With this lightened up version of a restaurant classic you’ll get that sweet, sticky sauce you crave without all the processed ingredients and MSG. Skip the takeout line and make this easy Paleo + Whole30 healthy orange chicken today!
Such a tasty orange chicken recipe
When cooking with natural ingredients, it really doesn’t take much to pack in the flavor. The secret to getting that extra orange flavor punch in this recipe is adding in the zest of one orange to the sauce. You’ll love how the healthy orange sauce coats the chicken and delivers with each bite.
Getting that sticky orange chicken
Let’s be honest, the reason you order orange chicken at a restaurant is for that sweet, sticky sauce. To re-create this sauce in a healthy form, we used a few tricks:
- Coating the chicken in arrowroot starch before pan-frying. This gives the chicken that “breaded” texture you’re familiar with.
- Using fresh orange juice + zest gives the chicken extra orange flavor and sweetness without any added sugar.
- Adding a little arrowroot starch to the sauce helps the sauce thicken up and coat the chicken with that sticky sauce you want your orange chicken to have.
An easy and healthy chicken recipe with few ingredients
You’ll love that this healthy chicken recipe can be cooked from scratch with around 10 ingredients. Plus, if you’re quick on the prep or have someone helping you, you can get it on the table in about 30 minutes! Serve it over cauliflower rice or white rice for the classic takeout experience.
Some other healthy takeout remakes
Your turn to try this healthy orange chicken
Get this easy and healthy chicken recipe on your meal plan for next week! The whole family will love the healthy takeout remake and the sweet, sticky orange sauce.
If you try the recipe, be sure to add a comment and rating below to let us know how it goes. Also, take a pic to share on Instagram and tag us @realsimplegood. We love to see it when you make our recipes!
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Healthy Orange Chicken
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 2 tbsp (2 tbsp) sesame oil
- 2 lbs (907.18 g) boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 cup (64 g) arrowroot starch, See recipe notes
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) sea salt
- 1/2 tsp (1/2 tsp) black pepper
For the orange sauce:
- 1/2 cup (124 g) fresh squeezed orange juice , (about 2 oranges)
- zest of 1 orange
- 1/4 cup (60 g) coconut aminos
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) arrowroot starch
- 1/2 tsp (1/2 tsp) fish sauce, See recipe notes
- 1 tbsp (1 tbsp) apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp (1 tbsp) fresh ginger, grated on a microplane
For topping:
- sesame seeds, (optional topping)
- red chili flakes, (optional topping)
- sliced green onions, (optional topping)
Instructions
- To make the sauce, add the sauce ingredients to a small bowl or jar and mix well.
- Cut chicken into cubes and set aside.
- Place arrowroot starch, sea salt and pepper on a plate and mix to combine. Working in batches, add the chicken pieces to the plate and toss to coat. Repeat until all of the chicken pieces are coated with the starch mixture.
- Heat a large pan over medium heat and add sesame oil. Once hot, add the chicken cubes.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is browned and cooked through, about 7-8 minutes. Remove and place on a plate.
- While the chicken is cooking, gather any optional topping ingredients you'll use.
- After removing the chicken, turn the heat on the pan down to low. Give the orange juice sauce another quick stir to make sure the starch is mixed in well. Pour the sauce into the pan and deglaze, scraping the bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Stir frequently to keep the sauce from sticking. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.
- Add the chicken back in with the sauce and toss to coat. Simmer for another 2-3 minutes. If desired, continue to simmer for longer to further cook down the sauce.
- Once the chicken is finished, remove from heat. Serve with any optional toppings.
Notes
- Tapioca or corn starch can be used in place of arrowroot starch in this recipe. Corn starch is not considered Paleo or Whole30.
- If you don’t have fish sauce or don’t like fish sauce you can omit this ingredient.Â
Great recipe!  I used a little  crushed red pepper to give a little zing and added broccoli!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for coming back to leave a rating and review, we appreciate it đŸ™‚
This was so good! Made it for dinner the other night when I saw the recipe on instagram, at which point I hadn’t decided what I was going to make for dinner. So glad I found this! I will definitely be adding it to my regular rotation! Yum!
Hooray! So happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for giving it a try and coming back to share your review! đŸ™‚
This was the second recipe I have tried from your blog, 2 for 2! This was VERY tasty and satisfied any sweet cravings I had. This is my first time doing Whole 30 and right now I am R1D21 and your recipes are totally getting me excited. I served this over cauliflower rice for me, and next time I will add some broccoli or bok choy.
Simply delicious!
Glad this worked for your Whole30! Thanks for coming back to leave a review, we appreciate it đŸ™‚
Looks delicious! Cannot wait to try! ?
Hope you love it Monica!
Made this last night for dinner! While it tasted really good….I could not get my chicken to brown. It just turned into a gloopy mess. I used a large enamel oven like the one in the pictures. I’ve never cooked using sesame oil. I think maybe next time I would use a different oil and cook the chicken in batches to see if that helps with the gloopy issue. Then later add the sesame oil when cooking down the sauce.
Also, I cubed and tossed in some orange pieces and let them cook for a few minutes.
The chicken doesn’t totally brown, but it should get brown in places and cook through. You could try patting the chicken dry before putting it in the flour mixture. Glad you enjoyed the taste and hope it works for you again!
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it!
We hope you love it :).