Healthy Orange Chicken {Paleo}

This Paleo Orange Chicken recipe is healthy, delicious, and so easy to make. It makes the perfect dinner served over cauliflower rice or jasmine rice, and steamed broccoli. packed with nutrients, this healthy orange chicken recipe is low carb, Gluten-free and Whole30 approved.

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Better than the Chinese Take-Out version, this healthy orange chicken doesn’t disappoint.

Coated with sweet and citrusy sticky orange sauce, this paleo Orange Chicken is made with all clean ingredients.

It is so easy and yet packed with flavors. Perfect Whole30 Friendly recipe to meal prep for the week, for the whole family to enjoy.

Growing up in China, Orange Chicken was one of our family go-to orders when we dined out.

The fried to crispy chicken smothered in sweet and tangy sticky sauce, this dish was my guilty pleasure.

Similar to Orange Chicken, I also love:

1. Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry (Whole30)
2. Whole30 Cauliflower Fried Rice with Chicken

Since I’ve been on a roll healthy-fyng my favorite dishes lately, I couldn’t help but testing a Whole30 Friendly version of Orange Chicken.

I am super excited to share this recipe with you. It’s bursting in all of the traditional orange chicken flavors you love but much healthier.

My goal is always to make these dishes healthy but still delicious and flavorful, and let me tell you this recipe knocks it out of the park.

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Why I Love This Paleo Orange Chicken

Note: The photo shown above is served with jasmine rice. For Whole30 and Paleo options, try cauliflower rice.

This paleo orange chicken recipe really nails the flavor of the takeout orange chicken we all know and love so much!

It’s so easy to make and doesn’t require a lot of time or fancy ingredients.

The perfect recipe for meal prep, this orange chicken recipe saves well. Therefore you can make a big batch of it, and then serve it with a variety of sides.

It’s also an affordable recipe to make, so it’s great for feeding large crowds of people.

Last but not least,  this wholesome orange chicken recipe makes a nutrient-dense meal.

Besides being paleo-friendly, this delicious Chinese food recipe is also gluten-free, Whole30 friendly, and Keto as well.

How to Make this Healthy Orange Chicken Recipe

At first glance, it may look like a lot but you’re only going to need 8 ingredients for this amazing paleo chicken recipe.

Many of these ingredients will be used for both the chicken and the sauce so it’s a lot less work than it seems.

For the Chicken: 

In order to marinate the chicken, you will need chicken breast or thighs (chicken breast will have less fat), an egg, coconut aminos, which is a soy sauce replacement, and salt to taste.

Note: Coconut aminos itself is salty. I personally only need a pinch of additional salt in the marinade.

You will also need ground ginger, red chili pepper (to taste)- you can add more or less depending on how spicy you like it, and arrowroot flour.

Allow the chicken to marinate in the coconut aminos, egg, and arrowroot flour. 

Then, in a shallow dish, mix together almond and arrowroot flour.

For the Orange Sauce:

To make the sauce you will need:

• Fresh oranges; both zest and juice
• Coconut aminos
• Fresh Ginger and garlic
• Arrowroot flour
• Sesame oil
• Rice vinegar

The arrowroot flour is the secret to making any healthy sticky sauce. I’ve used it in so many of my favorite healthy dishes, like my Chicken Pad Thai, Italian Meatballs, and Sticky Asian Meatball recipes. 

Heat up a couple of tablespoons of oil in a frying pan, dip the chicken in the “breading” then lightly fry them in the pan until golden brown outside.

Remove from the pan.

Quickly minced garlic and ginger (add a dash of oil if needed) for 30 seconds or so. Make sure not to leave it in there for too long or it will start to burn.

Turn off the heat, add the orange sauce. Whisk until it thickens up.

Lastly, add the chicken cubes back in the sauce and combine to coat them thoroughly.

Tips to make Healthy Orange Chicken

1. Some store-bought orange juice can have added ingredients that will NOT be paleo or Whole30 approved. Make sure you purchase the orange juice only has ONE ingredient – Orange.
2. Once you pour the orange sauce in the pan, it will thicken up over time. If it doesn’t become thicker for a couple of minutes, turn the heat to simmer, and add more arrowroot flour 1 tsp at a time while continuing to whisk.
3. Coconut aminos or soy sauce itself is salty. So take that into consideration when you add additional salt. (I don’t usually need much extra salt if any at all.)

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Ways to Serve this Paleo Orange Chicken

The chicken is the star of this recipe (obviously), but it just serves as the base of a balanced meal. You can pair it with rice, cauliflower rice for Whole30, Keto, and Paleo Friendly.

Additionally, try roasted veggies, zoodles, or a combination of all of the above!

This recipe is best served fresh to fully experience the perfectly sticky orange sauce, but it still makes great leftovers and reheats well.

To reheat, gently warm on the stovetop in a saute pan. Add a little bit of fresh-squeezed orange juice or sesame oil if the chicken has absorbed too much sauce or has become dry.

Serve with your desired side and you have a perfectly healthy better-than-takeout Paleo Orange Chicken!

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! 

What’s your favorite Chinese takeout dish? Leave a comment below!

I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR CREATIONS! YOU CAN USE “TRIED IT” ON PINTEREST OR SHARE ON INSTAGRAM BY TAGGING #SHUANGYSEATS

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You may also like these Whole30 dinner recipes:

1. Easy Crockpot Carnitas (Whole30)

2. Healthy Bolognese Sauce (Whole30, Keto)

3. Healthy Chicken Salad (Whole30)