Easy Orange Chicken Recipe
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This Easy Orange Chicken Recipe. is made in the skillet and uses a shortcut ingredient that puts this delicious chicken dish on the table in 20 minutes.
20 Minute Orange Chicken Recipe:
Mmm, yummy, that looks good, doesn’t it? My kiddos love Orange Chicken! It’s one of the few dishes they request all the time and I know they would be thrilled if I made this dish every week.
They even make it a point to check the school lunch calendar, so they can be sure to not bring lunch on the days the school cafeteria serve orange chicken… This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Tyson Foods. The opinions and text are all mine.
You might think making Orange Chicken from scratch is too much work, especially if you’re in a rush to get dinner on the table, but I have a sneaky shortcut to whip up the yummiest orange chicken that everyone will love.
My secret is to use the Tyson® fully cooked Crispy Chicken Strips! Since the chicken prep is done, all you have to do is cook the rice and put together this quick sauce. The recipe does include dicing a bit of carrot and red bell pepper, but you could totally leave that out, it’s mainly for color.
Make sure you use the Tyson fully cooked chicken strips (they look like this), NOT the nuggets. While my kids do like the nuggets, they are not great in this particular recipe. You need all the extra batter in the chicken strips for the orange sauce to stick to and be absorbed.
Ingredients in this 20 Minute Orange Chicken Recipe.
Want to give this Easy Orange Chicken Recipe a Shot? Here are the ingredients to add to your shopping list. (Looking at the ingredient list, this recipe looks like a lot of work, but it’s super easy, I promise!
- 24 oz of Tyson® Crispy Chicken Strips
- Sesame oil
- Baby carrots
- Red bell pepper
- 1 garlic clove
- Fresh orange zest
- 2 cups orange juice
- Teriyaki sauce
- Soy sauce
- Sugar
- Salt
- optional: pinch of red pepper flakes
- Cornstarch
- Cooked rice
How to Make this Easy Orange Chicken Recipe:
Scroll Down to get the printable recipe card.)
- Cook chicken strips according to package directions, set aside.
- In your largest skillet, over med-high heat, add oil and sauté carrots and bell peppers for about 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for another minute or two.
- Add orange zest, juice, teriyaki, soy, sugar, salt red pepper to the skillet. Bring to a boil.
- Mix cornstarch with a bit of orange juice and add to pan, stirring in thoroughly.
Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 more minutes until the sauce has thickened. - Chop some of the larger strips into more manageable sized pieces. Add chicken to the skillet and toss to coat.
A few questions I see over and over:
Can I Make this Orange Chicken Recipe Ahead of Time?
You can make the sauce ahead of time, but I recommend not adding the sauce to the chicken until you are ready to serve.
Can I Freeze this Easy Orange Chicken?
I wouldn’t recommend it. It only takes a few minutes to make.
Can I Use Cut up Chicken Breasts in this Recipe?
You definitely can, it will be healthier and fewer calories, but then you will also be missing that delicious breading to absorb the orange sauce.
Can I Double this Orange Chicken Recipe?
Of course! If you are trying to stretch a dollar, I recommend doubling the sauce and then stretching the meal by adding broccoli and double the rice. (the sauce is amazing on the rice.)
Looks amazing, doesn’t it?
Pin this Easy Orange Chicken recipe for later here:
20 Minute Orange Chicken
Description
Easy 20 Minute Orange Chicken Recipe that you can have on the table in a flash!
Ingredients
- 24 oz of Tyson® Crispy Chicken Strips
- 1 tbsp Sesame oil
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
- 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 1/2 tsp fresh orange zest
- 2 cups orange juice (reserve just a bit to mix with cornstarch)
- 2 tbsp teriyaki sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- optional: pinch of red pepper flakes (Only add if you want a bit of heat.)
- 1/2 tsp cornstarch
- cooked rice
Instructions
- Cook chicken strips according to package directions, set aside.
- In your largest skillet, over med-high heat, add oil and sauté carrots and bell peppers for about 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for another minute or two.
- Add orange zest, juice, teriyaki, soy, sugar, salt red pepper to the skillet. Bring to a boil.
- Mix cornstarch with a bit of orange juice and add to pan, stirring in thoroughly.
Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 more minutes until the sauce has thickened. - Chop some of the larger strips into more manageable sized pieces. Add chicken to the skillet and toss to coat.
Serve over rice and enjoy!
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When you use orange juice is it concentrated
no
How many servings will I get from this recipe
about 4. You could stretch it with extra rice and veggies.
We have made this recipe SO MANY TIMES! It’s definitely a favorite in our house and we’ve used tons of different brands when it comes to the chicken. It’s always delicious and super easy, thanks!!!
★★★★★
Hi,
I am from Ontario, Canada. I can’t find Tyson chicken strips, would you have another brand that you recommend.
Thank you so much for any advice you can give.
It’s the breading on theses chicken strips that makes this recipe work so well. It just really gives the sauce something to sink into. Just by looking at the package, I would choose the MAPLE LEAF
Prime Chicken Strips.
I tried making orange chicken today with the Tyson chicken nuggets and it didn’t turn out very good. I looked it up and found your website. I didn’t know they made the strips. It’s on my list to buy on my next trip to the store. I live in a small town and have limited selection of frozen foods. I’ll let you know after I make it. Thanks for the recipe!
Those crispy strips are definitely what makes it so good!
This is my kids favorite orange chicken recipe! And you are spot on with the nuggets, lol.
★★★★★
Delish! Made this and it was yummy! ^_^
Im Orange chinkrn didnt come out as good as it look on tge picture i follow all the steps dont know were i went wrong
Did you use the Tyson crispy chicken strips? Thes are the bomb and anything else might affect how they look. This is what the chicken strips look like: https://www.scatteredthoughtsofacraftymom.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/DSC_1640-copy-1.jpg
Thinking of making this for a party. Can it be put in a crock pot to keep it warm?
I think you could, but not for too long. Also you might consider doubling the amount of the sauce to keep the chicken from drying out.
Thanks for this awesome recipe:) My family (in Denmark) loves it – and I love your blog:)
Best regards
Dorthe
Made this for my family it was a hit but I had problems with getting the sauce thick enough. I followed the recipe not sure what happened, had to add more cornstarch and wait a while for thickened. Any suggestions in what I did wrong..
I doubt you did anything wrong, sometimes you just need to use more cornstarch or just simmer longer. There are so many variables with temp, humidity, amount of water in the other ingredients.
Made your Orange Chicken tonight and it was awesome.
Thank you for sharing.
Yay, so glad to hear you liked it!
Made this tonight and it was awesome !!!
Thank you for sharing. I will be making this more often.
Thanks for sharing this – my husband loves Orange Chicken! Blessings, Janet
OMG your pictures are good enough to eat! Thanks for sharing. I will definitely try making these. Pinning!!
That does make it super-easy! I would have never thought of using chicken strips as the base!
This looks really good! I love Orange Chicken, but I've never had a recipe for it. Thank you!