The easiest orange chicken at home! It uses orange marmalade for a simple, sweet orange sauce that glazes over lightly breaded chicken pieces.
VERY EXCITING NEWS because, in my opinion, the biggest barrier to good Asian-esque food at home is the usual laundry list of ingredients in sauces.
Here, the sauce can be made in under 5 minutes and it makes an orange chicken that rivals any restaurant version I've ever had!
THE CHICKEN
The chicken in this recipe is coated in cornstarch and spices and then pan fried in oil for just a hint of crispiness. It's reminiscent of the deep fried version, but so much easier and more well-suited for at-home cooking!
Tossing the chicken pieces in cornstarch before cooking will help them to crisp up in the oil, and will also thicken the sauce once it's added to the skillet.
THE SAUCE
The sauce is the make-it-or-break-it element of Asian-inspired foods to me. Good sauces can make almost anything delicious and bad sauces can make delicious things terrible.
This sauce is everything we love about orange chicken - sweet orange, tangy vinegar, umami soy sauce, fresh ginger and garlic, and a hint of spice from the red pepper flakes.
It is so good and so simple!
Why orange marmalade?
Orange marmalade has a jammy consistency and contains both orange juice and peels. It's perfect for making a thick sauce with a strong orange flavor.
Plus, since marmalade is made with sugar, you won't have to add any additional to your sauce.
It's an easy-to-find pantry ingredient that replaces the usual orange juice, orange zest, and sugar found in orange chicken recipes. Such a satisfying substitution for an easy dinner!
Where to find orange marmalade
Any major grocery store - including Aldi - will have it. It's with the jams and jellies. Any brand will do!
You can also get it in bulk on Amazon if you foresee a lot of orange chicken in your future.
Rice vinegar
I recommend using rice vinegar here, but if you don't have it or don't want to buy it, you can substitute distilled white vinegar.
Serve this with:
- Rice (like this white rice or this brown rice)
- Stir fried veggies
- Roasted broccoli
- Steamed veggies - frozen bags that can be steamed make this such an easy meal!
Easy Orange Chicken with Orange Marmalade
Ingredients
FOR THE SAUCE
- 3/4 cup orange marmalade
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons grated ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
FOR THE CHICKEN
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- For serving: prepared rice
Directions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the marmalade, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high. In a ziplock bag, toss the chicken with the cornstarch, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to coat. Spread chicken in a single layer in the hot oil. Cook for 12-15 minutes, flipping every 4-5, until chicken is browned and cooked through. Pour in the sauce and cook an additional 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens and glazes over the chicken. Serve with rice.
Susan Doyle says
The chicken marmalade is wonderful, definitely a keeper for dinner rotation. Easy to make and delicious and my children love it.
Mandy Jackson says
So happy to hear this!
Amanda says
So yummy wow
Husband loved it and ate thirds!
I made it vegetarian by using tofu instead of chicken and stoll was so yummy. I'll definitely be making this one again
Paul says
Very tasty and very easy. The Russell family of 6 says thank you!
Mandy Jackson says
You're welcome, Russells!
Noboddy71 says
This sounds amazing, but I had a few questions. Currently, all I have to work with is an Air fryer and a Crockpot. I know this is the hard way lol, but would it make sense if I made the sauce in the crock pot, and airfried the chicken, then just combined them together in the crock pot and just turn off the crockpot completely?
Would this be completely stupid to do? Lol I've been literally reading this recipe over and over, and have been totally obsessed with it, and I just want to make this SO badly, and if I have to make it the hard way, I will!
Mandy Jackson says
Haha! I don't see why this wouldn't work (though I'm sure the result would be slightly different), but I am the wrong person to answer because I've never used an air fryer. Hopefully someone more knowledgable can weigh in! Good luck! Would love to hear how this method works for you if you try it 🙂
Diane Brown says
I made the Orange Chicken for dinner last night, it was amazing! My son who doesn't like any other than a big chain stores. He had seconds and wanted to go back for more, but his Dad had to eat yet. Oh I doubled the recipe. Next time I will have to double that. There are 4 men that live here and only 1 of them is under 6'1", and under 230lbs. So to feed them takes a lot more than what the recipe called for. But needless to say this was a big hit with us. Thank you for sharing this.
Mandy Jackson says
Love it! Glad you all enjoyed 🙂
Laura Smith says
Has anyone ever added bbq sauce to this recipe?
Elizabeth Johnson says
I like to use leftover grilled chicken diced up in the sauce. Gives it a whole new life
Mandy Jackson says
Yum! That's a great idea.
Troy S Robbs says
I used the serving selector for six servings (4.5 lbs of chicken). We had homemade marmalade, which is delicious. I added 1.5 tbs of sambal oelek to the sauce for a little extra kick. It turned out absolutely delicious! This recipe is saved at the top of my folder so I remember to make it again soon.
Mandy Jackson says
Homemade marmalade?! That sounds so good!
Leigh says
Made several batches of marmalade and was looking for other ways to use it. This recipe is fantastic and so easy! Thank you so much 😊
Mandy Jackson says
So glad you liked it, Leigh!
Marc B. says
This was so delicious and easy to put together. Just make sure you get a nice crispy brown on the chicken and be sure to let the sauce reduce but don’t overdue it, the sugars will burn. This will be in our regular rotation. The chicken alone was delicious. Thank you.
Mandy Jackson says
Great tips! Glad you liked it! 🙂
Linda Depew says
Really good. I think could be enhanced by including some veggies for color and texture for variety. I had no fresh ginger or garlic so used powdered instead and was still super good! Thanks.
Lurue Andrews says
Delicious! Would have loved to have the nutrition facts listed. I'll have to get all the information from the items I used.
Starla King says
Fantastic recipe! Easy, fast, no odd ingredients. I cut it into thirds and it still gave me leftovers.
Tia says
Such an easy meal to make, I added vegetables ❤️
Marilyn Wright says
This is yummy! It takes a little time, but is quite easy and forgiving. I used chicken tenders, which were....tender. I used an iron skillet, and the sauce thickened instantly. I highly recommend this recipe.
Tracy B says
Easy and flavorful. I made this tonight and I'll make it again. The only thing I did different was used ground ginger since I didn't gave fresh
Mandy Jackson says
Great, Tracy! So glad you liked it!
Fender says
What would be the proportional amount to use for Panko breadcrumbs if I want to add extra crispiness? Thanks!
Mandy Jackson says
Hmm, I'm not really sure how well panko would stick to the chicken here since there's no dredging, but you could start with a few tablespoons and see how it works!
Suzete says
You won't get good results with panko in this recipe. The sauce will make it soft and probably fall off. use the corn starch and brown the chicken till nice and golden and a bit crispy on the outside (that is what the corn starch is for, to make it and keep it crispy).
Maranda says
Thanks for the recipe! I used some homemade tangerine marmalade (was a gift) and it tastes great.
I think I made another of your recipes a few days ago too. Guess we’re friends now haha
Tim Baker says
Trying it tonight.
Norman says
Can this be frozen for a future meal?
G. M says
Great recipe. No longer ordering this dish because I will continue to make this at home.
Bryan D Reid says
I personally did not care for the orange marmalade. I felt the peels made the sauce very bitter. I am hoping once it sits a little longer the flavor will sweeten out.
Suzette says
You might need a different brand of marmalade. I used Smuckers and it turned out incredibly delicious! If you continue to find it a bit bitter for you taste, add a bit of honey to the sauce next time to counteract that.
Allison Hall says
I was looking for an orange sauce recipe to go with pork loin. This was really nice with the pork..so yummy and easy. I will get around to trying the whole recipe as it got so many positive reviews but this sauce would work with many different dishes.
George says
I used the marmalade sauce with bacon wrapped scallops. YUM! I did change it up a bit by using a minced Thai bird chili instead of the red pepper. Equally yum!
Shelly says
I have now made this a lot my family loves it!!! The only thing I do different is instead of regular orange marmalade I use sugar free orange marmalade. My family can not tell the difference.
KDonnRN says
I wonder how some grated orange zest would do in the sauce.
Leslea Thompson says
Ummmm…. DER LISH ISH!!!!!!!!!
Even the picky hubs says it very good.
Mary says
Made this tonight. It was a hit with my husband and myself! Will go in the make again rotation.
Agnes Guglielmi says
Will replacing lemon marmalade be an option for a lemon chicken version?
Tom says
Made this tonight and both my very picky wife and her equally picky son loved it. In fact, my wife even had seconds. Thank you.
Camellia Roseman says
This is delicious!! This will be my go to recipe! I used leftover crockpot boneless skinless chicken thighs that were cooked with only salt a pepper. It was a great neutral canvas to soak up this great sauce. Served with rice and California blend vegetables. Was better than takeout and cheaper too! Thank you so much for sharing.
Su says
Everyone agreed that it tastes as good as you get at the Chinese restaurant!
Valerie says
This was so easy and even more delicious than I expected! My family loved it!
Saskia says
Love this meal. We have made this several times and the whole family really loves it. Easy to make and delicious. Recently we added sliced vedalia onions and green bell peppers to the recipe and it's good too. Thank you, Mandy!