Healthy Orange Chicken is just a lighter version of traditional orange chicken. Baked juicy chicken tossed in a delicious orange sauce.
Who doesn’t like healthy chicken recipes? Well everyone I know loves a bowl of orange chicken with fluffy rice. But have you ever tried a lighter version of orange chicken without the guilt? What I love about this recipe is that apart from it being super easy, it is a lot better for you than takeout. Baked and deliciously seasoned juicy chicken coated in a homemade orange sauce. What’s there not to love?
Ingredients for healthy orange chicken:
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- orange juice and zest
- ginger garlic paste
- red crushed pepper
- paprika
- honey
- soy sauce
- chicken stock
- sesame oil
- salt and pepper
How to make healthy orange chicken:
This easy meal takes less than 20 minutes to make, here’s all you have to do:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the chicken and season with salt, pepper, and paprika.
- Bake chicken for 10-14 minutes.
- While the chicken bakes, add the ginger garlic paste, orange zest, orange juice, chicken stock, honey, sesame oil, and red crushed pepper to a hot skillet.
- Let the sauce thicken a bit and then stir in the baked chicken.
FAQ’s
Why isn’t my sauce bright orange?
Because we’re using soy sauce the sauce will become a little dark. Keep in mind that we’re using natural ingredients and therefore it won’t have an artificial orange color.
Can I use shrimp instead of chicken?
Absolutely. In fact, I encourage using shrimp because orange shrimp and Shrimp and Vegetable Stir Fry are my all time favorite take-out meals.
Can I add broccoli and other veggies to this?
If you plan on adding vegetables and more than 1 pound of chicken I highly recommend doubling the sauce. This recipe coats 1 lb of chicken perfectly.
More healthy delicious recipes:
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1/2 tbsp ginger/garlic paste
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- pinch of red crushed pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, coat with olive oil, and season with salt, pepper, and paprika.
- Bake the chicken for 10-14 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees f.
- While the chicken cooks, add the ginger garlic paste, red crushed pepper, orange zest, orange juice, chicken stock, soy sauce, honey, and sesame oil. Simmer for 2-3 minutes or until nicely thickened.
- Place the cooked chicken into the skillet and coat with the orange sauce.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions, if desired.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Recipe Video
- Double the sauce recipe if you like it extra saucy.
Stormy says
April 24, 2019 at 7:18 pmHow much ginger garlic paste in the healthy orange chicken?
Julie says
April 24, 2019 at 8:59 pm1/2 tbsp, thanks I just adjusted it.