Put down that takeout menu! This easy Chinese orange chicken recipe is a healthier homemade option. Lean chicken breast stir-fried and simmered in a sweet and tangy orange sauce. A tasty dinner the whole family will enjoy, ready in just 20 minutes!
Panda Express orange chicken may be a popular favorite for some, but I have a quick and just as flavorful recipe without needing to deep fry the ingredients. Let’s be honest, eating takeout on a regular basis is both expensive and unhealthy. I want to give you a healthier option that’s skinner on your wallet too. Win-Win!
Orange chicken is easy to prepare. Using a large pan or wok, pieces of white meat chicken and fresh citrus sauce simmer together to make a stir fry. High heat and small even-sized cubes of chicken helps for efficient cooking. Not to mention, a shorter sear will prevent that terrible dried out taste.
Ingredient tips and choices
Do not move the chicken for the first 2 minutes to allow the surface to properly brown before stirring for an additional 2 minutes to fully cook. Saute the ginger and garlic for 30 seconds. Adding these later in the process will make the dish fragrant and prevent the garlic from burning. Rice vinegar balances the sweetness of the orange glaze with tangy notes that pairs nicely with the lean protein. For an optional spicy element, add chili flakes.
How do you make orange chicken?
- Whisk together sauce ingredients
- Dice the chicken breasts
- Stir fry chicken in a wok with vegetable oil
- Add ginger and garlic
- Pour orange sauce over chicken and simmer
- Add cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce
How do you make healthy orange chicken sauce?
To make a healthier version of the orange sauce use fresh squeezed orange juice and honey. Start by grabbing the ripest oranges you can find, then zest and squeeze for the sauce base. Store-bought orange juice can also be used, but look for the all-natural option with no added sugars or chemicals.
Then instead of using refined sugars like brown or granulated, use honey as a natural sweetener. Honey tends to be sweeter than sugar, so you don’t have to add as much for a similar taste. I also recommend unsalted chicken broth to cut down on the sodium.
How do you thicken the orange chicken sauce?
A cornstarch slurry is used to thicken the sauce at the very end of cooking, which adds body and shine. It’s a combination of 1 part cornstarch to 2 parts cool water. I like to keep an eye on the thickening process because it happens very quickly.
Once you add the slurry to the sauce, make sure to stir it in until it fully thickens. The stirring motion helps to evenly distribute the starches for even cooking and only takes a minute. To check and see if the sauce thickened, you want it to coat the back of a spoon. If you are on the Whole30 or Paleo diet, arrowroot powder is a good substitute for cornstarch.
What should I serve this with?
To make this a complete meal, I like to serve the chicken with white or brown steamed rice, or if you’re feeling adventurous try cauliflower rice or broccoli rice. For additional nutrients add more vegetables like carrots, broccoli or snow peas to the mix.
More Chinese recipes
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #jessicagavin on Instagram. I’d love to see what you come up with. Cheers, friends!
How does cornstarch thicken the sauce?
Cornstarch has incredible thickening powers when added to a liquid and heated up. Just add cold water to hydrate and whisk before using. This step allows the starch molecules to separate and become soluble for thickening. Add the mixture at the end of the cooking process and heat to just below its boiling point. The liquid bubbles then increase in thickness with constant stirring, this only takes about 1 minute.
Chinese Orange Chicken
Ingredients
Orange Sauce
- 1/2 cup orange juice, (120ml)
- 1 teaspoon orange zest, (1g) optional
- 1/3 cup unsalted chicken broth, (79ml)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce , (30ml)
- 3 tablespoons honey, (45ml)
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar, (10ml) or lemon juice
- 1/8 teaspoon red chili flakes, (add more if you like it spicy)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch, (6g)
- 4 teaspoons water, (20ml)
Chicken
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, (681g) cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, (2g)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, (2.5ml)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, (30ml)
- 1 tablespoons minced garlic, (10g)
- 1 tablespoons minced ginger, (8g)
- 1 tablespoon sliced green onions, (1g)
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds
Instructions
Orange Sauce
- Whisk together orange juice, zest, chicken broth, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, and chili flakes in a medium-sized bowl.
- Whisk together 2 teaspoons cornstarch with 4 teaspoons water in a small bowl to make a cornstarch slurry.
Chicken
- Combine chicken, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and ½ teaspoon sesame oil in a medium-sized bowl.
- Heat a large saute pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, once hot, add the chicken in a single layer in the pan.
- Cook chicken without moving for 2 minutes, and then stir and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Add garlic and ginger, stir-fry until fragrant, 30 seconds.
- Add sauce to the pan and allow to simmer and bubble, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Mix the cornstarch slurry and then gradually add it to the pan, constantly stirring to combine. Cook until the sauce thickens, 1 minute.
- Season orange chicken with more salt and pepper as needed.
- Top chicken with sliced green onions and sesame seeds. Serve with your choice of sides like brown rice and vegetables.
Notes
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Pat Tucci says
So happy I subscribe to your emails and this popped in my mailbox recently. Made it last night and it was DEE-licious!
So easy to pull together. I did the sauce earlier in the day when I had a minute. Then when hubby came home, I was able to cook the chicken and finish the dish. Fast!
Nice distinct orange flavor from from both the zest and the juice. The ginger and sesame oil create the Asian undertone. And the crushed red pepper was just the right amount to finish with some nice heat but not crush out everything else.
We served with jasmine rice and green beans. Thinking I’ll try same recipe but use shrimp.
Thank you Jessica. Great dish.
Jessica Gavin says
This comment made me so happy Pat! You should be a food write 🙂 I’m so glad that you enjoyed the recipe, let me know how it tastes with shrimp!
Pat Tucci says
Oooooo! Yum! I made this recipe with the shrimp last night. Very, very nice.
Just the two of us, so used a dozen large shrimp (16-20 p/p, about 9 oz.). I was careful not to overcook the shrimp when they first go in knowing they had still had some time when the sauce is added. Amount of shrimp, didn’t need to use the full quantity of the sauce…just poured enough in to coat plus have some to drizzle on our rice!
Thank you SO much for this recipe. Versatile *and* easy. Wonder what I can try it with next? :-p
Jessica Gavin says
The shrimp with the orange glaze sounds incredible Pat! I’ll definitely have to try that myself to switch things up a bit 🙂 I can’t wait to share more recipes with you!
Rachel says
I love the culinary science tips! Do you have any experience with arrowroot as a thickener?
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Rachel! Science is AWESOME 🙂 I have not used it much, what questions do you have? What do you plan on adding it to and perhaps I can help.
Steve says
We made this with Cauliflower rice (made separately, toasted with sesame oil). This is gonna be a new staple because we have these ingredients most of the time and it’s so fast (actually 20 minutes). Call me amateur but I had to use more EVOO and Sesame Oil for sauteing.
Steve says
Ps – I used lemon zest instead of orange zest (it’s all we had) and it turned out great.
Jessica Gavin says
Yum, lemon zest sounds awesome Steve!
Jessica Gavin says
Love the idea of cauliflower rice with the orange chicken! Totally add as much oil as needed for sauteeing, it may differ with your pan/pan size as well.
Cynthia V. Frickle says
I love this Orange Chicken recipe! I didn’t have low salt soy sauce so I used regular soy sauce. I also used low sodium chicken broth and half of the salt in the recipe. I didn’t have fresh ginger so I substituted some ginger spice. I like a subtle amount of garlic so I only used 1/4-1/3 the amount called for. I also used a little more grated orange peel than called for. I didn’t want my sauce that thick so I used slightly less cornstarch.. (These were just my personal preferences and necessary substitutions to avoid a trip to the store.) Thank you SO much for a perfect choice of ingredients. The small amount of sesame oil was just perfect. I would take your healthy recipe over any take out or restaurant Orange Chicken any day. It is definitely 5 ***** in my opinion!
Jessica Gavin says
Yay Cynthia! Thank you for sharing your substitutions, I’m so happy to hear they worked for you and saved you an extra trip to the store. You made my day 🙂
Jackie G says
Yum! This was a great recipe. I had tangeos on hand instead of oranges, but it off-set the sweetness of the honey just fine. I also added broccoli for color. (Instead of a side–I love one-pot meals!) My husband says this recipe is a keeper!
Pam S. says
Wow – this is a great recipe! Went together fast and my husband and I loved the flavors. I added some slender asparagus to the dish for some added color/nutrition and it was delicous! May try it with snow peas next time. I love that it doesn’t take any fancy ingredients, just things I had in my pantry.