Orange Chicken Meal Prep
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This Orange Chicken Meal Prep makes irresistibly delicious lunches and dinners for the entire week. It’s easy and full of classic Chinese orange chicken flavors, and you can take it with you for lunches or dinners for the entire week!
Orange Chicken is one of my fave Chinese recipes, so much that I decided to meal prep it for a healthier meal on-the-go.
It’s just as easy, and it gets tastier with each day as the flavors penetrate into the chicken. Simply pair with some rice and vegetables to make a deliciously yummy meal.
More meal prep ideas:
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How to Make Orange Chicken Meal Prep
There are four main steps for making orange chicken:
- Step 1 – Marinate the chicken: Cut chicken breasts into 1″ cubes and coat with a mixture of orange zest, beaten egg, salt and pepper. Set aside for 15 minutes.
- Step 2 – Frying: Heat a medium saucepan or skillet to 350°F, using an oil thermometer to measure if you’re not sure. Coat the chicken pieces in flour, shake off the excess, and then fry in two batches for 3-4 minutes each time.
- Step 3 – Make the Sauce: In a separate saucepan, bring water, sugar and orange juice to a boil over medium heat. Mix the cornstarch with 3 tbsp of water in a cup and then to add the sauce whisking continuously to thicken slightly.
- Step 4 – Coat the Chicken: Add the fried chicken pieces to the sauce, and stir or toss to coat evenly. Remove from heat.
That’s it, you are ready to meal prep it! Let it cool slightly, and then add one third each of orange chicken, rice and vegetables to meal prep containers.
Tips for Selecting Meal Prep Containers
Having a decent set of meal prep containers will help keep your organized, making meal prepping easier and faster. They can also look good!
Most meal prep containers have a rectangular shape and will hold 4-5 cups of food.
Use the following tips for selecting them:
- Brand and size: Buy the same brand and size of containers! Trust me, you don’t want to be sorting through mismatched lids on different types of containers.
- Quantity: You want to buy a pack of at least 10 containers to have enough ready to be loaded up at any time.
- Material: Microwaveable, BPA-free plastic containers like these ones are the best lightweight option if you’re always on-the-go. Glass containers are a good durable alternative if you want to avoid plastic.
Orange Chicken Meal Prep
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
- 1 medium orange
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups vegetable oil
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 3 tbsp cornstarch, mixed with 3 tbsp water
Instructions
- To a medium mixing bowl, add cubed chicken, zest of half an orange, egg, salt and pepper. Mix well and set aside for 15 minutes to marinate.
- Coat the marinated chicken with flour, shaking off the excess.
- Place oil in a medium saucepan or deep fryer and heat to 350˚F.
- Deep fry the chicken pieces in batches for 3-4 minutes each until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.
- In a skillet, add 1 cup water, juice of the orange (about 2 tbsp) and sugar. Bring to a boil.
- Mix the cornstarch with 3 tbsp water to make a slurry. Add to the pan to thicken the sauce and stir constantly until thickened.
- Add in the chicken and toss to coat. Serve and enjoy!
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I followed this recipe to the T, did not come out at all like the pictures, did not even taste like orange chicken. Particularly the orange glaze…I had to add extra orange zest to make it taste like orange.
Hi B, Sorry to hear that and thanks for your feedback.
I really don’t want to deep fry the chicken. Will the recipe work if I will just fry the marinated chicken on a pan?
Hi Linda, Thanks for your question. You can definitely pan fry the chicken although it won’t be crispy, that’s all. Let me know how it goes 🙂
What is the extra TBSP of cornstarch for? Theres 3tbsp for the slurry but there’s an extra one listed too. Is that supposed to go in with the flour to coat the chicken?
Hi Matty, That extra tbsp is just a typo. We’ve corrected it and thanks so much for mentioning it!
So what’s up w/orange chicken recipe as opposed to your lemon chicken recipe?I think you might have typos honest orange chicken if you do not mention the exact amount of orange juice to put in what you do have two places where the corn start just wondering because believe me these recipes are the best!
Hi Kim, Thanks for your comment and SO HAPPY to hear you love these recipes 🙂 🙂 So regarding your question, it’s about 2 tbsp of juice whether it’s Orange Chicken or Lemon Chicken. However, there’s a bit more sugar in Lemon Chicken to offset the sourness of the juice. LMK how it goes!