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Nutritional Info
  • Servings Per Recipe: 4
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 221.6
  • Total Fat: 6.3 g
  • Cholesterol: 70.1 mg
  • Sodium: 352.7 mg
  • Total Carbs: 14.5 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 1.3 g
  • Protein: 26.4 g

View full nutritional breakdown of Orange Chicken calories by ingredient
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Orange Chicken

Submitted by: CHEF_MEG
Orange Chicken

Introduction

With this dish you get a serving of fruit in every portion. Dice the orange if you prefer smaller pieces and�if you�re feeling creative�use a vegetable peeler to create curls of orange zest. With this dish you get a serving of fruit in every portion. Dice the orange if you prefer smaller pieces and�if you�re feeling creative�use a vegetable peeler to create curls of orange zest.
Number of Servings: 4

Ingredients

    1 tbsp olive oil
    11⁄2 tsp dried thyme
    1⁄2 tsp salt
    1⁄4 tsp white or black pepper
    1 pound boneless, skinless chicken
    breasts
    2 small to medium oranges
    3 tbsp rice-wine vinegar
    2 tbsp honey

Tips

Serve it with 1/2 cup brown rice, green beans sauteed with slivered almonds and a cup of milk.

Tips:
You can dice the fruit if you prefer smaller pieces.

If you're feeling creative, use a zester to create curls of orange zest.

Do all of your prep work (such as cutting the oranges) before you break down the chicken breasts to prevent cross contamination.


Directions

1. In a glass dish, mix together the oil, thyme,
salt, and pepper for a quick marinade.
2. Place the chicken flat on a cutting board, remove
any fat, and slice each breast into quarters
so that you have 1- to 11⁄2-inch thick strips. Add
the meat to the marinade and toss to coat. Cover
and place in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
(You can also do this in the morning.)
3. Zest the orange by using a grater to remove
just the orange part of the peel (not the white
pith). Using a sharp knife, cut away the remaining
peel and pith, then, holding the fruit over a
bowl to catch the juice, cut sections from the
orange, working in a V fashion to cut away any
membrane. Reserve the fruit and juice for the
sauce.
4. Preheat a nonstick skillet to moderate heat.
Spray with nonstick cooking spray, then add
the chicken once the pan is hot. Discard the
marinade. Cook the chicken until firm and no
longer pink, about 5 minutes.
5. While the meat is cooking, place the vinegar
and honey in a small saucepan and bring to a
boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the mixture
is reduced by half. Add the orange, juice,
and the zest to the sauce, stir, and remove from
the heat. Divide the chicken onto 4 plates and
pour the sauce over the meat.






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Member Ratings For This Recipe


  • Very Good
    60 of 60 people found this review helpful
    This was great, although I did make some tweaks. I added 2 cloves of garlic, a tablespoon of ginger, couple shakes of soy sauce and some red peppers to the marinade and a teaspoon of corn starch to the sauce. Turned out great! Stirfried some veggies in the same pan to gets some of the tasty bits!! - 3/22/10

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  • 16 of 16 people found this review helpful
    add garlic, ginger, green onions, some pepper flakes, citrus soy sauce & maybe fresh basil at the end. - 6/20/10

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  • Incredible!
    11 of 11 people found this review helpful
    I used canned mandarin oranges to save time. The dish turned out light and tasty, and got good reviews from my very picky family. My husband added hot sauce to make it a more sweet-and-sour type dish. I'll have to try it with steamed carrots and broccoli sometime, as other posters have mentioned. - 9/14/10

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  • Good
    11 of 11 people found this review helpful
    My family liked this, but wasn't thrilled. I think it's a good basic recipe to play with and tweak a bit. - 6/8/10

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  • Incredible!
    7 of 7 people found this review helpful
    I made this for dinner this evening and it was FABULOUS! I substituted mandarin oranges sweetened with Splenda because oranges are out of season. This will be a regular at our house! Thanks, Chef Meg! - 10/5/10

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  • Incredible!
    6 of 6 people found this review helpful
    This was excellent, but needed a few changes I think. After adding the orange juices, I poured the sauce over the chicken and let it simmer so that the sauce would thicken. Red pepper flakes add a nice touch too! - 9/10/11

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  • Good
    6 of 6 people found this review helpful
    Good but next time I'll add some garlic and maybe ginger. - 6/9/10

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  • Very Good
    5 of 5 people found this review helpful
    very good- used mandarin oranges and added garlic and basalmic vinager rather than the other vinager.
    - 10/28/10

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  • Very Good
    5 of 5 people found this review helpful
    Another Chef Meg success. It is not like your fried orange chicken from the restaurant (which I am not a fan of all the batter) but it has a better orange flavor. This chicken dish tastes fresh and is easy to make - it has been added to my recipe rotation. Thanks for another great recipe! - 6/29/10

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  • 5 of 5 people found this review helpful
    Too Good! - 6/8/10

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  • Very Good
    4 of 5 people found this review helpful
    The whole family enjoyed this dish. I served it with brown rice and broccoli - 8/16/10

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  • Good
    4 of 4 people found this review helpful
    It was pretty good. I might try it again and cut up the oranges a little smaller and add some of the suggested additions above to give it some more flavor. - 8/10/10

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  • Very Good
    4 of 4 people found this review helpful
    Very tasty. I see some folks used, or suggested garlic. The rice vinegar I used already had garlic in it, so maybe that helped. One of my friends commented she loved how it wasn't overwhelmingly fruity, but lightly sweet instead -- just right. The Thyme probably provided a good flavor balance. - 7/27/10

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  • 4 of 4 people found this review helpful
    Served over Broccoli and thin Sliced carrots Steamed YUM! - 6/20/10

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  • 3 of 8 people found this review helpful
    This sounds great & fresh. Not like the heavy, fried stuff served in Chinese Restaurants. - 6/8/10

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  • Incredible!
    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    I was a little leery of the vinegar at first, but soon found out that this was GREAT! My kids were totally impressed!! They want to know when I'm cooking it again! - 7/15/10

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  • Incredible!
    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    lThis was vey delicous - 6/20/10

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  • 2 of 4 people found this review helpful
    I love orange chicken - have printed out the recipe and will try it this week. Awesome! Thanks! - 6/20/10

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  • 2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    This was dinner tonight and very good.... - 6/8/10

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  • Very Good
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    Made this tonight for dinner. Not quite sure how to remove the fruit working in a V fashion. Some of the membrane was in the recipe. - 11/6/12

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  • Incredible!
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    I had my doubts due to the amount of sage in this recipe, but I was pleasantly surprised. This dish will find it's way on my families table again and again. Even my picky husband devoured his bowl! - 11/5/12

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  • Incredible!
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    Great recipe; my husband made this for dinner, and it was fantastic! He added garlic and ginger as some of the other comments suggested. - 11/3/12

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  • O.K.
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    The chicken itself tastes great, but the topping...not so great. - 9/30/10

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  • 1 of 6 people found this review helpful
    I will definetely try this recipe. Thank you. - 6/8/10

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  • 1 of 6 people found this review helpful
    This looks wonderful, cant wait to try it out! - 6/8/10

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  • I would try it again, but would make some adjustments. - 4/9/13

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  • We added some snow peas and carrots, but other than that, we prepared as directed. It was very good, I will definitely make it again! - 4/9/13

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  • Very tasty. I added red pepper flakes and corn starch. Will make again. - 2/23/13

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  • This was very quick and easy to make. Refreshing. Added garlic in the marinade and used cooking sake (same as rice wine vinegar)for the sauce. Will make again and maybe'zip' it up a bit with some chili garlic sauce. - 2/20/13

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  • This was OK, but definitely needed to be kicked up in flavor! Added more zest (and add it to the marinade; it imparts more orange essence to the chicken), and added red pepper flakes, fresh garlic & ginger, and fresh green onion over the top. - 2/20/13

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  • recipe needs to be fixed tons of ofside down question marks can not read ingredience :( - 2/10/13

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  • This recipe looks interesting.
    I might try it over the weekend. - 2/8/13

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  • Nice fresh flavors. Enjoyed by the kids. I would add some ginger next time for a little more depth of flavor. - 1/21/13

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  • No great unfortunately. Zest made it slighty bitter so more honey added (more calories) was needed. I had to bliz the saus the get some of flavours out. - 1/12/13

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  • I added some ginger and garlic. Good stuff! - 11/3/12

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  • Very nice - I added lots of veggies (red pepper, mushrooms, snow peas) ginger, garlic and made it more of a stir fry style - 10/28/12

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  • awesome recipe - 10/18/12

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  • Very fresh and tasty. I served this orange chicken over a SP recipe of fried rice. Better than our local Chinese restaurant and much better for you, too. - 8/26/12

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  • This was very good. My husband and I did think there was a bit too much orange taste though. Perhaps I should have used 2 small oranges instead of medium sized. It was a bit overwhelming with the orange taste. I would definitely make it again though :) - 8/18/12

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  • Made exactly following the recipe, this was good, although I couldn't help but feel like it was missing something. My 4 year old liked it though. This is certainly a solid start towards something remarkable, if only I could put my finger on what. - 7/16/12

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  • I'm cooking for two diabetics, I served with fresh veggies & rice. Very filling, made enough for 2 meals. - 7/14/12

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  • Made this dish tonight and my family loved it and including my Grandkid who is pretty picky. - 7/12/12

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  • Even with some tweaks, it was just ok. Not a fan of the warm orange bits. Added garlic, ginger, oyster sauce and cornstarch to the sauce, and scallions to the finished dish. Still way too orangey and needs more depth of flavor. Next time: juice only of one orange, sesame oil, fish sauce. - 7/9/12

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  • This is a fantastic recipe. I have made it twice and both my husband and I love it. Great over rice with a green veggie. - 7/5/12

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  • Bingo! Chef Meg wins again! Instead of reducing the sauce in a separate pan, I put it in with the chicken towards the end. Then I added the orange and oj. I served it over brown rice, with green beans. Everyone loved it. It's a winner. - 7/3/12

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  • My husband, 2 year old daughter and I enjoyed this recipe. My 4 year old son loved the chicken, but didn't like the sauce--he thought it was sour (it wasn't, but I think he wanted it to be more orange in color, just not in taste). I added ginger, garlic and soy sauce like others suggested. - 7/1/12

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  • Thank you Chef Meg for providing this recipe. I was able to redeem myself! :) About ten years ago I attempted to make Orange Chicken and it was a disaster! My family teases me about it all the time. I made this recipe for dinner tonight and my family LOVED it! It's a keeper! - 6/27/12

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  • We really enjoyed this recipe. I will make it again.
    I was out of rice vinigar so used apple cider viniger and it still turned out real good. - 6/25/12

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  • Very simple, and so much better than the battered variety. I like to add a dried hot peppers from my harden to give it some kick. - 6/24/12

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  • Delicious - great recipe for company! - 6/21/12

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  • Good - 6/20/12

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  • Good - 6/20/12

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  • my daughter is allergic to vinegar, is there a substitute for it - 6/20/12

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  • left out the honey and shaved orange peel into it...yummy - 6/20/12

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  • this looks so good, I'm making it for dinner tonight! - 6/20/12

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  • Oh - 6/20/12

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  • I followed the recipe exactly and my family loved it. - 6/20/12

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  • This is SO good! I made it for the first time last night. My husband and I loved it! - 5/9/12

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  • It was very good and easy to make. Added some fresh broccoli to the chicken in the final minutes. I would agree some corn starch to thicken sauce would be nice, but not required. - 4/29/12

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  • I misread and used Tbsp instead of tsp on the thyme. But that's OK, because this dish turned out FANTASTIC! My kids aren't wild about oranges, but they loved the stir-fried marinated chicken all by itself and left the sauce for the grown-ups. Worked great with chicken thighs (that's what was on sale - 4/16/12

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  • Just had this tonight and will definitely make it again. Hubby and I both liked it. - 4/8/12

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  • We made this recipe as stated. I would probably scale back the pepper just a smidge. Served with rice, it was quite good. - 4/3/12

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  • I normally don't like sweet and savory combined (such as pineapple and ham), but I was pleasantly surprised with this! I truly liked it! It was a bit tedious zesting and separating the oranges, but worth it. - 3/28/12

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  • Made this with tofu - that works well too! - 3/21/12

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  • It tasted decent with some sriracha added, but I don't think I'll make it again without some major tweaks. Far too much thyme, and I usually love thyme. - 3/15/12

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  • tweeked it alittle didn't have any rice vin, so used apple cidar vin, instead also used canned manderins... - 2/25/12

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  • This was awesome even my DH who isn't a chicken fan liked this dish. - 2/20/12

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  • Stirs up an appetite. This can be a homecoming dish for Hubby. - 2/17/12

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  • THANK YOU for a yummy recipe that does NOT include onions, garlic, shallots etc! I am allergic to all allium family plants and most recipes call for them. Yes I know most folks Love their garlic and onions and say just leave it out but that changes the recipe. I'm saving this one! :-) - 2/17/12

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  • this sounds good - 2/16/12

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  • This was good, but will definitely try to make a little differently next time. I like the previous reviewers idea of using canned mandarin oranges- because the fresh oranges we used made the sauce very tart. The recipe doesn't specify how much orange zest to use, so we might have added too much. - 2/1/12

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  • Really good basic recipe. I added garlic and onion powder to the marinade and served with my roasted broccoli and brown rice mixed with chopped english cucumber. I like mine with a little hot sauce. Next time I might add a tsp of brown mustard. - 1/31/12

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  • I'm making this tonight, but cannot find rice-wine vinegar =( Can I use apply cidar vinegar which is the only kind I have at home?? - 1/17/12

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  • Delicious! I cooked the chicken on a cast-iron grill pan, so tasty! - 1/9/12

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  • Sweet and good - 1/8/12

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  • I am more a dark meat fan than a white meat fan, but I cooked exactly to the recipe and thought it was delicious! - 11/16/11

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  • I cut the recipe in half since it was just two of us having dinner-we don't do leftovers. Any time I find a recipe pairing thyme with chicken it's a winner in my book! The orange sauce was very tasty. I had mine with brown rice and some asparagus spears...LOVED the sauce with the rice! - 11/16/11

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  • I enjoyed this very much - 11/1/11

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  • As others mentioned, the sauce is a bit watery. Corn starch sounds like a good solution. It is tasty, and I will try it again. - 10/30/11

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  • Fresh tasting and easy to prepare - 10/23/11

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  • Yummy! Made tonight & glad my son's not home-I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow! Per other's suggestions, used mandarin oranges and added garlic, soy sauce & ginger to the sauce (before cooking). Served w/brown rice, steamed broccoli & fruit salad. Don't have a non-stick pan, Pam worked great! - 10/23/11

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  • AWESOME!! - 10/20/11

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  • add garlic and ginger, a couple shakes of soy sauce and some redpeppers. also a teaspoon of corn starch to the sauce - 10/20/11

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  • This sounds wonderful - and easy too. I will probably bake in the oven though, as do not have a non-stick pan. - 10/19/11

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  • This is very good! - 10/19/11

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  • I added some garlic and ginger to this recipe or it may have been too bland. The chicken tasted pretty good but the sauce was not. Next time, I will squeeze the orange and leave out the pieces. This will create a nice sauce without the overpowering of orange pieces. - 10/19/11

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  • Marinating this for a longer time than 15 min. enhances the wonderful taste. - 10/19/11

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  • SOUNDS GREAT... have picky eaters who are afraid to try new things, but think this one will win hands down. - 10/19/11

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  • This was really good, I added about 1/2 cup pineapple, 1/2 cup chicken broth and lemon pepper seasoning. - 10/16/11

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  • The dish tasted good but the oranges were very juicy; hence, I had soup, not glaze. I like the ideas presented to 'tweak' the recipe, adding red peppers, ginger, soy etc. I will try it again with less juice. - 7/19/11

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  • Excellent. I served it over wild rice, and added some edamame on the side. Delicious! - 7/19/11

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  • I don't like the taste of chicken, so the sauce wasn't even for me. I do agree with others on here that say this recipe can be used as a starter recipe to add things onto. By itself though, it was too bland for me. - 7/12/11

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  • Tried this in the crockpot. I think I will try it this way next time. - 6/29/11

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  • I agree with the general consensus here...a great starting recipe to play, tweak and add to. - 6/27/11

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  • I actually added brocolli in with the chicken as it was cooking. I had a little trouble with segmenting the oranges, and finally gave up, and added some mandarin oranges instead. - 6/23/11

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  • tried it, loved it. Now the recipe is in my box - 6/21/11

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  • This was very good. I used two oranges that were somewhat dry and allowed the "juice" and fruit to absorb into pasta I served it on. 1/2 the pasta and a fruit. - 6/21/11

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  • great - 6/20/11

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  • Incredible!
    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    thank you - 6/20/11

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  • I'm going to make this tonight! - 6/20/11

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