This General Tso Chicken Recipe is an easy homemade version of the classic Chinese takeout dish. It's a lighter version with tender chicken with a crispy crust in sweet, tangy, and spicy General Tso sauce. This 30-minute one-pan recipe has become a standard at our house and will at yours, too.
🐓Ingredients
Chicken
Vegetable oil
Corn starch
Egg
Hoisin sauce
Pantry—soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, dry ginger, crushed red pepper, salt, pepper
Serving—toasted sesame seeds, sliced green onion, cooked rice, steamed vegetables
Jump To (scroll for more)
- 🐓Ingredients
- 👨🍳How to Make General Tso Chicken—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
- 👨🍳Make it right every time—tips for success
- 🤔Ingredient options and variations
- 🔥How to adjust the spiciness
- ✔️About Hoisin sauce
- 🤔To make Gluten-Free General Tso's Chicken
- ↕️How to make this a "for two" or "family size" recipe
- 🍽️Serving General Tso's
- ❄️Storage of leftovers
- ❓FAQs
- 🇨🇳What is General Tso Chicken
- 📖 Recipe
Featured Comment by Alby C.:
"Wow! This recipe was so delicious and so easy to make. I can't believe a novice cook like me was able to make a dish that rivaled most restaurants I've been to! Signature dish! Thank you so much!"
In the past, I have destroyed my kitchen with other General Tao recipes, but this one-pan recipe, adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe, is much easier and faster to make at home.
A lighter, healthier General Tso recipe with the same great taste as the full-fat takeout version. However, it fits healthy low-fat diets and can easily be adapted to a gluten-free diet. Now, everybody can make General Tso Chicken at home.
For more Chinese takeout-at-home recipes, try Chicken Stir Fry, Crock Pot Cashew Chicken, or Crock Pot Beef and Broccoli.
👨🍳How to Make General Tso Chicken—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Preparing and Cooking the Chicken
1. Trim chicken into 1-inch cubes. Dry with paper towels.
2. Whisk together egg whites, cornstarch, salt, and pepper.
3. Coat the chicken with the egg mixture and shake off the excess. Let it rest for 5 minutes, then add it to a large nonstick pan with hot oil.
4. Cook to 165° over medium-high heat, stirring or flipping occasionally, for about 8-10 minutes—longer if the pan is crowded. Transfer to a bowl.
Making General Tso Sauce
5. To make General Tso sauce, whisk together cornstarch and water. Then, add brown sugar, Hoisin sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, dry ginger, and crushed red pepper.
6. With medium-low heat, add the sauce to the pan and whisk until thickened—about 2-3 minutes.
Finishing and Serving
7. Add the chicken back into the sauce and stir to coat.
8. Transfer to the serving dish. Garnish with the toasted sesame seeds.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
👨🍳Make it right every time—tips for success
Patting the chicken cubes dry before coating and resting them for 5 minutes after coating will help the coating stick.
Please use the Hoisin sauce; there is no good substitute.
Add the chicken to the hot oil one piece at a time. You can cook it in two batches of 8 to 10 minutes each or cook it all at once for about 12 to 14 minutes.
Officially, you should flip each piece individually with a fork. However, if you dry the chicken well and give the coating time to adhere before cooking, an occasional gentle stir works well.
Check multiple pieces to ensure the internal temperature reaches 165° for safety.
I love General Tso sauce, so I usually double it for the rice and vegetables. After thickening the sauce, but before adding the chicken, I remove the extra sauce and serve it on the side.
🤔Ingredient options and variations
If you use thighs, the cooking temperature should be 180°-185° for tenderness. It is safe at 165°.
You can use a whole egg instead of two whites. The whites are used to continue the "lighter" theme by decreasing the fat.
The Hoisin sauce provides a vinegar flavor for this dish, but you may want to add some rice wine vinegar. Likewise, garlic is in the Hoisin, but add more if you wish.
Dry ginger is used, but you may use 1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger for each ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger.
Brown sugar adds sweetness to the sauce but can be cut in half without much effect.
🔥How to adjust the spiciness
The red pepper flakes are "to taste." ¼ teaspoon has minimal heat (1/10) but some pleasant taste. ½ teaspoon is what you typically have in a restaurant (3/10), but 1 teaspoon is more for the heat lover (7/10).
Dried Chinese chilies, such as Tien Tsin peppers, can be used, but be careful—they can be very hot.
✔️About Hoisin sauce
Hoisin sauce is a sweet, salty, tangy Chinese condiment commonly used in Chinese and other Asian cuisines. It is made with fermented soybeans, sugar, vinegar, garlic, spices, and dried chilies.
It is thick, red, and full of flavors. It is commonly used in various dishes, including stir-fries, marinades, glazes, and dipping sauces, but it has many other uses.
Due to the complexity of flavors, a substitute is impossible to recommend.
🤔To make Gluten-Free General Tso's Chicken
General Tso's is not naturally gluten-free, but it can be with a few easy adaptions.
- Hoisin sauce is usually thickened with wheat, but gluten-free versions are available.
- Soy sauce is packed with gluten, but Tamari is a good substitute and is generally gluten-free, but read the label.
- Ketchup is usually gluten-free, but some have gluten, so read the labels.
↕️How to make this a "for two" or "family size" recipe
This recipe is very easy to make smaller or bigger to fit your needs.
The full recipe makes 4 large servings. Perfect for our "for two" household for two meals.
- Use the recipe card and adjust the number of servings.
- Use the amount of ingredients in the ingredient list, not the instructions—those do not adjust.
- You will need to cook the coated chicken in batches in a double recipe.
🍽️Serving General Tso's
Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and slices of green onions. For rice, try Baked Rice or Egg Fried Rice. Serve with steamed vegetables to complete the meal.
Baked Rice
Cook perfect, tender, fluffy rice every time with this easy oven-baked rice recipe. Combine rice, butter, and salt with boiling water, seal tight, and oven-bake. Make delicious rice for two or a crowd in 30 minutes!
❄️Storage of leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container refrigerated for 3 days. The longer you store coating made with cornstarch, the more it will break apart.
Also, the sauce is made with cornstarch and may become "jelly-like " when refrigerated. It will still taste good and is safe, but the texture may be off.
❓FAQs
General Tso chicken and Sesame Chicken are similar, with a sweet and savory sauce. General Tso's is usually spicier, while Sesame Chicken is typically sweeter, with a heavy coat of toasted sesame seeds and no heat.
First, dry the chicken as much as possible with paper towels before coating.
Second, let the coating set on the chicken for 5-10 minutes before cooking.
Third, flip gently in the skillet with a fork.
Fourth, cook the chicken in several batches so as not to crowd the pan.
🇨🇳What is General Tso Chicken
General Tso's chicken is a sweet, tangy, and somewhat spicy deep-fried chicken dish served in most North American Chinese restaurants.
Although it is probably some basis in standard Chinese fare, it is not a traditional Chinese dish. Most likely, what we now know as General Tso Chicken originated in New York City in the 1970s, but there are many conflicting claims about who and where.
Wherever it started, it is now standard fare in almost every North American Chinese restaurant—and has always been one of the most popular dishes.
📖 Recipe
General Tso Chicken Recipe
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Ingredients
- 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts - about 10-12 oz. each.
- 2 teaspoons oil
Coating
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
- 1 egg - or two egg whites
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoons pepper
General Tso Sauce
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 3 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- ½ cup brown sugar - or less
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- ¼ teaspoon dry ginger
- ¼ to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper - See recipe notes below
Serving options
- toasted sesame seeds
- sliced green onion
- cooked rice
- steamed vegetables
Instructions
- Trim two skinless boneless chicken breasts, then cube them into about 1-inch pieces—pat dry with paper towels.
- Whisk together 2 egg whites or one whole egg, cornstarch, salt, and pepper.
- Add chicken to the egg mixture and stir to coat. Shake the excess coating and let set for 5 minutes if you have the time to help the coating adhere better. Heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick skillet or a wok.
- Add the chicken one piece at a time to the hot oil. You can be a perfectionist, half-turn them nicely for 8 to 10 minutes, and repeat. OR put them all in and occasionally stir for about 12 to 14 minutes. Be sure the internal temp gets to 165° by checking multiple pieces.
- Start the General Tso sauce while the chicken is cooking—whisk cornstarch into ½ cup of cool water. Then add brown sugar, Hoisin sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, dry ginger, and crushed red pepper.
- When the chicken is done, transfer it to a bowl and decrease the heat to medium-low. Add the sauce and whisk continuously while boiling until well thickened, 2-3 minutes.
- Add the chicken back into the sauce and stir to coat. Transfer to the serving dish. Garnish with the toasted sesame seeds and slices of green onion. Serve with sides of rice and steamed vegetables.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- You can use chicken thighs, but they should be cooked to 180° to 185° for a better texture. They are safe at 165°.
- The Hoisin sauce is needed—do not skip it.
- The sweetness is on the high side. Decrease the brown sugar if you want.
- I used two egg whites to make this "lighter," but you may use one whole egg.
- The red pepper is "to taste". ¼ teaspoon has minimal heat (1/10) but some nice taste. ½ teaspoon is what you would normally have in a restaurant (3/10), but 1 teaspoon is more for the heat lover (7/10).
- To decrease the sodium, cut out the salt and use low-sodium soy sauce.
- Good refrigerated for 3 to 4 days. I don't see this freezing well.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
© 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.
Editor's Note: Originally Published October 17, 2012. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Mike Roark says
General Tso chicken is really good. I used dark brown sugar like your picture shows instead of brown sugar like the recipe says. I will probably use dark when I make it again because it really has a lot of positive flavor notes that my wife and I like. I really appreciate the hard work you must put into this article each time and my wife and I love the smaller recipes because we are both 65 and our eating habits have changed drastically over the last few years. Your recipes are easy and the extra work you do with the pictures is really helpful. Thank you for sharing your recipes and your experiences.
Debra says
I’m inspired to make this with your plain fried rice!
Have to ask; are your pups from the same litter?
Love all things dogs and cooking😉
Also love your improved site!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Debra,
That is a good pairing.
The girls are littermates so yes, they are sisters.
Dan
Patti says
Just a comment about the ginger. I buy a small stalk of it, usually available in any grocery store or Asian store. I freeze it, in a freezer ziplock bag and then when I want it, I’ll take it out, scrape off the skin for the amount I need, and usually grate it, frequently with garlic, since they always seem to go together. I then put it back in the freezer. I’ve never had a problem with it getting frost bite or anything. It tastes so much better in my opinion.
I found the difference in flavor when I had a recipe for Skillet Egg Rolls, which I took pieces of another recipe for the pressure cooker for Egg Roll Bowls. The pressure cooker one used dry ginger, but the taste wasn’t good. The skillet one which used all fresh, including garlic, tasted better. So I took bits from one recipe, and bits from another. My way of cooking 😋
Thanks, love your recipes and your website. And of course the pictures of your doggies.
Jennie says
I made this for supper last night. I'd been marinating chicken in buttermilk w/garlic and trying to decide which recipe to use it in. I opted for this and everyone loved it! I added half a zucchini matchsticked and three green onions, chopped, used 1/4 c brown sugar, added a little sesame oil and some garlic powder and served It over fresh pasta. It was excellent and easy. I'll be making it again! Thanks for another great recipe. 😃
Carolyn S. says
This is an old recipe, BAF - Before Air Fryers. A lot of us have them now. Can you update it to include that option?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Carolyn,
I have seen air fryer versions but I don't see that as a good option here. You could cook the chicken in the air fryer but you need to sauce. To me, an air fryer is an oven and making this in an oven would be harder not easier.
Dan
Leslie says
I look forward to trying this recipe. However, I found the recipe amount for the chicken to be ambiguous. One chicken breast could be interpreted as one WHOLE breast consisting of two sides, each of which weighs, on average, 5-6 ozs. Judging by the amount of sauce, I’m guessing you mean about 12 ozs. of meat total. If you gave the amount of chicken in weight, it would be easier to substitute thighs for breasts. Maybe include weight measurements in recipes of this type?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Leslie,
Welcome to the blog.
You are right it is a bit ambiguous somewhat on purpose.
Let's talk about the size of a "half" breast which most people will refer to as a breast. These have grown in size over the years. 20 years ago 8 oz was about average and 6 was not uncommon. But now, most breasts will run 10-12 oz and 16 is not uncommon. My high-end butcher shop can supply 8 oz ones when I have time to go there. But the normal supermarkets will not have anything less than 10 oz usually.
So your assumption of about 12 oz each is correct. I added a little clarification to the recipe.
Thighs will be fine but you will find they have a better texture when cooked to 175-180 degrees.
Dan
Lana says
We had this for dinner tonight. I added sugar snap peas and sliced mushrooms, just because I’ve always thought General Tsos would be better with some veggies. I also served mine over steamed broccoli slaw mix, and my husband’s over angel hair pasta. It was very good, but it was a bit too sweet for me and I only used 2 T of brown sugar. I added about a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to cut the sweet a bit. I think next time I will just leave the sugar out. This is probably because I have cut my consumption of sugar and may not seem so sweet to others. It was so pretty. I hoped to share photos but I don’t see a way to post them.
sam says
I was made it. This is VERY good and easy, and I will definitely make it again!
Thanks friend