Air fryer orange chicken: lightly battered and crispy chicken bites in a sweet and spicy homemade sauce. This recipe recreates the magic of an Asian classic without the tons of oil required for deep frying the chicken. Healthier and cheaper than takeout, it’s a chicken dinner the whole family will love!
If you enjoy easy air fryer chicken recipes, do check out this parmesan crusted chicken and these hot honey lemon pepper wings. You’ll wonder why you didn’t buy an air fryer before!
Addicted to orange chicken from places like Panda Express or P.F. Chang’s? Save your money and some calories, and consider making this copycat orange chicken recipe in your air fryer. It recreates the taste of the original but without the excessive sugar, salt and oil that you know you are consuming with takeout food.
Ingredients
Note: exact amounts are mentioned in the recipe card further down.
For the chicken
- Chicken thighs (boneless and skinless, diced into bite-sized pieces)
- A large egg
- Cooking oil
- Sea salt
- Black pepper (freshly ground)
- Plain flour
- Cornstarch
- Paprika
- Onion powder
- Ginger powder
- Cooking spray
For the sauce
- Orange juice
- Orange zest
- Brown sugar
- Minced ginger
- Minced garlic
- Chilli flakes
- Hoisin sauce
- Soy sauce or tamari
- Rice vinegar
- Cornstarch (dissolved in water)
For garnishing
- Sesame seeds
- Spring onion greens
Instructions
Air fry the chicken
1. Break the egg in a bowl and add the cooking oil, sea salt and pepper. Whisk until well combined. Add the chicken pieces.
2. In another bowl, mix the flour, cornstarch, paprika, onion powder, and ginger powder. Dredge the chicken pieces in this dry mixture, coating both the sides. Keep the floured pieces on a platter.
3. Now, douse the chicken with cooking spray until you can no longer see the flour. A few quick sprays will do it. Alternatively, you can also brush the chicken with oil using a pastry brush.
4. Preheat your air fryer to 400 F. Arrange the chicken pieces in the air fryer basket and air fry for 15 minutes. Flip the chicken once midway through cooking. You might have to do this in two batches to avoid overcrowding.
Make the sauce
5. While the chicken is air-frying, put all the ingredients for the sauce (except the cornstarch) in a saucepan and heat gently. Let the sauce simmer for 5-7 minutes. Dissolve the cornstarch in 2-3 tablespoons of water and add to the sauce. Stir until the sauce thickens (2 minutes).
Bring the chicken and sauce together
6. Pour the sauce over the chicken or add the chicken to the sauce. Garnish the orange chicken with sesame seeds and spring onion greens. Serve over rice for a complete and tasty meal.
Top tips
- I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs in this recipe since thigh meat remains moist and doesn’t dry out easily. You can use breast meat too if you want.
- Use good quality orange juice for maximum flavor. You can also squeeze a few oranges for fresh orange juice to make the sauce. It will add an extra step, but the taste and freshness will be worth it.
- The sauce should be quite thick but still of pourable consistency. If it has thickened a lot and has become like sludge, add hot water to loosen it. However, if it is too thin, add more cornstarch dissolved in water and cook it until the desired consistency is achieved. Do remember, the sauce will thicken further as it cools.
Pro Tip: Don’t forget to spray the chicken liberally with cooking oil after dredging it in the flour and cornstarch mixture. This mimics frying the chicken on the stovetop and makes the chicken crisp!
More air fryer chicken recipes
Air Fryer Orange Chicken
Equipment
- Air Fryer
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Platter
- 1 Saucepan
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 1 ½ lbs chicken thighs boneless, skinless, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 egg large
- 1 tsp cooking oil
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper freshly ground
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- ½ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp ginger powder
- 2 tbsp cooking spray approximately
For the sauce
- 1 ½ cups orange juice
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp ginger minced
- ½ tsp garlic minced
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp water
For garnishing
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp spring onion greens chopped
Instructions
- Break the egg in a bowl and add the cooking oil, sea salt and pepper. Whisk until well combined. Add the chicken pieces.
- In another bowl, mix the flour, cornstarch, paprika, onion powder, and ginger powder. Dredge the chicken pieces in this dry mixture, coating both the sides. Keep the floured pieces on a platter.
- Douse the chicken with cooking spray until you can no longer see the flour. A few quick sprays will do it. Alternatively, you can also brush the chicken with oil using a pastry brush.
- Preheat your air fryer to 400 F. Arrange the chicken pieces in the air fryer basket and air fry for 15 minutes. Flip the chicken once midway through cooking. You might have to do this in two batches to avoid overcrowding.
- While the chicken is air-frying, put all the ingredients for the sauce (except the cornstarch) in a saucepan and heat gently. Let the sauce simmer for 5-7 minutes. Dissolve the cornstarch in 2 tablespoons of water and add to the sauce. Stir until the sauce thickens (2 minutes).
- Pour the sauce over the chicken or add the chicken to the sauce. Garnish the orange chicken with sesame seeds and spring onion greens. Serve over rice for a complete and tasty meal.
Notes
- I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs in this recipe since thigh meat remains moist and doesn’t dry out easily. You can use breast meat too if you want.
- Use good quality orange juice for maximum flavor. You can also squeeze a few oranges for fresh orange juice to put in the sauce. It will add an extra step, but the taste and freshness will be worth it.
- The sauce should be quite thick but still of pourable consistency. If it has thickened a lot and become like sludge, add hot water to loosen it. If it is too thin, add more cornstarch dissolved in water and cook it until the desired consistency is achieved. Do remember, the sauce will thicken further as it cools.