Chinese Orange Chicken (Baked, Paleo, Whole30)
Healthy Paleo Orange Chicken with crispy baked chicken coated in a Chinese orange sauce with a perfect sweet-and-tart balance. Pair the baked Chinese orange chicken with baby Bok Choy for a healthy and well-balanced dinner!
If you love orange chicken, you’ll also love my Panda Express orange chicken made in an air fryer or stovetop!
Oven baked Paleo Orange Chicken
Orange chicken is a Chinese American dish. The reason it became so popular in the West is because it ticks all the marks that people love – crispy golden chicken that are almost like nuggets in a sweet and slightly tart orange-flavored sauce. I figured why not share my take on this popular orange chicken dish and make it healthier, easier, and use all real natural ingredients with no added sugar.
How to make baked crispy chicken
If you recall the Oven Baked Crispy Potato Recipe, I use similar techniques here to make the chicken golden crispy without deep-frying. This method is different from most of my Paleo chicken stir-fry recipes.
Preheating the sheet pan in a cold oven until the oven reaches the desired temperature will make the sheet pan extra hot – almost like a hot plate. The chicken pieces will crisp up quickly once they hit the hot surface thus sear the juice immediately.
How To Make Healthy Orange Chicken Sauce Paleo Whole30 friendly
To make healthy orange sauce, we’ll need fresh squeezed orange juice, orange zest, and grated ginger to highlight the orange sauce flavor. In my healthy Paleo orange chicken recipe I use apple cider vinegar instead of rice vinegar. It gives the orange sauce a nice balance between sweet and tart flavor.
Unlike most Chinese American dishes that taste pretty much the same, check out my sesame chicken, sweet and sour chicken, chicken Napa cabbage stir-fry, and Kung Pao chicken. I guarantee each of them tastes different from one another and will wow your taste buds!
Make ahead tips
Dice and season the chicken and prepare the orange sauce in advance. Store the sauce in the fridge and store the chicken flat in a ziplock bag in the freezer if you will not cook the chicken the next day. If you have time, I recommend you chop the aromatics and blanch the baby bok choy on the serving day. If you can’t, I recommend preparing them 1 day in advance and use them the next day for best flavor and freshness.
So my friends, this Paleo Orange Chicken is healthy, oven baked, with no added sugar, and uses all real ingredients. If you give this dish a try, please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’ll help me and my blog tremendously. Thanks so much in advance!
Want to make 10 Paleo meals ready in under 10 minutes each? Subscriber to my blog I Heart Umami and receive my 3-part video tutorial guide. You’ll also learn how to organize your shopping lists, how to get in-and-out the store fast, and my must-have items in my pantry to make healthy delicious food easily!
Also check out my Citrus Roasted Whole Chicken with Oranges, Mandarin Orange Chicken Salad, Whole30 Asian Peanut Sauce, and easy Instant Pot Strawberry Compote!
Paleo Orange Chicken (Whole30, Oven Baked, Healthy)
Video
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 1.5 lbs. chicken breasts, , cut to bite size cubes
- ¼ tsp coarse salt
- ⅛ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp arrowroot flour or sweet potato starch/flour
Aromatics:
- 3-4 cloves large garlic , , finely chopped
- 2 thin slices ginger, , finely chopped
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes, (optional)
Whole30 Paleo Orange Chicken sauce:
- 1 tbsp orange zest
- ⅓ cup orange juice
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp arrowroot powder
Other/Garnish:
- Avocado or olive oil
- Half one whole Orange, , sliced into bite sized pieces
- 1-2 bulbs scallions, , finely chopped
- Baby bok choy, , quartered and blanched, as much as you like
Instructions
- Place a large rimmed sheet pan, unlined, in the bottom rack of the oven. Preheat the oven with the sheet pan inside to 425F (400F convection oven). In the meantime, dice and lightly coat the chicken with salt, pepper, baking soda, and arrowroot flour. Set the chicken aside in the fridge.
- Once the oven reaches the temperature. Carefully remove sheet from oven and grease with 2 tbsp avocado or olive oil. Place chicken pieces one-by-one over the sheet pan. Try not to overlap each other much. Bake at lower rack for 10 minutes. Use this time to prepare aromatics and make the orange sauce. Set them aside ready to use.
- Remove sheet from oven, using a metal spatula and tongs, loosen chickens from sheet and carefully flip each piece. Continue to bake until second side is golden and crispy, about 8-10 minutes longer.
- Right before chicken is done baking (about 5 minutes prior). Preheat a large skillet with 1 tbsp oil. When hot, lower the heat to medium, add garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Season with a pinch of salt and saute until fragrant (about 10-15 seconds).
- Stir the orange sauce one more time then add it to the skillet. The sauce should become thicker pretty quickly, stir-often. Add baked chicken. Toss and coat the sauce over for about 30 seconds. Off heat, garnish with extra orange slices, scallions, and blanched bok choy.
Love that sheet pan prep – I bet they get so yummy! My girls will like this sauce – can’t wait to try it!
What a great combination you have managed to put together.
Thank you so much!
I bet my kids will love this. I’m glad you made a classic dish paleo and i can’t wait to try it!
Thank you, Laura!
“Probably the best thing I ate in my life”, said my husband. That’s also what he commented when I made ‘Taiwanese beef stew’. 🙂 Kids love them as well. Thank you for sharing your recipe and video!
Thank you so much, Susan! I’m so happy to hear that. :))
This orange chicken dish tastes very different from the take-out version; it’s WAY more delicious. The recipe is easy to follow and it tastes so good! It tastes even better the next day for lunch (how is that possible)!? I will be making this on the regular, thank you!
Thank you so much M.L.! Making healthy yummy food is my specialty. I’m very happy to share. Thanks again!
This looks amazing, that chicken looks so good and as for the orange sauce- drooling! Have pinned to try over the weekend 🙂
This looks amazing! Orange chicken is one of my favorite dishes, and I love that you made it healthier.
I’m digging all of the flavors in here. This is a must try!
This looks so delicious! I love how simple the sauce is.
I don’t think I’ve ever had orange chicken before, but it looks absolutely delicious!
Girl! This looks absolutely amazing! I need this in my life.
Thanks, Cheryl!
That baking soda is such a great trick!! I’m all about baked chicken, this recipe looks great!
This recipe is a keeper! Made it tonight and my family loved it! Teenager and kid approved! I didn’t have arrowroot powder and used tapioca starch and added a half a teaspoon of xylitol. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Lovely! So awesome to hear that! XO!
Very good. The sauce is wonderful, not sickeningly sweet like most restaurant sauces. I think i will need more spices for my taste next time though.
Thank you, Mareen! Feel free to add more spices and increase the aromatics for stronger flavor if you like! Cheers, :))
I tried adding my chicken in the air fryer at the end which was a nice touch. Didn’t have arrowroot flour, but used some gluten free baking powder which worked fine (not sure if that’s paleo though). Thanks for the great recipe!
That’s so wonderful and I’m very happy to hear that. Thank you, Kayla for spending the time to share with us.
Made this tonight. Super easy, and everyone loved it. Iheartumami for the win!
Yay!! Thank you, Lisa! XOXO!
Made this tonight and it was delicious!!! My five year old loved it too! Will make again
I’m so happy to hear that, especially the little one loved it, too! Awesome!
Do you think a KETO version of this recipe using orange extract would work?… I am not sure how to approach this. Any ideas would be appreciated!!
Hi Carrie, that’s a great question. I don’t have orange extract in my pantry so am not sure how it tastes like compared to the fresh orange juice.
If you ever try it, please let me know. I’m curious to know, too!
Delicious and super easy! Thanks, Chihyu!
Thank you, Jacqueline!
Looks fantastic! Can’t wait to try this!!