Crispy, Sweet and Healthy Copycat Air Fryer Orange Chicken inspired by the PF Chang’s Asian Table restaurant! This easy recipe is so mouth-wateringly good! The combination of juicy chicken thighs coated in a sweet and TASTY orange peel sauce is soo DELICIOUS!!

Now who doesn’t love some crispy orange chicken! Drenched in homemade sweet and sticky orange sauce!
Who invented orange chicken
Orange chicken is such a popular takeaway dish and can be made healthier by cooking it in an air fryer ! Many versions of this recipe dish has been recreated by various restaurant and supermarket chains such as Panda express, Trader Joes – Pre cooked frozen orange chicken (in the US) and PF Chang’s Asian Table.
When I visited P.F. Chang’s Asian Table restaurant in London I was blown away by the amazing flavours. Of course, I had to recreate this amazing dish at home with a copycat recipe! P.F. Chang’s is an Asian restaurant concept founded on making food from scratch every day in every restaurant. P.F. Chang’s has 210+ U.S. restaurants, plus over 95 restaurants in more than 25 countries across the globe.
How to make air fryer PF Chang’s orange chicken
(Scroll to the bottom of this page for the full list or ingredients and instructions on the recipe card)
- Air fryer prep: Preheat the air fryer
- Prepare chicken batter: Add the diced chicken thighs into a large bowl, pour in the egg whites, then mix. In a separate large bowl mix the dry ingredients together (cornflour, salt, white pepper, garlic powder).
- Dredging the chicken: Pour the seasoned flour into a large food bag, slightly drain off the excess egg whites from the chicken mixture, place into the food bag and seal. Shake the food bag continuously until each piece of chicken is coated. Use your hands to massage the chicken into the flour to ensure each piece is coated well.
- Air fry: Brush or spray the air fryer basket with a light layer of oil. Shake off the excess flour from the chicken and then place into the air fryer. Spray or brush the top of the dredged chicken with oil before cooking. Air fry the chicken for 15 minutes at 170°C / 340 °F , turning the chicken pieces half way through the cooking process.
- Making the orange sauce: Whilst the chicken is in the air fryer heat a pan to a medium level, add all the orange sauce ingredients listed into the pan, bring to the boil and then simmer for 6-8 until the sauce is thick in consistency.
- Final step: Mix together the cooked air fryer chicken pieces and orange sauce in a large serving bowl. Serve with rice or noodles and enjoy!

Pf Chang’s Air Fryer Orange Chicken
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 Servings
Description
Crispy, Sweet and Healthy Copycat Air Fryer Orange Chicken inspired by the PF Chang’s Asian Table restaurant! This easy recipe is so mouth-wateringly good! The combination of juicy chicken thighs coated in a sweet and TASTY orange peel sauce is soo DELICIOUS!!
Ingredients
Crispy air fried chicken
- Boneless chicken thighs – 1 pound / 450g
-
Cornflour/ corn starch – 1 x Cup / 150g
-
Egg whites – 2 x eggs
-
Salt – 1 x teaspoon
-
Ground white pepper – 1 x teaspoon
-
Garlic Powder – 1 x tablespoon
-
Vegetable oil (in a spray bottle)
Orange sauce
-
Freshly squeezed orange juice – 1 x Cup / 240ml / or 3-4 Oranges
-
Orange Zest – 1 x teaspoon
-
Light Soy Sauce – 4 x tablespoons
-
Rice wine vinegar – 1 x tablespoon
-
Fresh garlic cloves – 2 x cloves minced
-
Fresh ginger 1 x teaspoon minced
-
Siracha sauce – 1 x teaspoon
-
Granulated white sugar – 1/3 cup / 66g
-
Sesame seed oil – 1 x teaspoon
-
Corn-starch/ cornflour – 1 x teaspoon (dissolved in 2-3 teaspoons of water to make a paste)
Instructions
- Air fryer prep: Preheat the air fryer
- Prepare chicken batter: Add the diced chicken thighs into a large bowl, pour in the egg whites, then mix. In a separate large bowl mix the dry ingredients together (cornflour, salt, white pepper, garlic powder).
- Dredging the chicken: Pour the seasoned flour into a large food bag, slightly drain off the excess egg whites on the chicken, place into the food bag and seal. Shake the food bag continuously until each piece of chicken is coated. Use your hands to massage the chicken into the flour to ensure each piece is coated well.
- Air fry: Brush or spray the air fryer basket with a light layer of oil. Shake off the excess flour from the chicken and then place into the air fryer. Spray or brush the top of the dredged chicken with oil before cooking. Air fry the chicken for 15 minutes at 170°C / 340 °F , turning the chicken pieces half way through the cooking process.
- Making the orange sauce: Whilst the chicken is in the air fryer heat a pan to a medium level, add all the orange sauce ingredients listed into the pan, bring to the boil and then simmer for 6-8 until the sauce is thick in consistency.
- Final step: Mix together the cooked air fryer chicken pieces and orange sauce in a large serving bowl. Serve with rice or noodles and enjoy!
Notes
- Do not overload the air fryer basket, cook in batches if you own a smaller air fryer model.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: Lunch
- Method: Air Frying
- Cuisine: Asain
Keywords: orange chicken, air fryer chicken, chicken, sweet and sour
Leave a Reply