Recipe: Healthy Orange Chicken (Gluten-Free)

This gluten-free orange chicken recipe is so easy and quick to make, requiring ingredients you probably already have laying around in your kitchen.

I used to love the unhealthy American version of Chinese food: deep-fried in batter (which is why gluten-free Chinese food is hard to come by) and slathered in sauce. Now, my body just can’t tolerate it—though that hardly stops it from craving those delicious sweet and savory combinations.

Our healthy orange chicken recipe means that you can fulfill your Chinese food craving without the guilt and post-meal stomach ache.

Give it a try over a bed of low-carb cauliflower fried rice and veggies and your whole family will enjoy it! Plus you’ll be able to keep the whole meal gluten free if that is your preference.

Ingredients for healthy orange chicken:

• chicken
• orange juice (and zest)
• broth (chicken or bone)
• tamari or coconut aminos (gluten-free!)
• ginger
• honey
• sriracha
• arrowroot powder (gluten free)

How to make gluten-free orange chicken:

To keep this orange chicken gluten free, we use tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. It may be surprising, but many soy sauces contain gluten.

To thicken the sauce, we use arrowroot powder. Arrowroot powder is an all-natural starch used to thicken sauces. Most grocery stores with a big natural foods section should carry it. I prefer arrowroot because it’s the most easily digested of all the starches (tapioca, corn, potato), so it is better for people who have gut sensitivity/permeability. It also has more dietary fiber And just a tip to follow the directions closely: be sure to add the arrowroot BEFORE your mixture is hot. It will clump if you add it directly to something hot.

What can I use instead of arrowroot powder?

If you don’t have arrowroot powder or would prefer not to buy it, you can also use corn starch which is also gluten-free. If you can tolerate gluten and don’t want to use corn starn or arrowroot powder, a bit of flour can do the trick as well.

How to serve this healthy orange chicken recipe:

We love to serve this healthy orange chicken with broccoli and rice. Its’s the perfect way to round out a gluten free Chinese food dinner. You can buy steam-in-bag frozen broccoli that just take a few minutes to zap in the microwave. Serve it on the side or mix it in with your chicken to get that yummy orange sauce all over it.

Make a side of rice on the stove, or we love to use our Instant Pot to make rice. A quick Instant Pot rice method:

• Rinse 2 cups jasmine rice in a fine-mesh strainer until liquid runs clear
• Add to bowl of instant pot
• Pour in 2 cups water, a pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil
• Set the Instant Pot to the manual function and set for 5 minutes
• Once the timer goes off, allow to naturally release for 10 minutes (just let it sit until it counts up to 10)
• Quick pressure release and fluff with a fork

This healthy and gluten-free orange chicken recipe is the perfect easy weeknight dinner and will be a recipe you’ll want to make again and again!