Home » Chicken Recipes » Spicy Orange Chicken

Spicy Orange Chicken

Busy days call for simple meals and this Spicy Orange Chicken is certain to fit the bill. You won’t be tempted to pick-up takeout when you can whip-up this delicious version at home. This dish comes together quickly after a long day, and is lighter than the Chinese dish that inspired this home style version. Steam a pot of sticky rice and dig in.

Spicy Orange Chicken

Easy Spicy Orange Chicken Recipe

This lightly breaded orange chicken is a skillet meal that comes together in minutes. Skip the drive thru and make your own takeout fakeout at home. How to make Spicy Orange Chicken: (Scroll down for full printable recipe.)

  • Make the Sauce- Mix together orange marmalade, brown sugar, Chinese Five Spice powder, soy sauce, water, orange zest, toasted sesame oil, red pepper flakes, juice of one small lemon in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves.
  • Coat Chicken – Dip the chicken into the beaten egg, then roll in the all purpose flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Coat on all sides, shaking off any excess. Repeat until all chicken is breaded.
  • Heat Oil – Heat peanut oil in a large skillet. Add the chicken pieces. Cook the chicken pieces in batches browning on all sides for 1-2 minutes removing to a platter to keep warm.
  • Vegetables – Add pepper and onion to the skillet. Add additional oil as needed. Season with salt and black pepper to your taste. Cook on medium high heat until the vegetables are crisp tender, about 2-3 minutes. Add garlic to the pan. Cook for 1 minute longer.
  • Combine – Pour prepared sauce over cooked vegetables and heat through. Return the chicken to the pan. Toss gently until all of the chicken pieces are coated evenly with sauce.
  • Serve immediately on a bed of Jasmine rice garnished with green onions
Spicy Orange Chicken

How to Make the BEST Spicy Orange Chicken Recipe

  • Ingredients you’ll need to make Spicy Orange Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts, large eggs, all purpose flour, salt, black pepper, red bell pepper, red onion, garlic, peanut oil for frying, chopped green onion and cooked Jasmine Rice for serving
  • To Make the Sauce: Orange marmalade, brown sugar, Chinese Five Spice powder, soy sauce, water, orange zest, toasted sesame oil, red pepper flakes, juice of one small lemon.
  • The sauce can be made up to 2 days in advance and kept in an airtight container in the fridge chilled, if desired.
  • The chicken pieces are light coated. If you want a heavier breading dip them twice in the egg and flour. You may need to make more of each to accommodate.
  • This Spicy Orange Chicken will keep in an airtight container chilled in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
  • Reheat gently in the microwave in single servings.
Spicy Orange Chicken

More Easy Chicken Recipes to Make

Thanks for visiting come back soon!

Disclosure ~ If  a purchase is made using one of the affiliate links on this website we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Helpful Kitchen Items:

Spicy Orange Chicken

Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Chicken, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Chinese-inspired, Southern
Keyword: easy-orange-chicken, spicy-orange-chicken
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 775kcal
Author: Melissa Sperka

Ingredients

  • Sauce:
  • 1/2 cup orange marmalade
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp Chinese Five Spice powder
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp water
  • 2 tsp orange zest
  • 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes adjust to taste
  • juice of one small lemon
  • Chicken:
  • 4 6 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces
  • 2 large eggs beaten
  • 1 cup all purpose flour add 1/2 tsp each salt & black pepper, mix together
  • 1 large red pepper seeded and thinly sliced
  • 1 medium red onion thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/4 cup peanut oil for frying
  • chopped green onion and cooked Jasmine Rice for serving

Instructions

  • Sauce: Mix together orange marmalade, brown sugar, Chinese Five Spice powder, soy sauce, water, orange zest, toasted sesame oil, red pepper flakes, juice of one small lemon in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves.
  • Chicken: Dip the chicken into the beaten egg, then roll in the all purpose flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Coat on all sides, shaking off any excess. Repeat until all chicken is breaded.
  • Heat 4-6 tablespoons of peanut oil in a large skillet. Add the chicken pieces.
  • Cook the chicken pieces in batches browning on all sides for 1-2 minutes removing to a platter to keep warm..
  • Add pepper and onion to the skillet. Add additional oil as needed. Season with salt and black pepper to your taste.
  • Cook on medium high heat until the vegetables are crisp tender about 2-3 minutes. Add garlic to the pan. Cook for 1 minute longer.
  • Pour prepared sauce over cooked vegetables and heat through. Return the chicken to the pan. Toss gently until all of the chicken pieces are coated evenly with sauce.
  • Serve immediately on a bed of Jasmine rice garnished with green onions.

Notes

Chinese five spice powder is a blend of cinnamon, anise, fennel, ginger, clove and licorice root. It adds an authenticity in flavor to this dish that makes it worth buying and it’s readily available in the Asian section of most grocery stores. If you like lots of sauce, the sauce recipe easily doubles.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 775kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 51g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 212mg | Sodium: 430mg | Potassium: 629mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 45g | Vitamin A: 1598IU | Vitamin C: 58mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @melissassk or tag #melissassk!

 

4 Comments

  1. That was part of my motivation for this dish. I’ve written the recipe a little less spicy than even we like it, but, of course, there’s room to adjust it to your own level of heat. I made this for our dinner tonight, and it always fills the take out void. ☺

  2. Oh my goodness!! This is one of my favorite dishes at the Chinese place we frequent and I always wanted to make it at home so I could make it a little less calorie laden – thank you so much! Sweet Tea and Cornbread just shared this on her FB page and I saw it – now I see something called Banana Pudding Cupcakes? This is a great site!!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating