This Air Fryer Trader Joe’s Orange Chicken and Broccoli dinner combines the best frozen entree from TJ’s with your air fryer! The whole family will love this new take on orange chicken that comes together in 20 minutes!
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What makes a super easy, totally delicious meal? Make it from the freezer aisle, but add fresh veggies!!
Trader Joe’s Orange Chicken is the epitome of easy delicious dinner from the freezer aisle. I know you guys love it too because Trader Joe’s constantly says it’s a customer favorite!
So I thought, why not jazz it up by adding veggies, and turn it into a full meal deal? And, make it in the air fryer so it’s fast. Yes! Dreams do come true!!
What do you need to make this meal?
This is a seriously simple meal, but you do need one thing to pull it off quickly! An air fryer – more on that later.
Here’s what you need as far as ingredients:
- one bag of Trader Joe’s Mandarin Orange Chicken
- one medium sized head of broccoli
- avocado spray oil
- optional rice or other carb/side
How do you make air fryer Trader Joe’s orange chicken?
First, if you’re having rice with the meal, start that in your preferred cooking method so the rice can cook while you make the rest of the meal.
Open up the bag of orange chicken and put the sauce packets into a bowl of warm water. They’ll be completely thawed by the time the chicken and broccoli are cooked.
Dump the orange chicken into the air fryer basket and cook at 350F for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, pull the basket out and dump the raw broccoli on top. Give the broccoli a quick spray with avocado oil, then put the basket back in the air fryer. Air fry for 10 minutes at 350F, shaking halfway through.
When the chicken is sizzling and the broccoli is getting some nice charred edges, dump it all in a large bowl. Add the sauce packets and toss until everything is coated.
Portion out with your rice or side of choice and enjoy!
When do you add the sauce to the chicken?
It is important to add the sauce to the chicken AFTER cooking in the air fryer. You have to get the chicken heated and crispy before adding sauce.
Can I use other vegetables instead of broccoli?
Feel free to use other tender vegetables in this recipe.
Broccoli is a fairly quick cooking vegetable, so it falls under the tender veggie category. Other tender veggies will have similar cooking time.
Stay away from adding root veggies to the recipe because they’ll take longer to cook and your chicken could burn. Here’s more super helpful info on air frying veggies from Live Eat Learn.
What do you serve the Air Fryer Trader Joe’s Orange Chicken and Broccoli with for dinner?
A great way to serve this meal is with rice on the side. The orange chicken sauce tastes so perfect over some rice – basically like takeout! Which is why I love this meal.
For more of an entree dinner for 2-3, you can skip the rice. To serve 3-5, add rice on the side so the meal will go further!
The bag says there are 5 servings, but those are suuuuper small servings. You do you!
What kind of air fryer do you have?
If you’ve read any of my previous air fryer recipe posts, you may know that I had a Philips 2.75 qt Viva Air Fryer (affiliate link!). Two years later, I decided to upgrade to a bigger and better version so I could air fry more foods at a time.
Now I’m fully in love with this Cosori XL 5.8 qt Air Fryer (affiliate link!). More space = more air frying power = more amazing air fried food! That’s the air fryer that you see pictured here.
How long will leftovers last in the fridge?
Leftovers should last about 3-4 days in the fridge. However, since the entree begins frozen and has two sauce packets, you can always save half the bag of chicken uncooked in the freezer until you want to eat the meal again.
How do you reheat leftovers?
Reheat leftovers in the microwave for about 90 seconds to 2 minutes. I would not recommend reheating in the air fryer since the sauce has been added.
Again, instead of making leftovers, I would cook a smaller amount to begin with since this can be kept in the freezer!
More Trader Joe’s meal ideas from Project Meal Plan:
- Air Fryer Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi
- 9 Best Products to Meal Prep from Trader Joe’s
- Copycat Trader Joe’s Turkey Gobbler Wrap
Air Fryer Trader Joe’s Orange Chicken and Broccoli
This Air Fryer Trader Joe’s Orange Chicken and Broccoli dinner combines the best frozen entree from TJ’s with your air fryer! The whole family will love this new take on orange chicken that comes together in 20 minutes!
- Total Time20 minutes
- Yield4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 bag of frozen Trader Joe’s Mandarin Orange Chicken
- 1 medium sized head of broccoli, cut into florets
- avocado spray oil
- serve with: optional white or brown rice
Instructions
- Make the rice: If you’re having rice with the meal, begin cooking in a rice cooker or on the stovetop, following the package instructions. Let the rice cook while you make the chicken and broccoli.
- Start the chicken: Open up the bag of orange chicken and put the sauce packets into a bowl of warm water. They’ll be completely thawed by the time the chicken and broccoli are done. Dump the orange chicken into the air fryer basket and cook at 350F for 5 minutes.
- Add the broccoli: After 5 minutes, pull the basket out and add the raw broccoli on top of the chicken. Give the broccoli a quick spray with avocado oil (just the top layer, don’t worry about the chicken), then put the basket back into the air fryer. Air fry for 10 minutes at 350F, shaking halfway through. It’s done when the chicken is golden brown and sizzling, and the broccoli has some charred edges.
- Add sauce: Dump the chicken and broccoli into a large bowl. Add the sauce packets and toss until everything is coated. Portion out with your rice or side of choice and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition information estimated My Fitness Pal and includes no rice or sides.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Mains
- Method: Air Fryer
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of dish
- Calories: 450
- Fat: 20g
- Carbohydrates: 30g
- Protein: 31g
If you made this Air Fryer Trader Joe’s Orange Chicken and Broccoli dinner, I want to see how it turned out! Tag me in your post so I can see your creation, or use #projectmealplan to share! I’d love to see what you made!
Quick easy and very tasty
So glad you liked it! Thank you Vanessa!
Wondering if I can use frozen broccoli. Same air fryer time as fresh?
Yes, should be around the same time, perhaps 1-2 minutes. Enjoy!