Copycat Applebee’s Crispy Orange Chicken Bowl Review & Recipe
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Applebee’s Irresist-a-Bowls are tasty – but even better at home! I tried their new bowls and immediately came home and made the Crispy Orange Chicken Bowl – it’s so good!!
Jump to Recipe
This Crispy Orange Chicken Bowl is a big bowl – it’s full of breaded chicken tossed in a tangy orange sauce, served over an array of stir-fry vegetables and cilantro rice. Then you top it with toasted almonds and green onions. So good!
Applebee’s newest specials are their Irresist-a-bowls – they all have these delicious flavor combinations! We tried their Southwest Lime-Grilled Chicken Bowl and the Crispy Orange Chicken Bowl. They were both VERY GOOD! (The Crispy Orange Bowl was only available for a limited time! Now they have a Tex-Mex Shrimp Bowl I might need to check out.)
The Southwest Chicken bowl has all of my favorite toppings like pico de gallo and tortilla strips served on greens and cilantro rice – so there’s a lot of good stuff in there!! The Applebee’s Crispy Orange Chicken bowl is served on cilantro lime rice (which is so easy to make) and has loads of vegetables and tender chicken.
Crispy Orange Chicken Bowl Ingredients
- frozen breaded chicken bites
- if you want to be a little healthier you could use grilled chicken chunks
- if you want to use chicken fingers – just chop them into more bite-sized pieces after cooking
- oil – peanut, olive, vegetable – any will do
- mixed vegetables – broccoli, red peppers, onion, mushrooms – you can use fresh or frozen bagged
- minced garlic
- orange – you’ll need zest & juice
- hoisin sauce – there are some substitutions (bean paste, bbq molasses) but it’s not that expensive and very handy so I recommend purchasing a bottle
- cayenne pepper
- you can add red pepper flakes if you like an even MORE spicy orange sauce
- white sugar
- cooked rice
- lime
- cilantro
- green onions or scallions
- toasted sliced almonds
I knew I had to make a Copycat of the Applebee’s Crispy Orange Chicken Bowl! I wondered about the orange sauce but I was shocked at how EASY it was to make!! This recipe has a few moving parts but was on the table in less than 30 minutes!!
How do you make Applebee’s Crispy Orange Chicken Bowl?
Applebee’s Crispy Orange Chicken Bowl is pretty quick – but you have to juggle a few things at once.
- Prepare chicken bites according to package directions
- 16-20 min in oven at 400
- 10 min in air fryer at 400
- Prepare Rice according to package directions
- I used minute rice – 1 cup white rice, 1 cup water, 6 min in microwave
- Once cooked, add lime juice and cilantro and toss
- Prepare veggies:
- In a wok-style heavy skillet, heat oil on high heat.
- Once oil is hot – add vegetables and stir fry for 5-7 minutes and remove from heat
- Prepare glaze:
- At the same time in a separate skillet – over medium heat and add two tbsp olive oil
- Once second skillet is warmed (not on high – like a 6-7 of 10) – Add garlic.
- Sauté garlic for 1 minute (if the oil is too hot the garlic will burn).
- To the garlic, add orange rind, orange juice, hoisin, cayenne and sugar and bring to boil. Allow to boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens to your liking, stirring frequently.
- Put together!
- In a large bowl, add hot chicken pieces – pour glaze over chicken and toss to coat
- In serving bowls, place 1 cup rice in each bowl. Top with orange chicken mixture and vegetables. Sprinkle with green onions and sliced almonds
Helpful Tips
- I used frozen breaded chicken bites and Minute Rice to save time on this recipe
- Fresh veggies and fresh fruit will make this recipe much more vibrant in color and taste
Can I make my own breaded chicken bites?
Yes for sure! It’s easy!
- Dice boneless skinless chicken breast into 2-inch pieces
- Dredge chicken pieces in a beaten egg
- Bread in a flour mixture with one cup of flour and 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 1 tsp each of salt and black pepper
- Fry in small batches in at least 2 inches of oil – or a deep fryer – until meat thermometer reads 160 in center of chicken
- Remove with a metal slotted spoon
- Let drain on paper towels
More Copycat Bowl Recipes
If you’re looking for other great copycat recipes – I have a few FAVORITE bowls! Panera has their Warm Grain Bowls and I made both – the Mediterranean Warm Grain Bowl is my favorite because I love all things Greek-inspired! Their Baja Grain bowl is very similar to the Southwest Chicken bowl that Applebee’s has – you’ll love it! I also have a copycat of the Panera Broth Bowl!
More Delicious Applebee’s Grill Copycat Recipes
Copycat Applebee’s Crispy Orange Chicken Bowl
Ingredients
- 1/2 bag frozen breaded chicken bites
- 2 tbsp oil peanut, olive, vegetable
- 2 cups mixed vegetables broccoli, red pepper, onion, mushrooms – fresh or frozen
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 1/2 tsp grated orange zest
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
- dash cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 1 lime juiced
- 3/4 cup cilantro stems removed, roughly chopped
- 2-3 green onions diced
- 2 tbsp toasted sliced almonds
Instructions
- Prepare chicken bites according to package directions – 16-20 min in oven at 400– 10 min in air fryer at 4001/2 bag frozen breaded chicken bites
- Prepare Rice according to package directions – I used minute rice – 1 cup rice, 1 cup water, 6 min in microwave2 cups cooked rice
- After rice is ready – add lime juice and cilantro and toss1 lime, 3/4 cup cilantro
- In a wok-style skillet, heat oil. Once oil is hot – add vegetables and stir fry for 5-7 minutes2 tbsp oil, 2 cups mixed vegetables
- At the same time in a separate skillet – turn heat to medium and add two tbsp olive oil2 tbsp olive oil
- Once second skillet is warmed (not on high – like a 6-7 of 10) – Add garlic for 1 minute (if the oil is too hot the garlic will burn).1 tsp minced garlic
- Add orange rind, orange juice, hoisin, cayenne and sugar and bring to boil. Allow to boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens to your liking, stirring frequently.1 1/2 tsp grated orange zest, 1 cup orange juice, 1/2 cup hoisin sauce, dash cayenne pepper, 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- In a mixing bowl, add hot chicken – pour thickened sauce over chicken and toss to coat
- In serving bowls, place 1 cup rice in each bowl. Top with orange chicken and vegetables. Sprinkle with green onions and sliced almonds2-3 green onions, 2 tbsp toasted sliced almonds
Notes
- I used frozen breaded chicken bites and Minute Rice to save time on this recipe
- Fresh veggies and fresh fruit will make this recipe much more vibrant in color and taste
So funny to see this labeled a new menu item as this is what I ordered when I worked at Applebee’s as a teen in 2006. This was my favorite menu item but they got rid of it for a while. Happy to see it back and thank you for the recipe!
Thank you but I thought there were some crunchy things in there ? I will make this and double the sauce, cuz I do remember I loved the sauce. Take care and keep up the good work.
I really enjoyed this dish. I’ve never had it at the restaurant so don’t know how it compares. But it’s pretty simple and delish. I’ll be making this often. Thanks for sharing.