Your favorite takeout recipe just got a makeover and it’s so easy to make at home any night of the week. Orange chicken is one of my family’s favorite takeout dishes and for good reason! I mean who doesn’t love that sticky sauce? That’s why I decided to make my own version right at home. Not only did I lighten up the recipe, but I also simplified it as well, making it the ultimate dish to make on even the busiest of nights. This recipe for lightened up orange chicken is sure to become your new favorite weeknight dinner.
Traditionally orange chicken is breaded and then fried before tossing in that signature sticky orange sauce. And while that method is delicious for obvious reasons, I decided to make this dish at home without any breading or frying involved. This way the dish becomes lighter and much easier to prepare. I also make the sauce from scratch using all real ingredients that you can feel good about. The flavor is so fresh and equally as satisfying as when you get takeout.
You can definitely use chicken breasts in this recipe, but I prefer the thighs for flavor and because they get much more tender in the sauce. The sauce is made up of fresh orange juice, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and some honey for that signature sticky sweetness. I brown up the chicken after seasoning and tossing with a little corn starch, which helps the chicken to get a nice crust on it and also helps the sauce to get nice and thick when it cooks down with the chicken. This recipe is delicious and truly so simple to make. I just serve it up on top of some jasmine rice and usually a veggie on the side.
Dinner is done in under 30 minutes! I can’t wait for y’all to give this recipe a try for yourself!
Lightened Up Orange Chicken
Ingredients:
2 Lbs. Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
1 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Tsp. Black. Pepper
1 Tbsp. Corn Starch
1 Tbsp. Flavorless oil (like avocado Oil)
1/2 Tsp. Sesame Oil
Sesame Seeds and Diced Green Onions for Topping
For the sauce-
1/2 Cup Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
1/4 Cup Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp. Honey
1 Tbsp. Freshly Grated Ginger
3 Finely Minced Garlic Cloves
1 Tsp. Sesame Oil
Jasmine Rice for serving.
Directions:
Chop chicken into cubes. Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides and then toss with the corn starch to coat.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add both avocado oil and sesame oil.
Add chicken to the pan in two batches when the skillet is nice and hot, careful not to overcrowd the pan.
Brown the chicken on both sides until nice and caramelized. Do this by not touching the chicken for 3-4 minutes per side before flipping. Continue with the second batch until all chicken is browned.
While chicken is cooking, add all sauce ingredients to a pan and cook on medium low for 5-7 minutes until sauce reduces and thickens slightly. Turn off heat.
Add all fo the chicken back to the skillet along with the sauce, scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pan and stirring to coat the chicken.
Reduce heat to low and place the lid on the skillet and continue to cook another 10-12 minutes until chicken has been cooked through.
Serve over white rice and garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.
How delicious does this look? Even your picky eater are going to gobble this one up, I promise!
