Copycat Applebee's Crispy Orange Chicken Bowl Review & Recipe - The Food Hussy (2024)

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!!

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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 theirIrresist-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 theirWarm Grain Bowlsand I made both – theMediterranean Warm Grain Bowlis my favorite because I love all things Greek-inspired! TheirBaja Grain bowlis very similar to the Southwest Chicken bowl that Applebee’s has – you’ll love it! I also have a copycat of thePanera Broth Bowl!

More Delicious Applebee’s Grill Copycat Recipes

• Fiesta Lime Chicken
• Southwest Lime Grilled Chicken Bowl

Copycat Applebee’s Crispy Orange Chicken Bowl

Breaded pieces of tender boneless chicken breast tossed in a sweet and tangy orange sauce, served over fresh stir-fried veggies and cilantro rice. Topped with green onions and toasted almonds.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bowlCalories: 1181kcalCarbohydrates: 156.2gProtein: 31gFat: 50.4gSaturated Fat: 7.3gCholesterol: 57mgSodium: 2331mgPotassium: 877mgFiber: 14.3gSugar: 54.1gCalcium: 180mgIron: 10mg