This is a recipe I’ve been working on for a while and I am so excited to share it with you today. I am a huge fan of Asian cuisine and flavors. I that with just a few ingredients, you can make something incredible. Trust me, you are not going to believe this is Whole30. Without further ado, ladies and gents, Whole30 Orange Chicken.
Now, what makes this recipe is the sauce and you only need a few ingredients to make it. Now because this dish is Whole30, we aren’t using any added sweeteners which is very common in most Orange Chicken recipes. For this Whole30 compliant recipe, we are simply using fresh orange juice and coconut aminos.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE:
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The coconut aminos adds great depth of flavor and sweetness. The orange juice also adds a little sweetness as well as a fresh citrus flavor. We will also be utilizing the zest of the orange to add more citrus flavor and color to the dish.
OTHER ADDITIONS TO ORANGE CHICKEN
Now, if you want to make this dish a little heartier, you could definitely add some vegetables. Once you are done making the entire dish, transfer the chicken to a serving dish and leave some of the sauce in the skillet. To that skillet, you can add a little more fat (ghee or whatever fat you choose), and then add peppers, onions, broccoli, zucchini…etc to the pan and sauté for a few minutes until they are fork tender. Then serve those vegetables alongside the chicken with the cauliflower rice for a heartier dinner.
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The Best Whole30 Orange Chicken
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Forget takeout, this Whole30 compliant orange chicken is naturally sweet and tangy with bold Asian flavors. Serve over cauliflower rice and steamed bok choy.
Ingredients
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into cubes
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp Chinese five spice
1/2 a tsp orange zest, plus more to garnish
1 heaping tbsp arrowroot flour/starch *SEE NOTES
3 tbsp grass fed ghee, divided
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tsp freshly minced ginger
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup freshly squeezed Orange juice (about 4–5 large oranges)
1/4 cup coconut aminos
2 scallions, chopped with whites and greens separated
sesame seeds
Instructions
To begin, toss the chicken thigh pieces with the salt, black pepper, Chinese five spice, 1/2 a teaspoon of orange zest and the arrowroot starch.
Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee in a large cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken pieces for 3-5 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside. If your pan isn’t big enough, make sure you sear the chicken in batches.
Now, add the remaining tablespoon of ghee to the same pan and sauté the garlic, ginger and crushed pepper flakes for a couple minutes until the garlic is fragrant. Pour the orange juice and coconut aminos into the pan, stir and simmer until the sauce has reduced to about half, this will take about 10-12 minutes.
Once the sauce has reduced, return the chicken to the pan along with all its juices. Turn the heat up to high and continue to cook the chicken in the sauce, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens and becomes sticky, about 3-5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the heat and stir in the whites of the scallions.
Transfer the chicken to a serving dish, garnish with the greens of the scallions, sesame seeds and Orange zest and serve immediately.
Notes
*If you are following a low carb diet, I would suggest using coconut flour here instead of arrowroot.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
Keywords: Whole30 orange chicken, orange chicken
can i use chicken breasts?
Yes you can use chicken breasts! 👍🏾
so easy and so delicious !!!
Thank you for sharing Sarah! Glad you enjoyed it!
This was simply glorious! I just made it for dinner with my husband and we’ll be making this yummy easy weeknight dinner again in the near future. We had it with some rice and broccoli 🙂
Yes!!! Thank you Jess! I love the addition of broccoli and rice. That’s the perfect way to finish things off 😘
Really really incredible. Much better than takeout.
Thank you Erin! So happy you enjoyed it!
Charlotte, this was SO GOOD!!!! A staple in our household now!!!
I love to hear it Devon! Thank you for sharing
I have made this 4 times now. It is definitely in our rotation and no one minds that it is on repeat!!
I used ground chicken this past time and served it inside lettuce wraps! Thank you!!
GET IT!! I love that ground chicken idea! I definitely need to try that
This recipe is definitely in our rotation and no one minds that it is on repeat!!
I used ground chicken this past time and served it inside lettuce wraps! Thank you!!
This is a very good recipe! The reason for not being 5 star is because of a mistake in the instructions, the need to basically double the coating ingredients, and because it will not look like deep fried orange sesame, which the picture shows. But then again, this is not a deep fried item, so I should of know.
Is it worth trying? Definitely!
Thanks for your comment Steve. I appreciate it and I do see in the instructions I should have written sear the chicken for 3-5 minutes per side I can see how that may be confusing. However, I don’t really understand what your other problems were. Are you saying the photos I shot, styled and edited are manufactured? Or are you saying you didn’t sear the chicken long enough to get it crispy? Or are you saying you didn’t let the sauce thicken enough for it to deepen in color? I don’t understand? There is no need to double the coating if you’re searing the chicken correctly and not overcrowding the pan which I made very clear. Obviously no ones recreation of a recipe is ever going to look exactly like the photo. We (bloggers) put in hours of hard work cooking, styling, shooting, making sure the lighting is right so we can catch every detail of a dish. The colors may be slightly richer in the photos because the light is more pronounced. I can completely understand if the recipe just didn’t work for you I’m cool with that it doesn’t have to work for everyone. But you’re basically implying I deep fried the chicken and am passing it off as seared which is not only insulting but it’s ridiculous. Again, typos or mistakes in the instructions you can call me out on all day because I’m human. But please don’t imply my work is not authentic that is not ok.
This is a great recipe! So easy and so, so delicious! This recipe is in regular rotation at our house.
So happy you love it Amanda! Thank you so much for sharing!
This is a motherfucking BANGER of a recipe! It may be the day 26 of the whole30 in me but hot damn I wanna bathe in this. Keeping this bad boy in rotation – whole30 or not. Charlotte – keep crankin’ out the hits!
FUCK YES! that’s what I’m talking about! Thank you so much, Chelsey! I appreciate you so much!
Just made this tonight…Holy deliciousness!
I didn’t have Chinese five spice and it was still amazing! I could eat this until I bust, but I restrained so I could have leftovers.
Thank you for sharing!
Get it, Nicole! I’m so happy you found a dish you love! makes me so happy!
Why did I wait so long to make this?! We made it last week for the first time, and my husband could not stop raving about it….like, he kept saying “this is better than the last few places we’ve ordered orange chicken from.” And you can bet there were no leftovers to be found because we ate it all up! The sauce is perfectly thick and just the right amount of orange flavor. We already made it again this week, and it will be in the regular rotation for sure. Thanks for this deliciousness!
Thank you Jessica!! I hear you. It took me a while to perfect the balance of orange flavor because so many takeout places overdo it: I’m so happy you guys loved it💗
This orange chicken was amazing, definitely better than takeout! The sauce was perfectly sweet and had few ingredients making it really easy to whip up. It thickened up so nicely! Thank you for the recipe, Charlotte!
Thank you Ava! I appreciate you so much!
This orange chicken is delicious! like how a little bit of the orange flavor comes through but it’s not overwhelming. Will definitely make it again. But, how do you get the color of yours to be so orange? I followed the recipe as written and my sauce came out a light brown color. Did I just not let it thicken long enough at the end?
Hi Heather! Thank you for your kind words! So happy you enjoyed it! as far as the color, yes maybe you should let the sauce thicken a little more, but it has a lot to do with the coconut aminos you use. I really like the Big Tree brand coconut aminos because it is a bit richer than the coconut secrets one. Also, the photos are a bit moody so the colors are slightly darker.
Can’t wait to try this soon! Just a question, if I don’t have ghee on hand, is butter the best substitute? Or would you recommend a type of oil?
I would recommend avocado oil. butter will burn while you’re searing the chicken. Avocado oil has a higher smoke point like ghee.
I went rogue on this recipe… So it didn’t work well for me. But the flavor was there. I used almond flour. I didn’t realize that the startch was going to assist in thickening this… (Duh) I ended up making more, so I used 11.5 ounces of OJ. I used soy sauce instead of coconut aminos, because that’s what I usually do… I also used chicken, and yup, use avocado oil. Anyways, I’ve made some of her other recipes before and have had luck, so I’ll try this one again. Live and learn!!
First of all…whatever Steve. The portions of ingredients are perfect. There is one typo where you wrote ‘garlic’ twice but it’s easy to figure out you meant ginger and garlic. This is my new favourite recipe and I will eat it from now until the end of MF time
lol Thank you so much Erin! I appreciate you beautiful. So happy you love this dish.
So yummy! The sauce is perfect. Will be making this again.
YES! It is so delish! thank you for sharing Alisa
This was so delicious. My kids said it was “the best chicken I’ve had in my whole life.” High praise from a 5 year old. Love that I had all the ingredients in my fridge/ pantry already.
High praise indeed! Always love when our recipes are kid approved!
Delicious!!! Easy to make and super tasty orange chicken! Thank you!
Thank you Sarah! So happy you enjoyed it!
Would this recipe be good with shrimp instead of chicken? Thanks!!
you can always try it and let us know how it goes!
Recipe says “garlic, garlic and pepper flakes” and I believe it should read “garlic, ginger and pepper flakes”
Let me preface my review with the knowledge that I HATE coconut aminos. Few things evoke such loathing during whole 30. What can I say, I just like soy and find coconut aminos repulsive…
That being said this recipe made coconut aminos “tolerable”. I abstained from adding orange peel/zest because any time I do, it makes any dish bitter. Even if I’m insanely careful to not get any pith in the dish, even if I buy organic oranges and wash them exceedingly well.
Anywho, followed the recipe. Worked well. I needed to crowd the pan a little bit to prevent the ghee from spattering during cooking the chicken.
Added broccoli florets about a minute before doing the whites of the scallions. Just to give it some additional texture and body.
Paired with some steamed baby bok choy and they were excellent.
Thanks for giving me that asian fix I need for meals during a whole30. 🙂
Will orange juice in place of fresh squeezed OJ effect the taste?
No not at all. depending on if there is added sugar in the orange juice you are using, it’ll probably be sweeter.
Yes, yes, yes!!! This is sooooo delicious!
Thank you Jordan! Happy You enjoyed it!
This was the best recipe and easiest I have made in a long time. 10/10. The whole fam, including our 6&8 year old inhaled it. We barely have enough for leftovers and I’m kinda mad about it.
Thank you so much Diana! I really appreciate you. So happy everyone enjoyed it
Absolutely delicious. We LOVED this and it will most certainly be added to the rotation. I’m already looking forward to lunch tomorrow, so I can eat the leftovers.
Thank you so much Lani! I’m so happy you guys enjoyed it!
I literally make this every Monday night because that’s the first meal after I get groceries.
Then I spend the next six days dreaming about it. I save some of the sauce and add to my frozen stir fry veggies after the chicken has cooked. I also have two toddlers who gobble it too. So good, thank you Charlotte!
aww thank you so much Micah! I gotta start saving some sauce for quick stir fry! That is such a good idea!
My husband and I made this for dinner last night. I blended and strained oranges which were a first for me. I realized I should have given myself more time to do this since it took a while. Overall the recipe came out great. We made it with chicken breast since we didn’t have thighs. I like it wasn’t super sweet/sugary like standard orange chicken. I think if we made it again, we’d make a few modifications like maybe adding a little maple syrup because my husband wanted it to be a little sweeter, but it’s definitely a recipe we’d make again.
Thank you for this Imelda! Yea i would definitely recommend a dash of maple syrup if you want it sweeter. But this recipe is intentionally not very sweet because I don’t love how overly sweet most takeout places make orange chicken. I can’t wait to here what you guys think after the modifications you mentioned. Thank you again.
So easy and delicious! I doubled the recipe for leftovers and I’m so glad that I did. This recipe is just sweet enough with a nice spicy and flavorful kick. I tossed in broccoli and water chestnuts at the end to finish and served it over rice. A perfect healthier spin on a takeout classic.
I love the addition broccoli and chestnuts! perfect finish Whitney!