This healthy Orange Chicken recipe forgoes the batter and deep frying for a fast pan sear. A simple 3-ingredient stir fry meal makes chicken coated in a sweet and tangy sauce, way better than any mall Chinese food version.

a bowl of rice served with orange chicken.

Orange Chicken Recipe Ready In Minutes

Why travel to Panda Express for takeout when making Orange Chicken at home is this easy, less expensive, and way healthier than its crunchy fried chicken counterpart? All it takes to create this copycat is a quick cook in the skillet until the chicken is brown and the orange sauce becomes thick, bubbly, and coats each piece.

Orange Chicken Ingredients

Orange marmalade: I used Smucker’s brand, but feel feel to use your favorite.
Sweet Baby Ray’s Original barbecue sauce: This recipe used Sweet Baby Ray’s Original brand barbecue sauce. Feel free to use your favorite thick, sweet, and tangy brand instead. Keep in mind that using a hot and spicy version or a variation from an original mild one will affect the flavor of this orange chicken sauce.
Boneless skinless chicken breast: If you prefer dark meat, you can substitute boneless skinless chicken thighs for the breast meat in this recipe. You could also use a combination of both white and dark meat.
Olive oil: To prevent the chicken from sticking to the pan, use high-heat cooking oil like olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, grapeseed oil, or avocado oil.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How to Make Orange Chicken

Stir The Sauce: Whisk together the orange marmalade and barbecue sauce until combined and set aside.
Prepare The Poultry: Cook and brown the chicken on all sides for 7-9 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
Stir The Chicken With Sauce: Combine and cook the chicken and orange sauce for 15 minutes or until the sauce reduces by almost half and becomes a thick coating.
Serve: Once the sauce has thickened, remove from the heat and serve over rice. Enjoy!

cook the chicken in the pan. pour the sauce over the chicken and mix.

Tips & Variations

Cook The Contents: Avoid the temptation to cook all your chicken pieces at once. If you overcrowd your pan, you will end up steaming the chicken pieces and not getting that beautiful golden sear on them. If your skillet is smaller than 12 inches, you may need to cook your chicken in 3 batches.
Season The Sauce: If you like heat in your food, add some red pepper flakes to the orange sauce. Fresh garlic and ginger would also taste great!
Serving Suggestions: You can garnish this dish with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds, chopped chives, or thinly sliced green onions. Serve your chicken and sauce over jasmine rice, Better Than Takeout Fried Rice, instant pot brown rice, or stick of butter rice.
Cut The Carbs: Looking to cut your carbs? Make your sauce with sugar-free BBQ sauce and orange marmalade. Then, serve your coated chicken over cauliflower rice, quinoa, or a simple steamed or roasted vegetable.

Proper Storage

To Store: Store leftovers in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for 2-3 days.
To Freeze: You can freeze the chicken, without the rice, in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw completely in the refrigerator before reheating.
To Reheat: Reheat in a skillet, over medium heat, until warmed through. You may need to add a little water to the sauce to loosen it up when reheating.

eating orange chicken over a bowl of rice.

More Asian inspired Recipes

If you tried this Orange Chicken Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!!!

5 from 1 vote

Orange Chicken

Author — Jennifer Fishkind

Serves —

Orange Chicken is lighter and healthier than your favorite Chinese food take-out. Bite sized pieces of unbattered poultry, pan seared, and coated in a sweet, tangy, and flavorful sauce.

Print Rate Pin Save

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 30

Total Time 35

Ingredients

▢ 18 ounce jar orange marmalade (Smucker’s brand)
▢ ¾ cup Sweet Baby Ray’s Original barbecue sauce
▢ 2 pounds (approximately 3 large) boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1 ½ inch pieces and patted dry with a paper towel
▢ 3 tablespoons olive oil (to pan sear the chicken)

Instructions

In a small bowl whisk together the orange marmalade and Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce until well combined and set aside.
18 ounce jar orange marmalade, ¾ cup Sweet Baby Ray’s Original barbecue sauce
Heat a large (12 inch) skillet over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add half the chicken pieces to the skillet. Be sure to not overcrowd the skillet so that you are able to get a nice brown on the chicken pieces.
3 tablespoons olive oil, 2 pounds (approximately 3 large) boneless skinless chicken breast
Cook and brown the chicken on all sides for 7-9 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Add the additional 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the hot skillet, then add the remaining half of the chicken pieces to the skillet to cook and brown for 7-9 more minutes.
Add the cooked chicken from the plate back into the skillet, and all the juices from the chicken, along with the orange sauce mixture.
Reduce the heat to medium and cook the chicken and orange sauce for 15 minutes or until the sauce reduces by almost half and the orange sauce gets thick and coats the chicken well. Be sure to keep an eye on the sauce and stir it often to keep the sauce from burning as it bubbles and reduces.
Once the sauce has thickened, remove from the heat and serve.

Jenn’s Notes

Storage:

To Store: Store leftovers in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for 2-3 days.
To Freeze: You can freeze this orange chicken, without the rice, in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw completely in the refrigerator before reheating
To Reheat: Reheat in a skillet, over medium heat, until warmed through. You may need to add a little water to the sauce to loosen it up when reheating.

Tips:

Avoid the temptation to cook all your chicken pieces at once. If you overcrowd your pan, you will end up steaming the chicken pieces and not getting that beautiful golden sear on them. If your skillet is smaller than 12 inches, you may need to cook your chicken in 3 batches.
If you like heat in your food, you can add red pepper flakes to the orange sauce. Fresh garlic and ginger would also taste great!
Looking to cut your carbs? Use sugar free bbq sauce and orange marmalade to make your sauce. Then, serve your coated chicken over cauliflower rice, quinoa, or a simple steamed or roasted vegetable

Nutrition Info