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!

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!

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Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe

Robyn Stone

4.76 from 33 votes

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!

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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