Trader Joe’s Mandarin Orange Chicken

Ask Trader Joe’s fans what the best TJ’s products are, and you’ll get some different answers. Some might mention the Sublime Ice Cream Sandwiches or the Hold the Cone Ice Cream Cones. Others might talk about the Everything but the Bagel Seasoning Blend or the Unexpected Cheddar Cheese.

But the documented hands-down favorite is the Mandarin Orange Chicken. This chicken dish is so popular that it won top billing for several years in the Trader Joe’s Annual Customer Choice Awards. Eventually, TJ’s moved it to their Product Hall of Fame.

Orange chicken features a mix of sweet and sour flavors achieved through the use of ingredients such as brown sugar, honey, vinegar, and soy sauce. It is a well-liked dish in American Chinese restaurants, and Panda Express claims that one of its chefs created the dish in 1987 in Hawaii.

Frozen, ready-to-heat orange chicken is stocked at many grocery stores, and I often keep a bag of Fusia Asian Inspirations Mandarin Orange Chicken from Aldi — a cousin to Trader Joe’s — in my freezer for nights when I need to make a quick and easy meal for my family.

We’ve tried the Trader Joe’s Mandarin Orange Chicken a few times, even sampling it as part of an Aldi Vs. Trader Joe’s Chinese Takeout Showdown years ago. At that time, our taste testers unanimously agreed they liked the Aldi version better — it had more chicken and the chicken was more tender, and it had more sauce. Since TJ’s Mandarin Orange Chicken has garnered so much attention from fans over the past few years, I figured it was time to try it again.

Trader Joe’s Mandarin Orange Chicken cost $4.99 for a 22-ounce package at our local TJ’s store in June of 2025. That’s the same price we paid for it the last time we bought it in the summer of 2022.

The package describes this as “a savory dish of tender battered chicken with mandarin orange ginger sauce.”

There are about five servings per bag. A one-cup serving has 320 calories, with 140 calories from fat. One serving also has 16 grams of total fat (25% DV), 3.5 grams of saturated fat (20% DV), 330 mg of sodium (14% DV), 24 grams of total carbohydrates (8% DV), 6 grams of sugars, and 21 grams of protein.

The TJ’s chicken has more calories and fat compared to Aldi orange chicken but less sodium and fewer carbs and added sugars.

The Trader Joe’s package has instructions for heating the chicken in a conventional oven or in a skillet on the stovetop, and it has instructions for heating the sauce in a microwave or in a saucepan on the stovetop.

To heat the chicken in a conventional oven, preheat the oven to 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Place chicken pieces on a baking sheet. Bake for 18-20 minutes until crisp and golden.

To heat the chicken in a skillet, heat 1/4 cup of cooking oil in a large skillet. Add chicken pieces. Cook 8-10 minutes, turning regularly to evenly heat chicken pieces until crisp and golden.

To heat the sauce in the microwave, pour the sauce into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1-2 minutes until sauce is hot. Toss well with heated chicken pieces and serve.

To heat the sauce in a saucepan, open the packet and pour the sauce into a small saucepan. Heat on low heat until warm. Then mix with heated chicken pieces and serve.

I opted to prepare this chicken in my oven. It was done after 18-19 minutes. I served it alongside some Trader Joe’s Chicken Spring Rolls, Aldi potstickers, and Aldi chicken lo mein.

We thought this chicken was great. When we’ve had this dish from Trader Joe’s previously, we thought the chicken was a little tough and chewy. It was something our taste testers noted when we tried the Trader Joe’s chicken alongside Aldi orange chicken a few years ago.

This time around, though, we thought the chicken was perfectly crispy and very good overall. There isn’t as much sauce in this compared to the Aldi orange chicken, but there is enough. This also has less spiciness compared to Aldi orange chicken. The fact that it’s made with dark chicken meat makes for a unique meal as well.

Overall, I like this chicken and would happily buy it and eat it again.

The Verdict:

Trader Joe’s Mandarin Orange Chicken has been repeatedly voted the overall winner in the Trader Joe’s Annual Customer Choice Awards and is now in the Trader Joe’s Product Hall of Fame. It’s worth trying based on its reputation. It features dark chicken meat with a crispy breading and a savory sauce. It’s a great option if you’re craving takeout-style food.