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This Spicy Orange Sesame Chicken is classic, but made at home for a more wholesome approach…and with a little extra sauce. The chicken is pan-fried in a small amount of avocado oil until crispy, then tossed in a yummy sesame orange sauce with fresh orange juice and chili flakes. It’s a little sweet and a little spicy with such great flavor. This is best served over steamed rice with extra green onions on top. A fun homemade take on a popular takeout dish.
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One of my favorite things to do is take our favorite takeout dishes and try my best to recreate them at home. There’s just something so fun about homemade takeout, especially when you live in a little town as we do. Our takeout options are more limited, so sometimes the only option is to just make “takeout” at home!
After I made orange cauliflower a few weeks back, my brothers were all over my case to make a more classic crispy orange chicken. They actually loved the cauliflower variation but said that nothing beats the real orange chicken.
I have a hard time saying no to those guys, so I created this recipe pretty much immediately after they requested it. And geez, you guys, this is so good. Just like your favorite takeout, but made at home, and with more wholesome ingredients too!
Traditionally orange chicken is deep-fried and tossed in a spicy, sweet, and tangy orange sauce. The sauce is usually made with a decent amount of sugar, in addition to orange juice and a bit of soy.
To keep this dish and the cooking simple and easy, I made some simple swaps. I used avocado oil for cooking, honey to sweeten, and tamari for the soy (tamari is just gluten-free soy sauce).
But the flavors are ALL there. Lots of orange, a touch of sweetness, and a kick of spice.
Details
I start with the chicken and toss it simply with an egg white, a splash of soy sauce, a pinch of peppers, plus some fresh orange zest. Then dredge the chicken through cornstarch. The cornstarch gives the chicken just the right amount of breading to crisp it up. It also helps the sauce to thicken.
When you’re dredging the chicken through the cornstarch don’t stress if it starts clumping a little on the chicken. Those clumps will get crispy and be delicious in the sweet orange sauce.
Then the sauce…this really is the heart of the recipe. Start with lots of fresh orange zest and juice. Yes, you can use already squeezed orange juice, but with citrus in-season, I would highly recommend fresh juice. Nothing can compare!
So mix the orange zest and juice with tamari or soy sauce, vinegar, and honey. As I mentioned, the honey replaces the sugar usually found in orange chicken. It works perfectly and I love the small amount of flavor it adds to the sauce.
Cook the chicken in avocado oil, which is awesome for high heat cooking. Once the chicken is crispy, pull it out of the skillet and add lots of garlic and ginger, plus some chili flakes (use to your liking, of course).
Pour in the sauce then add the chicken back. Let the sauce bubble around the chicken until it thickens. Simple and quick!
Serve
Serve the chicken with steamed rice and toasted sesame seeds for a complete meal. The boys all agreed, this dish is “fire”, which in their language means REALLY GOOD.
That should tell you what you need to know right there…you gotta give this dish a try…plus it’s just fun!
Looking for other takeout-style recipes? Here are a few to try:
Lastly, if you make this Spicy Orange Sesame Chicken, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Spicy Orange Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
- 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- black pepper
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1/3 cup avocado oil
Orange Sauce
- 1/3 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup fresh orange juice + 2 tablespoons zest
- 1/3 cup tamari or soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 4 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 1/2-1 teaspoon chili flakes
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- green onions and sesame seeds, for serving
Instructions
- 1. In a bowl, combine the chicken, egg white, tamari/soy sauce, orange zest, and pepper. Toss well to coat. In a separate bowl, add the cornstarch.2. Dredge the chicken through the cornstarch to coat. 3. In a glass jar, whisk together the broth, orange juice, tamari/soy sauce, rice vinegar, and honey. 4. Heat the avocado oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken, working in batches, cook until golden all around, about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the skillet. 5. To the skillet, add the garlic, ginger, and chili flakes. Cook 1-2 minutes. Pour in the orange sauce. Bring to a boil, boil 3-4 minutes, then add the chicken. Toss with the sauce and cook until the sauce thickens around the chicken, about 5 minutes. 6. Serve the chicken and sauce over steamed rice with sesame seeds and green onions.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
My family loves this recipe! My 7-year old requests it every week. Thanks for a wonderful recipe that we all enjoy.
Hey Lindsay,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for trying it out! xTieghan
Quick and easy! It was great, I made with rice and broccoli. I didn’t have all the right ingredients but I was a close a possible and it still turned out perfect!
Hey Kelly,
I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Have a great day:)
SO good. I love how the chili flakes add spice because we love spicy!
Hey Alyssa,
Wonderful! Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
This turned out SOOO good! My husband loved it too. It was easy to make though it did take me a bit of time cooking the chicken in batches. So worth it though! The sauce got nice and thick, right around the 5 min mark. Thank you! I’ll definitely make this again.
Hi Stephanie,
Amazing!! I am so excited to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! Have a great weekend☀️
Great meal! Very tasty sauce and tender chicken. I added a little extra ginger and some sriracha for spice. The orange flavor comes through quite nicely and the recipe is easy to make. I didn’t even bother to take the chicken out of the pan after frying — just pushing it to the side to stir fry the garlic and ginger for a few moments, then adding the sauce and cooking it all down, worked just fine. Thank you for another keeper! I’ll be making it again.
Hi Holly!
Happy Friday!? Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out, I love to hear that it was a winner! xx
Tieghan,
I love lemon chicken. Thoughts on substituting the orange zest/juice for lemon?
Loyal follower,
Tamara
Hi Tamara,
I think you are looking for a recipe like this:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/sage-lemon-butter-chicken-piccata/
I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Looking to make this ahead and freeze for the future. It’s listed as freezer-friendly but doesn’t say the best way to prep and freeze. Can you help? Do you just follow all the steps and place in a freezer-safe bag/container? Or do you stop at a certain point, freeze, and then finish once thawed? Thanks!
Hey Sarah,
You could really do either one…I would prep and freeze and then follow the recipe from frozen:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
On another level!!!! Opted out of the chili flakes for my kiddos + added some diced broccoli with Sautéing the ginger, garlic Step after cooking The chicken – Awesome!
Hey Mauriah,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it was tasty!?
Hi – Thoughts on using vs cornstarch? Thank you!
Hi Sarah,
So sorry, I am not sure what your first option was, but cornstarch will totally work here! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I live in Southern California and our hundred year old Valencia orange tree finally was ready to pick! I of course had to search your sight for an orange sauce to try! Can’t wait to make this and also your baked orange cauliflower with the fresh juice! Thank you for coming up with fun and adaptable recipes!
Hey Jenna,
Wow, that is so cool, I’m jealous:) I hope you love the recipe, let me know how it turns out!! xTieghan
Delicious! Used extra virgin olive oil instead of avocado oil and it worked well. I added a little more corn starch because I felt that the chicken wasn’t coated enough. I think I should have coated the chicken in batches but I just put it all in the bowl with the corn starch at once. Skipped the orange zest in the sauce by accident but I thought it turned out great anyway! Could definitely taste the orange.
Served it with your 15 min soy sauce butter fried rice recipe (:
Hi Christina,
Happy Monday!! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was a hit, thanks for trying it out and sharing your review:)
Hi! A couple of questions on substitutes. Could I use extra virgin olive oil instead of avocado oil? And could I use white wine vinegar instead of rice vinegar?
Hi Christina,
Yes, the olive oil will work, you want to stick with the rice wine vinegar, it has a distinct flavor:) I hope you love the recipe, let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Hi! I noticed in your tik tok you don’t mention the broth. Are you supposed to add the broth? For some reason my sauce was really liquidy instead of a glazed texture and it made the chicken soggy instead of crispy 🙁
Hi Taylor,
Yes, the chicken broth is great to use! Sounds like it just needed to simmer more to thicken up:) I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan
1 tsp of corn starch would also help thicken the sauce. Delicious! I make a shrimp version for my husband ….so yummy ?
Thanks so much!!
This dish was amazing! Will be making it again soon. It had such good flavor and satisfied my roommate who doesn’t enjoy spicy foods. Total prep and cook time was closer to an hour for me but I didn’t mind.
Hi Sarah,
Amazing!! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback and making this recipe:) I love to hear that it was a winner! xTieghan
would shrimp work instead of chicken?
Hey Barb,
Sure, but you are going to cook the shrimp for a lot less time than the chicken, so you may want to simmer the sauce on its own for a little so it gets the chance to thicken. I hope this helps! xTieghan