Our homemade air fryer orange chicken recipe will soon be one of your favorites! Get healthy and crispy takeout style orange chicken in a sweet and savory sauce that's a Whole Lotta Yum!
Homemade Orange Chicken in an air fryer is the best!
One of my favorite take-out dishes has always been orange chicken, but truth be told, since we don't have a good Chinese restaurant in town, we usually buy the Trader Joe's orange chicken from their freezer section.
But now we're hooked on our homemade air fryer version that's even healthier and more delicious than any take-out option! Perfectly cooked golden brown chicken, crispy on the outside, and covered in a spoon licking thick sweet orange chicken sauce.
The recipe is dairy free, low carb, gluten free when you use tamari sauce instead of soy, and refined sugar free when you use coconut sugar or golden monk fruit as your sweetener.
Air fry some crispy egg rolls to serve on the side or our low carb fried rice with cauliflower rice is super good too!
Ingredients list
- Chicken: It's fine to use chicken thighs instead of boneless skinless chicken breasts.
- Corn starch: Helps to get the chicken extra crisp. Potato starch works too.
- Sea salt & Freshly ground black pepper
- Garlic: Use 1 teaspoon of garlic powder in place of fresh minced garlic.
- Sesame oil: This can be found in the international aisle of most local grocery stores.
- Soy sauce: Use low-sodium soy sauce whenever you can, or gluten-free tamari sauce.
- Orange juice: Fresh orange juice will give you the best flavor. For more orange flavor, add orange zest to the orange sauce.
- Chicken broth
- Brown sugar: Coconut sugar and honey are good substitutes. Or use golden monk fruit for lower carb.
- Olive oil spray: I used olive oil cooking spray but you can use avocado oil, coconut oil spray, or your preferred vegetable oil spray.
- Garnishes (optional): Sesame seeds and sliced green onions.
** Please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the exact quantities **
How to Cook Orange Chicken in an Air Fryer
Get the full instructions down in the recipe card, this is just a condensed overview.
Marinate The Chicken
Add the chicken pieces and marinade ingredients to a bowl. Cover and place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
Make the breading
Remove the chicken from the marinade and add it to a Zilpock bag with the corn starch. Close the bag and shake it until the chicken pieces are well coated. Using tongs, put the chicken pieces in the air fryer basket in a single layer.
Spray the chicken on all sides with olive oil or canola oil cooking spray.
Cooking time & temp
Air fry the chicken for 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees F until it turns crispy and golden brown, turning it halfway through cooking.
Make the orange sauce
Whisk the orange sauce ingredients together. In a small saucepan, simmer it over medium heat.
Combine water and cornstarch to make a slurry, add it to the orange sauce, and whisk to combine. Saute until it starts to thicken. Set aside.
Transfer the crispy chicken to a medium bowl and toss it in the orange sauce.
Serve the orange chicken over rice or cauliflower rice, you can garnish it with sesame seeds and sliced green onions. Enjoy!
Jenn's Tips
- Avoid overcrowding the air fryer basket, and cook the chicken in batches. Overcrowding will result in soggy chicken pieces.
- A pinch of red pepper flakes can be added to increase the heat
- Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. Crisp the chicken back up by reheating it in your air fryer.
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Recipe
Air Fryer Orange Chicken
Equipment
- Tongs
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds Boneless skinless chicken breasts cubed
Chicken Marinade Ingredient
- 2 tablespoons Cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
- 3 cloves Minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon Sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon Soy sauce or wheat-free tamari sauce
Breading Ingredients
- ⅔ cups Cornstarch
- Olive oil cooking spray
Orange Sauce Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Soy sauce or wheat-free tamari sauce
- 1 cup Fresh orange juice
- ¼ cup Chicken stock
- ½ cup Brown sugar coconut sugar or golden monk fruit
- 1 tablespoon of Cornstarch
- ¼ cup hot water
- Sesame seeds and sliced green onions for garnish
Instructions
Marinate the chicken
- Add the chicken cubes, 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch, salt, black pepper, garlic, sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce (or tamari sauce) to a medium sized bowl.
- Cover the bowl and put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes up to 24 hours.
Air fry
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 F.
- Add ⅔ cup of cornstarch and the chicken pieces to a Ziplock bag and add the chicken pieces to it. Close and shake the bag until all the pieces are evenly coated.
- Using tongs, transfer the meat to the air fryer basket in a single layer. Spritz the chicken pieces with olive oil or cooking spray.
- Air fry for 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until they turn crispy and golden brown (and they're cooked through to 165 F), turning halfway through cooking.
Make the orange sauce
- While the chicken is air frying, heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in 2 tablespoon of soy sauce (or tamari sauce), orange juice, chicken broth, and the sweetener. Stir occasionally until it comes to a simmer.
- Combine the hot water with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to make a cornstarch slurry. Add it to the orange sauce and whisk it to combine. Set the sauce aside once it begins to thicken.
Serving
- Transfer the crispy chicken to a bowl and toss them in the orange chicken sauce until each piece is evenly coated.
- Serve the chicken over rice or cauliflower rice and garnish it with sesame seeds and sliced green onions. Enjoy!
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