Skillet Orange Chicken Recipe 30 Min Meal

This recipe for Orange Chicken has a crispy exterior and a sweet, sticky, tangy sauce that comes together all in one pan. It’s loaded with flavor and sure to please the whole family!

I don’t know about you, but Chinese food is one of our favorite things, especially when it can be made completely in 30 minutes! Takeout can be a lifesaver some days when you just can’t get dinner on the table but I love having a wide range of easy substitutes on hand for when I need something quick but still want something homemade and relatively healthy. If you’re looking for the Panda Express orange chicken, this Skillet Orange Chicken Recipe is so easy to make — it comes together in 30 minutes or less! Serve it with rice and steamed vegetables or salad and you have an easy weeknight meal. This Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce, one pan Chicken Chow Mein, and Meatballs in Orange Sauce are a few more of my favorites!

This easy Orange Chicken recipe is a pan-fried version of the traditional deep-fried Orange Chicken often found in Chinese restaurants. We like to serve it with this Easy Fried Rice or instant rice to cut down on time, but long grain rice works just as well, and cauliflower rice can be a great option if you’re looking for a low carb substitute.

How to Make Orange Chicken

First, I lightly coat the chicken pieces in corn starch to ensure a crispy exterior without breading or deep frying. We brown just the outside with a little oil, and then add the sauce. The Orange Chicken sauce is made of orange juice, orange marmalade, soy sauce, garlic and a few other tasty ingredients. I like adding a bit of orange marmalade because it makes the sauce extra sticky and it really clings to the chicken! If you like things extra spicy, feel free to add an extra pinch or two of red pepper flakes — I like to keep things pretty mild so the kids will enjoy it too!

How to Make Crockpot Orange Chicken

This recipe can easily be adapted to the crockpot! Here’s how:

Coat and brown the chicken in a frying pan according to the original instructions. Add the chicken and the sauce mixture to the crockpot, and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 3-4 hours until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is cooked through. It couldn’t be easier! This is a great way to prepare orange chicken for a potluck because it is so easy to keep warm without overcooking. And I guarantee it will be one of the first things to disappear!

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