Whole30 Orange Chicken {Paleo}
on Feb 08, 2016, Updated May 14, 2024
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Back in college there was one place on campus that was CLUTCH for a tasty lunch between classes and practice. And that was the almighty Panda Express. I would always get a bowl with chow mein and either manderin chicken or orange chicken. If you have had their orange chicken you know what I’m talking about. So good, so sweet and sooo coated in fried breading. When I was a college athlete I could eat that stuff and not worry about a thing, but these days, Panda is a no-go restaurant for me. However I still get a craving for that sweet orange sauce occasionally… so whats a gal to do?
After a bit of experimenting I managed to make a super tasty sauce that only has a few ingredients and is packed with sweet and savory flavor! And better yet it makes this a Whole30 Orange Chicken. The orange juice in the recipe cooks down and brings the perfect flavor, while coconut aminos bring umami goodness. I like to cook my chicken on the stove top in some coconut oil as opposed to baking so it can get a little crispy too and bring back those Panda vibes. Arrowroot is such a winner in this recipe as it thickens up the sauce to coat every piece evenly. You would never guess it is Whole30 approved and if you serve it over my Cauliflower Fried Rice, you are in for a treat!
See those little browned bits? That my friends – is GOOD STUFF. Whole30 Orange Chicken!
Did I mention I made this at my parents house? I have granite envy…
Pin it!!
Nutrition for Whole30 Orange Chicken
The other amazing thing (other than the taste and that it is Whole30 & Paleo approved) is that this recipe is relatively low in calories. Just under 400. If you look up the nutrition facts for a take out version you can easily triple that number! The sodium is also a low lower than what you would see if you carried out which makes this recipe a lot more appropriate for anyone who struggles with high blood pressure (hypertension) or heart disease. Making it easy to share with all ages!
Whole30 Orange Chicken {Paleo}
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts, pounded to even level & chopped into 1 inch cube pieces
- salt & pepper
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup almond meal
- ½ cup coconut flour
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, plus extra if needed to moisten chicken
Orange Sauce
- 1 cup orange juice
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup coconut aminos
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot + 1 tablespoon cold water, combined
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions
- Place a large saute pan over medium high heat. In a small bowl combine almond meal, coconut flour, garlic powder, ginger, salt & pepper. Crack the egg in another small bowl and whisk until combined.
- Season the chicken pieces with a little salt and pepper the dip the chicken into the egg and completely coat. Shake off extra egg and then roll into the breading mixture until fully coated and set aside onto a plate. Repeat until all chicken is coated.
- Depending on the size of your pan, you will probably have to cook the chicken in two rounds. Scoop 2 tablespoons of coconut oil into the pan. Once it melts, add in about half the chicken, or just enough to not overcrowd the pan. Cook pieces for about 3 minutes then flip them and cook another 3 minutes on the other side. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add some extra coconut oil to the pan if needed then the extra chicken and cook again until all of the chicken is cooked.
- In large sauté pan add in all of the sauce ingredients, except for the arrowroot.
- Over medium high heat cook until it is brought to a boil. Once the sauce is boiling add in the arrowroot and water mixture and quickly stir until thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Once the sauce is thick, toss chicken in the sauce, making sure all of the pieces are covered. Serve with cauliflower rice.
Is that arrowroot powder you use?
Yes!!
This recipe was a game changer for me!! It was amazing!! Thanks so much for it!
That is awesome to hear Kait!!! So glad you enjoyed!!
Did you squeeze your OJ or buy it? If you bought it, which one did you use for whole 30?
I bought it! Trader Joes has a great one that is fresh and clean! 🙂
I would love to try this, but would there be a sub for the almond meal? We have an almond allergy in the house. :-/
You can use coconut flour but the consistency will be a little bit different!
You can also grind sunflower seeds into a powder and use that in place of almond flour. That’s what I do to make recipes FA friendly.
Oh good idea!!!
Can you substitute almond flour for the coconut flour + almond meal?
Yes you can!
This looks delish! How many servings does this make?
It is! And it serves about 3-4 people depending on how big the chicken breasts are! If you get really big ones it can do 4 easily!
Do you have a specific recipe for the rice? It looks like fried rice, or did you just add a few veggies to it?
Yes! If you search “cauliflower fried rice” on my blog you will find it! It is also linked in this post above!
I was not even thinking and I just used regular orange juice. How much sugar does the one from Trader Joes have? Wonder how bad I just messed up
Don’t worry about it! I use the one where orange juice is the only ingredients, grams of sugar don’t matter though!
I bought arrow root seasoning. I looked for powder bit couldn’t find it.
Oh weird! You can find it both in the spice section or in the baking section from Bob’s Red Mill in a larger bag!
We have an egg allergy in the house.. what would be a good substitute?
You can brush them with a super light layer of mustard just so the breading can stick! 🙂
I don’t have any arrowroot starch on hand but I do have tapioca starch. Would that work as a thickening agent instead?
I haven’t used that before but give it a try and let me know!! 🙂
Just used tapioca flour 2T with 2T of water and it worked great!!
That’s great to know!!