Gluten-Free Orange Chicken

September 26, 2025

easy

4-5

This gluten-free copycat of Panda Express Orange Chicken, not only tastes like the real thing, but better! With crispy chicken coated in the famous sweet & tangy orange chicken sauce!

What is Gluten-Free Orange Chicken?

Inspired by the classic Orange Chicken entree from Panda Express, this Gluten-Free Orange Chicken uses cornstarch in place of a flour based coating, which maintains all the crispy juicy bites of chicken. Glazed with an orange chicken sauce packed with the all too familiar sweet and tangy flavors that make this famous sauce iconic, minus the gluten from soy sauce and other wheat containing ingredients, of course!

Gluten-Free Orange Chicken in take-out container

What Ingredients are in Gluten-Free Orange Chicken?

Panda Express who? A quick trip to the grocery store and you’ll have everything you need to have this delicious dish at home! Here’s everything you will need to recreate this classic:

For the Chicken:

Chicken Breast
Garlic Powder
Ginger Powder
Corn Starch

For the Sauce:

Gluten-Free Soy Sauce
Fresh Oranges or Orange Juice
Brown Sugar
Cornstarch
Fresh Ginger
Fresh Garlic
Rice Vinegar
Sesame Seed Oil
Vegetable Oil
Red Chili Peppers
Sesame Seeds

Tips for the perfect Orange Chicken

Dry the Chicken: Before coating the chicken in cornstarch, make sure to thoroughly pat the chicken dry. By extracting as much of any excess moisture from the chicken, it will result in crispier pieces!
Fresh Oranges > Bottled Juice: Always opt-in for fresh oranges (if available) over bottled orange juice, this will give the best flavor for the sauce. Extra tip, slightly press down and roll the fresh oranges before cutting and juicing them, this will optimize the amount of juice you will get!
Fully Coat the Chicken: Make sure that each piece of chicken has been fully and evenly coated in the cornstarch and dry seasonings, more coverage = flavorful crispy chicken! However, make sure not to overcoat, you don’t want a thick layer of coating, that can result in powdery/starchy bites of chicken.

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Ingredients

Adjust Servings

	2 lbs Chicken, breast
	1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
	1 tablespoon Ginger Powder
	3 tablespoons Corn Starch
	Salt
	Black Pepper
	Sesame Seed Oil, to drizzle
	Vegetable Oil, for frying

For Sauce:

	2 tablespoons Gluten-Free Soy Sauce
	1 cup Orange Juice about the juice of 2 large oranges
	1/2 cup Brown Sugar
	2 tablespoons Corn Starch
	2 teaspoons Fresh Ginger, minced
	2 teaspoons Fresh Garlic, minced
	2 teaspoons Red Chili Peppers
	2 each Green Onions, sliced
	1/2 cup Rice Vinegar

Directions

Prep the Chicken

Cut chicken into small bite sized pieces (about 1 inch), pat dry with a paper towel. Coat the chicken in cornstarch, garlic powder, ginger powder, salt & pepper. Set aside.

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Fry the Chicken

In a frying pan, add about ½ inch thick of vegetable oil and set to medium heat. Use one piece of raw chicken to place in the oil to test if it has come to temperature, you will know it is ready once the piece of chicken does a “frying” sizzle sound and bubbles rapidly around the chicken. Once the oil is ready, in batches, shallow fry the chicken. Allow the chicken to cook until half way up the piece begins to turn an opaque white or light golden color, begin to flip each piece for both sides to fry properly. When the chicken is fried, place on a wired rack on a baking sheet for any excess oil to drip off. After the chicken has rested toss in the sesame seed oil.

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Make the Sauce

In a bowl, combine the soy sauce, orange juice, brown sugar and cornstarch. Set aside. Start the sauce in a medium pan on medium/low heat, sauteé the minced ginger, garlic, red pepper, and green onions until fragrant. Add the rice vinegar and orange juice mixture to the pan, mixing until all the ingredients are combined. Continuously mix until the sauce begins to thicken and becomes a glossy dark orange color. You will want the sauce to be thicker than a syrup.

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Toss & Plate-up

When the sauce is ready, add the chicken to the pan and toss them into the sauce until all the pieces are fully coated. Top with sesame seeds, green onions, and serve with a side of chow mein or rice.

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