Mandarin Orange Chicken Stir Fry

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Mandarin Chicken Stir Fry â€” An EASY Asian stir fry with tender chicken, juicy oranges, and veggies!! Skip takeout and make this ONE skillet recipe that’s ready in 15 minutes and perfect for busy weeknights!!

Mandarin Chicken Stir Fry with veggies in white bowl

One Skillet Mandarin Chicken Stir-Fry

When I was a kid I used to love mandarin oranges. I haven’t eaten many since childhood, but this easy orange chicken stir-fry recipe that’s ready in 15 minutes brings back great memories.

The orange chicken is cooked in sesame oil before adding a bag of coleslaw mix, which is just shredded cabbage and carrots. I love the convenience of the mix because it really helps get this Asian-inspired dish on the table in no time.

Garlic, ginger, soy and hoisin sauces (available in your regular grocery store in the Asian aisle) are added before adding sugar snap peas, juicy mandarin oranges, and garnishing with green onions. The sweet mandarin oranges perfectly counterbalance the savory flavors of the soy and hoisin, and I love the crisp-tender crunch of the sugar snap peas. It reminds me of an orange version of this Sesame Mango Chicken.

The easy orange chicken stir-fry is healthy, naturally gluten-free, and all the veggies keep you satisfied for a long time. The beauty of a stir fry is that you can toss in extra veggies that you have on hand.

You can skip takeout and make this family-friendly dish that both kids and adults will love. It’s perfect for busy weeknights when you’ve got to get dinner on the table in no time.

Mandarin Chicken Stir Fry in white bowl with fork

How to Make Mandarin Chicken Stir-Fry

To make this healthy orange chicken stir-fry, cook the chicken in a well oiled skillet until cooked through. Add garlic and dried ginger and continue cooking until the mixture is fragrant. 

Add the coleslaw mix to the skillet and drizzle the soy sauce over top before adding in the hoisin sauce and pepper. Stir to combine, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the cabbage is wilted. Add the sugar snap peas near the end of the cook time and cook until crisp-tender.

Remove from the heat, add the mandarin oranges and stir to combine. I topped my healthy chicken stir-fry with green onions and enjoyed it over a bed of rice, but you could also eat this with quinoa or cauliflower rice. 

Mandarin Orange Chicken Stir Fry in a white bowl with a fork

Tips for the Best Chicken Stir-Fry

If you can’t get your hands on a bag of coleslaw mix, you can grate cabbage and carrots yourself. You want about a pound (16 oz) of cabbage and carrots, and the mixture should be primarily cabbage. Any color cabbage will work, so use whatever you have on hand! 

To keep this orange chicken stir-fry from being too sweet, I used mandarin oranges in juice. The mandarin oranges in syrup are far too sweet for my taste, but again, you can use whatever you have on hand. 

If you like saucy stir-fries, I recommend adding 2/3 cup soy sauce instead of the 1/2 cup the recipe calls for. Just keep in mind that I used reduced-sodium soy sauce in this recipe; if you add 2/3 cup regular soy sauce this mandarin chicken stir-fry may be too salty for you. 

Lastly, give this healthy chicken stir-fry a taste after you’ve added in the mandarin oranges and add a drizzle of honey, if desired. The honey won’t make the stir-fry taste sweet, it’ll just balance out the flavors of the hoisin and soy sauce. 

Mandarin Orange Chicken Stir Fry - An EASY Asian stir fry with tender chicken, juicy oranges, and veggies!! Skip takeout and make this ONE skillet recipe that's ready in 15 minutes and perfect for busy weeknights!!

More Chinese Chicken Recipes: 

  • Chicken Egg Roll Bowls â€” Deconstructed egg roll bowls reduce the calories, fat, and carbs of traditional egg rolls without sacrificing flavor! Easy, ready in 15 minutes, and way better than takeout!
  • Slow Cooker Orange Chicken â€” The easiest orange chicken ever because your slow cooker does all the work!! Super juicy, tender, and coated with a sweet-yet-tangy orange glaze that’s irresistible!!
  • One-Skillet Orange Chicken with Vegetables â€” Easy, ready in 15 minutes, healthy (no breading, no frying), and the orange flavor just pops! Perfect for busy weeknights, a family favorite, and you’ll make this over and over!
  • Easy 15-Minute Sweet and Sour Chicken â€“ Faster, easier, healthier, and tastes better than takeout or a restaurant! Perfect balance of sweet yet sour Asian flavors that the whole family will love!
  • Cashew Chicken — Juicy chicken, crisp-tender vegetables, and crunchy cashews coated with the best garlicky soy sauce!

Mandarin Chicken Stir Fry â€” An EASY Asian stir fry with tender chicken, juicy oranges, and veggies!! Skip takeout and make this ONE skillet recipe that's ready in 15 minutes and perfect for busy weeknights!!

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4.24 from 13 votes

Mandarin Chicken Stir-Fry

By Averie Sunshine
An EASY Mandarin chicken stir fry with juicy oranges and veggies! Skip takeout and make this ONE skillet recipe that's ready in 15 minutes!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
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Ingredients  

  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • about 1.25 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, diced into small pieces
  • 3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • one 14 to 16-ounce bag coleslaw mix, shredded green cabbage and carrots
  • ½ cup to 2/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
  • about 1.5 to 2 cups sugar snap peas, snow pea pods may be substituted
  • two 10.5-ounce cans mandarin oranges, drained (I use the ones in juice rather than in light syrup)
  • 1 tablespoon honey, optional and to taste
  • about 2 to 3 green onions sliced into thin rounds, for garnishing

Instructions 

  • To a large skillet add the oils, chicken, and cook over medium-high heat until done, about 5 minutes; flip chicken intermittently to ensure even cooking.
  • Add the garlic, ginger, and cook for about 1 minute, or until fragrant.
  • Add the coleslaw mix (looks like a lot but wilts quickly), evenly drizzle the soy sauce (if you like your dishes on the ‘saucy’ side use 2/3 cup), hoisin sauce, add the pepper, stir to combine, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until cabbage is wilted and tender; stir intermittently. In the final two minutes of cooking the cabbage, add the sugar snap peas and cook until crisp-tender.
  • Remove from the heat, add the oranges and stir to combine. Taste and optionally add the honey if desired.
  • Evenly sprinkle with the green onions and serve immediately. Recipe will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Notes

Recipe adapted from my Sesame Mango Chicken and Chicken Egg Roll Bowls

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 3090kcal, Carbohydrates: 240g, Protein: 68g, Fat: 207g, Saturated Fat: 34g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 165g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 248mg, Sodium: 5391mg, Fiber: 37g, Sugar: 181g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Even More Asian Recipes: 

You can check out my favorite ASIAN RECIPES HERE and my go-to CHICKEN RECIPES HERE.

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About the Author

Welcome to AverieCooks! Here you’ll find fast and easy recipes that taste amazing and are geared for real life. Nothing fussy or complicated, just awesome tasting dishes everyone loves!

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Please note: I have only made the recipe as written, and cannot give advice or predict what will happen if you change something. If you have a question regarding changing, altering, or making substitutions to the recipe, please check out the FAQ page for more info.

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I would not need as much rice as this recipe yields (only for me an my husband). Can this recipe be divided in half? What adjustments in preparation would I need to make?

    1. Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great and that hubby even said to make it again!

  2. I wanted to love this, but it was WAY too salty. I even used liquid aminos instead of soy sauce, used only 2 tbsp of hoison sauce. Might give it a try again with less. Thank you for the recipe!

    1. Everyone’s preference for salt varies and Asian-inspired dishes tend to run on the saltier side, in general.

      It sounds like you’re pretty sensitive to salt if just 2 tablespoons of hoisin in the entire recipe was too much for you. So definitely adjust things to your tastes. Thanks for trying the recipe.

  3. I probably haven’t had those little mandarin oranges since the 90’s..but as canned fruit goes they are good! I love your recipes with cole slaw mix–lots of options to change it up a little and this one sounds delicious too.

    1. I hadn’t had them in about that long either :) I made this recipe in the summer right after some of the other cole slaw mix recipes and then held off on posting and it, and almost forgot about it :)

      1. I am glad you ended up posting this recipe because I love it as much as the other 2 that use cole slaw mix (soooo convenient)!! I like the orange as much as the mango–the sesame and ginger go so well with both. These are so easy to do and always delicious!

      2. I’m so glad you tried this one in addition to the other cole slaw mix recipes and that you have loved them all! Agreed – so convenient!