This Chinese classic usually cooks on the stovetop. But we made General Tso’s chicken in the oven in a 9×13 pan. Here’s how.
When Rivky Kleiman shared this recipe for General Tso’s Chicken from Simply Gourmet with us, our first reaction was… “Wait! This will work in a 9×13! Let’s try it!” Here goes…
A true Chinese classic that tastes like the real deal. Your family will keep requesting this no-fuss, simple, easy, and delicious dinner.
- 1½ pounds chicken cutlets, cut into strips
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 24 ounces frozen broccoli florets, defrosted
- ½-1 cup honey-glazed cashews
- black and white sesame seeds, for sprinkling, optional
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- ½ cup water
- ⅓ cup rice vinegar
- ⅓ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1½ Tbsp hoisin sauce (see note above)
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼-½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9x13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
- Place chicken strips, flour, salt, and pepper into a resealable bag. Seal bag; shake until all chicken strips are well coated. Remove strips from flour. Shake off the excess flour; place chicken strips into prepared baking pan.
- Prepare the General Tso’s sauce: In a small saucepan, whisk together sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in water. Add remaining ingredients; whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Lower heat to a simmer and allow sauce to thicken, until it lightly coats the back of spoon. Remove from heat. Alternatively, place mixture into a microwave-safe bowl or container. Microwave on high for 1 minute; stir well. Repeat this two more times for a total of 3 minutes in the microwave. Mixture will be smooth and thickened.
- Pour half the sauce over the chicken strips. Cover pan with foil; bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove pan from oven. Place broccoli florets over the chicken strips. Pour remaining sauce over the broccoli. Cover; bake an additional 15-20 minutes.
- Before serving, sprinkle with glazed cashews and sesame seeds, if using.
For another version of General Tso’s, make on the stovetop or in a Crock-Pot, see this post.
You can make the sauce in a disposable 9” round and then no dishes to wash!
This came out heavenly! I replaced the hoisin sauce with regular BBQ sauce. It was delicious! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi! Can I make a big batch of the sauce , and then freeze it? This way I only make the saucepan dirty once…
You absolutely can prepare a large batch of sauce and freeze… What a great idea and time saver!!
Will bought general tsoz be just as tasty?
Store bought general tso’s is always a great cheat and will certainly work
I made this for our Friday night meal- it was delicious! I used fresh broccoli that I boiled for about 3 minutes before adding it, and I made the sauce in the microwave as suggested. Thanks very much!!
Love making short grain brown rice in the pot after making the sauce! Gets such great flavor, makes the perfect meal!
Made this for Shabbos and it turned out delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
can i freeze this for yom tov?
I also want to know??
Sounds delish!! want to try this for sure.
can I use regular white vinegar instead of rice vinegar?
I made this last night (with a few changes) for the first time. It was so easy! My husband (a former caterer/chef) was very skeptical, but he and (almost) all of my kids loved it!! We didn’t do the second part where you put the broccoli on and cover with sauce because my kids love plain broccoli. So I just baked the broccoli in a separate 9×13 pan and then the kids who wanted sauce on it poured it over after. I think I would’ve like it better your way, but happy they love broccoli! We also left out the cashews (only I like them) and kept the sesame seeds separate. Would love a sweet and sour sauce recipe to use as something different, if you have…
Thank you!
Any success with freezing after the whole thing is cooked?
trying to fill my freezer pre-baby!
I made this last night and it was pretty good, I would put in a little bit less rice vinegar next time.
I served it over brown rice.
How would I adjust the baking time if making with dark chicken cutlets?
Making it for the third time this week. Excellent!