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bowl of air fryer orange chicken

Easy Air Fryer Orange Chicken

Super crispy on the outside, perfectly juicy on the inside and bursting with orange flavor! This delicious orange chicken that tastes better than takeout in just 20 minutes!
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
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Ingredients

  • 1 lb chicken breast cut into bite sized ~1" cubes
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 3 tbsp + 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 Orange
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp orange marmalade
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Instructions

  • To start, you're going to want to preheat your air fryer to 370 degrees. If you don't have a preheat function just set it to 370 and let it run for about 5 minutes to get up to temperature.
  • If you haven't yet, slice your chicken breast into bite sized, ~1" cubes. Then, drizzle some sesame oil over them followed by tossing them with 3 tbsp of your cornstarch.
  • When your air fryer is ready you're going to cook the chicken for ~12-15 minutes, shaking once halfway through. I like to check on mine because if you cut your chicken pieces on the smaller side and let them go to 15 minutes they'll be rock hard.
  • While the chicken is cooking in a medium saucepan NOT on heat whisk together orange juice, soy sauce, orange marmalade, oyster sauce, grated orange rind, 2 tsp cornstarch and garlic powder.
  • Now, when your chicken has about 5 minutes left you're going to start to simmer this until it just starts to thicken.
  • When your chicken is done add it right into the saucepan with your orange sauce and toss to coat.
  • Serve with rice and veggie of choice for a delicious air fryer orange chicken dinner! For an extra flair, top with sesame seeds!

Notes

Oyster Sauce Sub: If you don't have oyster sauce on hand don't worry. You can actually sub bbq sauce. Now this won't give you the SAME flavor and I DO highly recommend getting the oyster. However, in a pinch I've totally done this. It adds a little more sweetness and a little of that more pungent flavor like the oyster will. But I will stress again... HIGHLY recommend having oyster sauce on hand!
Oven Directions: You can make this orange chicken in the oven if you don't have an air fryer. Simply follow all of the same directions and cook your chicken in the oven at 375 for about 30 minutes.
Your chicken likely won't be AS crispy. However, if your oven has a convection setting I'd recommend using that. Essentially an air fryer is a small convection oven, which just means the air is being circulated. So if you can use that it will help get your chicken crispy just like air fryer orange chicken!
Storing Air Fryer Orange Chicken: This will keep in the fridge for 5-7 days. You could also freeze it for 2-3 months.
Reheating Orange Chicken: You can microwave this for ~3 minutes or reheat in the air fryer. Add a little aluminum foil to your air fryer (to prevent the sauce from getting messy) and cook it at 370 for 3-5 minutes. Be sure to spray the foil with non-stick spray to prevent it from getting stuck!
If Sauce Thickens While Storing: Just toss it with a little water to thin it out!

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Nutrition Facts

Nutrition Facts
Easy Air Fryer Orange Chicken
Serving Size
 
1 g
Amount per Serving
Calories
268
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
6
g
9
%
Saturated Fat
 
1
g
6
%
Polyunsaturated Fat
 
4
g
Cholesterol
 
96
mg
32
%
Sodium
 
1089
mg
47
%
Carbohydrates
 
14
g
5
%
Fiber
 
1
g
4
%
Sugar
 
9
g
10
%
Protein
 
37
g
74
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.