Air Fryer General Tso’s Chicken is a lighter take on a classic Asian recipe that you’re going to love! All the same flavors you crave but so much better for you than the fried version!
We love taking classic dishes and lightening them up by either making them low carb or law fat, or just plain better for you. Craving taco night but doing low carb? Try these Naked Sheet Pan Tacos! Maybe you’re craving some tasty chicken nuggets but don’t want the fat? These Grilled Chicken Nuggets are the answer!
Lightened Up General Tso’s Chicken Recipe
So when we decided that we were going to make this Air Fryer General Tso’s Chicken, our boys were skeptical. They just love the classic take out version and they really didn’t want us messing with it.
But mess with it, we did.
I’m telling you guys you’re going to love the lightened up version of this General Tso’s Chicken recipe so much, it might just replace that deep fried classic take out dish altogether!
What If I Don’t Have An Air Fryer?
No worries, we have also included oven instructions in the recipe card below. Using an air fryer will make the chicken pieces the crispiest, but a hot oven will do the trick too. If you can grab a large air fryer with a big basket like this type of Air Fryer, you’ll have this chicken ready in no time!
Can I Make This Chicken Recipe Ahead Of Time?
Because you want that super crispy coating, this chicken is best made and eaten right away. HOWEVER, leftovers of this Air Fryer General Tso’s Chicken will never get thrown away at our house. It still tastes amazing reheated in the microwave over rice the next day – IF you have any leftover, which we typically do not.
What Are The Ingredients For The Sauce?
Just a few ingredients, which are pretty much all pantry staples at our house! Once you buy that jar of garlic chili paste it’ll last you a while!
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
You can make this sauce as spicy or as mild as you like. Just add more or less chili garlic sauce to your liking. In our family, some of us like it spicier than others so we make the recipe as is and then just have sriracha or more chili garlic sauce on the side!
What Can I Serve With General Tso’s Chicken?
Our favorite way to serve this chicken recipe is with brown or white rice on the side. Of course you can add a side of steamed broccoli or any other steamed vegetable too. Our boys love when we order dumplings with our Chinese food take out so sometimes we even make these homemade Pot Stickers!
Looking For More Chicken Dinner Recipes?
- Creamy Chicken Marsala
- Chicken Fajita Meatballs
- Bang Bang Chicken Sliders
- Crock Pot Root Beer Chicken
- Bacon Ranch Chicken Crescent Rolls
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Air Fryer General Tso’s Chicken
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 Servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeThis lighter version of the classic take out dish will have you jumping for joy! Air Fryer General Tso’s Chicken has all the flavors you crave but without all the fat from frying!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs, diced into roughly 1″ pieces
- A sprinkle of kosher salt and ground black pepper to season the chicken
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- Kosher salt and fresh black pepper
For the Sauce:
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/3 cup light or low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste (or fresh finely chopped ginger)
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- Chopped scallions and sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Season the chicken with the salt and pepper. Add the eggs and a splash of water to a bowl and whisk with a fork. Add the chicken and toss to coat.
- Place the cornstarch in another bowl. Grab a few pieces of chicken at a time, letting the excess egg drip off and then place into the cornstarch. Toss to coat in the cornstarch, tapping off the excess, and then place on your air fryer rack that’s been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Repeat with however much chicken that you can fit onto your air fryer rack in a single layer.
- Spray the chicken with an oil spray (we like using avocado or olive oil) and then air fry at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Check to make sure the chicken is at 165 degrees and then remove from the air fryer. Place the chicken on a plate but do not cover.
- Now repeat the breading process and cooking process with the remaining chicken.
- During the last 5 minutes of the chicken cooking time you can make the sauce. Whisk the chicken broth, soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, ginger paste, honey, rice wine vinegar and cornstarch in a bowl until combined. Add a tablespoon of oil to a large skillet and then cook the garlic for 30 seconds. Slowly pour in the sauce, while whisking until combined and then bring to a simmer. Simmer the sauce for 3-4 minutes until thickened, then turn the heat off.
- Add the cooked chicken to the skillet and toss to combine with the sauce until coated.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and chopped scallions if desired and serve immediately. We like to serve this chicken over rice to soak up all the sauce.
Recipe Notes
Oven instructions: After you coat the chicken in cornstarch, place it on a sheet pan that’s been sprayed with cooking spray. Spray the chicken with an olive oil based spray and then bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes. turn the chicken over and cook another 5 minutes. Follow the rest of the instructions starting with the sauce.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
Made this recipe but there is way too much soy sauce, it overpowered everything and was very rich but not in a good way. Family was not able to eat the dinner and said it was extremely salty and could only taste soy sauce. Would suggest maybe 1-3 tblsp of soy sauce rather than a whole cup which in the UK is about 240ml !!!
I think you might have made a mistake. This recipe only calls for 1/2 cup of soy sauce!