Following a gluten-free and keto diet doesn't have to be boring! This takeout fake-out Keto Orange Chicken recipe is just as good as the original. It has tender chicken in a crispy crust coated in a flavorful orange sauce that's to die for!
You no longer have to miss out on your favorite takeout!
This gluten-free, paleo and keto orange chicken recipe will knock your socks right off people!!!
The chicken is tender in a crispy crust and coated in a to-die-for orange sauce.
Plus, not only is it allergy and diet-friendly, but it tastes just as good as the original - if not better!
Can orange chicken be made egg-free?
Yes, it can!
I had lots of trials where the breading just slid right off, but soaking the chicken in a homemade non-dairy buttermilk mixture did the trick.
The egg-free version isn’t quite as crispy, but it's still very good!
Is orange juice keto?
Surprisingly, orange juice only has 1.6 carbs per tablespoon! This isn't much more than lemon juice or lime juice!
Don't get me wrong, I don't recommend downing orange juice because those carbs will add up quickly! However, if you just use a little bit to cook with, it can easily be incorporated into a keto diet.
The chicken
For the chicken, we're basically starting with a version of my Keto Chicken Nugget recipe.
Chop up 2 lbs. of chicken into bite-sized pieces. Be sure the all the pieces are the same size so they will have the same cooking time.
I like to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs because I think the chicken turns out more tender. However, chicken breasts will work too.
Breading the chicken
For the breading, crush around 3oz (1 regular-sized bag) of pork rinds.
I like to pour them in a plastic baggie and crush them with a rolling pin, but a mallet or anything flat and hard will work!
You can also place them in a dry blender or food processor and blend until they're finely crushed.
Be sure the pork rinds are very finely crushed. If they’re not, they won’t stick to the chicken very well.
Add 1/2 Cup of blanched almond flour to the pork rinds, along with some salt and pepper and mix well.
Add the chicken pieces to a baggie and coat the chicken evenly with the pork rind/flour mixture.
If you’re nut-free, replace the almond flour with additional crushed pork rinds.
In a large, shallow bowl, whisk together 3 eggs and set aside.
If you’re egg-free, add the chicken to a large plastic baggie or container. Add some non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar. Seal the baggie and allow to rest in the fridge for 1 to 3 hours before breading.
Using tongs, dredge each piece of chicken in the egg mixture then the pork rind mixture. Set aside on a plate.
Please don’t skip this step! I’ve tried breading the chicken pieces as I fry them and it was a disaster! All the chicken gets done cooking at different times all while I’m trying to bread new pieces. Talk about stressful!
Cooking the chicken
Add some avocado oil to a medium to large-sized pan over medium heat.
Once hot, add as many nuggets as will comfortably fit and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until nicely browned and cooked through.
The oil is good for 2 batches. After that, you’ll need to start with new oil or the chicken will taste burned.
Set aside on a paper-towel-lined plate to drain off any excess oil.
Keto Orange Sauce
In a small bowl, mix together the zest of 1 orange, a small amount of orange juice, ginger, rice or white wine vinegar, pepper, coconut aminos (or gluten-free soy sauce), sweetener, sesame oil, sugar-free ketchup, and chicken broth.
For the ketchup, I love Primal Kitchen and Tessamae’s, both are Keto & Whole30. However, any sugar-free ketchup will work.
While the ketchup is optional and isn't a typical ingredient in orange sauce, it adds a lot of flavor. So I don't recommend skipping it!
Add the mixture to a skillet or saucepan and bring to a boil. I prefer to rinse out the pan I fried the chicken in and re-use it so I don't dirty another pan. But do whatever works for you!
Then, add some xanthan gum to the sauce while whisking vigorously until thickened.
Add the fried chicken to the orange sauce and stir to coat.
Then, serve the keto orange chicken with cauliflower rice and garnish with green onions.
For the cauliflower rice, I like to add some coconut aminos (or gluten-free soy sauce), sauteed onion and garlic, and 2 scrambled eggs to make cauliflower fried rice.
DE-lish!
How to thicken sauces with xanthan gum
Xanthan gum will clump if you just dump it into the sauce! Because of this, you need to very lightly and slowly sprinkle the xanthan gum into the sauce while whisking vigorously! The sauce will thicken in as little as 20 to 30 seconds.
There may be a few tiny clumps when whisking in xanthan gum. Simply remove the clumps or leave them - it's no big deal.
Or, you can transfer the sauce to a blender and blend on low while slowly sprinkling in the xanthan gum. If using a blender, the xanthan gum shouldn't clump at all.
The sauce doesn't need to be hot to thicken. The trick to xanthan gum is to slowly add it while vigorously whisking or blending. This will cause the sauce to thicken nicely.
The sweetener
Traditional orange chicken is fairly sweet. While we won't need a lot of sweetener because the orange juice adds sweetness, we still need to add a little.
For this recipe, any keto sweetener will work. However, erythritol-based sweeteners don't dissolve as well as other sweeteners. So if you using erythritol, make sure it's powdered.
*Note-As a gift to my readers, I've teamed up with BESTI KETO SWEETENERS to give you guys 10% off! Simply use the code "CRAVEABLE" at checkout.
Paleo
If you're Paleo, simply use arrowroot or tapioca flour to thicken the sauce instead of xanthan gum and use honey instead of a keto sweetener.
💭 Top tips
- For the sweetener, any keto sweetener will work. However, erythritol-based sweeteners don't dissolve as well as other sweeteners. So if you using erythritol, make sure it's powdered.
- As a gift to my readers, I've teamed up with BESTI KETO SWEETENERS to give you guys 10% off! Simply use the code "CRAVEABLE" at checkout.
- Xanthan gum will clump if you just dump it into the sauce! Because of this, you need to very lightly and slowly sprinkle the xanthan gum into the sauce while whisking vigorously! The sauce will thicken in as little as 20 to 30 seconds. There may be a few tiny clumps when whisking in xanthan gum. Simply remove the clumps or leave them - it's no big deal. Or, you can transfer the sauce to a blender and blend on low while slowly sprinkling in the xanthan gum. If using a blender, the xanthan gum shouldn't clump at all.
- For the ketchup, I love Primal Kitchen and Tessamae’s, both are Keto & Whole30. However, any sugar-free ketchup will work. While the ketchup is optional, it adds a lot of flavor. So I don't recommend skipping it!
- Please don’t skip breading the chicken before frying! I’ve tried breading the chicken pieces as I fry them and it was a disaster! All the chicken gets done cooking at different times all while I’m trying to bread the new chicken. Talk about stress!
- If you’re nut-free, replace the almond flour with additional crushed pork rinds.
- I like to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs because I think the chicken turns out more tender. However, chicken breasts will work too.
- If you’re egg-free, add the chicken to a large plastic baggie or container. Add some 1 cup of non-dairy milk and 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar. Seal the baggie and allow to rest in the fridge for 1 to 3 hours before breading. The egg-free version isn’t quite as crispy but still very good!
Looking for similar keto, paleo, & gluten-free recipes?
Check out my Teriyaki Chicken, Beef and Broccoli, and Sweet And Sour Chicken recipes! Or if Vegan is more you thing, check out Vegetarian Mamma's Vegan Thai Lettuce Wraps!
If you’ve tried this Keto Orange Chicken or any other recipe on the blog please let me know in the comments below!
Craving more? FOLLOW ME on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, or E-Mail to see more delicious food and find out what I’ve been up to!
📖 Recipe
Keto Orange Chicken {Paleo & Gluten-Free}
Ingredients
- 2 Lbs. Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs (preferred) or Breasts cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup Blanched Almond Flour or additional pork rinds for nut-free
- 3 oz. Pork Rinds very finely crushed
- 1 tsp. Sea Salt
- 1/4 tsp. Ground Pepper
- 3 Large Eggs
- 1/3 cup Avocado Oil + more as needed
- Fried Cauliflower Rice optional, for serving. See link in notes
Keto Orange Sauce:
- 1 cup Chicken Broth
- 2 - 4 Tbsp Keto Sweetener (to taste) or preferred sweetener, see notes below
- 1/4 cup Orange Juice
- Zest of 1 Orange
- 1/4 tsp. Ground Ginger
- up to 1/4 tsp. Ground Red Pepper to taste
- 1/4 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Tbsp. White Wine Vinegar Or Rice Vinegar optional
- 2 Cloves Garlic minced
- 1/4 cup Coconut Aminos or gluten-free soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp. Sesame Oil
- 1 Tbsp. Ketchup optional, see notes below
- 3/4 tsp. Xanthan Gum or tapioca for paleo, see notes below
Instructions
- Place the pork rinds in a large resealable baggie. Seal, removing as much air as possible. Crush with a rolling pin or mallet until very finely ground. Alternatively, you can crush them in a food processor or very dry blender. Depending on the size of your food processor or blender, you might need to process them in batches. Set aside.
- Cut chicken into 1-inch cubes.
- In a shallow mixing bowl, combine the pork rinds, almond flour, sea salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- In a separate large shallow mixing bowl, whisk the eggs.
- Use tongs to dredge the chicken in the eggs. Then, dredge chicken in the pork rind mixture and set aside on a plate.
- Pour the avocado oil into a medium/large skillet (oil should be around 1/4-inch deep, I prefer using a cast iron skillet) and heat over medium heat.
- Once heated, add as many chicken pieces as will comfortably fit into the hot oil.
- Fry 3-4 minutes per side or until golden and cooked through. Set aside on a paper-towel-lined plate and repeat until all chicken is cooked. *Note-The oil is only good for 2 batches. After that, you'll need to start with new oil or the chicken will taste burned.
- Add the chicken to the keto orange sauce and toss to combine. Serve with fried cauliflower rice.
Keto Orange Sauce:
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the chicken broth, sweetener, orange juice, orange zest, ginger, red pepper, black pepper, white wine or rice vinegar, garlic, coconut aminos, sesame oil, and ketchup.
- In a medium-sized skillet (I rinse out and use the same one I fried the chicken in), add the orange sauce and heat over medium heat until heated through.
- Very slowly sprinkle in the xanthan gum while whisking vigorously until sauce is thickened. Alternatively, you can place the sauce in a food processor or blender and blend on low while slowly adding the xanthan gum.
Notes
- Each serving is approximately 5 pieces of chicken, assuming the recipe made 40 altogether.
- For the sweetener, any keto sweetener will work. However, erythritol-based sweeteners don't dissolve as well as other sweeteners. So if you using erythritol, make sure it's powdered.
- As a gift to my readers, I've teamed up with BESTI KETO SWEETENERS to give you guys 10% off! Simply use the code "CRAVEABLE" at checkout.
- Xanthan gum will clump if you just dump it into the sauce! Because of this, you need to very lightly and slowly sprinkle the xanthan gum into the sauce while whisking vigorously! The sauce will thicken in as little as 20 to 30 seconds. There may be a few tiny clumps when whisking in xanthan gum. Simply remove the clumps or leave them - it's no big deal. Or, you can transfer the sauce to a blender and blend on low while slowly sprinkling in the xanthan gum. If using a blender, the xanthan gum shouldn't clump at all.
- For the ketchup, I love Primal Kitchen and Tessamae’s, both are Keto & Whole30. However, any sugar-free ketchup will work. While the ketchup is optional, it adds a lot of flavor. So I don't recommend skipping it!
- I like to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs because I think the chicken turns out more tender. However, chicken breasts will work too.
- For Paleo, use honey as the sweetener and replace the xanthan gum with tapioca or arrowroot flour. To thicken with tapioca or arrowroot, mix 1 1/2 Tbsp with 2 Tbsp of cold water in a small bowl. Bring the sauce to a boil. Then, add to the sauce and stir until thickened.
- Don't try to bread the nuggets as you fry them - it will be a disaster! Save yourself the headache and bread the chicken before you start frying.
- If you’re egg-free, add the chicken to a large plastic baggie or container. Add some 1 cup of non-dairy milk and 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar. Seal the baggie and allow to rest in the fridge for 1 to 3 hours before breading. The egg-free version isn’t quite as crispy but still very good!
- Serve with cauliflower rice and garnish with green onions. For the cauliflower rice, I like to add some coconut aminos (or gluten-free soy sauce), sauteed onion and garlic, and 2 scrambled eggs to make cauliflower fried rice.
Nutritional information is approximate and may vary.
Looking for more information on the keto diet? Check out these resources:
We loved this! I did some tweaks for my tastes,but the whole family was loving it! -First, I added garlic powder to the breading.
-In stead of keeping the eggs separate, I mixed them with about half of the coating and some coconut aminos to make a batter. Stirred all the chicken in, then coated in the dry.
-I added 2 or 3 tablespoons ketchup to increase the umami.
-next time I will use less tapioca to thicken the sauce, it was very thick for us.
- I put the chicken in a bowl and spooned some sauce to toss it with....we have enough leftover sauce to make this again, yay!
YYYAAYY Tessa!!! I'm happy you liked it! Next time I'll have to try it using your tweaks 🙂 🙂
We should be neighbors so we can share and create together!
That would be AWESOME and so much fun!!!
I love the cauliflower fried rice, always think that cauliflower is the unsung hero of the veggie world. Cool recipe!
Thanks Laura - I love cauliflower too, it's so versatile!
Thanks Cassidy, this looks amazing!
Thanks Hannah, we loved it - hope you do too 🙂