Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken (Air Fryer)

Learn to cook frozen orange chicken in an air fryer! We used Trader Joe's Mandarin orange chicken, but any brand of frozen orange chicken will work.

5 from 2 votes

Author Jen

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Total Time 15

Course Frozen Foods

Cuisine Asian

Servings servings

Preheat the air fryer at 400 F for 5 minutes.
Add the frozen orange chicken to the air fryer basket. If you have a large air fryer the entire bag of chicken should fit in a single layer, if you have a small one and are just serving 1-2 people, you can just cook half of the frozen chicken. Do not add the sauce packet yet, it gets added after cooking.
The precooked orange chicken will take about 10 minutes to cook and brown in an air fryer. Halfway through the cooking time after 5 minutes, flip the chicken or shake the air fryer basket.
Microwave the sauce packets for 1-2 minutes to defrost and heat the orange sauce.
Transfer the cooked air fryer orange chicken to a medium size bowl. Add the heated orange sauce and combine it with the chicken to coat every piece. Serve hot and enjoy!

The chicken turns out best if you just add enough to have it be in a single layer on the bottom of the air fryer basket and don't overcrowd the basket.
Shake or flip the chicken halfway through cooking to help the chicken evenly brown.
All air fryer units cook a little differently. Yours could take a little less time than the recipe states or could take a little longer. Keep a close eye on the cooking time the first time you go to cook a recipe.
Any brand of frozen orange chicken will work for this recipe including Trader Joes, Foster Farms, and Panda Express.
Do not add the sauce packet until after the chicken is cooked through, otherwise the sauc will burn if you add it while the chicken is air frying.