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Oven-Fried Orange Chicken

Updated On: Jan 02, 2024

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My recipe for Oven-Fried Orange Chicken is simple to make and just as good as take-out from your favorite panda restaurant.

Easy Orange Chicken Recipe

One of the best parts of summer is spending extra quality time with the little people around my house.  When we have time together, it really cements our relationships and makes for a happy house and lots of unprovoked hugs.  

Homemade Oven-Fried Orange Chicken Recipe

One of the things I dislike about summer is that I am constantly harassed to “go out” for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Am I alone here?  It can’t just be my kids who are instantly starving (after eating 15 minutes prior) as soon as we hit the car to run errands.  Please say yours do the same?  Anyway, one of the faves is Panda Express.  My kids would live there if I’d let them.  Orange chicken is all they ever order.  So when I get the request to eat out, the first thing that comes to mind is “I can make that”.  So I do.  Sometimes the kids are stoked with the homemade version and other times…well, you get the picture.  One of the main things they love about the Orange Chicken at Panda Express is the crispy fried coating.  

Being that I went on a 12 day California adventure and that I came home feeling like I swallowed a watermelon, I have been trying to be good about my food choices and fried breading…not on the list.  So in an effort to please the troops, I breaded the chicken pieces with panko and flour and baked them instead.  Guess what…it was just as good and far less chub-inducing.  Love it.  If you like orange chicken and want a healthier version, give this one a shot.

Oven-Fried Orange Chicken Recipe

Ingredients in Oven-Fried Orange Chicken

  • Chicken Breast or Chicken Thighs – either will work for this recipe. Just cut into small bite-sized pieces that are uniform so it will cook at the same rate.
  • Panko Bread Crumbs – I find these to be essential to the light crispy coating on this orange chicken and will get the closest result to the restaurant version.
  • Mirin – is a Japanese cooking rice wine that will give the sauce a bit of tang necessary for that piquant orange sauce.
  • Toasted Sesame Seeds – is only for garnish, so if you don’t have any…don’t sweat it.

Oven-Fried Orange Chicken

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 6 servings
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Ingredients
  

  • 5 chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups orange juice fresh squeezed
  • ¼ cup soy sauce low sodium
  • 3 tablespoons light brown sugar packed
  • 3 tablespoons Mirin
  • 1 ½ tablespoons Sriracha
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 ½ teaspoons fresh ginger grated fine
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • Toasted Sesame Seeds
  • Green Onions snipped

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
  • Using 2 pie plates, add the beaten eggs to one and toss the panko and flour in the other. Dredge each chicken piece in the egg and then in the panko mixture and add to the prepared baking tray. Repeat with remaining chicken. Bake for 10 minutes and turn the pieces, then continue to cook for another 10 minutes, or until chicken is done to your liking.
  • Meanwhile, add the orange juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, sriracha, garlic and ginger to a medium saucepan. Bring to a low boil, stir occasionally, turn heat down to low. When the chicken is just about done, add the cornstarch to the orange juice mixture and bring to a boil. Heat until thickened enough to coat a spoon. Remove from the heat.
  • In a large serving bowl add the cooked chicken and top with the orange sauce, toss lightly to coat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions and serve with steamed white rice.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 430kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 47g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 175mg | Sodium: 1080mg | Potassium: 933mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 265IU | Vitamin C: 36mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment below and share a photo on Instagram!

Recipe By:

Heather is a recipe developer and content creator living in Vancouver, Washington. She started Farmgirl Gourmet in 2006, almost 20 years ago, as a way to share recipes with friends and family. Heather is also the co-founder of Spiceology , a unique spice company, which she started in 2013. She shares family friendly recipes for easy everyday meals with a gourmet twist.

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  1. Pingback: Homemade Hamburger Helper - Farmgirl Gourmet
  2. Really enjoyed this recipe! I’ve never had much success breading and frying (starts out fine, but I have burnt bits in the oil by the last batch). This baking technique was much easier. And once the sauce is added, it is indistinguishable from restaurant orange chicken. Better, even.

    1. FarmgirlGourmet Author says:

      So glad you enjoyed the recipe Paul. My kids still request this almost weekly! Such an easy way to get restaurant style without the price or deep frying.

  3. Beryl Mullings says:

    Thanks for sub for siracha &mirin was a little puzzled,now I can try this dish tonight.Do you have recipe for Jamaican jerk chicken?

  4. Sunny Flowers says:

    I realize this is years old now, but I am on the hunt for *the* perfect orange chicken recipe, and though I haven’t tried it yet, this one looks like a contender to me! Just curious, have you ever tried this one with chicken thigh meat instead of breast? I find that it has so much more flavor, and doesn’t tend to dry out in cooking like the breast meat does. And even if all you can find are bone-in, skin-on thighs, it’s really simple to pull off the skin and fat, and flip it over and cut slits along that bone and pull it out of there. The bone-in, skin-on are usually cheaper, too, and you can put the skin and bone in your “soup makings” bag in the freezer. 🙂

    1. FarmgirlGourmet Author says:

      I haven’t tried it with thigh meat before. Sounds juicy and delish though. Any chicken pieces will work. Give it a shot and let me know how it turns out. ~heather

  5. Hi, I made it yesterday and everyone liked it very much. I squeezed about 6 or 8 oranges to get the orange juice I needed – do you think I could buy orange juice and use that just as well?

  6. Yumm. This is what’s for dinner tonight. Thank you.

  7. Cheryl Deger says:

    I’ll be making this tomorrow for the husband & my lunch… The only changes I’ll be making is using whole wheat pano, whole wheat white flour and Splenda brown sugar blend (only 3 teaspoons) to keep the counts down… Thank you for the base recipe…

  8. I’m gonna try make this tomorrow. I visited America on holiday and I tried orange chicken at panda express and I really liked the taste. Can’t wait to try this out tomorrow! I’ll post pics of how it went

  9. Pingback: Orange Chicken | The Little Chef
  10. Sandi Smith says:

    As a diabetic I have to be keenly aware of both carbs and sodium levels, however I don’t see a link to the nutritional information. Any way to obtain such?

  11. Will be sriracha make this recipe spicy? My kids love orange chicken but they dont like spicy so I am not sure if its a good idea to add that. However, I am afraid that the flavor might be affected if I eliminate that.

    1. Ashley G says:

      You do not have to add the sriracha sauce. If u just add the smallest dab….it won’t come out spicy though.

  12. Just made it! It is delicious!!

  13. I’m heading to the grocery tomorrow. Thanks for the recipe.

  14. thisistip says:

    Do you think I could make extra sauce and refrigerate it?

    1. FarmgirlGourmet Author says:

      you bet. I’m guessing it would last 4-5 days in the fridge. You could also freeze it for ease of use later.

  15. What did you sub the vinegar for? The mirin? I looked it up and it’s like a sweet wine. The suggestions for subs were a dry sherry or a sweet marsala. Certainly not apple cider vinegar. It was totally change the taste.

    1. David Bock says:

      You really don’t want to sub mirin for anything, to be honest. I do a LOT of asian cooking. It’s very easy to find and will be at most any grocery store in the asian foods section. Look for a yellow bottle. It’s cheap too. 🙂

    2. I used Pink Pino Grigio, because I had it. Turned out great! Clean plates all around!

  16. Bonnie Pacher says:

    What is mirin and sriracha ?

  17. Sharon Olson-Dorgeloh says:

    I’ve never heard of Mirin or Sriracha where can I buy it????

    1. David Bock says:

      Mirin is a specific cooking rice wine and most grocery store will have the stuff, even walmart. Look for a yellow bottle in the asian food section. It’s used in a LOT of asian cooking and a staple ingredient as much as soy sauce. You’ll fine sriracha there as well. Red bottle, has a rooster on it. Sriracha is an asian hot sauce that is their version of frank’s red hot. Good stuff. Not SUPER hot, but has a nice kick.

  18. This sounds delish. Making it tonight. Do you have a Crispy lemon chicken recipe ?That’s my fave.

    1. FarmgirlGourmet Author says:

      No crispy lemon chicken, but you could make it similarly by swapping lemon for the orange juice.

  19. Made this tonight and it is so delicious. I used apple cider vinegar and it was fine. It tastes nothing like Panda Express, it is much much better. Fresh tasting. I had some leftover put it in fridge and can’t leave it alone.

    1. FarmgirlGourmet Author says:

      So glad you liked it. It’s a staple recipe in our house. So easy to make and way better for you than driving to the Panda place. 😉 Thanks for commenting!! ~heather

  20. This is a very good recipe and will be greeted with high praise from your family and friends.

  21. Arthur in the Garden! says:

    OMG! I will have to try this is it is one of my favorite!

  22. Kathleen Wood says:

    Love the crispy part without frying. Do you have a similar recipe for lemon chicken?

  23. Joella Chudy says:

    I will be making this tonight. I have been wanting to make this for a while. Marnely R-Murray is my best friend and she told me all about you. Love your blog! Hope to meet you one day!

  24. Pingback: Kitchen September 3 2012 — Bonbon Break
  25. Made this for dinner tonight – was delicious!! I used apple cider vinegar in place of the Mirin. Next time, I will put less Sriracha. It was too spicy for my 6 year old. Will definitely make again…and again…

  26. Yuuum!! Made this for dinner and the flavor was delicious!! It was a bit tooo spicy for my lil ones and I had only added 1/2 the sirracha so next time I will add even less but either way it’s yuuuum!

  27. Made this earlier in the week, and oh my goodness, soo good!! So thankful I live alone so I get all the leftovers 🙂
    Great recipe!

    1. FarmgirlGourmet Author says:

      So happy you enjoyed it Maggie. My kids beg for it…that’s usually how I gauge success. 🙂

      1. Linda Thomas says:

        Awesome

  28. We dont buy wine. any other substitute for the mirin?

    1. FarmgirlGourmet Author says:

      You could sub distilled.ehite vinegar, apple vinegar.or even Kombucha. The mirin adds acid, which is what gives the sauce some zing. of the 3 I would definitely try the apple.cider vinegar. Let me know how it goes.

      Heather

  29. Mona, Kentucky Lady 717 says:

    This recipe looks so delicious….I will be making this….used to go to Panda Express when I lived in MICH. and now they do not have one here where I live now….

    BTW, would you have a recipe for chicken fried rice…..this is my favorite chinese food….I have made it several times, using different recipes and it is just NO good !!!! I am hoping you have a recipe that I can try…..still looking for that special one….sure hope you have it…
    Just found your blog, and already I am loving it….the picture of this Orange Chicken is great and really makes me want to make it, which I will…..thanks for posting this…..

    1. FarmgirlGourmet Author says:

      I wish I did Mona!! I love a good chicken fried rice. I will look into creating that recipe. Thanks for popping in and commenting on the Orange Chicken. 🙂

    2. mike klein says:

      You can youtube recipies allso, esp for things that are difficult to do like fried rice and eggdrop soup.. i learned how to make pot stickeres on youtube..soso easy!

  30. We made this dish for my culinary class and everyone loved it.we served it as a tappas.thanks

    1. FarmgirlGourmet Author says:

      Thank you Robin!! So glad everyone enjoyed it. I’ve been craving it lately for sure.

  31. Kristina says:

    This is the second time I have made the dish and it has become a family favorite. My 2 yr old gobbles it up without a fuss! Thanks for a great recipe and I am now a new follower

    1. FarmgirlGourmet Author says:

      I’m so glad you like it Kristina! I need to make it again soon too. My kids love Panda Express orange chicken, so this is a great (healthier) compromise to eating out. Thanks for your comment and making my day!! 🙂 ~Heather

  32. Pingback: Best Recipes of 2012 - Farmgirl Gourmet
  33. Juliana Hardymon says:

    This was one of the best meals I’ve made in a while. I made it last night and husband already asked for it again next week. Perfectly spicy (i.e., he didn’t need extra Sriracha for once!) and delicious.

    I’d recommend making the splurge and buying Mirin, since I have found that I use it quite frequently now.

    1. FarmgirlGourmet Author says:

      Thank you so much for coming back to leave a review and I’m elated that you enjoyed this recipe. I love hearing successes and appreciate your comment very much. Actually you made my day!! Thank you! Heather

  34. Sue Lambrix says:

    The two ingredients below the brown sugar..mirin and sirachan………could something be substituted for those? It’s hard to buy something you rarely use and then it goes bad before you use it again
    thank you

    1. FarmgirlGourmet Author says:

      you could use white wine and a little white vinegar instead of mirin and for the Sriracha and type of hot sauce like Tabasco would work. I hope that helps. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by. ~Heather

      1. Thank you for the suggested substitutions. Had no idea what Sriracha and Mirin were. I’m sure this is delicious!!! Janet

      2. I used crushed red pepper instead of Sriaracha and it was perfect! Thank you for a fabulous recipe!!!

    2. zane darlow says:

      Try the siracha you can put it on almost anything especially asian foods or tacos/mexican food before you know it you’ll use it like ketchup

  35. Pingback: Kitchen September 10 2012 | Bonbon Break
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