One-Pan Baked Gluten-Free General Tso's Chicken

This one-pan baked gluten-free General Tso's chicken recipe is 100% gluten-free and not fried in a frying pan for even a second!  Tender pieces of chicken are lightly breaded in a homemade spiced coating and then drizzled in coconut oil and a sweet and spicy sticky sauce and then baked to golden perfection.

Best Baked General Tso's Chicken!

One of the top 5 all time most popular recipes on the blog is the One-Pan Baked Gluten-Free Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe.

It tastes much fresher than take out and is completely gluten free.   We make it in our home all the time.

Like once a week.  NOT kidding.

When I started noticing all the eyes that were reading the recipe I figured that another recipe inspired by the sweet and sour recipe would be a popular move.

So I immediately started thinking up ways to make the ever-popular General Tso's Chicken into a gluten free 100% baked masterpiece.

After a couple of attempts I am proud to say that I've nailed this much healthier version of it.

When I stick to this recipe, the goodness that follows is always sticky and spicy and sweet every time.

It tastes nothing like a gluten free, lightened up, skinny version of General Tso's chicken should.

It tastes everything like you just order Chinese takeout and you're grabbing your chopsticks and are ready to pounce.

Is General Tso gluten free?

Nope.  

Not the kind you order from your local chinese resturant.  Not at all.

Is this recipe gluten-free?

Yes, all the way baby.

What makes it not gluten-free?

Well, it's usually a combination of things from the oil mixture used for frying up the chicken pieces, to the breading on the chicken, to the delicious delicious sauce, gluten likes to hide out in all of it.  🙁 

Gluten Free General Tso's Chicken Ingredients:

• coconut oil, melted
• 2 eggs, beaten
• cornstarch
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• salt
• black pepper
• brown or white rice flour
• 1.5 # chicken breasts, cubed

Gluten Free General Tso Sauce Ingredients:

• honey
• 1 cup sugar, can use coconut sugar
• rice vinegar
• yellow onion, finely diced (can use dried chopped onion flakes)
• gluten-free soy sauce, or liquid aminos
• minced garlic
• sriracha
• crushed red pepper flakes, optional
• cayene pepper, optional
• ground ginger

Ingredient Alternatives:

You can swap granulated sugar for coconut sugar.

You can use dried chopped onion flakes if you don't have a yellow or white onion on hand.

You can use gluten-free soy sauce or liquid aminos, either option is delicious and you won't notice a difference in the taste os this dish.

Both the cayenne pepper and the red pepper flakes are optional for those who want a touch of spice to the dish.  You can remove one or both depending on your perferred heat-rating number.

How to make gluten-free General Tso:

For the full detailed recipe card, scroll down.

The juicy chicken pieces are coated in rice flour and cornstarch and then baked in coconut oil.  

Then the chicken is drizzled in a sweet and spicy Tso sauce and then baked again until the drizzle turns into the most amazing sweet and spicy glaze.

I like to serve my one-pan baked gluten-free General Tso's chicken with fluffy brown rice, jasmine rice, basmati rice, or quinoa that I have in my pantry and some fresh cooked bell peppers.

1. Preheat your oven to 375*F. Place the coconut oil in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish and evenly distribute the oil over the bottom of the dish.
2. In a medium bowl, add the beaten eggs. Set aside. In a large ziploc bag, combine the cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper and mix well. In another large ziploc bag, pour in the rice flour. Set these two bags aside.
3. Dip the cubed chicken pieces into the egg and allow the excess to drip off. Then place the chicken pieces into the bag with the rice flour, zip the bag up tightly, shake the contents until evenly covered in the flour and then remove and place the pieces inside the bag with the cornstarch mixture and do the same shaking technique as before.
4. Place the coated chicken pieces into the baking dish and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to allow the chicken to cook and crisp evenly.
5. While the chicken is baking, combine the honey, sugar, vinegar, onion, soy sauce, minced garlic, sriracha, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, and ginger together in a medium bowl.
6. Once the 45 minutes is up, pour the sauce overtop the chicken and stir to make sure that the chicken pieces are entirely covered in the sauce.
7. Cook for another 10-20 minutes (stir after 10 minutes) or until the chicken is fully cooked and the sauce starts to thicken and turn into a glaze.
8. Remove from oven and serve while still warm. The sauce will thicken slightly more while cooling.

How to store leftover General Tso's Chicken:

You can store leftover cooked and cooled General Tso's in an airtight storage container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Can you freeze General Tso's Chicken?

Yes!  You can!

Make sure that the chicken has cooled to room temperature before wrapping it in tin foil and then placing the chicken in a freezer-safe storage bag.

General Tso's chicken can be kept in the freezer for up to 3-4 months!

How to reheat leftover General Tso's:

To reheat your leftover chicken, place the amoung you want reheated in a microwave-safe dish with it's cover loosely fitted on top so that it can alllow hot air to escape.

Microwave your leftover chicken on high power for 1-2 minutes, depending on how much chicken you are reheating and how warm you like to eat your leftovers.

Thanks so much for stopping in friends!