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 am not very vocal but I do love your recipes and this website.
But I am a certified nit-picker and little errors and quirks pop out at me.
In your otherwise very good description of the process here, this line causes me a little consternation.
“Once the chicken is browned, I remove it from the skillet “AS” I cook the sauce to reduce…”
“AS” could mean “while” or “because”…
I am only trying to be helpful. I am a great fan
Thank you for this. I will try this as I have never tried one before, this one looks great.
I hope you enjoy it Mary! My family loves it – it’s delicious! Thanks! xo
What brand of Siracha sauce do you use? Do you have trouble finding one without MSG?
This has become my go-to recipe. I use soy sauce, 1/2 the siracha, & maple syrup along with the other ingredients and thicken it with a little cornstarch. Often, I’ll throw in a handful of raw cashews. My favorite is to replace the chicken with breaded popcorn shrimp and serve it over rice. That makes it not skinny and not as nutritious, but so yummy. Thanks for a great, versatile sauce.
That sounds delicious over shrimp too, Kathy! So glad you like it! Thanks!
This is simple and so yummy. If I can stay thin and eat like this…made in the shade!!
I didn’t care for this at all. I’m not sure if my adjustments made a difference but I used braggs instead of coconut aminos and used the juice of an orange instead of orange juice. I thought it was way to orange tasting.Â
I’m sorry you didn’t care for it, Savina. I do think your substitution could have made a difference. I always make this with coconut aminos, 1/4 cup orange juice and orange zest as indicated in the recipe. Is it possible your juiced orange was more juice than 1/4 cup? I’ve not used the product you mention in this recipe, so I can’t say what it tastes like with the other ingredients. Thanks!
Oh man, this is so good! The last orange chicken I made I added too much zest (I had no idea how to measure it and just packed it into the tablespoon! lol), and it was just overpowering until I added it to vegetables and rice. I froze my chicken breasts for a few hours to aid cutting and doubled the sauce. I would’ve preferred there be more sauce (maybe I reduced it too much?), but it’s worked out well so far in a mix of vegetables and rice. If I make this again, I think I’ll quadruple the sauce. If anyone else is wondering, I used zest from two average sized organic oranges and that was perfect.
This is so good my boyfriend keeps sneaking spoonfuls from the fridge. 🙂 Thanks so much for the recipe!
Hi Robyn,
This looks wonderful, I was wondering what
would you serve with this. Going to have
company and would like to fix this.
Thank you for all the wonderful recipes
and the time you take to do this.
Enjoy your day
Linda
Made this last night and it was delicious. Had to stop myself from eating it all in one sitting. I’ve used other recipes but hands down this one is going to be my go to from now on. Looking forward to trying other recipes on the site now.
Aww! I’m so glad you loved it, Lisa. It really is one of those dishes that I have to portion out to stop myself, too! 🙂 xo
Just made this for the second time tonight! I’m so pleased with the taste of this healthy recipe. It’s quickly becoming a favorite. Thanks for sharing!
It’s a favorite in my house as well, Camille! It’s wonderful that you enjoy it as well! Thanks so much! xo