Orange Sesame Chicken is a healthy, delicious, and quick recipe that you'll be making over and over again! It's easy and full of flavor!
Love this recipe? Try this White Wine Herb Roasted Chicken and Honey Za'atar Chicken with Chickpeas!
Happy New Year! I hope that everyone had a safe, healthy, and happy New Year. In our household? We got a bottle of Veuve Cliquot and sat on the couch with the cats and toasted to the New Year. Not gonna lie, it was actually a lot of fun. AND as soon as the ball dropped, I was lights out. I guess this is 30. lol Anyway, this morning, I woke up and decided that I wanted to take part in Healthy January. With all that's going on in the world, I figured I could at the very least draft up some healthy recipes and help contribute to others New Year Resolutions.
Speaking of delicious chicken recipes, you have to check out this Tailgate Chicken and Fresh Apricot Shallot Sheet Pan Chicken Dinner!
healthy orange sesame chicken
I didn't set any New Years resolutions this year, only goals. We'll go into that later. Back to the recipe! This Healthy Orange Sesame Chicken is so good and so easy to make. I really enjoyed making this recipe because we would always get this dish for takeout when I was a kid. A nice foreshadow to my childhood. Anyone else eat this dish from takeout? Perhaps I should've named it "Better than Takeout" but I figured "Healthy" was more on par with the season/start of the year.
This recipe for Healthy Orange Sesame Chicken is truly a treat. 1. It's really good. 2. It's easy to make. 3. It's healthy! ... squeezing in another - 4. It's quick too! You can literally have this dish done within 30 minutes. Serve it up with some broccoli and rice (or whatever you want), and boom - you've got dinner!
what is healthy orange sesame chicken made of?
This recipe contains orange juice, a little soy sauce and apple cider vinegar, sesame oil, honey, and red pepper flakes. Wholesome ingredients to keep this dish simple, easy, but full of flavor. These ingredients come together to make this Healthy Orange Sesame Chicken a recipe you'll make even when you're not on diet!
what's the difference between orange chicken and general tso's?
Okay, I wondered this for a very long time. Especially when ordering from our local takeout spot and realizing that Orange Chicken and General Tso's taste SO much alike. So, of course I did a little research. To answer plainly, General Tso's chicken tends to pack more heat and has a bit more of a ginger flavor. Orange Chicken on the other hand tends to be sweeter in flavor. However, both recipes use similar ingredients. They're also prepared similarly too.
follow-up, goals for 2020
Okay, so as I mentioned above, I wanted to discuss my goals for 2020. Hold me accountable. So, this year, I want to produce more healthy recipes. Beginning with this Healthy Orange Sesame Chicken. I also want to learn more about photography. Oh, and of course, continue to get my pages views up. (Please do share all of my recipes! Also, Please comment if you've made one of my recipes, it helps SO much!!) This is the major goal for my 2021 because I want to be able to make blogging my full time job soon. (Working full time and blogging is EXHAUSTING) This is my prayer for 2021. Of course I have some personal goals as well but I won't bore you with that.
how do you make healthy orange sesame chicken?
So, I always start by making the sauce. Combine all of the ingredients for the sauce (see the recipe card below) and bring everything to a boil. Boil for about 10-15 minutes, when the sauce has thickened, remove from the heat and set aside. Cut up four chicken breasts into cubes, season with salt. Add olive oil to a large skillet and warm over medium heat. Once the pan is nice and hot, saute chicken until it's cooked thoroughly. Pour orange sesame chicken sauce on top. That's all, you're done!
what do you serve with this recipe?
I ate this Healthy Orange Sesame Chicken recipe with broccoli and rice. I've always eaten this dish with those two sides. However, feel free to get creative. I honestly could've eaten the chicken as a meal by it's so good. Roasted Potatoes, broccoli rabe, asparagus, spinach, and quinoa would also pair exceptionally well with this recipe too. Oh! You can also try this on top of a salad. Use the orange sesame sauce as salad dressing too. It's amazing. Maybe that'll be my next recipe. A salad. Right on par with Healthy January. Hmm... stay tuned. 🙂
can i meal prep this recipe?
Absolutely! This recipe actually keeps extremely well and can last up to 5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I have already packed up this meal into meal prep containers and have everything stored away in the refrigerator. Isn't meal prepping awesome? It's truly heaven sent. Spend one day per week making a few meals, packing them up, and you don't have to cook for at least a few days? LOVE IT. Do you ever meal prep? Let me know in the comments!
watch how to make this healthy orange sesame chicken recipe below!
have we connected on social media?
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Chenée Lewis says
So excited to find an orange chicken recipe that's healthy!! This was even better than takeout and it was so easy to make!
Britney Chamberlain says
Thanks so much Chenee! I'm so glad that you enjoyed this recipe!
Jazz says
Spot on orange chicken flavor! This is our new weeknight go-to.
Tamara says
Oh my goodness! My family and I devoured this chicken! It was so juicy and tender- but the orange flavors were the most amazing! Cannot wait to make this again very soon.
Jessica says
So, first i really loved ya flavors in this recipe, but my sauce never thickened... i ended up adding in arrowroot starch at the end to get it to thicken, but wondering how you got that rich consistency without. Did I just not boil it long enough?
Britney Chamberlain says
Hi Jessica! It's possible that you didn't boil it long enough! Also, did you measure the ingredients exactly as per the recipe? If you add too much liquid, it'll take longer for the sauce to reduce. I hope that this helps! 🙂
Bonnie says
This was incredible! It was awesome to have something quick and easy to make after work. My boyfriend said he’d rather have this than takeout!
Britney Chamberlain says
No way!! I'm so happy to hear this, thanks Bonnie!