Throughout my high school years, my mom drove my younger brother to his trumpet lesson every Monday evening. As a talented musician (he now composes his own pieces!), he rarely missed a session, but since they ended right around dinnertime, Mom rarely cooked on those nights either.
Instead, she usually picked up take-out on their way home, and with Panda Express as the only restaurant between the music shop and the freeway, that’s normally what appeared on the kitchen counter after they walked in from the garage.
Occasionally, Mom tried to sneak in a somewhat healthier side, like eggplant tofu or steamed veggies, but we usually ignored those and dove straight into our favorites: broccoli beef and orange chicken. Although we sometimes ended up with leftovers of the former, the latter always disappeared within minutes. That spicy sauce was addictive!
Then one night a few weeks ago, I walked in from running errands to find my guy with a Styrofoam container on the coffee table with a double serving of the same Panda Express orange chicken mostly gone. Since I had never seen him eat their take-out before, I asked if it was his favorite of their entrées, and he nodded an emphatic yes.
Because I prefer grilled chicken over fried, I’d rather not eat the Panda Express dish, so I set out to make my own healthier version. After a few tweaks, this Spicy Orange Chicken with its sticky, tangy sauce earned two big thumbs up from my guy’s picky palate!
I tried really hard to limit this recipe to just 5 ingredients because after baking and washing dishes all day, I don’t want to cook and clean any more than I have to. But according to my guy, the sauce needed a little more salt and sweetness, so… You need 7 ingredients. But I promise those extra 2 are in your pantry already!
As the star of the show, this sauce is sweet and spicy and bright and tangy and lick-the-pan-clean good. That also means there’s a pretty hefty sauce-to-chicken ratio, which should satisfy all of you sauce lovers! My guy likes to put his over rice, but me… Just hand me a spoon!
So this sauce… Super simple, you guys. It’s mostly orange juice, with a little soy sauce and honey for those salty and sweet notes my guy wanted, along with a hint of orange zest and cayenne (or as much as your spicy meter can handle!), and is thickened with cornstarch.
You’ll cook the sauce second, after removing the chicken from the pan (gotta love one-pot meals—fewer dishes to clean!), because the sauce thickens faster when it’s the only thing in the pan. Then just add the chicken back in, give everything a stir, and dinner is on the table!
And since it fully satisfies my guy’s picky palate, this orange chicken has earned itself a permanent place on our weekly dinner rotation!
| Easy & Skinny Spicy Orange Chicken | | Print |
- 1 c (240mL) orange juice
- 2 tbsp (16g) cornstarch
- 3 tbsp (45mL) low-sodium soy sauce
- ⅛ – ¼ tsp (<1g) cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 4 tsp (20mL) honey
- 1 tsp (2g) orange zest (optional, about 1 mandarin orange)
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of excess fat
- To prepare the sauce, whisk together the orange juice, cornstarch, soy sauce, cayenne, honey, and orange zest in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Lightly coat a large pan with nonstick cooking spray. Cook the chicken over medium-low heat for 4-6 minutes, or until no longer pink in the center and cooked through. Turn out the chicken onto a plate.
- Whisk the sauce once more, then pour it into the same skillet. Cook over medium-low heat for 6-8 minutes, stirring constantly, or until the sauce has thickened and reduced by about a third. Reduce the heat to low, add the chicken, and stir until it’s completely covered in sauce.
Agave or brown sugar may be substituted for the honey.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, low carb, high protein}
More orange chicken recipes from other food bloggers…
♥ 20 Minute Light Orange Chicken by Closet Cooking
♥ Skinny Orange Chicken by Gimme Some Oven
♥ Slow Cooker Orange Chicken by Life Made Sweeter
Made this again last night and this time I used more cayenne and added a little crused red pepper flakes and the zest. The zest made a huge difference!!!! Served with my homemade “fried” brown rice. Everyone gobbled it up.
That’s wonderful news! Yes, the zest makes a huge difference — it adds so much bright, sunshiny flavor!
Excellent recipe. I came home from work and made this in no time. Great flavor, very easy. I added some seseme seeds on top.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the orange chicken Maxine! 🙂
Sooo I stumbled on this recipe and I just have to say THANK YOU for sharing it! Omg it’s amazing!! I substituted the soy sauce with Worcestershire sauce. I’m in a nutrition plan for weight loss and my planner says it fits perfectly within my requirements and it’s absolutely amazing!!!! I paired it with quinoa, red yellow and orange opera, onions and sugar snap peas! And yum! Thank you so much! So glad I found this!
I’m so glad you loved this orange chicken Katie! That means a lot to me! 🙂 That sounds like such a yummy and nutritious meal. And best of luck with your weight loss goals!!
Wow… I made this today so I can take a healthy dinner to work with me tonight. I snagged some bites before packing it away and this sauce is legit! I use fresh squeezed orange juice and instead of cayenne, I added a healthy pinch of red pepper flakes and about 1 tsp of garlic chili paste. I absolutely love the POW! of the orange juice. Thank you for a delicious recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this orange chicken Teri! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe modifications too — I always love hearing what tweaks work! 🙂
The cholesterol and sodium are way to high for the nutrition level my home requires.
Can you make any adjustments?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Stacey! You’re welcome to substitute additional orange juice for the soy sauce to eliminate the sodium. The only source of cholesterol is the chicken. If you meticulously trim all of the fat from your chicken, then the cholesterol amount is likely to be lower than what’s in the nutrition information. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try this orange chicken!
A unique and delicious recipe. Will surely going to try the weekend.Thanks for sharing it
It’s my pleasure Harvey! I can’t wait to hear what you think of this orange chicken! 🙂
I am going to try this recipe tonight, but I am cooking for one, so I will likely halve the recipe. How do you recommend storing leftovers? Thanks!
I’m honored that you’d like to try my recipe, Emily! I recommend storing leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They should keep for at least four days (if not longer!). 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of this orange chicken!
I can’t wait to try this recipe! I’m watching my sodium too, but I found another site that recommends swapping in molasses mixed with rice vinegar (unseasoned) as a lower sodium replacement for soy sauce. I’ve used it before in another recipe and it really works! Just one more trick for those of us watching salt.
Thanks for sharing the molasses and rice vinegar tip, Angie! That’s great to know. I’m really looking forward to hearing what you think of this orange chicken, once you get a chance to try it! 🙂