This gluten-free orange chicken is a homemade version of a favorite Chinese takeout. Made with simple ingredients that deliver big flavor. Crispy pan-fried chicken is coated in a sweet and tangy orange sauce with just a bit of spice. It’s an easy dinner that’s perfect for weeknights. For another delicious dinner, be sure to try my Beef and Broccoli.
Want to save this recipe?
Just enter your email and get it sent to your inbox! Plus you'll get more yummy recipes every week!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Easy to make, so it’s great for weeknights.
- Made with simple ingredients
- Sweet and tangy with just a little spice
- Better than take-out, and you get to control the ingredients
- Gluten-free and dairy-free
How to Make Gluten-Free Orange Chicken
- Cut the chicken: Start by cutting the chicken into 1-inch pieces.
- Eggs: In a large bowl, beat the eggs.
- Flour Mix: In another bowl, combine the cornstarch, gluten-free flour, and salt.
- Fry: Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the chicken pieces to the egg mixture and toss to coat. Next, dredge the chicken through the gluten-free flour mixture. Place breaded chicken pieces in the skillet, don’t crowd. You’ll need to fry them in batches. Fry 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown.
- Orange Sauce: In a medium-sized pan, heat the orange juice, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and red chili flakes for 3 minutes.
- Whisk cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water. Stir into the sauce and cook for another 5 minutes, then remove from the heat. Add in orange zest.
- Coat the chicken: Toss the chicken with the orange sauce.
- Serve orange chicken over rice and drizzle with extra sauce. Garnish with sliced green onions. For a little more heat, sprinkle with red pepper flakes.
More gluten-free recipes you’ll love
Print
Easy Gluten-Free Orange Chicken
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stove Top
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Make your own delicious gluten-free orange chicken at home with this easy recipe and simple ingredients.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 lbs chicken breasts or chicken thighs, boneless
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup cornstarch
- ½ cup gluten-free flour blend (Pamela’s or your favorite)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ to ½ cup of avocado oil or olive oil
Orange Sauce - 1 ½ cups orange juice
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar or white vinegar
- 3 tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce or coconut aminos
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ red pepper flakes
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- zest of 1 orange
Garnish
One bunch of green onions, sliced
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into 1-inch pieces.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs.
- In another bowl, combine the cornstarch, gluten-free flour, and salt.
- Heat 1/3 cup of avocado oil in a large skillet.
- Add the chicken pieces to the egg mixture and toss to coat. Next, dredge the chicken through the gluten-free flour mixture. Place the breaded chicken pieces in the skillet, but don’t crowd them. You’ll need to fry them in batches.
- Fry 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown. You may need to add a little oil to the skillet in between batches.
- To make orange sauce: In a medium-sized pan, heat the orange juice, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and red chili flakes for 3 minutes.
- Whisk cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water. Stir into the sauce and cook for another 5 minutes, then remove from the heat. Add in orange zest.
- Coat the chicken with the orange sauce.
- Serve orange chicken over rice and drizzle with extra sauce. Garnish with sliced green onions. For a little more heat, sprinkle with red pepper flakes.
Jan
Your Orange Chicken sounds lovely and not too tough to accomplish.
Do you have an air fryer option rather than frying?
MamaShire
Follow the directions for my Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets and then coat them with the sauce. https://mamashire.com/air-fryer-chicken-nuggets-gluten-free/
Mark M.
This turned out sooooo good. My wife liked it better then her take out orange chicken.
MamaShire
That’s so great!
Christine
This was really good but I noticed in the directions for the sauce you mention adding sugar but in the actual recipe you don’t have any sugar listed. I didn’t add any because I wasn’t sure how much to add but now that I’ve made it I think a little bit of sugar is just what it needs. Can you comment with how much you used or adjust the recipe?
Thanks so much for all of the great recipes!! My 13 yo son has been struggling with food since he had to go gluten free, egg free, dairy free and wheat free this past fall!! He was already a picky eater and doesn’t do veggies at all really so it’s been hard. He was craving Panda Express orange chicken and was SO thrilled that I found this recipe!! 💕💕
MamaShire
Oh, thank you for alerting me to that. Yes, there is 1/2 cup sugar and I have fixed the recipe. I’m so sorry for the mixup. And I’m so glad I can help. Food allergies can be a lot to deal with so I’m happy that my recipes are helping!
Ama
I am looking forward to making this recipe. However, I can’t have eggs can I just omit them or does that alter the recipe?
MamaShire
You could try dipping the chicken in almond milk or another non-dairy milk in place of the eggs. The breading may not stick quite as well, but it should help.