Healthy Orange Chicken

4.90 from 19 votes
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Looking for a better than Panda Express Orange Chicken recipe? We’re sharing a delicious recipe for healthy orange chicken. It’s made with real orange juice, honey, a little sriracha AND…it’s not deep-fried, but still has a crunch. Orange Chicken recipe healthy From one takeout girl to another, you’re going to be absolutely obsessed with this healthy orange chicken recipe. 9 times out of 10, I’m going to choose some kind of Asian food for takeout. I’m a sucker for stir fry…especially when there is a good mix of protein and veggies! Classic orange chicken is deep-fried and coated in a sugary orange sauce…AKA pure deliciousness. We wanted to keep these same flavors and textures, but really lighten things up with whole foods and the most amazing healthy orange chicken sauce.

How to Make Orange Chicken

So how do you keep the same flavors of Panda Express Orange Chicken while making it healthy at the same time? We have a few tricks up our sleeve and it really comes down to 2 parts: the chicken and the sauce. Chicken in flour

For the Chicken

Typically for orange chicken, you’re going to need to deep fry the chicken in an oil such as canola. However, instead of fully deep frying, we’re stir-frying with much less oil while still getting that amazing crunchy texture!
  1. Begin by slicing your boneless, skinless chicken breast into small strips.
  2. Then, create your egg wash why whisking 2 eggs in a small bowl. Set aside.
  3. Create your chicken coating by mixing together flour (we suggest whole wheat), garlic powder, and salt.
  4. Dunk each piece of chicken in the egg wash and then full coat each side with the flour mixture. Repeat until all chicken pieces are coated.
  5. Heat coconut oil in a large frying pan and turn heat to medium/high. Cook chicken on each side for 3-4 minutes or until fully cooked and golden brown. Remove from heat.
Orange Chicken

Orange Chicken Sauce

Our healthy orange chicken sauce is really where this recipe shines. You guys. It’s. So. Good. Made with just 5 basic ingredients, you’re never going to want to order take out orange chicken again! Here’s what you need:
  • 100% orange juice
  • soy sauce (or tamari/coconut aminos)
  • honey
  • sriracha
  • cornstarch
Once the chicken has fully cooked, place all chicken back in the frying pan and scoot to one side. Add orange chicken sauce and then sprinkle on cornstarch. Whisk until cornstarch dissolves and sauce begins to thicken. Then, toss the chicken pieces in the sauce. Healthy Orange Chicken

Healthy Orange Chicken Substitutions

While the written recipe is how we prefer to eat this amazing orange chicken recipe, you can totally swap out a few things to make this recipe suitable for most diets. Gluten-Free: Make sure to use tamari instead of soy sauce to keep the orange chicken sauce gluten-free. You’ll also want to use a gluten-free flour such as an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend for the chicken. Paleo: To make this recipe paleo, use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce and a different, paleo-friendly thickener such as arrowroot starch instead of cornstarch. For the chicken, use a nut-based flour such as superfine ground almond flour instead of glutinous flour. Keto: For those on the keto diet and wanting a lower-carb meal, start by halving the sauce (this is where most of the carbs live). Don’t worry, you’ll still have plenty to coat all of the chicken! For the sauce, use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce and remove the honey completely. Use arrowroot starch to thicken instead of cornstarch. For the chicken, use a nut-based flour such as superfine ground almond flour instead of glutinous flour. Again, like we stated above, we prefer to eat this delicious meal with the prescribed recipe! Meal Prep Chicken

More Healthy Stir Fry Recipes

4.90 from 19 votes

Healthy Orange Chicken

Looking for a better than Panda Express Orange Chicken recipe? We’re sharing a delicious recipe for healthy orange chicken. It’s made with real orange juice, honey, a little sriracha AND…it’s not deep fried, but still has a crunch.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Total: 55 minutes
Servings: 4
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Ingredients 

Chicken

Orange Chicken Sauce

  • 2/3 cup 100% orange juice
  • 2 tablespoon soy sauce, or tamari
  • 2 tablespoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon sriracha
  • 2 teaspoon cornstarch

Optional Toppings

Instructions 

  • First, prepare orange chicken sauce by mixing together orange juice, soy sauce, honey, and sriracha. Set aside.
  • Next, crack 2 eggs in a medium bowl and whisk until scrambled. Then, place white whole wheat flour, garlic powder, and salt in another medium bowl and whisk.
  • Prepare chicken by thinly slicing into bite-sized pieces. Then, dunk each piece into the egg wash and coat with the flour mixture. Repeat until all chicken slices are fully coated.
  • Heat a tablespoon of coconut oil in a large pan over medium/high heat. Cook chicken pieces on each side for 2-4 minutes or until fully cooked. Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to do this in batches. Add more oil as needed.
  • Once all chicken is fully cooked, remove from pan. Then, add in sauce and sprinkle in 2 teaspoons of cornstarch. Whisk over medium-high heat until sauce has thickened and cornstarch has dissolved.
  • Add chicken back in and toss in sauce. Season with fresh orange zest and sesame seeds.
  • Serve with your choice of grain and veggie!

Tips & Notes

Nutrition information does not include rice.

Watch It

[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”yb8pOXsm” upload-date=”2019-02-04T09:00:00.000Z” name=”Healthy Orange Chicken” description=”Looking for a better than Panda Express Orange Chicken recipe? We’re sharing a delicious recipe for healthy orange chicken. It’s made with real orange juice, honey, a little sriracha AND…it’s not deep fried, but still has a crunch.”]

Nutrition

Calories: 327 kcal, Carbohydrates: 27 g, Protein: 28 g, Fat: 13 g, Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 13 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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About Lee Funke

Lee is the founder of Fit Foodie Finds and based in Minneapolis, MN. She started this website in 2010 as a way to share her love for real food and wellness. The internet has changed so much since then and so has Fit Foodie Finds. Today we're a female-run recipe website publishing hundreds of tried and true recipes developed and tested by our team.

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Katie
Katie
January 8, 2023 10:02 pm

5 stars
Very good recipe. No changes were made. The chicken was crisp and tender and the sauce was very flavorful. Thank you!

910E250C-2EDA-436C-ACBC-916AC672A480.jpeg
Annika
Annika
April 25, 2021 3:39 pm
Recipe Rating :
     

4 stars
This chicken is AMAZING!!! I personally would like more sauce with more of a sticky texture though… other than that, I love it. It has flavor, but not an overwhelming amount. Thanks for the recipe! ๐Ÿ™‚

Katie
Katie
January 9, 2023 12:26 pm
Reply to  Annika

Hi. I let the sauce thicken and it became a lovely sticky texture. Flavor was great.

Haylee
Haylee
March 1, 2021 9:58 am
Recipe Rating :
     

5 stars
This is a staple in our house! It always hits the spot when we are craving Chinese takeout but don’t want to feel gross afterward. LOVE!

suggestion
suggestion
February 14, 2021 2:11 am

haven’t made the recipe yet, but cant wait to try. suffer from a heart condition so i made a few changes here and there to accommodate for my diet/health issues.
in place of eggs, use chickpea flour and water for dredge
either whole wheat flour or almond flour for final dredge
morton nosalt product
depending on cholesterol intake, either chicken or cauliflower
1 tbsp of oil
coconut secret amino acid in place of soy sauce/tamari
arrowroot instead of cornstarch

you suggested several of these already substitutes/replacements already, but in case people skimmed through and missed it I listed them here.

Madi
Madi
August 9, 2020 9:51 am
Recipe Rating :
     

5 stars
This was amazing! I needed a new meal prep recipe and this fits the bill! The meals tasted fresh and delicious every time, I also used canola oil instead of coconut and also added some orange zest to the sauce!

Madi
Madi
August 9, 2020 9:50 am
Recipe Rating :
     

5 stars
This was amazing! I needed a new meal prep recipe and this fits the bill! The meals tasted fresh and delicious every time, I also used canola oil instead of coconut and also added some orange zest to the sauce.

Megan
Megan
July 23, 2020 9:09 pm

Orange chicken is my husband’s absolute favorite so I think I’m going to make this for our anniversary coming up!! Can I use a different oil other than coconut oil??