Making Panda Express Orange Chicken at home is healthy, affordable, and tastes just like the real thing! Our gluten-free and Paleo recipe uses fresh, accessible ingredients and includes instructions for cooking in an air fryer or stovetop.

Made with fresh orange juice and zest, this iconic Chinese takeout dish is tangy and sweet, with hints of umami and ginger. If you enjoy this tasty Panda Express copycat recipe, try my Panda Express Honey Sesame Chicken and Panda Express almond chicken, too!

Photo shows homemade Panda express orange chicken served in a white plate with fresh slices of oranges.
Homemade copycat panda orange chicken with crisp chicken bites tossed in fresh orange sauce!
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Ingredients

This is the BEST recipe for orange chicken Panda Express because it’s easy and uses fresh and better-for-you alternatives to Panda Express ingredients. So what is orange chicken made of?

Ingredients needed to make panda express orange chicken sauce
  • Panda Express orange sauce:
    • Fresh orange juice (pulp-free): Bottled or freshly squeezed will work. See substitutions for how to make orange chicken without orange juice.
    • Orange zest: This ingredient is a must to brighten the sauce and make it more aromatic.
    • Coconut aminos: If you’re not Paleo, you can use soy sauce or tamari instead.
    • Coarse sea salt, garlic, ginger, starch
    • Apple cider vinegar, or white vinegar
Ingredients needed to make panda orange chicken at home
  • For the chicken:
    • Chicken thighs: The original recipe uses boneless and skinless dark-meat chicken (thighs). You could use chicken breast as a healthier alternative.
    • Coarse sea salt, garlic powder
    • Ground white pepper: Chinese cuisine uses more white
      pepper than black, but if you black pepper will also work.
    • Tapioca starch: You can also use arrowroot powder or potato starch.
    • Olive oil: Or avocado oil
    • Gluten-free mirin (optional): This optional ingredient adds flavor to the meat.
  • Other:
    • Avocado oil
    • Spring onions or green onions

Ingredient substitutions

  • Without orange juice: Apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, or grapefruit juice mixed with sugar or honey. Use equal parts of vinegar with sweetener for the required amount of liquid. Add a little orange zest to the sauce mixture.
  • Breaded orange chicken: To add breading for orange chicken (like the restaurant version uses) coat the chicken in a batter of flour, egg, and water before frying.
  • Add an egg to the chicken marinade: This works better if you pan-fry the chicken. It doesn’t work well for air frying, as the chicken will stick to the air fryer basket.
  • Add vegetables: I suggest blanched Broccoli, snow peas, sugar snap peas, or red peppers. Serve with rice for a healthy and balanced meal!
  • Use Chinese rice wine: As a substitute for mirin. (Note: Chinese rice wine is not gluten-free.)
  • Different starch: Use potato starch, arrowroot starch, or cornstarch, if you tolerate it.
  • About sesame oil: I do not recommend adding sesame oil to this dish. The fresh orange flavor doesn’t work well with this strong-flavored oil.

ChihYu’s tip for extra crispy chicken without deep-frying

  • Air fry: The trick to making chicken thighs extra crispy in an air fryer is to “triple fry” them.
    • After air frying the chicken at 400°F (204°C) for 8 minutes (4 minutes on the first side, then flip for 4 more minutes), flip the chicken again to air fry for 3 extra minutes. The chicken thighs will be extra golden brown and crispy!
    • I do not recommend coating the chicken with eggs for air frying. Because the chicken is not breaded, it will stick to the air fryer basket.
  • Stovetop: Preheat the saute pan with ¼ cup of oil until simmering. Pan fry the chicken in a single layer until crisp and golden brown on both sides. If you coat the chicken with eggs, I recommend using the stovetop method.

How to make the dish

This tasty Panda Express recipe for orange chicken is a healthy version of the restaurant’s signature dish that’s easy to make at home! Here’s how to cook orange chicken in the air fryer or stovetop:

A step-by-step photo shows season the chicken, make orange sauce, and air fry the chicken to make orange chicken
  1. Prepare the chicken: Slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces. In a large bowl, combine the chicken with the seasonings from salt to mirin, if using.
  2. Mix the Panda orange sauce ingredients: In a separate bowl, add the orange chicken seasoning ingredients from orange juice to starch. Combine and stir well.
A step-by-step photo shows you can also pan fry the chicken on stovetop, thicken the orange sauce, then add the chicken to the sauce
  1. Cook the chicken:
    • Air fry: Preheat the air fryer, spray the basket with oil, and then add the chicken to the basket (leaving space between the pieces). Air fry the chicken and set aside.
    • Pan fry: Preheat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the oil and spread chicken pieces in a single layer. Pan-fry the chicken until cooked through and set aside.
  2. Combine and serve: Pour the orange sauce into the hot pan and gently stir with a wooden spoon until it thickens. Return the chicken to the pan and toss to coat well. Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with spring onions and orange slices. Serve hot or warm.

Orange chicken variations

  • Different cuts of chicken: Use chicken breasts or ground chicken in place of thighs in this recipe, or use the orange sauce to coat crispy chicken wings.
  • Spicier: Add crushed red pepper flakes, hot sauce, or my garlic chili sauce to the Panda orange sauce if you like it spicy.
  • Even healthier: Aside from making the chicken in an air fryer, you can saute the chicken without coating it in starch or flour. See my Panda Express string bean chicken.
  • Vegetarian: Use the crispy tofu from my Air fryer salt and pepper tofu recipe, coming next!
  • Orange chicken sandwich: Coat a pan-fried chicken breast in the zesty orange sauce and enjoy it in sandwich form, like the newest menu item from Panda Express!

How to make ahead, store, and reheat

This tasty orange chicken dish is easy to prepare ahead of time. Leftovers store well in the fridge or freezer, too!

  • Make-ahead: Prepare the chicken and the orange chicken sauce and store them in the fridge separately for up to 3 days before cooking.
  • Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Make a large batch and freeze some for later!
  • Reheat: In the air fryer at 380F for 6 minutes; In the oven at 425F for 6-8 minutes.

What to serve with orange chicken

It’s so easy to turn this orange chicken from Panda Express into a healthy homemade Chinese food feast!

Expert Tips

  • Season the chicken: Season the chicken in a combination of soy sauce or coconut aminos, salt, garlic, pepper, and starch before cooking to infuse it with flavor and keep it tender.
  • Air fry or pan fry the chicken: Pan-frying will give you crispier, golden brown chicken. Orange chicken in the air fryer is easy, healthy, and creates less mess.
  • Prepare the orange sauce separately: The key to Panda Express’ Orange Chicken is the sauce. For the best orange chicken sauce, use fresh orange juice with a touch of garlic, ginger, and vinegar. Don’t forget the orange zest! It really enhances the orange flavor.
  • Combine the chicken and the sauce right before serving: Cook the chicken and the sauce separately. Combine the two right before serving so that the chicken will remain crispy.

FAQs

What is in orange chicken Panda Express?

Panda orange chicken uses boneless and skinless chicken thighs. The chicken is breaded and deep-fried and served with rice. The famous Panda Express orange sauce combines water, orange extract, distilled vinegar, sugar, salt, garlic, cornstarch, and sesame oil.

Is Panda Express orange chicken spicier?

No. The orange chicken tastes sweeter than most other dishes on the Panda Express menu because the sauce is orange-flavored and uses added sugar.

Is Panda Express orange chicken Beyond Meat?

The original orange chicken uses chicken thighs. Panda Express new orange chicken plant-based version uses Beyond Meat for vegan and vegetarian eaters. Neither version served at the restaurants is gluten-free.

What’s the difference between orange chicken and beyond orange chicken Panda Express?

Panda Express Beyond orange chicken is made with plant-based ingredients like peas, brown rice, and fats from coconut and canola, along with other natural flavorings and colors. The original orange chicken uses real dark-meat chicken. Both versions are battered and deep-fried to golden crispy bites and tossed in a sweet, tangy, and slightly spicy orange sauce.

More Chinese takeout recipes you might like

If you love this Panda Express copycat dish, be sure to give some of my other popular Chinese takeout alternatives a try!

A side close shot shows copycat panda orange chicken served on a white plate with orange slices on the side for garnish
Photo shows the recipe image of orange chicken panda express copycat dish served on a white plate
5 from 4 votes

Panda express orange chicken recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 5 servings
Author: ChihYu Smith
The best panda express orange chicken made easy! With air fryer and stovetop instructions, juicy chicken and orange sauce made healthy!
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Ingredients 

For the chicken:

  • 1.25 lb chicken thighs, boneless and skinlless
  • 1 tsp coarse sea salt
  • ¼ tsp ground white pepper
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • 2.5 tbsp tapioca starch, or potato starch
  • 1 tbsp olive oil, or avocado oil
  • ½ tbsp gluten-free mirin, optional

Panda express orange sauce:

  • ½ cup orange juice, pulp-free
  • 3 tbsp coconut aminos
  • 1 tsp coarse sea salt
  • Zest 1 small orange, reserve a few slices of orange for garnish
  • 0.7 oz garlic cloves, grated, 4 large
  • 0.5 oz ginger, grated
  • 2.5 tbsp apple cider vinegar, or white vinegar
  • 2 tsp tapioca starch, or potato starch

Others:

Instructions 

To prepare the chicken:

  • Slice the chicken into 1.5-inch chunks. In a large bowl, combine the chicken with the seasonings from salt to mirin, if using. Gently stir and mix-well. The batter mixture will be a little wet. This is okay.

To prepare the panda orange sauce:

  • In a separate bowl, add the ingredients from orange juice to starch. Combine and stir-well.

To air fry the chicken:

  • Preheat the air fryer to 400F. Spray the basket with oil then add the chicken piece-by-piece into the basket with some space between them. Air fry for 8 minutes. Open the basket and carefully flip the chicken pieces. Spray with more oil and air fryer for 4 additional minutes. Transfer the chicken out and set aside.

To pan fry the chicken on stovetop:

  • Preheat a large saute pan over medium-heat until it feels hot. Add the oil and chicken pieces and spread them into a single layer. Pan fry the chicken without touching for 3 minutes or until the bottom turns golden brown then flip to cook the other side for 2 to 3 minutes. The chicken should be cooked through before transferring them out.

To combine:

  • Preheat a large saute pan over medium-high heat until it feels warm. Pour-in the orange sauce and gently stir with a wooden spoon until it thickens, 1-2 minutes.
  • Add-in the chicken and toss to coat well, 30 seconds. Turn off the heat. Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with spring onions and orange slices. Serve hot or warm.

Notes

  • You can also add 1 whole whisked egg to the chicken mixture marinade and increase the starch to 3.5 tbsp. This works better if you pan-fry the chicken. They will be more crisp and golden brown. However, this method does not work well in an air fryer as the egg will stick to the air fryer basket.
  • The trick to making chicken thighs extra crisp in an air fryer is to “triple fry” them. After air frying at 400F for 8 minutes on the first side and 4 minutes on the other side, flip the chicken again to air fry for 3 extra minutes. The chicken thighs will be extra golden brown and crisp.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 372kcal, Carbohydrates: 12g, Protein: 19g, Fat: 27g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 14g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 111mg, Sodium: 1194mg, Potassium: 320mg, Fiber: 0.2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 138IU, Vitamin C: 14mg, Calcium: 21mg, Iron: 1mg
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American Chinese
Keyword: orange chicken panda express, panda express orange chicken
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