Step aside, 30-Minute Mongolian Beef. Take a seat, Pad Thai with Chicken. And move on out, Chicken Pot Stickers. There is a new takeout-fakeout favorite in town and it goes by the name of Baked Orange Chicken. I repeat, Baked Orange Chicken.
As in, no deep-frying. No standing over a cauldron of hot oil. No messy cleanup. And best of all, no greasy Chinese takeout food hangover!
This easy orange chicken recipe stars homemade chicken nuggets that are baked until golden brown and crispy and then tossed in a DIY orange chicken sauce. It’s homemade takeout food at its finest, and it begins by coating chicken breast pieces in crunchy Panko breadcrumbs.
Pop the chicken nuggets into the oven and grab your sauce ingredients, which includes fresh garlic and ginger that’s simmered in a sweet and tangy blend of orange marmalade, soy sauce and hoisin sauce.
All that’s left to do is toss the chicken in the sauce and serve it alongside your choice of fried rice, noodles or veggies for the ultimate takeout-inspired meal whipped up in the comfort of your own kitchen.
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Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 4 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs
- 3 cups Panko breadcrumbs
For the sauce:
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
- 1 1/2 cups orange marmalade
- 2 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
Make the chicken:
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and grease it with cooking spray.
- Cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces.
- Add the flour to a sealable plastic bag then add the chicken and seal the bag. Shake the bag until the chicken is coated all over.
- Add the eggs to a shallow dish and whisk them until combined. Add the breadcrumbs to a second shallow dish. Remove each piece of chicken from the bag, shake off any excess flour, then dip it in the eggs then breadcrumbs and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat the coating process with all of the chicken pieces and arrange them in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake the chicken pieces for 20 to 25 minutes, flipping them once halfway through, until they are golden brown and fully cooked. While chicken bakes, make the sauce.
Make the sauce:
- Add the sesame oil and olive oil to a small saucepot set over medium-low heat.
- Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes until golden brown. Add the hoisin sauce, orange marmalade, soy sauce and crushed red pepper flakes (optional), and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
- Remove the chicken pieces from the oven and transfer them to a large bowl. Add the sauce to the bowl and toss until combined. Serve immediately.
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Recipe by Kelly Senyei of Just a Taste. Please do not reprint this recipe without my permission. If you'd like to feature this recipe on your site, please rewrite the method of preparation and link to this post as the original source.
Baked orange chicken is delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious thanks. Air fried in my Ninja in ten minutes too!
Woohoo! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Deb!
OMG THIS RECIPE IS BEYONDDDDD I am crying bc it’s just that good. It’s even twice as good the next day when the marmalade has thickened up even more. Omg hands down fave ever thank you for sharing ! Xo
Yay! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Shelle!
We were thrilled as we discovered a recipe for our favorite chinese take-out ‘Baked Orange Chicken’ on @justataste and today we tried to make it by ourselves. And what should I say? It was easy to make and tasted soooo gooood!!! There’s just one thing we would like to know: could you recommend a specific orange marmelade?
Thanks so much and so glad you enjoyed the recipe! I don’t have a favorite brand but have made this recipe with both regular-priced and high-end marmalades!
I made this exactly as written and It was the bomb. I wouldn’t change a thing. The chicken was juicy and the sauce was to die for. Thank you for sharing this excellent recipe.
You are so welcome, Debbie! I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe!
sorry, this just didn’t taste that great. OK, but not awesome I usually love all her recipes.
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the recipe, Nancy. What brand of orange marmalade did you use?
Made this tonight. My son loved it (which is miraculous because he’s super picky)! My husband thought the chicken was great but felt the sauce wasn’t quite right. I think it had to do with the marmalade? I also think the sauce will be yummier on the 2nd day and I made lots of chicken so will try it al lunch tomorrow. I steamed some broccoli and tossed with the sauce as well. Yum!
I’m so thrilled your family enjoyed the recipe, Amy!
My family loves this recipe. Second time I made it in 2 weeks. I make it with cauliflower for me (vegetarian) and chicken for everyone else. My oven is broken so I have been using my air fryer and convection feature of the microwave. The second time I made this recipe I doubled the sauce recipe to cover both veg and chicken. I love all of your recipes. Thanks for explaining the steps so well. I know I can work a whole day and come home to make a dinner with very few steps and ingredients and all of it delicious!
So glad you’re enjoying it, Lisa!
I’m making the orange chicken tonight
Thank you for sharing your recipe. Can’t wat to taste it
Looking forward to hearing your results, Debbie!
I made this for Sunday supper. Absolutely delish. I held back, slightly, on the marmalade and tasted the sauce…added more to my taste. I also kicked up the ginger a bit. And speaking of marmalade…check the first two ingredients. If it says high fructose corn syrup and the second ingredient is corn syrup..look for another brand. Loved it.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Karie!
I have this in mind for next week. Think I am going to use Trader Joe’s marmalade as it is made with Seville oranges which are a more intense orange and not as sweet… will report back. Hoisin sauce is an excellent product though..for sure. It sounds delicious.
I hope you enjoy the recipe, Karie!
I tried this last night. I checked ingredients again this morning to make sure I did not mess something up. It could have been the brand of marmalade I used, but the sauce ended up tasting like straight up, out of the jar marmalade. The hoisin and soy sauce did not cut the flavor of the marmalade enough. It didn’t have that umami to it.
Hi Carol! The sauce definitely shouldn’t taste like marmalade since the hoisin has a very strong flavor that will balance with the marmalade. Let me know if you try another brand!
Thank you for this recipe. I’m going to try it. But the hoisni sauce is not available where I live . Can i substitute it with something else?
Hi there! I’ve never tried this, but I’ve read you can use equal amounts of ketchup and molasses as a substitute for hoisin sauce. Let me know if you give it a shot!
Whoa, that’s a lot of orange marmalade. Any substitute I can use? Maybe apricot jam with fresh orange juice?
Hi Brooke! Sure! Feel free to try that swap. The flavor will be different of course but the texture should still work.
I really want to try this but I’m going to play dumb what is hoisin and I love your recipes
Hi Sandy – Hoisin sauce is a thick, fragrant sauce commonly used in Chinese cuisine. It can be found in most major grocery stores in the international aisle.
This is one of the best dishes I have ever made. I love to cook but can’t handle MSG. This is authentic tasting and very good. The chicken nuggets are crispy and the sauce is perfect. I will make this many times again. Thank you for sharing your cooking talents and this amazing recipe.
WOW! You are so welcome, Paul. I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe!
Hi! I really want to try this recipe but I don’t have fresh ginger. Can I use ground ginger? If so, how much ground ginger do you recommend using? Thanks!
Hi Diana – Yes! While it won’t have the exact same taste, you can substitute 1/8 teaspoon dry ginger for every 1 tablespoon fresh. :)
This was very good. The breading was great and I loved that it was a baked recipe. The Orange Marmalade was just too Orange and too sweet; has anyone done anything to tone down the strong flavor of the Marmalade? Please let me know so I can retry the recipe. Thanks
Thanks, DeeRon! A little acidity (lime juice!) would help tone down sweetness.
I just made this, and it was pretty good. The baked chicken was even crispier than normal fried chicken, and the saice was rangy and sweet. One note: I used four eggs instead of 3, as I found 3 was not enough to coat the chicken
I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe, Hugo!
I am a little confused. The last instruction says to coat the sauce on the chicken and then serve immediately. Do you not bake the chicken at all with the sauce to caramelize it?
Correct :)