Easy Orange Chicken Recipe - Meatloaf and Melodrama (2024)

This Easy Orange Chicken Recipe with orange marmalade and BBQ sauce is an easy meal with a delicious 3-ingredient sauce the whole family will love. than A quick dinner better than takeout!

If you're looking for an easy orange chicken recipe like you get at Chinese restaurants, this one's for you. This is the easiest recipe for orange chicken on the planet. It tastes like the kind you get from your favorite Chinese takeout -- Panda Express -- and it's absolutely delicious!

I've been seeing 3-ingredient orange chicken recipe on Pinterest for so long. I couldn't believe that a quick orange sauce made with orange marmalade and BBQ sauce would taste like the real deal.

But, my kids were missing crispy orange chicken from their favorite Chinese restaurant, and I had to give it a try. After several tasty experiments, we found the right combo to make this easy meal. This easy recipe is a now a family favorite!

If you love easy dinners, you may also like my Bourbon Street Chicken recipe or my crock pot Mississippi chicken recipe. You'll find more easy chicken recipes in the archives.

3 Ingredient Sauce

You only need a few ingredients to for this homemade orange chicken recipe. Best of all, you probably have everything you need in your pantry, but you can also fine these in your grocery store!

• Orange marmalade -- I use Smuckers orange marmalade, but any brand works
• BBQ sauce -- I used Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce (original flavor)
• Soy sauce -- I use low sodium soy sauce
• Chicken breast -- boneless skinless chicken breast cut into small pieces
• Eggs -- to help bind the coating
• Flour or cornstarch -- for the coating
• Vegetable oil -- for frying chicken. Olive oil or avocado oil will also work

How to Make Orange Chicken with Orange Marmalade

Dip the cubed chicken pieces into the beaten egg. Then, shake off the excess egg, and lightly coat the chicken in the flour.

I use a wok, so I like to cook the chicken in batches over medium-high heat so that they brown evenly.

If you're using a large skillet, you can probably cook it all in one batch.

Make the sweet orange sauce while the chicken is cooking, or beforehand. All you do is mix the marmalade, BBQ sauce and soy sauce in a small bowl until the sauce ingredients are well blended.

Super easy! Sometimes, I'll throw in some garlic powder or red pepper flakes for extra flavor. But, you really don't need anything more.

When the chicken is golden brown, add the orange sauce to the skillet. If you're cooking the chicken in batches, add all of it back to the pan.

Let the chicken simmer on low heat to medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the sauce is nice and thick. Stir the sauce to make sure it doesn't get too thick.

If it does, you can add a little orange juice, chicken broth or water to thin it out. And that's it!

What to Serve with Homemade Orange Chicken

We love serving orange chicken over white rice or brown rice to soak up that tangy orange sauce. Jasmine rice is a favorite! I make a big batch of Jasmine Rice in the Instant Pot or Instant Pot brown rice.

You can also use cauliflower rice if you prefer that.

Throw in a side dish of microwave green beans, microwave broccoli or mixed veggies and frozen egg rolls and dinner is served.

How to Store and Reheat

Store the leftover orange chicken in an airtight container in the fridge. It should keep for up to 4 days if there's any left!

For longer storage, freeze the leftovers for later. Chinese orange chicken heats up easily in the microwave or on the stove.

Recipe Variations

Note: If you want to make this simple recipe even easier, you can skip the egg/flour/cornstarch step. My kids prefer the texture of the chicken coated with flour, so that's what I do.

They love my Instant Pot Orange Chicken made with fresh orange juice and orange zest, but they like the texture of this recipe better. It's really not hard, and it doesn't take much longer this way. But, it is a lot messier!

For the absolute easiest orange chicken recipe, use frozen chicken nuggets or popcorn chicken instead of fresh for extra crispy chicken. Cook chicken according to package directions and mix with the homemade orange sauce.

You can substitute boneless skinless chicken thighs if you prefer.

Cooking Tips

First, have all of your ingredients measured out and ready to go. It makes the process go much faster.

Don't crowd the chicken in the skillet. Work in batches so the chicken cooks evenly and faster. You can keep chicken warm on a baking sheet in the oven until all chicken is cooked if necessary.

Drain the cooked chicken pieces on paper towels to remove excess grease before coating in sauce.

Recipe

I hope you enjoy this orange chicken with orange marmalade and Sweet Baby Ray's as much as we do. The orange chicken sauce is amazing!

If you do make this delicious meal, please leave a star rating and/or comment.

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