Healthy Orange Chicken Recipe
I’m SO excited to share this orange chicken recipe with you because it’s a delicious and nutritious meal that the whole family will love. It’s ready in just 30 minutes, made with everyday ingredients, and contains all the components I look for in a healthy meal – protein, produce, carbs, and flavor! This healthy orange chicken is perfect for weeknight dinners, just add a veggie on the side and dinner is ready.
And if you love stir fry meals as much as we do, be sure to try my moo shu shrimp, shrimp teriyaki, steak stir fry, chicken teriyaki, ground beef and broccoli, or udon noodle stir fry with veggies next time!
Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
What is Orange Chicken Stir Fry?
Orange glazed chicken is a Chinese American dish consisting of deep fried chicken tossed in a sweet and savory orange sauce. We’re making this popular copycat recipe at home with juicy chicken and a sticky homemade sauce that you’re going to love.
What You’ll Love About Orange Chicken Recipe
- Delicious, fresh flavor
- Family friendly
- Easy to make this popular dish at home
- Ready in 30 minutes, perfect for busy weeknights
- Made with simple ingredients
- Balanced and healthy meal
Ingredients
- Chicken thighs – Buy skinless boneless chicken thighs for best flavor. You can use chicken breasts, but the higher fat content in thighs works best. You could also use popcorn chicken bites for a quick shortcut. Bake as directed and
- Cornstarch – This helps thicken the orange sauce for chicken and give it a rich and glossy texture. You can also use arrowroot powder or potato starch if you prefer.
- Orange marmalade – This is the base of the orange glaze and helps give it deep flavor. Buy a high-quality marmalade for best results.
- Orange juice – Use freshly squeezed or your favorite orange juice brand. You could also use orange juice concentrate.
- Soy sauce – You can use low sodium soy sauce, but may need to adjust salt to taste. Swap tamari or coconut aminos for a gluten-free option.
- Rice wine vinegar – This helps balance out the sweet and savory flavors of this sauce. You could also use an apple cider vinegar.
- Sesame oil – Look for a toasted sesame oil for best flavor.
- Garlic – Use fresh garlic for best flavor or frozen for an easy shortcut.
- Ginger – Use fresh or frozen ginger. Fresh is superior but 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.
- Vegetable oil – Use canola oil, peanut oil, avocado oil, or anything with a high smoke point.
- 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.
- Garnish – Finish the easy orange chicken recipe with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and thinly sliced green onions.
How to Make Orange Chicken
This is an overview on how to make orange marmalade chicken, the detailed instructions can be found below in the recipe card.
TIP: Let the chicken cook undisturbed for a few minutes per side to get it browned and crispy.
FAQs
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! The combination of the two makes this the best orange chicken!
Is orange chicken sweet?
Because this healthy orange chicken recipe is made with orange marmalade, it does have a citrus and sweet orange sauce, which is one of the reasons 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 homemade orange chicken healthy?
Well I say everything is healthy. 🙂 Some foods are more nutritious than others, but all food serves a purpose. This healthy orange chicken recipe has protein, carbs, produce, and fats. OH, and FLAVOR. So I would say, yes, it’s incredibly delicious AND nutritious.
What’s the difference between orange chicken and general Tso’s?
Orange chicken and general Tso’s 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 Tso’s is made with spicy red pepper flakes. General Tso’s is spicy and sweet; orange chicken is sweet, but not at all spicy.
Storage Instructions
Store any leftover orange chicken stir fry in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. You can store the components separately or mixed together for an easy leftover meal that just needs to be reheated.
How to reheat
Reheat leftovers in the microwave or a nonstick skillet until heated through.
What to Serve with Orange Glazed Chicken
All this recipe for orange chicken needs is a simple veggie side! Here are a few favorites:
How to Feed Orange Chicken Recipe 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.
I would recommend serving the orange chicken in a pinch bowl (taster bowl) if it’s a new or learning-to-like it food. Serve the meal with a few items you know your kids will eat, like fruit, milk, and/or bread and butter if they don’t do rice.
More Easy Stir Fry Recipes
If you like this simple orange chicken stir fry recipe, you might also like some of these other stir fry recipes:
- Ground Pork Stir Fry
- Steak Stir Fry
- Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry
- Moo Shu Shrimp
- Vegetarian Udon Stir Fry Noodles
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Healthy Orange Chicken Stir Fry Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stir Fry
- Cuisine: Asian
Description
The whole family will love this sweet and savory healthy orange chicken recipe! Easy, made with basic ingredients, and ready in 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. chicken thighs (skinless, boneless)
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 cup orange marmalade
- 3 Tbsp. orange juice
- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp. ginger, grated
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- rice for serving
- veggie side
- sesame seed garnish
Instructions
- Prepare rice according to package instructions.
- Cut chicken into bite size pieces and place into a large bowl. Toss chicken with cornstarch to coat. (Start with 1/4 cup.)
- Mix up orange sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the orange marmalade, orange juice, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger.
- Make chicken: Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 of chicken to the skillet (in order to not over-crowd it) and let cook, undisturbed for 2-3 minutes. Flip pieces over and cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until cooked through and golden brown. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon and set onto a plate lined with paper towel. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the skillet and cook the rest of the chicken.
- When the second batch is done cooking, drain oil from the pan if necessary and add the first batch back to the skillet. Stir in orange sauce and stir to coat the chicken. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until the sauce is thick and glossy.
- Serve over rice with a veggie side. Garnish with sesame seeds.
Notes
- Serve with haricot verts or air fryer broccoli if you prefer.
Food styling and photography by Loren Runion.
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Easy and delicious! Only had apricot jam on hand (instead of orange marmalade) and it was very tasty! Looking forward to trying with orange marmalade soon!
Thanks so much, Joline! Appreciate you leaving a review and also the apricot jam substitution so that others can try it, too. 🙂
Really great orange flavor. When we do chicken stir-fry type of dishes it never tastes like the flavors the recipe creator is getting at, but not this one. It’s tasty orange chicken that taste like orange, yum!!
Hi Kathryn, I’m so happy to hear this! Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Awesome recipe, my family loved it and so easy to make. This will be in our regular rotation of meals.
Hi Patt! Thanks so much, glad to hear this!
The orange flavor of the chicken & broccoli is mild and satisfying in a comfort food way. I’ll fix it again soon.
Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Everyone loved this chicken! It will be a regular rotation.
YAY! It’s a regular at our house, too. 🙂
This will be as staple in our household. My husband even asked for seconds, which rarely happens. I ended up using left over Costco rotisserie chicken, and just heated it up on the stove top with the sauce. Turned out delicious.
YAY! Thanks for sharing that shortcut tip, too! That’s so smart and cuts down on a lot of prep.