Easy Orange Chicken Recipe
Orange chicken is usually pretty naughty, but this recipe is healthier with sautéed chicken instead of fried, tossed into a mouthwatering orange sauce, so you can enjoy this takeout favorite as often as you’d like!
Servings: 4 servings
Equipment
- Large skillet
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
- ¾ cup orange marmalade
- 2 tablespoons unflavored oil like canola oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger minced
- 1 large garlic clove minced
- Red pepper flakes to taste
- Salt to taste
- Scallions finely chopped to garnish (optional)
- Sesame seeds to garnish (optional)
- 1 cup rice like sushi rice (optional)
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine marmalade, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes to taste. Set aside.
- (Optional) Start steaming rice according to the back of package instructions.
- Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces that are roughly 1-inch (or a little smaller) cubes.
- Add oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Preheat pan until hot. Add chicken cubes and cook on one side for 3 minutes. Flip chicken cubes to the other side and let cook for 3-5 more minutes until chicken reaches at least 165℉. If chicken isn’t quite done, sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes.
- Remove chicken from pan with a slotted spoon, placing in a bowl to rest. Drain any juice out of the pan.
- Add sauce to the skillet and let reduce for 4-6 minutes over medium-high heat until orange sauce darkens and thickens to a syrup. Stir often. Keep in mind that the sauce will thicken more once cooled!
- Toss chicken into orange sauce. Serve over rice if desired. Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.
Video
Notes
- Look for orange marmalade that has orange peel in it!
- Other unflavored oil examples include avocado oil or vegetable oil.
- You can use boneless skinless chicken thighs instead, if desired!
- Purchase 1.75-2 pounds of chicken for this recipe.
- I typically simmer sticky rice, covered, for 20 minutes. Other types of rice may take longer to cook.
- If you halve the recipe, the cook time for the sauce will be a few minutes less. Conversely, if you double the recipe, the sauce cook time will be a few minutes more!
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving (with rice) | Calories: 623kcal | Carbohydrates: 79g | Protein: 52g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 145mg | Sodium: 519mg | Potassium: 949mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 36g | Vitamin A: 202IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 2mg