Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe (2024)

Orange Chicken makes a favorite Chinese dish. Get this lightened up Skinny Orange Chicken recipe which is Paleo-friendly, gluten-free, and grain-free, but definitely not free of flavor!

Orange Chicken has to be one of my favorite Chinese dishes to order when we order takeout or visit a favorite Chinese restaurant. I’ve made it a few times at home, but decided that I wanted to make a skinny orange chicken recipe.

Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe (1)

You know, around the first of the year, that’s what seems to be on our minds. This lighter orange chicken recipe, or my Skinny Orange Chicken, is exactly what I had in mind! It’s so full of flavor and a favorite in my family!

Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe (2)

Skinny Orange Chicken

How to Make Skinny Orange Chicken

I begin with four skinless, boneless chicken breasts that I slice in half horizontally. You’ll definitely want to make sure you are using a very sharp knife held parallel to the cutting board when slicing the chicken in half. I then cut the halves into bite-sized pieces. I find that they cook a lot more evenly that way and it saves a ton of time when cooking chicken in recipes like this. and I like to pop my chicken into the freezer for about 15 minutes as it makes them perfect for cutting, in my opinion.

I toss my chicken into a skillet with a bit of oil. I use coconut oil as I want to make this recipe as Paleo-friendly as possible, but you can use olive oil, butter, or a combination of the two for a delicious flavor.

While the chicken is browning, I mix together the sauce for the chicken. While traditional orange chicken always calls for frying the chicken bites in a cornstarch batter, I omit that part to reduce a few calories. Believe me, you won’t miss it once you taste the sauce on this chicken!

Once the chicken is browned, I remove it from the skillet as I cook the sauce to reduce it for the dressing. You are going to love the substitutions I made. It tastes so fresh and delicious!

Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe (3)

Here’s my Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe. I think you are going to love it. I know we sure do!

Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe (4)

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Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe

Orange Chicken makes a favorite Chinese dish. Get this lightened up Skinny Orange Chicken recipe which is Paleo-friendly, gluten-free, and grain-free, but definitely not free of flavor!

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup chicken stock or broth
  • 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
  • 3 tablespoons coconut aminos
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Sriracha sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 pinch red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon sesame seeds for garnish, optional
  • Broccoli recipe

Instructions

  • Melt coconut oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Add in chicken pieces and cook until cooked through and browned, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.

  • While chicken is cooking, stir together chicken stock, honey or maple syrup, garlic, orange zest, orange juice, coconut aminos, Sriracha sauce, ginger and red pepper flakes. Pour into heated skillet once chicken has been removed and reduce to low heat. Cook, stirring often, until sauce has been reduced and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and pour over chicken.

  • To serve, spoon chicken over a bed of broccoli and then spoon on additional sauce. Top with sesame seeds, if desired.

Notes

If not concerned with making this recipe Paleo-friendly, use the following substitutions:
For 1 tablespoon coconut oil, use butter or olive oil or a combination of the two
For 1/4 cup coconut aminos, use 1/4 soy sauce

If your sauce does not thicken as desired, you may add the following to assist in the thickening:
Mix 1 – 2 teaspoons of tapioca flour or arrowroot powder, if Paleo OR cornstarch, if non-Paleo, with the same amount of water to form a paste. Stir into the sauce well to thicken.

Nutrition

Calories: 237kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 448mg | Potassium: 464mg | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 65IU | Vitamin C: 12.7mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 0.6mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Enjoy!
Robyn xo

Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe (5)

Categorized as:30 Minutes or Less Recipes, All Recipes, By Cooking Style, By Special Diets, Chicken Recipes, Cooking, Dinner Recipes, Egg-Free Recipes, Freezer Friendly Recipes, Gluten-Free Recipes, Grain-Free Recipes, Lighter Fare, One Dish Meal Recipes, Paleo Recipes, Recipes, Simple Recipes, Skillet Recipes

Welcome to Add A Pinch

About Robyn

Robyn Stone is a cookbook author, wife, mom, and passionate home cook. Her tested and trusted recipes give readers the confidence to cook recipes the whole family will love. Robyn has been featured on Food Network, People, Southern Living, and more.

Read more about Robyn

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Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you thicken orange chicken sauce? ›

Use Flour and Water

Combine 2 tablespoons flour with every 1/4 cup cold water and whisk until smooth. Add the mixture to your sauce over medium heat, and continue to stir and cook until you've reached your desired consistency. Test with a spoon.

How do you make chicken super thin? ›

Cut the chicken breasts in half crosswise. On a sturdy cutting board, place a piece of chicken between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Using a mallet or other blunt object, pound the chicken into a flat piece about 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch thick. Repeat with the remaining chicken.

What is the orange sauce made of in orange chicken? ›

FOR THE SAUCE:

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, orange juice, brown sugar and orange zest. Set aside. Clean wok and heat 15 seconds over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil, the gingerroot, garlic, crushed red chili pepper flakes and green onions and stir-fry for just a few seconds until fragrant.

Does orange chicken have a lot of sugar? ›

Can you believe traditional Orange Chicken has 20g of sugar per serving…which means most of us are eating 60+g of sugar when we devour the whole box⁉️ ☠️ That's why we're proud to have invented the first Orange Chicken with only 2g sugar for the entire box. 😎 But the same classic flavors you crave!

How do Chinese restaurants thicken sauces? ›

Much like French food, which relies on a roux for a perfect bechamel sauce or beef bourguignon and involves butter cooked with flour, Chinese and Cantonese cuisines use cornstarch to thicken sauces. However, it's predominantly added at the end of the cooking process rather than at the start.

How do you thicken orange sauce without cornstarch? ›

All-purpose flour: You can thicken sauces with all-purpose wheat flour. For every tablespoon of cornstarch, use three tablespoons of flour. Combine raw flour with cold water in a small bowl to form a paste, then add it into the sauce as it's simmering. Cooking the flour in the sauce will remove the flour taste.

How do restaurants get chicken so thin? ›

Typically there are a couple of different ways restaurants use to velvet their chicken most Chinese restaurants use baking soda and cornstarch for the best results. However, a couple of other methods include using: Chemical tenderisers.

What makes a chicken skinny? ›

Worms and parasites that live in your chicken's digestive tract will reduce your chicken's appetite leading to weight loss. Parasites will also deplete your chicken from the nutrients they need to prevent them from becoming stressed. Worm your chickens regularly to prevent parasite-related weight loss.

What is the best way to make chicken thinner? ›

The Easiest Way to Thin Chicken Breasts
  1. Slice a chicken breast down the middle. ...
  2. Slowly slice with a sharp knife from the thicker side of the chicken breast horizontally to the thinner side. ...
  3. You should end up with two even slices of chicken breast, but, you may get a butterflied chicken.
Feb 11, 2022

What is Panda Express Orange Chicken made of? ›

Ingredients: dark meat chicken, water, sugar, distilled vinegar, modified food starch, corn starch, potato starch, contains less than 2% of: wheat, orange extract, caramel color, salt, garlic, phosphoric acid, rice wine, sesame oil. *The dish uses a proprietary batter and sauce.

What is the Chinese version of orange chicken? ›

In Chinese, this dish is known as "陳皮雞", literally "dried citrus peel chicken", referring to dried orange or tangerine peel. However, the taste and recipes of this dish differ due to cultural and geographical factors.

What is the orange sauce at Chinese restaurants? ›

Duck sauce (or orange sauce) is a condiment with a sweet and sour flavor and a translucent orange appearance similar to a thin jelly. Offered at American Chinese restaurants, it is used as a dip for deep-fried dishes such as wonton strips, spring rolls, egg rolls, duck, chicken, fish, or with rice or noodles.

Is orange chicken ok for weight loss? ›

No, it is not. Traditional orange chicken is full of fats, carbohydrates, added sugars and a lot of salt, all things that are not good for your body, weight management, or overall health.

Is Chinese orange chicken unhealthy? ›

Takeout orange chicken is not very healthy because it's loaded with sugar and deep-fried as well. But this homemade version is a healthier alternative made from whole food ingredients with no added sugar and no deep frying involved.

What is better sweet and sour chicken or orange chicken? ›

Orange Chicken is crispy and light due to its thin glaze. Meanwhile, Sweet and Sour Chicken is crispy with a thicker and more indulgent sauce. Their different textures make them both a delicious choice when you are craving Chinese food.

How do you thicken a sauce that's too watery? ›

The most readily available sauce-thickener is flour. For a too-thin sauce, try adding a slurry (equal parts flour and water, whisked together) or beurre manie (equal parts softened butter and flour, kneaded together to form a paste)—both are ideal thickeners for rich and creamy sauces, such as steak sauce recipes.

What thickens chicken sauce? ›

Use one tablespoon cornstarch mixed with one tablespoon cold water (aka a cornstarch slurry) for each cup of medium-thick sauce. Thoroughly mix the cornstarch and water together.

How do you thicken Chinese chicken sauce? ›

Many Chinese recipes call for corn starch to be added to a sauce in the final stages of cooking. However, if you don't add it properly you will wind up with clumps of cornstarch instead of a smooth sauce. Another interesting fact, most Chinese people still prefer to use potato starch to thicken the sauce.

How do you thicken citrus sauce? ›

Combine a small amount of cornstarch with cold water to form a slurry, and then mix that into your simmering sauce. You can also make a slurry with other starches, like arrowroot or tapioca, especially if your sauce is acidic, since acid interferes with cornstarch's thickening ability.

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