Learn how and why you should be air frying the Mandarin Orange Chicken from Trader Joe's instead of cooking it in the oven.
📋 What's New In This Post (1/5/26) - Added a list of air fryer mistakes to avoid and more suggestion for making it a whole meal.
My Hot Weather Meal
On an ultra hot 90 degree plus summer day, when I don't feel like cooking or heating up my oven it's when I have to go to a convenience meal just to be sure I get food in my body! And for sure I am going to be cooking it in the air fryer.
So what do I turn to? The mandarin orange chicken from Trader Joe's. I think it's one of the best frozen chicken products you can buy. Right up there with the Lightly Breaded Chicken Chunks from Costco.
In this post I am going to show you how to cook it in your air fryer and what sides you can choose to make it into a complete meal. Whether it is hot or not, it is always nice to have something you can quickly go to when you need to feed the family but are short on time and/or energy.
Let me help!
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Why Air Fry
The beauty of air frying this chicken is that it helps it cook faster than it would in the oven. I can have a batch done in about 10 minutes where it usually takes twice as long to cook it in the oven.
Plus I think the chicken comes out crispier. That is key because you will be putting a sauce on it. The crispier the chicken is to start, the longer it will hold up with the sauce on it and not get soggy. No one wants soggy chicken!
How Long to Air Fry?
The temperature you want to air fry the chicken at is 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the chicken is golden brown or it's 160 degrees when checked with an instant read thermometer.
Common Air Fryer Mistakes to Avoid
I wanted to list you some mistakes that you should avoid when you are cooking the chicken in the air fryer.
- Don't overcrowd the chicken. You want the chicken to be in a single layer and not be sticking together. If you try to cook too much at once it will take longer and the chicken won't get crispy. It should look like the chicken in this photo. Now I have a dual basket air fryer, so what I do is divide the chicken among the two baskets. It works perfectly.
- Not checking on the chicken as it cooks. I find it that you will have better results if you shake the basket about half way through cooking to help it cook evenly.
- Saucing the chicken too early. You don't want to add the sauce until right before taking the first bite. You can thaw the sauce in the microwave but I find it easy enough to place the unopened pouch of sauce in a bowl with warm water. It doesn't take long for it at all to thaw.
What to Serve With It
Looking for some serving suggestions? How about going full on with an Asian theme? You can also air fry any of these:
I was able to cook the chicken and some sides at the same time because of my dual air fryer. You might have to work in batches, but then keeping the food hot can be an issue.
You could steam any of those options instead if you don't have the time or space. Also you could make some rice to go with it.
Trader Joe's has a lot of baby sized vegetables like baby corn and zucchini that are fast cooking that you could make.
If you would like to check out what I did, you can see my my video on my Instagram account.
Air Fried Mandarin Chicken from Trader Joe's
Ingredients
- 1 bag frozen Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken'
Instructions
- You don't need to preheat your air fryer, just take the chicken out of the bag and place into your air fryer.
- Don't crowd the air fryer. Chicken shouldn't be stacked on top of each other. If need be, work in 2 batches. If you have an air fryer with dual baskets, divide the chicken evenly among the baskets.
- Set the air fryer for 10 minutes at 400 degrees to start.
- While the chicken is cooking, place the sauce into a bowl of hot water to help it thaw.
- Half way through cooking, give the air fryer basket a shake to help the chicken cook evenly.
- After 10 minutes, the chicken should be golden brown. You can check to be sure that it's done. If you are unsure, use an instant read thermometer to check the temperature. It should be at 160 degrees.
- Remove from the air fryer with a pair of tongs that have a silicone end or plastic end so that you don't scratch the air fryer basket. Serve on rice and/or with broccoli or with other Asian foods from Trader Joe's.
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