You know those days when you think you can get a lot of stuff done around the house, and then you realize it’s summer? I mean seriously! Every 5 minutes my kids are either hungry, bored, fighting or trying to get device time. And while I do love it when everyone is happy and I get to spend time with them, it is very hard to get anything on my to-do list done. Ha!
Well, at least I’ve got a stack of freezer meals in my freezer…it’s my summer life-saving secret. So today I wanted to share one recipe my kids adore. My simple & easy make ahead orange chicken freezer meal. Mmmmm! Mmmmmm!
This recipe is truly delicious. Sweet and packed full of just the right amount of ginger and orange!
Just follow the directions below to make this amazing orange chicken freezer meal.
Orange Chicken Freezer Meal Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 2 egg whites
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- fresh green onion, sliced optional
Orange Sauce
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1/4 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp garlic minced
- 1 tsp ginger pureed or minced
- 1 tsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Dice chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine cornstarch and egg whites. Stir and add chicken to bowl. Turn to coat chicken until all are well combined.
- Add oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat, and when hot, add coated chicken in small batches. Cook, stirring often until golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Drain on a paper towel as you cook remaining batches.
- In another small bowl make the orange sauce by whisking together orange juice, water, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and cornstarch.
Make It Now
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add orange sauce mix. Bring to a boil, stirring continuously, then reduce heat to low and simmer 1 to 2 minutes or until sauce thickens up. Pour sauce over chicken and serve with chopped green onions if using.
Freeze It For Later
- Place uncooked sauce into labeled gallon sized bag. Seal, removing air. Place cooked and cooled chicken into another labeled gallon size freezer bag. You can add the sauce bag into this bag to prevent them getting separated. Place in freezer and freeze.
Reheating
- Place frozen orange sauce mix into a bowl of hot water to thaw quickly. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place frozen chicken on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes until chicken is fully heated through. Bring to a boil, stirring continuously, then reduce heat to low and simmer 1 to 2 minutes or until sauce thickens up. Pour sauce over chicken and serve with chopped green onions if using.
Nutrition
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My coating did not stick to the chicken. I did use a cast iron skillet thinking that would work best, but the coating all stuck to the bottom. Can you tell me what I did wrong? Mine is in th freezer, but I would love to make this again with crispies chicken. I really like the air fryer idea!
Be prepared to have your entire kitchen splattered with grease. What a huge mess
I always like to do my frying in my dutch oven, though any deep walled pot should do. No need to adjust the amount of oil called for. The walls of the pot significantly reduce the amount of oil spatter on the stove and surrounding surfaces.
I’m going to cook my chicken in my air fryer to reduce calories and grease. I think it’ll work just fine.
Do you have suggestions for how I could batter the chicken without the egg whites? My daughter has an egg allergy. I know the egg whites add extra crispness, but I wonder if I could just substitute milk of water instead with the cornstarch?
You could try Aquafaba. It’s the liquid that canned beans sit in. I’ve used it in the past, can’t really tell the difference.
Can you cook the sause then freeze it?
I haven’t tried that, I don’t think it would work, it would probably be super clumpy? But I could be wrong… try it and see!
Looks like a keeper. We love Orange Chicken. Now I can make it at home. Thank you.
This is my first time at this site, and first time making orange chicken. I am swooning. The sauce is delicious. I never leave reviews but felt like I ought to die to how much I have enjoyed it. Thank you very much for posting. I’m so glad I stumbled across your website.
Yay, glad you liked it!!!
I wanted to mention, well a few things 1) I LOVE your page. 2) there’s an app called prepear that I think would be cool to add to this page. it just helps people add the recipes to their phones. I was saddened to not see it linked to this page but I thought I’d mention it.(I’m not affiliated or anything just thought this awesome page would be even better if I could download these to my phone for when I go shopping) 3) Thank you for putting this page together . As a mom of 8 with chronic illness and other fun crud, this page has become such a useful tool to help keep kids fed, it is, well, a blessing. Anyways, keep up the good work!
Can you coat and freeze the chicken raw and then cook it the day of?
When I made it, the egg white
Mixture was not thick enough to coat the chicken… I basically fried naked chicken ?any tips?
Hmmm… very strange. You may have had some watery eggs… I’m not sure! Strange!
I had this same problem my first time also. I quickly learned to coat the chicken little by little. I need much more batter.
Well !!! I tried this recipe last night and it is Delicious !!!! Bravo, Bravo !!! The chicken (I ended up using boneless skinless thighs) is so very tender but I’m sure the breast meat would have been delectable also. And the sauce…. super yummy !! Just a couple things, though…perhaps i am misreading the quantities, but I ended up needing to triple the egg whites/cornstarch amount to make enough to coat the chicken chunks. (although i DID discover that with more brisk whisking, the frothiness builds and seems to increase the volume.) Also, we didn’t think the sauce ingredients made enough sauce for all the chicken. But all is well; I will tweak it a little next time. Everyone LOVED the flavor ! And I love how clearly you explained the preparation processes for making it to cook “now” vs making it to freeze. Love your site, girl !!!! keep it up !! I am learning so much .:)
So happy you liked it!!!
Can you tell me why you don’t freeze the sauce with the chicken in one bag
Thank-you
It will make it soggy if it’s together.
Sounds yummy, can’t wait to try this. I am on a sugar free menu.
This looks easy and delicious. I will try this next week for sure. Thanks. Look forward to your videos!