Baked Orange Chicken is a quick and easy weeknight dinner! Ready in just one hour of time and loaded with flavor! Every bite has moist chicken paired perfectly with a lightly sweetened orange glaze.
I love looking for new ways to cook chicken. Since chicken breasts are so versatile to work with, trying out new flavors and recipes is never an issue.
What I love about this baked chicken recipe is its simple ingredients with HUGE flavors. The orange zest paired with the red chili flakes adds a subtle sweet heat as well.
Since I’m always looking for ways to eat healthier and fuel my body, pairing this baked chicken dish with cooked broccoli totally fits the bill. (and if you’re feeding this to the kids as well – more veggies is always a good idea!)
TO MAKE BAKED ORANGE CHICKEN YOU WILL NEED:
For the Chicken:
- chicken breast – Chopped into bite sized pieces.
- ground pepper
- salt
- cornstarch – This is used to give the chicken a crispy coating.
- eggs – Using eggs is what binds the cornstarch to the chicken.
- oil – Use an oil with a high heat point since this is what you’ll be using to fry the chicken.
For the Orange Sauce:
- brown sugar- Gives an extra boost of sweetness.
- orange juice – Just a little bit for extra orange flavor!
- rice vinegar – Pairs well to balance out the citrus.
- soy sauce – You can use low sodium soy sauce, too.
- garlic, finely chopped
- red chili flakes – This is optional so if you don’t want heat, you can leave this out.
- orange zest – Just a tad bit of orange zest for the win!
- cornstarch – Using the cornstarch is great for adding a bit of thickness to the sauce.
- salt
- green onions, to garnish
- broccoli, to serve
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN BREAST WITH ORANGE GLAZE
The following steps are simple and easy and will have you enjoying your perfectly baked chicken in no time at all!
Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Make sure to grease a 9X13 baking pan.
In a mixing bowl, combine the chicken pieces and salt and pepper. Coat the chicken with cornstarch and then dip it into the egg mixture. Repeat the process with all the chicken pieces. Add the oil to a pan and heat. Once hot, add the coated chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, combine the orange sauce ingredients. Put the cooked chicken in the baking dish and pour the orange sauce over the top.
Add the baking dish to the oven and bake. You’ll need to stir the chicken every 15 minutes to make sure that it’s coated well in the sauce.
Serve with rice, broccoli, or another side dish! Don’t forget to add some green onions as a garnish!
How do you zest an orange?
Zesting an orange isn’t hard to do, but it has a process. Before starting, make sure that you clean the outside of the orange really well.
Once the outer rind of the orange is clean, it’s time to start zesting! I have a zester that makes it super simple as well. Start on one area of the orange and start rubbing the zester back and forth. The zest of the orange is the outer orange coating so keep that in mind during the process.
If, while you’re zesting, you get down the white underneath the orange, it’s time for you to rotate the orange and start zesting in another area.
How do you know when chicken is cooked all the way?
It’s extremely important to know that your chicken is cooked all the way. The easiest way is to check the internal temperature of the chicken is with a meat thermometer.
For chicken to be considered safe to eat, the meat thermometer should show a reading of at least 165 degrees. Anything above is fine. Anything below means that more time is needed for cooking.
What side dishes pair well with chicken?
Chicken pairs perfectly with just about anything! Some of my favorite side dishes with this recipe include white rice, fried rice, and/or steamed veggies!
You can also serve the chicken with noodles, pasta, or even a simple side salad. Changing up the side dish is also a great way to make a recipe taste new again.
How do you store leftover chicken?
Leftovers are always a way to have a delicious dinner again! All you need to do to store this Orange Chicken recipe for later is store it in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge. It should stay fresh for 2-3 days to enjoy.
How to reheat leftover chicken
Since this chicken does have a crispy crust, reheat it low and slow in the oven. It may not get that exact crunch back to it, but it will help to crisp it up.
You can also reheat the chicken in the microwave but just know that this method won’t make it crispy. However, it will be a quicker method to reheat so that you can eat and enjoy it faster.
Baked Orange Chicken
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1 pound chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 3 tablespoons oil
For the Orange Sauce:
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1 teaspon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons green onion
- 1/2 cup cooked broccoli
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9 X 13 baking dish and keep it ready.
- In a bowl with chicken pieces, season it with salt and pepper.
- Coat the seasoned chicken pieces with cornstarch first and then dip it into the beaten egg mixture. Repeat the same with the remaining chicken pieces.
- Heat a pan with oil, add the coated chicken pieces and cook the chicken until browned for 4-5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, take a medium bowl and combine the ingredients mentioned under “for orange sauce” section. Place the chicken in the prepared baking dish and pour the orange sauce mixture over the chicken and bake for 40 – 50 minutes.
- Every 15 minutes stir in the chicken and sauce and bake until the sauce is thicken and well coated in the chicken.
- Serve the chicken warm along with rice, broccoli and green onions on top.
Equipment
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I forgot the stars!
This was extremely delicious. No changes to recipe except boneless chicken thighs instead of breast (what I had on hand). Will make again! Thank You!
Thank you for a lovely recipe. Very tasty! It didn’t come out as crispy as I thought it would. Maybe I didn’t brown it enough. The family and I enjoyed it and as I have enough chicken and ingredients to make another one tonight will brown it further. Can you also cook in an air fryer? Looking forward to trying out more of your wonderful recipes:)
I haven’t tried it in the air fryer but I will have to work on that soon!
Mais uma boa sugestão com frango!
Wow – this was AWESOME. I have never done corn starch followed by egg and this was so good. It make the sauce not make the chicken all mooshy. And the sauce was 10/10!! So good. It does have some sweet heat to it but nothing too crazy. If you’re sensitive, maybe cut the red pepper flakes in half but otherwise full send on flavor!!
I always have bad luck with frying chicken haha so I just used baked chicken and shredded it. I just cooked the sauce on the stovetop until it coated a spoon, added steamed broccoli and the shredded chicken to a skillet and poured the sauce over it. I brought it to a boil then simmered it until the broccoli softened. I served it over jasmine rice and topped it with sesame seeds. DELICIOUS!
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The recipe is so well flavored and sweet to get a restaurant feel. My family members give me hugs as gifts and it was quite a happy moment after a long time. Thanks for the recipe.
Cooked for dinner last night. It was a winner in our house!! The flavor was exactly as you described — a subtle sweet heat. Served with some roasted green beans and white rice. Enjoy recipes that allow for some kitchen clean-up while the meal finishes in the oven.
Thanks!