Keto Orange Chicken
Posted: 01/06/22
Updated: 12/11/24
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This keto orange chicken recipe takes the flavors and textures you love in a classic orange chicken dish but makes it low carb and sugar free. Crispy, pan-fried chicken in a light breading, smothered with a sweet orange glaze made with erythritol. As good as your favorite take-out, without the sugar!
What Makes This Recipe So Good
- Restaurant-style orange chicken is DELICIOUS, but it’s not really compatible with a keto, low carb, or sugar-free lifestyle. With this keto orange chicken, though, you’ll have a restaurant-quality chicken dish with a fraction of the carbs and none of the sugar.
- This recipe is so quick and easy, you won’t be tempted by the convenience of take-out or fast food. Instead, you can whip up a healthy, take-out-style dinner in the comfort of your kitchen in no time at all.
Key Ingredients
Coconut Flour – A lightly seasoned coconut flour gives this keto orange chicken its classic breading but keeps the dish keto-friendly and sugar free. If you can’t have coconut flour (or just don’t like it), you could use almond flour instead. You could also try crushed pork rinds for a bump in protein.
Erythritol – White sugar is a key component or a traditional orange chicken recipe. Since white sugar is a huge no-go on keto, we need something that’ll match that sweetness without all the carbs and the glycemic hit. That’s where erythritol comes in! If you prefer allulose or monk fruit, you can use those instead, but start small and adjust the sweetness to taste. They’re not necessarily a 1:1 substitute!
Chef’s Tips
- If the sauce doesn’t thicken up enough for your liking, sprinkle in just a tiny bit of xanthan gum and whisk until it thickens. Too much xanthan gum will affect the taste of the sauce and make it rubbery, so be very careful!
- To lower the carbs in this recipe even more, you can skip the breading on the chicken and just grill or pan-fry the unbreaded chicken. You’ll lose a little of that flavor and texture from the breaded chicken, but it’s faster and lower in carbs!
More Keto Recipes You MUST Try
- Keto Salsa
- Keto Creme Brûlée
- Cheesy Keto Green Beans
- Keto Sloppy Joes
- Creamy Keto Taco Soup
- Keto Big Mac Burger Salad
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Keto Orange Chicken
This keto orange chicken recipe takes the flavors and textures you love in a classic orange chicken dish but makes it low carb and sugar free. Crispy, pan-fried chicken in a light breading, smothered with a sweet orange glaze made with erythritol. As good as your favorite take-out, without the sugar!
servings
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 2 tablespoons milk of choice or heavy cream
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound chicken breasts approximately 2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
For the Orange Sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or lite tamari
- zest from one orange
- juice from ½ of one orange
- ¼ cup erythritol powdered or granulated
- ¼ cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 1-inch piece fresh ginger grated
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- coconut oil or avocado oil, for frying
- sesame seeds optional, for garnish
- chopped green onions optional, for garnish
Equipment
- 2 shallow bowls
- 2 whisks
- 1 Large skillet
- 1 Small saucepan
Instructions
- In one shallow bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. In other shallow bowl, whisk together coconut flour, salt, and black pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons coconut oil in large skillet over medium heat.
- Dip chicken pieces in egg wash and let any excess drip back into bowl. Transfer chicken pieces to coconut flour mixture and coat well. Shake off any excess coconut flour.
- Place floured chicken pieces in hot oil and pan-fry 1 to 2 minutes, or until browned. Flip chicken over and pan-fry another 1 to 2 minutes, or until browned on second side. Transfer fried chicken to plate or bowl and repeat process until all chicken pieces have been fried. Add more oil to pan as needed.
- Add all sauce ingredients to small saucepan and bring mixture to boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and let sauce simmer until thick.
- Pour sauce over fried chicken pieces and toss to coat thoroughly. Serve orange chicken warm over cauliflower rice if desired and garnish with sesame seeds and/or chopped green onions.
Notes
- To reduce the carbs even more, substitute the juice from the orange with drops of orange extract, to taste.
- Make it Gluten Free: Make sure your chicken broth doesn’t contain any gluten and use a vinegar without gluten. Any vinegar will work.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 264kcal | Protein: 33g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Total Carbs: 15g | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 5g | Net Carbs: 8g | Vitamin C: 7mg | Cholesterol: 166mg | Sodium: 1283mg | Potassium: 924mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 2mg
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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