Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

Healthy Orange Chicken Ingredients

The ingredients to make orange glazed chicken are pretty simple, and you probably have most of them already:

• Rice – I like to serve the chicken with white rice, but you can use whatever you prefer – brown rice or cauliflower rice are also great options.
• Chicken thighs – Buy skinless boneless chicken thighs for best flavor. You can use chicken breasts, but the higher fat content in thighs works best.
• Cornstarch – You can also use flour or arrowroot powder.
• Vegetable oil – Use canola oil, peanut oil, avocado oil, or anything with a high smoke point.
• Orange marmalade – This is the base of the orange glaze and helps give it deep flavor.
• Soy sauce – You can use low-sodium soy sauce, but may need to adjust salt to taste.
• Orange juice – Use freshly squeezed or your favorite orange juice brand. You could also use orange juice concentrate.
• Rice vinegar
• Sesame oil
• Garlic – Use fresh or frozen for best flavor.
• Ginger – Use fresh or frozen or tubed ginger. (Since I don’t use ginger on a daily basis, I like to keep the frozen cubes in the freezer for when I need them.)

Frequently Asked Questions

Does orange chicken taste like orange?

Well, yes! In my orange glazed chicken, we’ve got two forms of orange flavor: orange marmalade and orange juice. The marmalade gives it a sweet, orange flavor and the orange juice adds a bright, fresh flavor. Like a honey orange sauce, it’s sweet and juicy!

Is orange chicken sweet?

Because this healthy orange chicken recipe is made with orange marmalade, it does have a sweet and citrusy flavor, which is why everyone loves it! The rest of the ingredients in the sauce balance out the sweetness, so I don’t think this version is too sweet.

Is orange chicken healthy?

Many Chinese restaurant versions of orange chicken are served with deep fried chicken, which would add fat and calories…not to mention making it at home would be a huge mess!

This healthy orange chicken recipe features stir-fried chicken, a homemade orange chicken sauce, and a bright and flavorful broccoli side dish. It’s everything you want (need!) in a meal.

Orange chicken vs. general tso…what’s the difference?

Orange chicken and general tsos chicken are very similar in that they are both American Chinese Restaurant chicken dishes that consist of deep-fried chicken tossed in a sweet and salty sauce.

Besides the commonalities of the soy, garlic, ginger flavors in both sauces, the big difference is that orange chicken is made with orange juice and general tsos is made with whole red chili peppers. General tsos is spicy and sweet; orange chicken is sweet, but not at all spicy.

How to Serve Crispy Orange Chicken to the Whole Family

I get it, feeding kids can be tough! But following the Division of Responsibility and knowing your job and your child’s job makes it SO much more enjoyable. You’ll be able to feed your kids any meal, which will help ensure that they are eating a variety of nutritious foods – with plenty of play food sprinkled in. 😉

This is a meal that makes one family meal nice and easy! (Aka, my kids loved this one!)

If you have younger kids, serve the rice, chicken, and broccoli in different sections of a plate, instead of mixed together in a bowl.

Serve with a glass of milk or some fruit if you aren’t sure how this will go over.

Substitutes + Nutrition

If you want to swap out any of the ingredients and toppings, here are a few ways you can add even more nutrition into this meal:

• More veggies – The recipe calls for stir-fried broccoli, but you could also make a big veggie stir fry with cauliflower, snow peas, shredded cabbage, or any Asian veggie mix.
• Cauliflower rice – This easy swap adds more veggies into
• Brown rice – I always recommend using whatever rice your family loves best, brown rice will have a little more fiber in it, and is also a whole grain.
• Popcorn chicken – So this isn’t exactly adding more nutrition, but it’s definitely a kitchen shortcut that you can take. Simply bake popcorn chicken as directed and then toss with orange chicken sauce and serve.

Worried about orange chicken calories? I include 6 servings of rice for 4 servings of the meal, but you could cut down the portion of rice if you want.

More Asian-Ish Recipes

If you like delicious recipes like this orange glazed chicken stir fry, you might also like some of these other Asian-inspired recipes:

• Ground Pork Stir Fry
• Ground Turkey Stir Fry
• Pepper Steak Stir Fry
• Udon Noodle Stir Fry
• Shrimp Stir Fry Noodles
• Thai Beef Noodles
• Turkey Meal Prep with Peanut Sauce