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.
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
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!
Here’s my Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe. I think you are going to love it. I know we sure do!
Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe
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
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
I was wondering what can be used besides coconut, as I’m highly allergic to it, I can usually avoid coconut but I really want to make this…. any suggestions? BTW I’m new to the Paleo life.
If you are avoiding coconut, then you can use Ghee or grass-fed butter in place of the coconut oil and a low-sodium soy sauce in place of the coconut aminos, especially if you aren’t concerned with the recipe being strictly Paleo.
I made this tonight and it was an amazingly good meal.
Thanks.
So glad you enjoyed it, Janice!
I love orange chicken. I am going to try it the next couple of days.
I hope you enjoy it!
Made this exactly like recipe (uses soy instead of coconut aminos) and it was absolutely delicious. Served over brown rice with side of broccoli. Orange sauce is light and fresh and very nice. I think this will be a new family favorite! Yummy!
So glad you and your family enjoyed it, Julie!
I am seriously drooling over this. It looks like perfection!!
Thanks so much, Deborah!
I made this tonight and it was delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Betty! xo
Robin, this looks fantastic! I can’t wait to try it!
Do you have a recipe for the packets of onion soup mix sold in grocery stores?
Looking to go heather for 2014.
Thanks,
Donna
Hi Donna,
I don’t have one posted, but let me work on that for you! xo
Ok, I made this last night for dinner. My family loved it! I didn’t have any coconut aminos, so I used low sodium soy sauce. My kids loved it and my husband took leftovers for lunch today! I was happy because not only was it simple to prepare and delicious, but it didn’t have rice or pasta in the dish. By the way, the photos in the post are beautiful.
I’m so glad your whole family loved it, Alice! That’s always a win around here!!! xo
I made this recipe tonight for my family’s dinner. It was AMAZING!!! Orange chicken is something I crave and order whenever I go to Panda Express. Let me tell you, hands down, this is a favorite for me and my husband!!! But the best part was that my children loved it, too!!!
Thank you so much for all you do. Keep up the delicious recipes!
Oh my goodness! I’m so glad, Martha! Thank you so much for your sweet comment and for letting me know how your family enjoyed it! xo