Air Fryer Orange Chicken

Try this simple air fryer orange chicken recipe to make this takeout classic at home. Crunchy chicken and a sweet orange sauce are a combo that’s hard to beat! Serve over a bed of rice or stir-fried vegetables.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 12

Total Time 22

Servings servings

Calories 367kcal

Author John Kanell

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs cut into 1” cubes (450g)
1 large egg beaten
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup cornstarch or potato starch (112g)

For the Orange Sauce:

½ cup fresh orange juice (120mL) (about 2 oranges)
¼ cup soy sauce (60mL)
¼ cup packed light brown sugar (55g)
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon orange zest about 2 oranges
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 garlic cloves minced
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Sesame seeds and sliced green onions for serving

Instructions

For the Chicken:

In a medium bowl, combine the chicken, egg, and salt, stirring to coat the chicken well.
In a shallow bowl, add the cornstarch and stir to break up any large clumps. Work with a few pieces at a time, transfer the chicken pieces to the flour mixture and toss until well coated in the dredge. Dredge only what will fit in your basket at one time.
Preheat the air fryer to 400°F.
Place the dredged chicken pieces in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Spray the chicken generously with cooking spray.
Air fry for 6 minutes. Flip the chicken pieces and spray them with cooking spray again. Continue to air fry until golden and crispy, about 6 minutes more. Transfer the cooked chicken to a large bowl, and continue dredging and cooking the remaining pieces.

For the Orange Sauce:

While the last batch of chicken cooks, combine the orange juice, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, zest, ginger, oil, pepper, and garlic in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook until the sugar is dissolved.
Dissolve the cornstarch in the water in a small bowl, and whisk it into the saucepan. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until thickened and translucent, about 1 minute.
Pour the sauce over the chicken and toss to coat. Serve immediately, topped with sesame seeds and green onions.

Notes

Cut the chicken uniformly. Every chicken piece doesn’t need to be exactly the same size, but the size should be quite uniform so all the chicken cooks at the same speed.
Don’t forget the cooking spray. Make sure to coat the dredged chicken with cooking spray so the cornstarch becomes crispy in the air fryer. Also, remember to spray the other side of the chicken after you flip the pieces.
Dredge the chicken in batches. Don’t coat all the chicken with cornstarch at once since all the chicken does not fit into an air fryer basket, and it will become gummy as it sits. Instead, only coat as much chicken as will fit into the basket at once. When the first batch is cooked, work on dredging the next batch.
Use orange marmalade! Swap out the fresh zest and brown sugar for 1/4 cup of orange marmalade. This is a great way to add that zesty flavor if you don't have fresh oranges.

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