26 Takeout-Inspired Chinese Chicken Recipes (2024)

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Updated: Nov. 17, 2023

Making your favorite Chinese chicken recipes like pot stickers or lo mein means you can skip the takeout order and the delivery fees.

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Mongolian Chicken

Cut boneless, skinless chicken breasts into small and even pieces to ensure that the sauce coats every bite. You could also use a different cut of chicken if you prefer recipes with chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins.

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Sesame Chicken

Sesame chicken is similar to General Tso’s chicken, but with less heat. If you do want to make it spicier, add chili oil or chili sauce as you cook the chicken, or drizzle the sauce on the chicken once plated.

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General Tso's Chicken

This takeout favorite requires breading and frying, so try it on a night when you have a bit of extra time to cook. If you like it extra spicy, add more red pepper flakes.

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Nancy Mock for Taste of Home

Orange Chicken

If this sticky-sweet chicken is your go-to order, then you’ll be excited to make it at home. It comes together in about 40 minutes and serves six. So invite a few friends or plan for leftovers.

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Chicken Pot Stickers

The recipe makes four dozen pot stickers, and if you have leftovers, they’re easy to freeze. Just cover and freeze the uncooked pot stickers in a single layer on waxed paper until firm, then transfer to freezer containers and store until you’re ready for more.

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Kung Pao Chicken

Warning: This dish is spicy. If you aren’t that brave, go easy on the Sriracha chili sauce and serve with an extra scoop of rice. As a refresher, here’s our guide on how to cook rice so you can master a restaurant-quality base for Kung Pao chicken.

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Chinese Chicken with Garlic Sauce

Make this garlicky chicken in the time it would have taken for your takeout order to arrive. Serve with white or jasmine rice, or even lo mein.

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Szechuan Skillet Chicken

If you don’t own a cast-iron skillet, it might be time to invest in one. It heats evenly, it can go in the oven, and it will last pretty much forever. But even if you don’t have this handy tool, you can still make Szechuan skillet chicken with a traditional frying pan.

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Black Pepper Chicken

Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the juiciest results. When you slice the chicken, cut against the grain to shorten the muscle fibers and help the meat stay as tender as possible.

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General Tso’s Stew

If you love General Tso’s chicken, this slow-cooker soup is about to be your new favorite weekday dinner. Thanks to shredded, pre-cooked chicken, you don’t even have to brown it before you pop it in the slow cooker.

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Baked Egg Rolls

If you thought you could never make restaurant-quality egg rolls at home, think again. Thanks to store-bought egg roll wrappers, this appetizer comes together in a flash.

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Pineapple-Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry

Here, boneless, skinless chicken breasts are cut into bite-sized cubes. If you’ve ever struggled with cutting raw chicken, here’s a tip: The easiest way to cube chicken is to slice it while it’s still slightly frozen.

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Stir-Fry Chicken Lo Mein

While Chinese-style egg noodles are the traditional noodles used in lo mein, don’t worry if you can’t find them at the grocery store. You could also use Japanese yakisoba, udon noodles, rice noodles or even al dente spaghetti.

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Miso Butter Roasted Chicken

While making this dish is time-consuming (25 minutes to prepare the ingredients and another 90 minutes to cook), it makes a complete meal that serves six. It’s also a great option for batch cooking; the leftovers will keep for several days in the fridge.

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Cashew Chicken with Bok Choy

This shortcut version of a takeout classic makes things simple with boneless, skinless chicken breasts and store-bought stir-fry sauce. Your dinner guests will never believe it all came together in just about half an hour.

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Asian Chicken Dumplings

These dumplings are fabulous for a special occasion, and thanks to a package of pot sticker or gyoza wrappers, this recipe is much easier than it looks. You can typically find Chinese five-spice powder at most Asian grocery stores, but if you don’t see it, you can always make your own.

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Easy Fried Rice

Sure, you could buy the frozen, pre-made stuff. But when it’s this easy to make from scratch, why would you? Add leftover chicken to make it a full meal.

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This takeout staple uses cornstarch to thicken the sauce. But if you add too much and find it’s too thick or lumpy, just add a small amount of chicken broth or water until it reaches the consistency you like.

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Slow-Cooker Sweet-and-Sour Chicken

This sweet-and-sour chicken is one of those easy slow cooker recipes you’ll want to bookmark for a busy weeknight. After browning the chicken in a skillet, pop the ingredients in the slow cooker, which does most of the work for you.

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Instant Pot Sesame Chicken

We love a trusty Instant Pot recipe, and this sesame chicken takes only 10 minutes of prep time and another 10 minutes to cook. Serve it over a bed of rice or noodles to make it a complete meal.

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Asian Glazed Chicken Thighs

Calling all healthy eaters: With less than 300 calories and less than 2 grams saturated fat per serving, this light and healthy dinner option also packs in a whopping 22 grams of protein. Serve with cauliflower rice or stir-fried veggies.

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Honey Chicken Stir-Fry

Take this meal from fridge to table in 30 minutes with a package of frozen stir-fry veggies and a simple sauce that’s made with honey and reduced-sodium soy sauce. You might want to make some extra sauce to sop up the rice.

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Chinese Chicken Salad

This crunchy, flavorful salad combines Chinese and napa cabbage, chicken, ginger and chow mein noodles in a tangy sesame oil and rice vinegar dressing. Add veggies like carrots and green onions for extra crunch.

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Risa Lichtman for Taste of Home

Chinese Chicken and Broccoli

This copycat recipe tastes pretty much exactly like the takeout version, thanks to an irresistible sauce made from oyster sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, soy sauce, cornstarch and hoisin sauce. If you like the sauce a bit thicker, add extra cornstarch.

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Chicken Lo Mein

You might have most of these ingredients already sitting in your pantry. In this recipe, angel hair subs in for lo mein noodles. Just make the pasta and sauce, cook the chicken, stir-fry the veggies, mix in the noodles and enjoy.

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Sweet and Sour Chicken

You’ll want to slather this amazing five-ingredient sauce on everything. Pineapple chunks, sugar, cider vinegar, salt and—yes—ketchup are a winning combination.

Originally Published: June 08, 2021