Instagram Is All Over This Costco Orange Chicken Air Fryer Hack

Costco is known for its wide selection of quick and easy-to-prepare frozen meals. However, while these freezer finds are convenient, many people can find them to be a bit bland or boring. Fortunately, there are quite a few ways home chefs can kick these ready-to-heat items up a notch with some simple tricks and ingredients — and without sacrificing convenience. One Costco shopper recently showed their followers how they utilized an air fryer, along with some rice and veggies, to turn the chain's frozen orange chicken from a simple entree into a complete, satisfying, and balanced meal.

Air fryers have become a popular appliance in recent years, since they make it easy to deliver that crispy, golden brown, "fried" texture to all kinds of foods using convection heat generated by hot air and a fan. Unlike traditional frying, air fryers do not use much oil, so there is less prep and clean-up required, making them the ideal tool for whipping up a crispy, tasty, yet still quick and easy meal, even when using leftovers or frozen ingredients.

Costco shopper @costcohotfinds posted their recipe to Instagram, explaining that their DIY air fryer orange chicken and rice dish took just 20 minutes to prepare and required "nearly zero prep." The user air-fried a bag of the Costco frozen chicken for about 15 minutes, followed by a bag of fresh green beans with a light drizzle of olive oil for five minutes. Next, they simply tossed the chicken and green beans together with a packet of the orange sauce, topped the combo with sesame seeds, and served it atop a bowl of fresh rice for an easy meal that they called "better than takeout."

Quite a few of their followers were impressed by the dish. "Ooh I never thought of adding green beans or sesame seeds to mine! Thank you for the idea," @v__sand replied, while @buddylee34 agreed, "way better than takeout, no contest." "We just tried this orange chicken for the first time and omg... it is soooo good and so fast and easy!" raved another Instagram user. If these replies are to be believed, Costco shoppers who are short on time but still want to enjoy a full, satisfying dish might want to consider breaking out their air fryer for their next meal.