Introduction to Orange Chicken
Orange chicken is sweet, tangy, and juicy making it the perfect flavor bomb dish for any night of the week. Asian recipes are a staple in many households, and orange chicken is one of the most popular dishes. However, traditional orange chicken is not keto-friendly due to the breading and sweet sauce.
Can You Eat Orange Chicken on Keto?
Normal orange chicken is not keto-friendly. Takeout orange chicken is breaded and coated in a sweet orange sauce that traditionally contains a lot of sugar. Each serving of takeout orange chicken can have 19 grams of sugar in just five ounces of food. That is why a keto version of orange chicken is made with a gluten and carb-free breading, as well as a sugar-free orange sauce.
Are Oranges Keto?
Even though oranges are a fruit and loaded with vitamin C, they are not 100% keto-approved. Depending on the portion you have, you can still enjoy a little orange and stay in ketosis. However, the amount of juice should be limited to prevent consuming too much sugar. The keto orange chicken recipe uses the juice of half an orange, which is about 4.5 grams of carbs and 3.5 grams of sugar. Split between 6 servings, there are only 0.75 grams of carbs coming from the orange in each portion.
Sugar Free Orange Chicken
This keto orange chicken recipe is special because not only is it gluten-free, but it’s also added sugar-free. Most of the time when you go to an Asian restaurant, their orange chicken pieces are coated in orange juice and a ton of extra added refined sugar. Per serving of normal orange chicken, there are 51 grams of carbs and 19 grams of sugar. Thankfully, to make this keto orange chicken recipe, a low-carb sugar substitute is used that is zero net carbs per serving.
Gluten Free Keto Orange Chicken
Flour and gluten aren’t allowed on a keto diet, which is why a keto low-carb breading is created. This recipe uses coconut flour and crushed pork rinds to make a crispy and light low-carb breading. This recipe doesn’t call for soy sauce, but if you are munching on some keto sushi while cooking, you’ll want to check that you use gluten-free soy sauce too.
Healthy Orange Chicken Breading Options
If you don’t have or like coconut flour breading, you can always use an unflavored whey protein powder. It makes for light and crispy fried chicken and pairs great with the keto orange sauce. If you don’t have a good protein powder, you can use finely milled almond flour as an option too. Just know it may not stick as well.
Chicken Breasts vs Thighs
When making breaded chicken, you will have to decide whether you want chicken thighs or chicken breast. Personally, chicken breast is preferred more than boneless chicken thighs in this recipe, but it is all up to you. Chicken thighs will still taste amazing with the gluten-free fresh orange juice sauce and green onions, it will just have a little more fat and calories.
How to Make The Perfect Keto Orange Chicken
To make this keto orange chicken, you will need chicken breasts cubed into chicken pieces. You will also need pork rinds, coconut flour, MCT oil powder, black pepper, salt, and coconut for frying and breading the chicken. To make the orange sauce, you will want an orange, garlic, ginger, coconut oil, and a low-carb sugar substitute.
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts cubed into chicken pieces
- Pork rinds
- Coconut flour
- MCT oil powder
- Black pepper
- Salt
- Coconut for frying and breading the chicken
- Orange
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Coconut oil
- Low-carb sugar substitute
Making Keto Orange Chicken
- Fry Chicken: Combine the pork rinds, coconut flour, and black pepper (and optionally MCT oil powder) in a blender or food processor and pulse until it has made a fine powder. Shake this mix out into a medium bowl.
- Pat your chicken breasts dry and then cut them into small cubes about ½ inch pieces. Sprinkle with salt and set aside.
- Add oil for frying into the large skillet, about 2 tablespoons. Toss a handful of chicken cubes in the pork rind mix, shake off excess and add then into the skillet. Make sure the pieces aren’t crowding the skillet, you will have to cook them in batches. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until browned then use tongs to turn them over and cook another 3 minutes, until amber brown.
- Remove from the skillet and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Add in the next batch of chicken and repeat until all of the chicken is done.
- Make the sauce: Heat a small sauce pot over medium-high heat. Add coconut oil and erythritol to the small sauce pot and stir to combine.
- Using a zester, zest the whole orange (should yield about 1 tablespoon), and the garlic cloves and ginger into a small bowl and set aside. Cut the orange in half.
- Once the sweetener has dissolved, lower the heat to medium and add in the orange zest mix, then squeeze half the orange juice into the sauce pot as well. Stir well and let it come to a simmer, let it simmer while you finish cooking the chicken. Stir it occasionally. Once it is thick and glaze-like remove it from the heat.
- Transfer the chicken to a serving platter or bowl. Pour the orange glaze all over it, sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired and enjoy! This is great over greens or cauliflower rice!
How to Serve Orange Chicken
Our keto orange chicken sauce is unbeatable and sure to wow any dinner guests you may invite. It’s packed with fresh squeezed orange juice, fresh/ ground ginger, and orange peel for the ultimate citrus flavor. This means the orange flavor will be strong with minimal sugar alcohols so you can load it onto keto side dishes like cauliflower rice, lettuce, or steamed and buttered vegetables.
Storing Orange Chicken
Now that we’ve made orange chicken keto, you’re sure to be wondering, how do I store this crispy chicken to enjoy it every day? While it’s true fried chicken pieces won’t stay crispy once sauced, you can always store the sauce and chicken separate to air fry the chicken alone later. Once you’ve made the orange chicken keto-friendly, all you have to do is pop it into a tupperware container to cool and store in the fridge for up to a week.
Reheating
Our go-to method to reheat this delicious recipe, whether it be chicken breast or chicken thighs, is to cook it in a skillet. The hot frying pan will give the chicken a nice toasty sear. This chicken can be heated in the microwave, but it may lose some of its textural integrity. Another thing to note is that, unlike boneless skinless chicken thighs, chicken breast can dry out in the microwave if you aren’t careful.
Low Carb Chinese Food
Chinese food, and Asian takeout, in general, are always a favorite. However, it often makes us feel guilty due to the sugar sauces and carb-laden breadings used in the dishes. There is something absolutely irresistible about their perfect combination of salty and savory, meaty and fatty, juicy and fresh. That’s why keto Chinese recipes are created to be enjoyed guilt-free. Some other keto Chinese recipes you might enjoy include:
- Easy cashew chicken
- Lemon chicken
- Egg roll in a bowl
Easy Low-Carb Orange Chicken
When Chinese is on the dinner menu, you’ll be sure to find many people lingering. The best part about eating low-carb is that there is a substitute for everything. You can serve this savory dish up with some cauliflower rice, greens, or just eat it on its own. It will satisfy you no matter how you serve it, and will even make for some great leftovers! Whether you’re a Chinese food lover or not, this low-carb orange chicken is a must-make recipe!
Nutrition Facts
- Calories: 335
- Calories from Fat: 202
- Fat: 22.4g (34% DV)
- Carbohydrates: 4.6g (2% DV)
- Fiber: 3.6g (14% DV)
- Protein: 26.4g (53% DV)
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
