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This homemade General Tso's Chicken recipe is better than takeout, with crispy pan-fried chicken tossed in a sweet, savory general tso's sauce made with simple ingredients you already have on hand.
Better-Than-Delivery General Tso’s Chicken (Yes, Really!)
General Tso's Chicken is hands down one of my family's most-requested dinners, and once you try making it at home, you'll never want to order takeout again. This recipe isn't authentic (here is a more authentic recipe) but I love that the ingredients are simple ones I always have on hand and give you the same amazing flavor.
Tip for an even faster dinner: Make the General Tso's sauce ahead of time. You can also coat the chicken in egg and cornstarch a few hours ahead (store in fridge) so everything is ready to cook.
Try more of my Chinese-inspired favorites, like Kung Pao Chicken, Lettuce Wraps, Black Pepper Chicken, Mongolian Beef, and Chow Mein!
How to make General Tso Chicken:
Make Sauce: In a small mixing bowl, whisk all the sauce ingredients then set aside. If you like a more mild flavor, reduce the amount of red pepper flakes or omit them.
Coat Chicken: Combine cornstarch, flour, salt, and pepper in a large ziplock bag. Close it and shake to combine. In a large bowl, whisk egg whites. Dip chicken in the egg whites then let them drip off and drop it into the ziplock bag. Shake until all the chicken is coated.
Fry: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat then pour in half a cup of oil. Once the oil is hot, fry the chicken in batches (don't crowd it!). Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until it is golden brown and cooked through. Remove to a plate.
Combine: Pour sauce into the same pan and simmer until it's heated and thickened. Toss the chicken in the sauce just before serving. Serve with white or brown rice or Kimchi Fried Rice and garnish with green onions and/or sesame seeds. Enjoy immediately!
General Tso’s Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, , cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large egg whites
- 1/2 cup oil, (vegetable or canola oil)
- hot cooked white rice, , for serving
General Tso's Sauce:
- 2/3 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar
- 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, , packed
- 3 cloves garlic, , minced
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger, , or 1 Tablespoon fresh minced ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more, to taste
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Make General Tso's Sauce: Add the sauce ingredients to a bowl and whisk well to combine. Set aside.2/3 cup hoisin sauce, ⅓ cup rice vinegar, ⅓ cup low-sodium soy sauce, ¼ cup light brown sugar, 3 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
- Make breading: Add cornstarch, flour, and salt and pepper to a large ziplock bag and shake to combine. Whisk egg whites in a separate bowl.½ cup cornstarch, ½ cup all-purpose flour, salt and freshly ground black pepper, 2 large egg whites
- Coat chicken: Add chicken pieces to the egg whites and toss to coat. Spoon coated chicken pieces into the ziplock bag, allowing excess egg to drip back into the bowl. Shake the bag to coat chicken evenly in the cornstarch mixture.1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Cook chicken: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil. Once oil is hot, add some of the chicken (it's best to cook the chicken in 2 or 3 batches, so it browns better). Cook the chicken 2-3 minutes on each side, until the coating is golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. Remove to a plate. Repeat until all of the chicken has cooked, and set aside on a plate.½ cup oil
- Add sauce: Add the sauce to the pan and simmer until warm and thickened. Toss the chicken in the sauce just before serving.
- Serve with hot cooked white or brown rice. Garnish with chopped green onions.hot cooked white rice
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe February 2016. Updated August 2020, October 2023 and May 2026.
Your General Tso’s chicken calls fo 2/3cup of hoisin sauce. That’s way to much. It was terrible.
WE LOVE this recipe. Use it often. Wondering if you have ever prepared and fozen? A reheatable meal? I love to give food away and this would be a wonderful addition to my list. I use a LOT of your recipes because they are soooo good and they are freezable! I guess I could try it but if you have already done the research I’ll take your advice on freezing and reheating.
Thanks so much for your care and quality of food!
Sharon
I’m so happy you enjoy the recipes, Sharon! Thanks for the kind words and keep cooking up a storm! You can freeze this dish. I recommend freezing the chicken and sauce separately though so it doesn’t get soggy. Flash freeze the chicken. Defrost sauce and chicken overnight and then you can reheat either in the oven (375) for 15-20 minutes or on the stovetop.
The flavor was really good but the sauce turned out super thick and chunky. Again flavor was great but think I would reduce the amount of cornstarch coating on the chicken
This recipe is delicious and I’ve made it multiple times for my family. Sometimes I increase the sauce by 50% because my family likes a lot of sauce.
My boyfriend and I absolutely loved this! We thought the salt content was appropriate and I was careful to heat the sauce but not reduce it too much since that would make it taste saltier. The chicken fry method was great too. We ate it with steamed rice and broccoli and it’s definitely going to be in our rotation from now on.
This was delicious! I have no idea why people say it’s too salty! It was perfect! Followed recipe to a t. My three year old and my two year old loved it as well. My three year old asked for more sauce on her rice!
Sauce is Way too salty for my husband and I
The dish looked lovely, but, way too salty, even using low sodium soy sauce. I like Hoisin but it packs a lot of salt, so maybe less of both.
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Really good sauce. Cooking the chicken is a pain. I couldn’t figure out how to keep the flour from browning in the cooking batches.
Find a different recipe, folks! This sauce tastes terrible and completely ruined the meal. It was too thick (WAY too much hoisin sauce?) and did not taste or look anything like General Tso’s. Nobody was able to eat more than a few bites. I wish I had noticed and read the multiple negative comments warning people about this recipe before wasting time and money on it. We ended up throwing it all in the garbage and getting fast food instead.