Easy Whole30 Chinese Orange Chicken: Paleo, Gluten-Free

This easy Whole30 Chinese orange chicken is the best takeout fake-out ever. Sometimes you just need some orange chicken in your life, and this version is much healthier and there’s no delivery fee! It’s also a Paleo orange chicken recipe, which makes it gluten free and made from real ingredients, so you can skip the MSG!

In a past life, it was not uncommon of me to order Chinese delivery at least once a week. It was my favorite go-to. I’d almost always order the orange chicken. It still remains one of my favorite flavors. Which is why I knew I needed to figure out how to make it Paleo and Whole30. This Whole30 Chinese orange chicken obviously isn’t the real thing, but, I will say, it’s a really great takeout fake-out.

When I started making this for myself and my boyfriend, he prompted me to add it to the blog to go along with the other Chinese inspired recipes I have here. It took a little refining and tweaking to get it blog ready, but hey, neither of us complained about having to eat it multiple times!

One of my favorite things to get from the local Chinese restaurant is orange chicken. The crunchy chicken with that delicious sticky glaze is completely irresistible. What I love most about this recipe is that I can eat healthy ‘takeout’ in the comfort of my own home. PJ’s and Netflix anyone?

The first step in this recipe is the crispy chicken. To keep this healthy and Whole 30 compliant, I use arrowroot starch and almond flour to coat the chicken. The arrowroot starch is also used to help thicken the sauce. It is one of my favorite pantry staples.

The sauce is super simple to make and it is packed with so much flavor. I use orange juice (fresh when in season) and orange zest to really step up that orange flavor. It also calls for coconut aminos, which is a soy sauce alternative that I love. I use it in almost all of my Asian inspired dishes.

Ingredients
Chicken

• 2 Tbls Ghee
• 2 Tbls Almond Flour
• 1/4 cup Arrowroot Starch or Tapioca Starch
• 2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Pepper
• 2 lbs Chicken Thighs cubed
• Sauce
• 5 Pitted Medjool Dates
• 1 cup Orange Juice fresh or 100% juice
• 1/2 cup Chicken Broth
• 1/4 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1 Tbls Fresh Ginger grated
• 2 cloves garlic grated
• 2 Tbls Orange Zest
• 1 tsp Chili Pepper Flakes
• 1 Tbls Coconut Aminos
• 2 Tbls Avocado Oil
• 1 bag Riced Cauliflower
• 2 cups Sugar Snap Peas or Snow Peas
• 1 Tbls Sesame Seeds
• 2 Tbls Green Onions chopped

Instructions
Chicken

1. Preheat oven to 375'
2. In a large bowl add arrowroot starch, almond flour, salt and pepper. Then toss the cubed chicken in the mixture, making sure all pieces are coated evenly
3. Melt ghee and 1 Tbls of oil in large skillet over medium heat. Use tongs to gently shake the excess mixture off of the chicken and place in the hot oil. Brown the chicken in batches and place on a baking sheet
4. Once all the chicken is browned and on the baking sheet, put it in the oven to finish cooking (about 10 minutes)
5. Sauce
6. Boil 2 cups of water, remove from heat and place the dates in the water. Let steep for 5 minutes. Put the dates in the blender or food processor with 1/2 cup of the date water and blend into a puree
7. Add the orange juice, broth, vinegar, ginger, garlic, orange zest, red pepper flakes, date puree and coconut aminos to a small saucepan 
8. Bring sauce to a bowl and then reduce to a simmer. In a small cup mix 1 tablespoon of arrowroot powder and a splash of cold water to combine and then add to the sauce. Let simmer for 2-5 minutes until thickened 
9. Once the chicken is done, pour the sauce over it and toss to coat it completely
10. To cook the cauliflower rice, heat remaining Tbls of avocado oil to a skillet over medium heat. Add in the cauliflower rice and cook until fluffy, season with salt and pepper
11. Serve the chicken over the cauliflower rice and sugar snap peas and top with the green onions and sesame seeds

Recipe Notes
*You can keep some of the sauce on the side so people can add more if they like it extra saucy