Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe | Gimme Some Oven (2024)

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Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe | Gimme Some Oven (1)

Happy New Year’s, everyone!

I hope that your 2014 is off to a terrific start. And hopefully, a delicious and healthy start!

So for all of you new years resolution folks who are out there scanning the world wide webosphere looking for lighter recipes after a holiday season full of sweets, you’ve come to the right place. Because I am dedicating theentire month of January this year to sharing healthy recipes with you. And I am stoked to kick things off with a lightened-up Chinese food classic — Skinny Orange Chicken.

This version packs all of the amazing sweet and savory orange flavor of the restaurant-style version, but with only a fraction of the calories and fat. And it is naturally sweetened with honey. And it can be served over rice or (my favorite) quinoa. And it can be made in just 20 minutes from start to finish.

Interested? You should be. :)

Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe | Gimme Some Oven (2)

The main key to lightening up this restaurant classic is that we simply saute the chicken instead of fry it. The chicken is sauteed until golden and drenched in an orange chicken sauce anyway, so I guarantee you won’t even miss the frying! Plus, it saves us lots of unnecessary fat and calories in an already delicious dish.

And as I said, this skinny orange chicken recipe can literally be made in about 20 minutes. So here’s what you need to make it happen.

Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe | Gimme Some Oven (3)

First, begin by cutting your chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Mine were roughly 1-inch cubed. Then season them with lots of salt and pepper for extra flavor.

Next, we make the rockstar of this recipe — the orange chickensauce. This sauce really could not be simpler. Simply whisk all of the ingredients together along with some cornstarch (for thickening), and you’re ready to go.

Chicken + Sauce. Done.

Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe | Gimme Some Oven (4)

Next, saute the chicken in some olive oil until it is nearly cooked through. Be sure to let it rest in the pan a bit while cooking so that the sides can get nice and browned.

Then pour in the sauce, which should come to a boil within a minute or so. Let it boil for about 1-2 minutes, or until it’s nice and thickened.

Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe | Gimme Some Oven (5)

Then top the chicken with some extra orange zest, green onions and toasted sesame seeds, and you’re good to go!

If you want to go the traditional route, you can serve this orange chicken recipe over rice. But I’m a big fan of eating stir-fry recipes with quinoa. So I whipped up a quick batch for this recipe, made (as always) with chicken broth for extra flavor.

Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe | Gimme Some Oven (6)

I mean, really, just look at that gorgeous dish!

So much great flavor, and so little unnecessary fat and calories from frying the chicken. I’m pretty positive that even your friends or family members who usually prefer the fried version will go “poco loco” over this dish. :)

Stay tuned for more healthy recipes to come this month on Gimme Some Oven. And cheers to a great 2014 ahead!

Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe | Gimme Some Oven (7)Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe | Gimme Some Oven (8)

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Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe | Gimme Some Oven (9)

Skinny Orange Chicken

★★★★★4.9 from 54 reviews

  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: About 4-6 servings 1x
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Description

This homemade orange chicken recipe comes together in just 20 minutes, and is a crazy delicious! (And healthier than the restaurant version!)

Ingredients

Scale

Orange Chicken Ingredients:

  • 2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • orange chicken sauce (ingredients below)
  • toppings: thinly-sliced green onions, toasted sesame seeds, orange zest

Orange Chicken Sauce Ingredients:

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/3 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp. white pepper
  • zest of one orange
  • pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

(Optional: Quinoa Ingredients)

  • 1 cup dry quinoa
  • 2 cups chicken broth

Instructions

To Make The Orange Chicken:

  1. Season chicken generously with salt and pepper.
  2. Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute for about 4-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is browned and nearly cooked through.
  3. Pour in the orange chicken sauce, and stir to combine. Let the sauce come to a boil, then boil for an additional minute or two until thickened. Remove from heat and serve immediately over quinoa or rice. Garnish with green onions, sesame seeds and additional orange zest.

To Make The Orange Chicken Sauce:

  1. Whisk all ingredients together until combined. If you would like the sauce to be even sweeter, add an extra 2-4 tablespoons of honey.

To Make The Quinoa:

  1. You can see my step-by-step photo tutorial for how to cook quinoa here http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/how-to-cook-quinoa-recipe/.

Be sure to also check out these related recipes:

How To Cook Quinoa (A Step-By-Step Tutorial)

Sesame Chicken with Quinoa

Lighter Chinese Chicken Salad

posted on January 1, 2014 by Ali

Main Dishes

285 Comments »

Skinny Orange Chicken Recipe | Gimme Some Oven (2024)

FAQs

How to thicken up orange chicken sauce? ›

To thicken the sauce, pour it into a small saucepan on the stove over medium-high heat. In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water to make a cornstarch slurry. Once the sauce starts to bubble in the pan on the stovetop, add the cornstarch slurry and stir to combine.

What is orange chicken sauce made of? ›

How to make the orange chicken sauce. The orange sauce is made from a mixture of the orange juice and zest, sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and rice vinegar. This is bubbled up in the wok until slightly thickened. The chicken is then added back in, and tossed in the sauce until fully coated.

Is it better to bake chicken low and slow or high and fast? ›

Question: When I cook chicken, it always comes out tough. Am I cooking it too long, too short, too high or too low? The slower you cook chicken, the better. That's the overall rule for cooking protein.

What is the secret to cooking chicken? ›

Chicken breasts must be at room temperature before going in the pan as cold chicken can cook unevenly and tends to be tough. Allow the chicken breast to sit out for 20 minutes. That should do the trick.

How to thicken orange chicken sauce without cornstarch? ›

Mix 2 tablespoons (16 g) of flour with 1/4 cup (60 mL) of cold water, then add to your sauce and stir over medium heat until it thickens. Alternatively, create a sauce-thickening roux by whisking 1 tbsp (15 g) of butter and 1 tbsp (9 g) of salt together, then adding the mixture to your sauce.

What do Asians use to thicken sauce? ›

Many Chinese recipes call for corn starch to be added to a sauce in the final stages of cooking.

Is it better to bake chicken at 350 or 400? ›

Guidelines for Baking:
  • For bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, consider baking at 350°F for a longer time (45-55 minutes), checking the internal temperature to ensure doneness.
  • For boneless, skinless chicken thighs, you can bake at 400°F for a shorter time (25-35 minutes), again checking the internal temperature.
Dec 25, 2023

How long to cook chicken in the oven at 350 degrees? ›

The right temperature and time
Type of chickenWeightRoasting: 350°F (177˚C)
breast halves, bone-in6 to 8 oz.30 to 40 minutes
breast halves, boneless4 oz.20 to 30 minutes
legs or thighs4 to 8 oz.40 to 50 minutes
drumsticks4 oz.35 to 45 minutes
1 more row

Is it better to bake chicken legs at 350 or 400? ›

Option #1: Bake chicken legs at a higher temperature, around 400 to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. A lower temp like 350 degrees Fahrenheit won't result in crispy skin, but it will still be juicy and delicious.

How do you make chicken taste more flavorful? ›

Marinating is good for flavouring and tenderising your chicken at the same time. It's best to marinate your chicken overnight to give the flavours plenty of time to infuse. A faster way to add flavour is to simply brine your chicken in salty water prior to cooking.

Why do you cover chicken when baking? ›

When chicken is covered while baking, it traps steam and moisture within the dish, resulting in juicier results. The covering helps prevent excessive evaporation and keeps the chicken moist throughout the cooking process. Preventing dryness. Chicken tends to dry out more quickly when exposed to direct heat.

How do you thicken a sauce that's too watery? ›

A general ratio to work with is 2 tablespoons flour for every cup of liquid. Start by adding a little bit, then cook, stirring, for a few minutes to allow the sauce time to thicken and cook off the raw flour taste; if the results are minimal, add more.

What can I add to sauce to make it thicker? ›

Ways To Thicken Sauce
  1. Tomato Paste. If your soup or stew is watery, adding tomato paste may help! ...
  2. Arrowroot. You might prefer to avoid gluten in your recipes. ...
  3. Flour. ...
  4. Reduce Your Liquid. ...
  5. Puréed Vegetables. ...
  6. Egg Yolk. ...
  7. Yogurt. ...
  8. Rice.
Jul 15, 2022

How do you thicken citrus sauce? ›

You can try using ingredients like arrowroot powder, tapioca starch, or potato starch as natural thickeners for your sauce. Another option is to reduce the sauce by simmering it for a longer period of time, which can help it naturally thicken as the liquid evaporates.

How to make teriyaki sauce thicker? ›

How to Thicken Teriyaki Sauce. The easiest way to thicken teriyaki sauce is by making a “cornstarch slurry.” To do this, whisk together a little cornstarch with cold water and whisk it into the simmering sauce. After 1-2 minutes, you'll have a delicious, beautiful homemade teriyaki sauce.

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