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30 Minute General Tso’s Chicken, a new go-to sheet pan meal. Easy, homemade crispy baked chicken tossed in a homemade spicy, sweet, and tangy General Tso’s sauce. Serve this with broccoli cooked up right alongside the chicken. It’s the easiest sheet pan dinner. Serve this over rice for a fun restaurant-style dinner made easily and healthier at home!
One of the memories I always come back to anytime I make Chinese food at home is random, but one of my favorite memories as a kid! Often, on Christmas Eve when we lived in Cleveland, my older brothers would bring home Chinese food for us to eat while my mom frantically cleaned, prepped, and cooked for her annual Christmas Eve party.
For anyone who’s ever had a parent host Christmas Eve dinner, you’re probably familiar with the run around, hustle, and stress of getting ready to entertain. Unless your mom (dad, or whoever) was a pro entertainer. However, this was certainly not the case for us!
This meant that we were on our own for food throughout the day and very much banned from the kitchen. Luckily, I had older brothers. When my oldest brother Creighton was old enough to drive, that meant us younger kids got lucky and were able to enjoy takeout.
And for whatever reason, he used to bring home Chinese food. Always fried rice, maybe some egg rolls, and always some version of a General Tso’s Chicken. I remember loving the fried rice the most, but everything was good.
Shockingly, I’ve never made General Tso’s chicken at home. So I decided to make my own homemade and healthier version of everyone’s favorite Chinese chicken! My chicken is baked, not fried, and my sauce uses a homemade hoisin sauce made with molasses instead of sugar. It came out SO GOOD. I can’t wait to share this 30-minute recipe with you all!
These are the details
Ingredients – for the chicken
- Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts or thighs, cut into cubes
- Garlic powder
- Black pepper and chili flakes
- Flour or gluten-free flour – you can also use cornstarch
- Melted butter or extra virgin olive oil
- Broccoli florets
- Sesame seeds
- Sliced green onions
Ingredients – General Tso’s Sauce
- Tamari or soy sauce
- Hoisin sauce
- Rice vinegar
- Chili paste
- Garlic
- Ground ginger
- Toasted sesame oil
Special Tools
For this recipe, you’ll need a sheet pan and a glass measuring cup or bowl to whisk up the sauce.
Step 1: start with the chicken
I like to use cubed raw chicken—breasts or thighs, or a mix of the two. Toss the cubed chicken with garlic powder, black pepper, and chili flakes.
Now add some flour. The flour allows the chicken to get crispy in the oven. It’s a small amount, so it’s just a very light coating. It’s not a breaded chicken, but it has just enough of a coating to ensure the sauce can stick nicely to the chicken. You can also use gluten-free flour or cornstarch if you prefer.
Bake the chicken on a sheet pan with a side of broccoli tossed with melted butter or olive oil. I like to use butter. Depending on the size of your chicken pieces, this should take about 10 to 15 minutes to cook.
Step 2: General Tso’s sauce
Mix the tamari (or soy sauce), hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, and chili paste. I’m sharing my recipe for homemade hoisin sauce below if you’d prefer to use that!
Then, add fresh garlic, ground ginger, and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil. If you don’t have toasted sesame, you can easily just omit it from the sauce. I do love the flavor, but it’s not a must, and it’s not traditional.
Step 3: toss the chicken and the sauce
Pour the sauce over the baked crispy chicken to coat. Bake the chicken until the sauce really sticks. Watch this closely, you dont want the sauce to burn.
Step 4: serve with rice
You can easily serve this as is, but we love this chicken best when served over rice and topped with lots of toasted sesame seeds.
It’s so yummy! The sauce is sweet and spicy with a small amount of tanginess. And the chicken has a fried-like crispiness without any frying! We love it!
To Make Your Own Hoisin Sauce
This sauce is so good! And I love that I can control the ingredients and amount of sugar in the sauce. To make the hoisin sauce, I use a mix of tamari, molasses, rice vinegar, creamy peanut butter, hot sauce, garlic powder, and black pepper. Add a little water to the sauce, then simmer it on the burner until the sauce is smooth and thickened.
I keep the leftover hoisin sauce in a jar in the fridge. It’s sweet, tangy, and just a little spicy. I know it’s an odd mash-up of ingredients, but just go with it! It’s delish!
Looking for other busy weeknight recipes? Try these!
One Skillet Saucy Chicken Tortilla Enchilada Rice Bake
Crockpot Crispy Chicken Tinga Tacos with Avocado Jalapeño Crema
Sheet Pan Honey Mustard Salmon with Caesar Roasted Potatoes
One Skillet Cheesy Green Chile Chicken
Lastly, if you make this 30 Minute General Tso’s Chicken, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
30 Minute General Tso’s Chicken
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 373 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
General Sauce
- 1/3 cup tamari or soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chili paste
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 450° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or rub with oil.2. On the sheet pan, mix the chicken, garlic powder, pepper, and chili flakes. Add the flour and toss again. Add 2 tablespoons melted butter, tossing to coat. Arrange the chicken on one side of the baking sheet. Add the broccoli to the other side. Toss with butter or olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.3. Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a bowl or glass jar, combine all ingredients.4. Remove the broccoli from the sheet pan. Then pour the General T's sauce over the chicken and toss the chicken up in the sauce. Bake for another 5 minutes until the sauce is baked onto the chicken.5. Serve the chicken and broccoli with green onions and toasted sesame seeds. We always serve this over rice!
Notes
Homemade Hoisin Sauce: In a small sauce pot, mix 1/4 cup tamari/soy sauce with 3 tablespoons molasses. 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter, 2 teaspoons hot sauce, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and a pinch of black pepper. Whisk in 1/3 cup of water. Simmer over medium heat until the sauce is smoothed and thickened.
This post was originally published on March 13, 2025
I made this tonight and only used 2 cloves of garlic rather than 6 and it was plenty. My husband did not care for the strong ginger flavor so would reduce that next time to 1/2 tsp.
Hi Karen,
Thanks for trying this dish and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear you didn’t love it, but glad you would make it again! xx
The flavors were excellent. I didn’t get any crispness to my cooked chicken, then again I used chestnut flour, a type of gluten free flour; maybe that had something to do with it. That being said, my husband and I enjoyed it. Also, served it over cooked brown rice/millet ramen noodles. Thanks for this recipe
Thanks so much, Jill! I appreciate you giving this recipe a try, glad to hear it was enjoyed! Happy Sunday! xx
My husband and I loved this dinner, and it was so easy! Love your homemade hoisin sauce. I have one question for clarity. If I use your sauce creation, is that the sauce for the dish, or is that just the hoisin part of the General sauce?
Hey Lori,
Happy Sunday!! Thank you so much for making this recipe and your comment, love to hear it was enjoyed:) x
Made this last evening for me and my husband. It was absolutely delicious and will definitely be on the rotation to make again. Happy to have leftovers on the chicken. We ate all the broccoli. I followed recipe exactly ( and used olive oil but may try butter next time) We loved it!
Hey Jane,
Wonderful! Thank you so much for making this recipe, love to hear it was a hit! Have the best weekend:)
How often do you take Oslo grocery shopping! Such a fun activity to do together! Xx
Thanks so much!! He was actually with my dad:) But they go pretty often together!
Fantastic! I found it easier to use bowls to toss the chicken and broccoli before placing them on parchment paper. We LOVE sauce so I made 1.5x the amount in the recipe. First time making stir fry in oven – nice not to have pans to wash! Agreed on butter vs oil. Everything is better with butter! Husband rated 10/10, thanks!
Thanks so much, Sarah! Love to hear you enjoyed this recipe, I appreciate you making it! Happy Friday!!
Why the snarky comments regarding the fact that Tieghan put out a General Tso’s recipe in 2013? They’re clearly very different from each other. Jeesh.
Looking forward to trying this, Tieghan! Thank you!
Thanks so much, Chris! I hope you love the recipe!!
Amazing! Such an easy recipe for a week day! Taste so flavorful and not sweet like the takeout! Thank you!
Hey Simona,
Wonderful! I appreciate you giving this recipe a try and your comment, so glad to hear it was enjoyed!!
So yummy! Family thought it was excellent. Next time I ‘ll double the sauce and pour it over the broccoli too . Thanks for another great recipe
Hey Kim,
Wonderful! Thank you so much for making this recipe, love to hear it was a hit! Have the best weekend:)
Hi Teighan:
Question. After you season and lightly flour the cut chicken, do you spray it with a cooking spray before you out it in the oven to get the pieces a bit crispy?
Hi Carol,
You are going to toss with butter or olive oil at the end of step 2, so that should really help to crisp the chicken. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try! xx
I’m a bit confused by this recipe. Your picture shows Mother in Laws Gochujan fermented paste and Sambal Oelek. But, when you click on the recipe, for ‘chili paste’ it takes you to Thai Red Curry paste, which is very different. And, no mention of Sambal Oelek anywhere.
It looks terrific, and I will try it but just need clarification on ingredients.
Hi Beth,
I’m sorry, I do not know why the ingredient link to a red curry paste. You will want to use chili paste like gochujang or sriracha:) I hope this helps! xx
Can you use Chili Crisp instead of Chili paste?
Hi Ren,
I would stick with the paste for this recipe:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Should we disregard your General Tso’s recipe from 2013?
Hi Mary,
Yes, that recipe is over 10 years old:) I hope you’ll give this one a try! xx
Could you tell me the difference between this one and your other General Tso recipe? Trying to decide which one to make this week for a dinner date! ❤️
Hi Jane,
I would go with this one:) The other recipe is over 10 years old and one of the first recipes I shared. I hope this helps! xx
Haha you’ve made this before in 2013 silly, I’ve used the recipe and loved it! 🙂
Thanks so much, Sara!!
Please tell us what kind of chili paste.
Hi Melissa,
I like to use gochujang for this recipe:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xxT