This simple and flavorful Easy Baked Orange Chicken is a midweek meal life saver! Marinated chicken baked in a sweet and savory sauce, just perfect for serving over rice or with your favorite veggies.
Homemade Take on Your Favorite Chinese Food
Skip the take out and make your favorite Chinese food inspired dish at home. This Easy Baked Orange Chicken is saucy and delicious and so simple to make. Tender chunks of white meat chicken baked (not fried!) in a flavorful asian inspired sauce made with straightforward ingredients. It’s sure to be a hit at your dinner table!
Just Marinate and Bake
Y’all know me. I’m a sucker for any recipe that makes dinner easy and delicious. From casseroles like my Chicken Parmesan Casserole or Beef Stroganoff Casserole to soup recipes the whole family loves, if it simplifies dinner, I’m in!
And this orange chicken recipe is so simple and quick (just remember to build in time for marinating). And most importantly, it’s delicious. The sauce is just the right amount of sticky sweet and the chicken is so tender. Everyone is a huge fan. I just throw some rice in the rice cooker and dinner is on!
Ingredients and Supplies
(see recipe card at the bottom of this post for measurements and details)
Ingredients:
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
- Cornstarch – cornstarch is used as a thickening agent for both the marinade and the sauce to create that thicker, sticky texture as it cooks.
- Soy sauce
- Orange juice
- Brown sugar
- Rice vinegar – if you don’t have rice vinegar, you could use white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or even white vinegar instead
Supplies:
- Large mixing bowl
- Rimmed sheet pan
- Foil
- Nonstick cooking spray
How to Make Easy Baked Orange Chicken
- Slice chicken breasts into cubes.
- In a large bowl mixing bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients. Add the cubed chicken and stir to coat.
- Let marinate for 30 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed sheet pan with foil and spray generously with non-stick cooking spray.
- Pour the chicken onto the prepared sheet pan and spread to an even layer.
- Bake on an upper rack of the oven for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to insure even browning.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce. Add the sauce ingredients to a small pot.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring continuously, until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat.
- After the chicken has baked for 30 minutes, remove it from the oven and pour the sauce all over it. Toss to coat evenly and return the sheet pan to the oven.
- Bake for another 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, or until the glaze starts to brown and really stick to the chicken.
- Remove from the oven and transfer to a serving dish along with any sauce on the pan.
- Serve over rice, if desired. We like to serve ours with roasted or steamed broccoli as well
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat, loosely covered, in the microwave, in 30-second increments, until heated through.
More Hot Meals in Minutes
Get family dinner on the table in about 30 minutes with My Favorite Hot Meals in Minutes. These delicious and quick dinner recipes are perfect for weeknight meals when time is short and the crowd is hungry.
If you make this Easy Baked Orange Chicken, be sure to snap a picture and share it with me on Instagram @thebakermama so I can see. If you’re on Facebook, be sure to join my Friends of The BakerMama group to connect and share all the fun and yummy recipes of mine that you make! 
I just love seeing how inspired and creative y’all get with the ideas I share. Enjoy!
xoxo,
Easy Baked Orange Chicken
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Marinate Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
Description
This simple and straightforward Easy Baked Orange Chicken is a midweek meal life saver! Marinated chicken baked in a sweet and savory sauce, just perfect for serving over rice or with your favorite veggies.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
Marinade:
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup orange juice
Sauce:
- 1 cup orange juice
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Slice chicken breasts into cubes.
- In a large bowl mixing bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients. Add the cubed chicken and stir to coat.
- Let marinate for 30 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed sheet pan with foil and spray generously with non-stick cooking spray.
- Pour the chicken onto the prepared sheet pan and spread to an even layer.
- Bake on an upper rack of the oven for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to insure even browning.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce. Add the sauce ingredients to a small pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring continuously, until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- After the chicken has baked for 30 minutes, remove it from the oven and pour the sauce all over it. Toss to coat evenly and return the sheet pan to the oven.
- Bake for another 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, or until the glaze starts to brown and really stick to the chicken.
- Remove from the oven and transfer to a serving dish along with any sauce on the pan.
- Serve over rice, if desired. We like to serve ours with roasted or steamed broccoli as well.
