Delicious & easy crispy orange chicken recipe made without refined sugars! The thick sauce is so wonderful and the dish is seriously better than takeout.
Orange chicken was one of my favorite dishes growing up when we got Chinese takeout. The crispy breaded chicken with the thick sticky sauce was just pure heaven in a bite. These days, my tolerance for sweet takeout food has gone down and I haven’t been able to enjoy most of the dishes after going gluten free. However, I recently started making crispy orange chicken at home and I fell in love with my version.
Watch a Short Video of This Recipe
What is Orange Chicken?
The origin of Chinese orange chicken recipe actually started in the US by the chain restaurant, Panda Express, as a variation of General Tso’s chicken. It’s actually rarely found in mainland China. Most commonly, chicken pieces are battered then fried, then coated in a sticky sweet orange-chili glaze.
What does orange chicken taste like? It’s crunchy from the batter, with a sweet and sour flavor from the thick sauce. You’ll commonly see orange chicken and rice served together.
Whole30 & Paleo Orange Chicken Recipe
While restaurant-style version can extremely sweet, this homemade orange chicken recipe doesn’t use any refined sugars. The orange juice in this healthy orange chicken sauce is the only sweetener you need and it still delivers plenty of flavor. My entire family loved this recipe so much that it’s going on our regular rotation. While it’s breaded, I was able to make a gluten free orange chicken recipe by using arrowroot starch, instead of all-purpose flour.
Whole30 Orange Chicken Ingredients
There are two components to easy crispy orange chicken recipe: the sauce and the chicken. Here are the ingredients for each component:
Easy Orange Chicken Sauce:
- avocado oil: I love avocado oil, because it’s a neutral-flavored oil with a high smoking point, but you can use your oil of choice.
- garlic
- ginger
- chili flakes: Sichuan chili flakes like this one will work best, but you can also use red pepper flakes as a substitute. If you aren’t a fan of spicy flavors, then you can omit it completely.
- oranges: You’ll need both the juice and the zest.
- coconut aminos: This is a soy-free soy sauce substitute for making this Whole30 and paleo orange chicken. It also gives a slight natural sweetness to the sauce so no other sweetener is needed.
- rice vinegar: Apple cider vinegar will also work in a pinch.
- arrowroot starch: You can also use tapioca starch if you don’t have this on hand.
Crispy Chicken:
- chicken thighs: I prefer thighs, but you can also use chicken breasts for this homemade orange chicken recipe.
- eggs
- arrowroot starch
- sea salt
- ground black pepper
- avocado oil: This is used to fry the breaded chicken pieces. You can also use tallow, lard, coconut oil, or palm oil.
How To Make Homemade Orange Chicken
For the orange sauce:
- Whisk together the orange juice, orange zest, coconut aminos, rice vinegar, and arrowroot starch in a bowl. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, ginger, and chili flakes, and stir cooking for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Pour in the orange juice mixture and stir occasionally while it comes to simmer. Simmer for 2-3 minutes until it thickens, and remove from heat and cover. Set aside.
For the chicken:
- The breading is important for how to make orange chicken crispy. In a large bowl, whisk together 2 eggs. Add the chicken pieces and stir together to coat.
- In another large shallow bowl, add arrowroot starch, salt, and pepper. stir.
- Take each chicken from the egg wash, remove excess dripping, and coat in the starch mixture.
- In a wide skillet, heat 1/2 inch of avocado oil over medium high heat.
- Once sizzling hot, add the chicken pieces in a single layer. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. You may need to do this in 2-3 batches. Place the cooked chicken in a large bowl.
- Pour the orange juice over the chicken and toss to coat evenly.
- Garnish with chopped green onions and sesame seeds, and serve immediately over rice or cauliflower rice.
Frequently Asked Questions
I always try to use oils with high smoking point for any kind of frying. If you don’t have avocado oil and you are trying to keep this Chinese orange chicken recipe paleo and Whole30, you can use tallow, lard, coconut oil, or palm oil.
I always enjoy the combination of orange chicken and rice or cauliflower rice (for paleo and Whole30). For other side dishes for orange chicken, try these green beans or this pan fried zucchini dish. I also love the combo of orange chicken and broccoli.
This dish will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge in an airtight container. If you make it and know you can’t finish the whole thing, I would hold off on coating the chicken with the yummy homemade orange chicken sauce, and store each component separately. This way, the chicken can crisp up better when you reheat it.
To reheat orange chicken, I found that the air fryer crisps up the chicken the best. Just place on the air fryer basket or tray in a single layer, and cook at 400 degrees F for 6-7 minutes on each side. You can also the use the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and bake for 15-20 minutes until crispy again. Microwaving is another option, but the chicken pieces won’t crisp back up with this method.
If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also like…
- Paleo & Whole30 Sesame Chicken – Stovetop & Air Fryer Method
- Spicy Thai Basil Chicken Recipe (Paleo & Whole30)
- Sticky Asian Chicken Meatball Recipe (Paleo, Whole30)
- Sweet and Sour Chicken Wings (AIP, Paleo)
- Paleo Mongolian Chicken with Shishito Peppers (Whole30)
Paleo & Whole30 Orange Chicken
Video
Ingredients
Orange Sauce
- Juice of 2 oranges about 3/4 cup
- Zest from 1 orange
- 1/4 cup coconut aminos
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1½ tbsp arrowroot starch or tapioca starch
- 1 tsp avocado oil or your favorite cooking oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 inch ginger grated
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes or red pepper flakes
Crispy Chicken
- 1.5 lb chicken thighs or breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 eggs whisked
- 3/4 cup arrowroot starch
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- Avocado oil or your favorite cooking oil, for frying
- Chopped green onions & toasted sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
For the orange sauce:
- In a bowl, whisk together orange juice, orange zest, coconut aminos, rice vinegar, and arrowroot starch. Set aside.Juice of 2 oranges, Zest from 1 orange, 1/4 cup coconut aminos, 2 tbsp rice vinegar, 1½ tbsp arrowroot starch
- Heat avocado oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, ginger, and chili flakes, and stir together for 1 minute until fragrant.1 tsp avocado oil, 2 garlic cloves, 1 inch ginger, 1/2 tsp chili flakes
- Pour in the orange juice mixture and heat to simmer, stirring occasionally. Once it becomes thick to your liking, about 3-4 minutes, remove from heat and cover to keep warm. Set aside.
For the chicken:
- In a large bowl, whisk together 2 eggs. Add the chicken pieces and toss to coat.2 eggs, 1.5 lb chicken thighs
- In another large shallow bowl, stir together arrowroot starch, salt, and pepper.3/4 cup arrowroot starch, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- Remove each chicken from the egg wash, shake off excess dripping, then coat in the starch mixture.
- In a wide skillet, heat 1/2 inch of avocado oil over medium high heat.
- Once sizzling hot, add coated chicken pieces in a single layer. Cook for 2-3 minutes until golden brown and crispy on the bottom, then flip to cook for 2-3 more minutes. You may need to do this in 2-3 batches. Place the cooked chicken in a large bowl.
- Pour the orange juice over the chicken and toss to coat evenly.
- Garnish with chopped green onions and sesame seeds, and serve immediately over rice or cauliflower rice.Chopped green onions & toasted sesame seeds
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I normally don’t leave reviews for recipes…but I’m currently eating this and it’s literally the best paleo orange chicken recipe I’ve ever made. And I’ve made quite a few different recipes. I used arrowroot for the sauce and for the chicken breading, instead used tapioca. Came out literally perfectttttt. Obsessed!!!
Thank you SO much! I’m so so happy to hear that!
This was very yummy! Thanks for the recipe!
This was SO good! It was my first “What Great Grandma Ate” recipe and I loved it so much I bought Jean’s paleo Korean cookbook (Highly recommend). I’ve made several recipes from the website and the cookbook and every single one has been a hit!
Highly recommend the bacon and onion dip, the mango pudding, the Bulgogi (cookbook), zucchini pancakes (cookbook), zucchini hummus, and Sticky Asian meatballs. I am making the cauliflower rice and mushroom risotto tonight.
Thank you for these wonderful recipes.!!
YUM! This was 10x better than any takeout I’ve had!! Cant wait to make it again
This was delicious! Definitely doing again!
I loved it! Orange chicken always way too sweet for me, but this was perfect! I stirred all eggs/salt/pepper/tapioca starch together to minimize bowls, like a batter. Worked well and loved the crunchy coating with sauce! Thanks!