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Home » Recipes » Dinner

Published: Feb 1, 2023 by Genevieve · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads · 4 Comments

Is Orange Chicken Healthy? (Recipe Included)

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Is orange chicken healthy? Need an easy, healthy weeknight dinner recipe? I’ve got you covered with my delicious, nutritious, and satisfying Orange Chicken and Vegetables recipe. This easy weeknight meal is one the entire family will love! The other fantastic thing about this recipe is that it can be food prepped the evening before for dinner ready the next day! With loads of fiber from the veggies, fresh ginger and orange juice in the sauce, and organic cubed chicken, this is one recipe you won’t want to miss!

bowls of orange chicken and vegetables over rice in black bowls with chop sticks this …
Orange chicken recipe

Healthy orange chicken and vegetables is perfect any time of the year and makes a great healthy chicken meal! You can pair this with my Chicken Caesar Salad Boats With Homemade Croutons and my Healthy Ranch Dip you can also enjoy my Creamy Lemon Pasta With Chicken and my Dorito Casserole With Ground Beef all of the are quick and easy dinner ideas!

Jump to:
  • 🍗 Easy Healthy Orange Chicken
  • 🍗🍊What Youll Need to Make the Healthy Orange Chicken
  • 🍗🍊 How to Make Orange Chicken
  • 🍗🍊How To Make Chinese Orange Chicken Healthy
  • 👇Check out our most popular dinner recipes below! 👇
  • 📖 Recipe
  • Pin This Recipe For Later
  • 💬 Comments

🍗 Easy Healthy Orange Chicken

One of my favorite meal recipes to make is one that includes protein, vegetables, and carbs.

The wonderful thing about my is orange chicken healthy recipe is that it gives you a full serving of veggies, a full serving of protein, and a full serving of carbs in one meal and yes it's super healthy!

This all-around healthy meal is similar to that famous restaurant that sells their infamous orange chicken, but my version is a healthier spin!

a bowl of is orange chicken healthy loaded with bell peppers and rice
healthy orange chicken stir fry

🍗🍊What Youll Need to Make the Healthy Orange Chicken

Ingredients for healthy orange chicken celery, carrots, bell peppers, cilantro broccoli
All you need are a few ingredients healthy orange chicken stir fry

Ingredients you'll need for healthy orange chicken recipe:

  • Boneless chicken breasts, cubed or skinless chicken breasts
  • Bell pepper
  • Celery
  • Carrots
  • Steamed Brocolli
  • Cinaltro
  • Fresh Ginger
  • Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
  • Honey
  • Sesame oil or Olive oil
  • Coconut Aminos
  • Red Wine Vinegar
  • Chopped Garlic
  • Orange Zest
  • Salt
  • Black Pepper
  • Garlic Salt
  • Paprika
  • Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
  • Flour for coating the chicken
  • Jasmine rice or Brown Rice
  • Soy sauce (optional)

🍗🍊 How to Make Orange Chicken

a bowl filled with chicken, rice, veggies, chopsticks with two wooden spoons on a blue wooden backdrop
How to server healthy orange chicken

First, let's make the healthy orange chicken sauce recipe for this easy orange chicken recipe.

  • This recipe is also known as healthy orange chicken with marmalade healthy orange chicken and broccoli

Step 1: In a small saucepan, add the orange juice, honey, soy sauce, coconut aminos, rice wine vinegar, chopped garlic, and ginger and simmer over medium heat. Wait for sauce thicken.

Thickened orange chicken sauce
You can use cornstarch or arrowroot powder to thicken the orange chicken sauce

Step 2: Add the cornstarch to thicken the sauce and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes until the sauce becomes nice and thick. Add a teaspoon of orange zest to bring out the flavor. Set the sauce aside.

healthy orange chicken sauce in a saucepan
Let's make this super easy orange chicken sauce made with fresh squeeze orange juice!

🍗🍊How To Make Chinese Orange Chicken Healthy

I bought organic chicken breasts for this recipe and cut them into cubes. You can also use skinless chicken thighs for healthy orange chicken which is similar to orange chicken Chinese takeout.

Step 1: Next, add the cubed chicken to a small mixing bowl and season with black pepper, Himalayan sea salt, paprika, and garlic salt. Coat the chicken and flour and set the chicken aside while you prep the orange chicken sauce.

chicken salt and pepper and flour in a stainless steal bowl
Add flour to make the chicken super soft and tender

Step 2: Heat a pan over medium heat and add the olive oil or vegetable oil. Saute the boneless skinless chicken brown on each side cooking over medium heat. 

Saute chicken in olive oil in a frying pan
Saute the chicken in olive oil to make this recipe even healthier!

Step 3: Next, add freshly chopped veggies one at a time to the chicken. Add the celery, carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, and chopped garlic and simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes. 

veggies being added to the orange chicken in a frying pan
Add all the veggies to this orange chicken stir fry

Step 4: Next, pour in the prepared orange sauce into the pan and simmer the chicken, veggies, and sauce together for 10 minutes over low heat. 

orange sauce being poured over the chicken and veggies
Add the orange sauce to the Chinese orange chicken recipe

Step 5: While the veggies and chicken are simmering together, cook the Jasmin rice according to the package directions. Once the rice is finished cooking, grab some serving bowls and fill them with the rice. 

Orange chicken and veggies served over Jasmin rice in black bowls that say eat with chop sticks
Add Jasmin rice or brown rice and this makes a complete orange chicken meal!

You can drizzle more orange sauce on top of the dish and add fresh cilantro for even more flavor. 

This low carb recipe is similar to Panda Express orange chicken but way better and is orange chicken no breading. This is healthy orange chicken.

Pro Tip For Orange Chicken recipe not fried: If you want orange chicken without cornstarch, use arrowroot powder instead!

The calories in Chinese orange chicken Chinese in this version is less because this healthy orange chicken recipe isn't fried. You can also make this a low carb orange chicken recipe by not adding the rice and instead using mixed greens for orange chicken protein bowls.

Two bowls filled with chicken and veggies
Two bowls of scrumptious orange chicken!

I wouldn't worry too much about the calories in Chinese orange chicken. You could also make this Japanese orange chicken.

The carbs in orange chicken orange chicken carbs are low, especially if you do not add in the rice.

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    Taco Pasta Casserole
  • Dorito Casserole With Ground Beef
  • featured image zucchini boats with ground turkey
    Zucchini Boats With Ground Turkey
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Frequently Asked Questions:

  • is orange chicken good for weight loss - yes this healthy orange chicken recipe is good for weight loss!
  • is panda express orange chicken healthy -No

This healthier orange chicken easy weeknight meal is fun to make and so colorful! It’s a traditional orange chicken recipe that's a wonderful addition to add to your weeknight rotation and makes a wonderful weekend dinner too.

This is the perfect couple recipe for celebrating Valentine's Day!

My Easy Orange Chicken and Vegetables also make fantastic leftovers. This gluten free clean eating meal will be the hit at the dinner table!

If you make this recipe, please leave a star ⭐ recipe rating at the bottom of the page on the recipe card. This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers and cooks! If you want more delicious, made-from-scratch, wholesome and healthy recipes, you can subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on my adventures on Instagram where I'm convinced I'm a comedian, 😂 Pinterest for even more recipe inspiration, and Facebook for the recipe of the day!

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📖 Recipe

Orange chicken and veggies served over Jasmin rice in black bowls that say eat with chop sticks

Is Orange Chicken Healthy? (Recipe Included)

Genevieve Jerome
Is orange chicken healthy? Need an easy, healthy weeknight dinner recipe? I’ve got you covered with my delicious, nutritious, and satisfying Orange Chicken and Vegetables recipe. This easy weeknight meal is one the entire family will love! The other fantastic thing about this recipe is that it can be food prepped the evening before for dinner ready the next day! With loads of fiber from the veggies, fresh ginger and orange juice in the sauce, and organic cubed chicken, this is one recipe you won’t want to miss!
5 from 70 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
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Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Total Time 35 mins
Course Dinner, Easy Dinners, Dinner, Healthy recipes, food prep
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 4 peopl
Calories 480 kcal

Ingredients
  

Orange Sauce

  • 2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1 cup Honey
  • 1 cup Soy Sauce
  • 1 cup Coconut Aminos
  • ¼ cup Rice Wine Vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Freshly Chopped Garlic
  • 1 teaspoon Chopped Ginger
  • 2 tsps Cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon Orange Zest

Orange Chicken

  • 1 pound cubed chicken
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 tsp Paprika
  • 1 teaspoon Garlic Salt
  • 1 cup Flour
  • 1 cup Vegetable Oil or Sesame Oil
  • 1 cup Chopped Celery
  • 1 cup Sliced Carrots
  • 1 Cup Chopped Broccoli
  • 1 cup Sliced red bell peppers
  • 1 teaspoon Finely Choped Garlic
  • 1 Package Cooked Jasmin Rice
  • 1 cup chopped Cilantro

Instructions
 

Orange Sauce

  • In a small saucepan, add the orange juice, honey, soy sauce, coconut aminos, rice wine vinegar, chopped garlic, and ginger and simmer over medium heat.
  • Add the cornstarch to thicken the sauce and simmer on low heat for 10-minutes until the sauce begins to thicken.
  • Add a teaspoon of orange zest to bring out the flavor.
  • Set the sauce aside.

How To Cook Easy Orange Chicken

  • Add the cubed chicken to a small mixing bowl and season with black pepper, Himalayan sea salt, paprika, and garlic salt. Coat the chicken and flour and set the chicken aside while you prep the orange chicken sauce.
  • Heat a pan over medium heat and the vegetable oil or the Sesame seed oil.
  • Pour in the seasoned chicken and brown on each side cooking over medium heat.
  • Next, add the freshly chopped veggies one at a time. Add the celery, carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, chopped garlic, and simmer on medium heat for five minutes.
  • Next, pour in the prepared orange sauce to the pan and simmer the chicken, veggies, and sauce together for 10-minutes over low heat. 
  • While the veggies and chicken are simmering together, cook the Jasmin rice according to package directions. 
  • Once the rice is finished cooking, grab some serving bowls and fill them with the rice. Top with the orange chicken and veggies. 
    You can drizzle more orange sauce on top of the dish and add fresh cilantro for even more flavor. 

Notes

Recipe Notes:
I know this low calorie chicken recipe seems like a lot of steps, but it's for good reason. Keep in mind, you are making the Healthy Orange Sauce from scratch, but this healthy orange chicken recipe takes less than thirty minutes to make and that's nothing for a healthy and delicious meal! 
Substitutions:
Sesame seed or Olive oil instead of Vegetable Oil
Arrowroot powder instead of Cornstarch 
Storage: 
This recipe will keep in a glass, airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. This healthy Orange Chicken Recipe also freezes well and makes wonderful leftover healthy rice bowls! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
All images and text © Genevieve Jerome / Fitty Foodlicious 2023 

Nutrition

Serving: 1bowlCalories: 480kcalCarbohydrates: 111gProtein: 10gFat: 0.5gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 5784mgPotassium: 286mgFiber: 2gSugar: 71gVitamin A: 364IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 37mgIron: 3mg
Tried this recipe? Follow us on InstagramMention @fittyfoodlicious or tag #fittyfoodliciousrecipes!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. anindya says

    March 21, 2020 at 3:40 am

    Yes the protein and vegetables make the perfect combination and this can be done any night . Thanks for the recipe

    Reply
  2. Annie says

    March 21, 2020 at 6:02 am

    I adore orange chicken, and really love that your version is healthier than the restaurants!
    xoxo
    Annie

    Reply
  3. Rochelle says

    March 21, 2020 at 8:38 am

    My mouth is watering. I absolutely love orange chicken. I cannot wait to make this recipe!. Thanks for sharing 🙂

    Reply
  4. Kez says

    March 22, 2020 at 1:41 am

    It does look very easy to make! Unfortunately it's too carby for me, but I have a friend who would love this!

    Reply

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Welcome to Fitty Foodlicious. I created this website after naturally losing 150 pounds through healthy eating and being active. Although, I do love a good slice of chocolate cake every now and again, and I believe you cannot live life without pasta and really good coffee! I’m a Paleo Cookbook author, a spitfire Italian Irish lass who adores spending time outside with my dogs as much as humanly possible. I hope you find inspiration on this site for healthy living, mental wellness, and delicious recipes. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and get comfy. I love hearing from readers, please reach out, and let’s chat. You can find out more about me here.

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