Name: Easy Orange Chicken Casserole
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Asian American
Ingredients: 15 oz. chicken breast (~2 large); 1.5 cups germinated brown rice; 1/2 yellow onion, diced; 4 cups broccoli, chunked; 1.5 cups orange juice; 2 cups chicken broth; 1/4 cups tamari (or soy sauce); 1/4 cup honey; 2 tablespoons rice vinegar; 1 tablespoon minced garlic; 1 teaspoon freshly ground ginger; 2 tablespoon sriracha; 1 teaspoon orange zest

This orange chicken casserole is a healthy spin on your favorite take-out classic! Just a few simple ingredients and a casserole dish you can have a dinner packed with veggies, protein, and whole grains, in just 60 minutes.

It’s casserole season, people. After you make this orange chicken casserole check out any of our delicious healthy chicken casserole recipes or this sweet potato green curry quinoa casserole.

Make Your Favorite Takeout AT HOME

One of the first meals I ever learned to cook as a kid was stir fry. You see, take out Chinese food was (and still is) my ultimate dinner after soccer practice when my parents were too tired to cook.

The people at New China in New Berlin, WI knew my mom and me by name. No shame. New China is who inspired me to make my own stir fry at home, because that’s what most 10-year-olds do, right? Sure.

Years later I still find myself craving stir fry like it was just yesterday. It’s such an easy meal to whip up and to make for the masses. It’s one of our Sunday family dinner staples that my siblings and I make.

So, what’s better than stir fry on a crazy weeknight? A stir fry casserole! Right when you thought dinner couldn’t get any easier than homemade orange chicken, I came up with an orange chicken casserole recipe.

You literally throw everything into your casserole dish 100% uncooked and pop it in the oven. It doesn’t get much easier than this, people. Freals.

pouring sauce into the orange chicken casserole

What Kind of Rice to Use

Why germinated brown rice?

This recipe calls for germinated brown rice and it’s absolutely perfect. Germinated brown rice is brown rice that is soaked for anywhere from 4-20 hours. It tends to have a shorter cook time compared to other brown rice.

Whenever we get take out or eat at an Asian restaurant, I always order the brown rice if they have it. I just prefer the texture over all other kinds of rice and love the added nutrients you get from brown rice!

Will white rice and normal brown rice work?

Yes, you can use white rice and normal brown rice in this recipe. However, you will need to increase the cook-time.

If you are using normal or short grain brown rice, add everything to your casserole dish except for the chicken and the broccoli.

From there, cover the casserole dish and place it in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and THEN add the chicken and broccoli to the casserole dish and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

If your rice is still crunchy, bake for an additional 15-30 minutes.

Why is the rice still crunchy after I bake the casserole?

The key to making sure the rice and sauciness of the casserole turn out just right (no matter what type of rice you use) is letting the casserole sit covered for 15 minutes after removing it from the oven.

This is important because it allows the rice to soak up the remaining liquid!

Here’s what You Need

Once you have decided on what type of rice you are going to use, here are the additional ingredients you will need to make this tasty orange chicken casserole!

chicken breast
onion
broccoli
homemade orange chicken sauce

^^The sauce is rather simple to make. It’s made up of mostly orange juice, chicken broth, and tamari with a few other household ingredients thrown in there. For best results- don’t forget the orange zest!

Throw everything in your casserole dish and GO!

How to Store this Casserole

Healthy casseroles are great for meal prep throughout the week! Make this orange chicken casserole on a Sunday and throw it in the refrigerator or freezer for easy meals to warm up for your busiest weeks!

Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container glass container, for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Freezer: If you plan to freeze, we suggest baking this in a disposable/aluminum casserole dish.

Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of cooked, cooled casserole and press out all of the air. Then, wrap the entire casserole in tin foil and place in the freezer. Write the name and date of casserole on the tin foil.

To Reheat: take the frozen casserole out of the freezer and let thaw in the fridge overnight. Either reheat single servings of the casserole in the microwave or reheat the entire thing in the oven.

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Recipe