15 Minute Air Fryer Orange Chicken

Throwing together a quick sauce on the stove while the chicken cooks in an air fryer is the secret to a fast and easy dinner — this Air Fryer Orange chicken recipe is ready in fifteen minutes!

Orange chicken is a favorite at our house. The main reason I don’t make it more is because I hate the mess of cutting up the chicken breast, then breading and frying in oil. It’s messy in every way.

I’ve tried using regular chicken nuggets to speed up dinner, but it tasted like something off the kids’ menu ordered through a clown’s mouth. The quality of the meat and the breading in most grocery store chicken nuggest is not high.

Using lightly breaded diced chicken from Perdue kept the quality high and the time commitment low. Perdue Farms sent me this bag of chicken to test out. I used the Perdue SimplySmart Organics Chicken Breast Chunks for this recipe.

Tips to get dinner on the table in fifteen minutes:

Start a quick rice on the stove or in the microwave and the chicken in the air fryer while you make the sauce on the stove. Everything is ready about the same time. I’ve used both a boil-in-bag Jasmine rice and a microwaveable frozen pre-cooked rice that were both quite good.

Air Fryer Orange Chicken

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Fast and easy, this air fryer orange chicken recipe puts dinner on the table in fifteen minutes.

Prep Time 3 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 24-ounce bag of Perdue SimplySmart Organics Chicken Breast Chunks
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Zest from 1 orange
• 1 Tablespoon corn starch
• 2 Tablespoons cold water

Instructions

1. Assemble and measure out all ingreadients.
2. Set air fryer on 375 degrees. Add chicken. Toss halfway through cook time.
3. Start quick-cook rice of your choice.
4. On a non-stick skillet over medium heat, add orange juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes.
5. Bring sauce to the boil (about 3 minutes), then reduce to simmer. Stir constantly to prevent burning until temperature lowers.
6. Simmer sauce for 7 to 10 minutes to reduce, stirring frequently.
7. Add corn starch into cold water in a small bowl. Stir to full incorporate.
8. Add corn starch slurry to sauce. Stir constantly until thickened, then remove from heat.
9. When the chicken is done (brown and crispy) add chicken and orange zest into sauce. Stir to coat chicken fully,
10. Serve on rice.

Notes

Oil free crispy chicken!

Corn starch must be incorporated into cold water before being added to sauce.

Garnish with sesame seeds and chives -- optional.