Name: Marinated Blackstone Orange Chicken and Vegetables
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 11 min
Total time: 61 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (cut into small pieces); 3/4 cup orange juice; 1 orange (zested); 3 tablespoons sesame oil; 1 tablespoon soy sauce (or gluten-free tamari); 1 tablespoon rice vinegar; 1 tablespoon brown sugar; 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper; 1/3 cup cornstarch; 2 teaspoons sea salt; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 red bell pepper (cut into cubes); 6 ounces snow peas (trimmed)

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This Blackstone orange chicken hits the sweet spot for me on weeknights when I'm craving takeout but don't want to feel like I ate takeout. It's a fresher, faster, lighter take, with all the flavors and nothing that will weigh you down.

A bowl of stir-fried chicken with red bell peppers and green vegetables, topped with sesame seeds. Wooden chopsticks rest on the bowl, which is placed on a wooden board. Small bowls of spices and sesame seeds are nearby.

Orange chicken on the Blackstone is the perfect meal for busy weeknights.

It has minimal prep time, and the whole thing comes off the griddle in about 15 minutes. You feel great after eating it.

And all it really needs to be a complete meal is a bowl of rice (I recommend my Instant Pot Rice) or hibachi noodles underneath.

This One Moves Fast. A Couple of Key Things Before You Start.

Prep absolutely everything before you turn the griddle on. Chicken coated, vegetables cut, sauce made.
Oil the griddle well. A dry Blackstone griddle and cornstarch-coated chicken is a stuck-on disaster.
Never put the sauce on the hot side of the griddle. It'll caramelize into a burnt-sugar lacquer in 30 seconds. Sauce always goes on the cooler side.
Handy tools for this recipe are long tongs, a wide griddle spatula, and a sheet pan or a large bowl for everything cooked.
Have a water squeeze bottle and a wad of paper towels ready before you start. The second the chicken comes off, hit the griddle with water and scrape it clean. If you do it right away, cleanup is a breeze. If you wait, you'll be chiseling burnt sugar off a hot flat-top for 20 minutes and wishing you'd just ordered takeout.

A white surface holds bowls and plates with snow peas, a red bell pepper, raw diced meat, seasonings, sauces, a whole orange, and a measuring cup of orange juice, arranged for meal preparation.

Ingredient Notes

Skinless chicken thighs are best here. You can swap chicken breasts in a pinch, but they will be drier.

Avocado oil is my favorite cooking oil for Blackstone work, but refined peanut, light olive, or canola all work. Skip butter and toasted sesame for cooking. Butter will burn, and sesame oil is more about flavor.

Veggies aren’t a given with orange chicken, but I like adding them because then I just have to add rice or noodles and I have a meal. Feel free to skip them altogether, or swap out other veggies. Just keep in mind that veggies like broccoli and carrots will take longer to cook, so plan accordingly.

Step by Step

See the recipe card below for the full griddle orange chicken recipe.

A light blue dish filled with raw, chopped pieces of meat, showing a mix of pink and light brown colors with visible fat. The dish is placed on a white surface. — **Marinate the chicken.** Place the cubed chicken in a zip-top bag or shallow dish.

A metal whisk rests next to a bright yellow bowl containing a mixture of oil, seasonings, and red pepper flakes on a white surface. — Whisk together the sauce ingredients. Pour ⅓ cup of the sauce over the chicken and marinate at room temperature for **30 minutes**.

Diced raw chicken pieces inside a partially opened clear plastic zipper bag, set on a white surface. — **Cornstarch coat.** Drain the marinade from the chicken and discard it (it's touched raw chicken; you can't reuse it). Pat the chicken pieces dry with a paper towel. Transfer to a clean bag, add the cornstarch mixture and toss until coated.

Snow peas and chopped red bell peppers sizzling on a hot griddle, with a bit of steam rising from the surface. — **Set up two zones on the griddle and oil well.** Bell peppers and snow peas go on the cooler side, chicken on the hot side.

Small pieces of seasoned chicken are sizzling and browning on a hot, greased griddle, showing a crispy, golden-brown exterior with some steam rising. — **Stir frequently for 8 minutes.** I use the tongs for the chicken when it is still raw, and then switch to the spatula. (You could do the reverse, having a system just helps with food safety.) You want the chicken to have a nice golden brown crust cooked through (160°F internal) and the snow peas still bright green. Pull the vegetables off.

Close-up of grilled, browned pieces of meat on a hot, greasy surface, with a yellow bowl containing a reddish-brown sauce partially visible in the upper right corner. — **Move the chicken to the cooler side and add the remaining sauce**. Continue tossing the chicken in the sauce on the cooler side for about **3 more minutes** until the sauce thickens to a glossy glaze and clings to every piece. Remove the chicken from the heat and let it rest for **5 minutes**.

⚠️ Don't pour sauce on the hot side

The high sugar content of this sauce (orange juice + brown sugar + soy) will turn into a burnt-sugar lacquer within 30 seconds on a medium-high griddle. Always sauce on the medium-low side. Always.

A Few Things I’ve Learned

Pat the chicken dry after the marinade. Wet chicken + cornstarch = a gummy paste instead of a crisp coating.
Sauce thickens as it rests. It might look thin when you pull the pan; it'll set up perfectly during the 5-minute rest.
Taste the sauce before you commit. Add a pinch of salt or another splash of orange juice to balance if needed.

A bowl of Blacstone Orange Chicken with red bell peppers and green vegetables, topped with sesame seeds. Chopsticks rest on the bowl, which is set on a wooden board, with bowls of spices and a black-and-white cloth nearby.

If you like this recipe don't forget to leave a 5 star rating and let me know how it went in the below comments, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, Instagram, and PINTEREST to see all my delicious recipes.

A bowl of stir-fried chicken glazed in sauce, garnished with sesame seeds, served with red bell peppers and snap peas. Wooden chopsticks rest on the bowl, set on a rustic wooden board.

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Marinated Blackstone Orange Chicken and Vegetables

Prep Time15

Cook Time11

Marinating & Resting35

Total Time1 1

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Asian

Servings:

Calories: 277kcal

Author: Wendy Polisi

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into small pieces
¾ cup orange juice
1 orange zested
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce or gluten-free tamari
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
⅓ cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 red bell pepper cut into cubes
6 ounces snow peas trimmed

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together the orange juice, orange zest, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and crushed red pepper flakes.
Pour ⅓ cup of the sauce over the chicken and marinate for 30 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry. Place in a clean bag, and toss with the cornstarch, garlic powder, and salt.
Preheat your griddle to medium high heat on one side and medium low on the other. Oil very well. (2 to 3 tablespoons)
Add the vegetables to the cooler side and the chicken to the hotter side. Cook, stirring each frequently, for 8 minutes.
Remove the vegetables and move the chicken to the cooler side, adding more oil if necessary.
Slowly pour the sauce on the chicken, stopping to toss the chicken to coat as you go. Cook for about 3 more minutes.
Remove from heat, and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Serve over rice.

Notes

Make-ahead and leftovers

Make-ahead: The sauce can be whisked and stored in the fridge up to 3 days ahead. The chicken can be cubed and held in the fridge overnight, but marinate a max of 4 hours before cooking. Don't marinate overnight because the acid in the orange juice will start to "cook" the chicken).

Leftovers: Store cooled chicken and vegetables in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in a hot skillet with a splash of water or chicken broth to refresh the sauce. The microwave makes the cornstarch coating gummy.

Nutrition

Filed Under:

Blackstone Griddle Recipes Chicken Recipes