel to wipe out any excess oil from the pan. Next, add the chicken back into the same pan, and pour the orange sauce over it. Simmer over medium heat until the sauce thickens to your liking. Serve hot over rice.

Storage

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for three to four days. Reheat in a pan or in the microwave.

Easy Orange Chicken – Healthyish Foods

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use chicken breasts instead?

Yes, you can use chicken breasts, tenderloins or thighs.

Can I prep this ahead of time?

Best enjoyed immediately hot from the pan.

Easy Orange Chicken – Healthyish Foods

Easy Orange Chicken

This Easy Orange Chicken recipe is easy to make and loaded with flavor. The crispy chicken thighs are tossed with the most delicious sticky orange sauce. Topped with green onion, sesame seeds and red pepper flakes, this chicken recipe is perfect any night of the week.
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Equipment

  • 1 saute pan
  • 2 mixing bowls

Ingredients

Chicken Thighs

  • 1 lb. chicken thighs, cubed into bite sized pieces
  • pinch kosher salt, to season
  • few turns cracked black pepper, to season
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch, toss the chicken until well coated, shake off excess
  • vegetable oil, for shallow frying the breaded chicken

Orange Sauce

  • 1 cup orange juice, pulp free
  • 2 teaspoons orange zest
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce, low sodium
  • ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • ½ teaspoon garlic, minced, 1-2 cloves
  • ½ teaspoon ginger, peel and mince
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional

Rice

  • 1 cup cooked rice

Instructions 

  • Grab a large mixing bowl, combine orange juice, low sodium soy sauce, rice vinegar, minced garlic, minced ginger, light brown sugar, orange zest, and cornstarch. Whisk until well combined and set it aside.
  • Cube your chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces using poultry scissors or a knife. Add the chicken to a mixing bowl. Dust the chicken with salt, pepper, and cornstarch. Toss until well coated. Shake off any excess cornstarch.
  • Heat vegetable oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Shallow fry the chicken until crispy or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
    Remove the crispy chicken from the pan and place it on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
  • Carefully, use a paper towel to soak up any excess oil from the pan. Next, add the crispy chicken back into the pan, and pour the orange sauce over it.
  • Simmer over medium heat until the sauce thickens to your liking. Serve hot over cooked rice.

Notes

Storage

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for three to four days. Reheat in a pan or in the microwave.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving or 1/3rd of the chicken and sauce. Does not include rice or oil used for frying., Calories: 476kcal, Carbohydrates: 34g, Protein: 27g, Fat: 25g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 148mg, Sodium: 799mg, Potassium: 538mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 25g, Vitamin A: 388IU, Vitamin C: 43mg, Calcium: 44mg, Iron: 2mg