It’s baked, not fried! This Dump-and-Bake General Tso Chicken is a lighter, healthier version of the Chinese restaurant classic. With just one dish and about 10 minutes of prep, it’s even better than take-out!
So…calling this “General Tso Chicken” might be a bit of a stretch. It’s definitely not authentic Chinese cuisine — but I’m not an authentic Chinese gal, either.
Now that I think about it, the General Tso Chicken that we all know and love from our favorite Chinese restaurant isn’t exactly “authentic” Chinese cuisine either. Instead, it’s an Americanized version of Chinese food, which still happens to be incredibly tasty!
So I’ve just put my own dump-and-bake spin on the Americanized version of Chinese food. And it doesn’t really matter! Whether you call it General Tso Chicken or something else entirely, the bottom line is that this Asian-inspired meal is about to be devoured by every single member of your household…and that’s what I call a success!
Did I mention that my General Tso Chicken is baked, not fried? That means that you won’t feel weighed-down and sick to your stomach after your meal, you won’t have to stand at the stove with a hot pot of oil to tediously fry individual pieces of meat, and you won’t have to spend your precious money on overpriced restaurant fare. WIN-WIN-WIN!
This is lighter, healthier, and dare-I-say BETTER than the original!
I’ve created a sweet and savory sauce that you whisk together and pour over your raw chicken. It all bakes together in one dish as the sauce bubbles and thickens.
Stir in some peanuts at the end for crunch, garnish with sliced green onion and toasted sesame seeds, and you’ve got a restaurant-quality meal ready in minutes (without many dishes to wash at the end)!
Serve the General Tso Chicken over rice (or over cauliflower rice for an even lighter dish), with plenty of extra sauce spooned over top. We love it with steamed broccoli tossed into the mix as well!
This is one meal that your whole family can enjoy together — no breaded, fried chicken necessary!
DUMP-AND-BAKE GENERAL TSO CHICKEN
Dump-and-Bake General Tso Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 ½-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ cup chicken broth
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup hoisin sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons finely minced fresh garlic I like to use a squeeze bottle of minced garlic from the produce section as a shortcut
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes add more for a spicier dish or omit for a mild dish
- ¼ cup peanuts
- Optional garnish: sliced green onions toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a medium baking dish with cooking spray (I have used a deep 9-inch by 6-inch dish and an 11-inch by 7-inch dish, and both work well).
- Place chicken in the prepared dish. Sprinkle with cornstarch and toss to coat.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together chicken broth, brown sugar, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, salt, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Pour sauce over chicken and stir to combine.
- Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Stir, return to the oven for 5-10 more minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and sauce has thickened.
- Remove from oven, stir in peanuts. Season with additional salt and red pepper flakes, to taste. Garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds just before serving.
Recipe Notes
Cooking Just for Two? Cut the ingredients in half and bake the chicken in a smaller dish. The cooking instructions remain the same.
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Wow. SO into this recipe. Easy, delicious and whole-family-pleasing. Definitely need to try!
Thank you, Karly! I hope that you give it a try! 🙂
Was going to make broccoli and cheese soup today but then saw this!! Ah, soup not happening!! Maybe another day. Thanks so much Blair another awesome recipe to add to my 5 yum list!!
That’s great, Donna! I hope you love it! 🙂
Oh, can’t wait to try this! Looks delicious..thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Chrissi! Enjoy! 🙂
I just made this for dinner and my family LOVED it! My son had to get used to the fact that it wasn’t fried but he had two helpings and my husband gave it a 10 out of 10.
Keep sending the great recipes!
Hi, Debra! I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
It is in the oven right now. It already smells wonderful! Will serve with coconut rice. I hope there will be leftovers for lunches!
Perfect! Love the idea of pairing it with coconut rice. So good!
Do you have anything similar for sweet and sour chicken? Most recipes I see have you frying the chicken before the oven, but I really do not like to fry anything.
Hi, Lillie! No, I don’t have a sweet and sour chicken recipe like this one, but I am definitely adding it to my list. Stay tuned, and thanks for that inspiration!
Hi Blair. I made the General Tso chicken tonight for dinner & it is amazing. I served it over quinoa & oh so good. Definitely a keeper. I enjoy your weekly update on what your family has been doing, always uplifting & makes me smile while reading. Your boys are adorable. Thanks again for the great recipe, I’ve made many of your recipes & they are all so good.
Yay! Thanks for letting me know, Mary! I bet the quinoa was a tasty companion! 🙂
Hi Blair, I made this for dinner last week, it was so easy just steam some broccoli and rice for sides and dinner was ready. Everyone liked it, even my picky teenagers. Thanks.
Excellent! I’m so glad that your family liked it, Kristine! 🙂
Made this tonight and it was both easy and delicious. I didn’t have rice but did have rice noodles! I have just discovered your site! Can’t wait to see what else is here!
That’s wonderful, Mim! I hope that you find plenty of other tasty ideas on the blog! 🙂 So glad that you found the site!
Hi Blair,
General Tso’s Chicken is one of our favorites. We gave my brother-in-law a slow cooker months ago. Now he wants to learn how to use it. So I’m giving him my recipe for for beef stew. But I also want to bring him dinner. Can the recipe be made in the slow cooker? We love that it’s a healthier version of a recipe recipe we love. Ee’ll be seeing him on Sunday. I’ve been enjoying your site & blog immensely.
Robert Fried
Hi, Robert! Yes, I think that this recipe would work well in the slow cooker! 🙂 Thanks for your kind note!
Vegetarian here. I make it with tofu. No knocking it, now, till you’ve tried it.
That’s a great idea, June! I bet the tofu soaks up that delicious sauce and tastes great. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
That was delicious! Way better than any of our local Chinese take outs. Thank you!
That’s great, Mandy! So glad that you enjoyed it!
Made this last night and it was easy and delicious! I didn’t have any chicken breasts so used bone in skinless thighs instead, a little bit less sugar and chose Asian chili garlic sauce (which we love!) instead of red pepper flakes. So easy to put the sauce together and “dump” it over the chicken, then get the rest of dinner ready while it’s baking. Wonderful flavor! Thanks for the recipe!
Hi, Norma! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂 I bet that Asian chili garlic sauce was perfect in the dish!
This is delicious! I liked that I could cut the recipe in half for 2 people. I followed the recipe exactly except I didn’t add the peanuts. My husband said this recipe is a keeper! Thank you!
Thank you, Kathy! I’m so glad that your husband approves, too. 🙂