Orange Chicken Sauce Recipe

This orange chicken sauce is sweet, tangy, and citrusy. It contains fresh, healthy ingredients, and is made on the stovetop in under 10 minutes! Toss it with chicken, beef, shrimp, or roasted cauliflower. 

A solid stir fry sauce is a must when it comes to cooking meals at home. While this orange chicken sauce recipe goes perfectly with my Healthy Baked Orange Chicken, it can be used with a variety of proteins and vegetables, and gives new flavor and definition regular meals.

In fact, this my favorite stir fry sauce because it’s the perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and savory. The ingredients are simple and healthy, and you can make it ahead of time and store it in the fridge to use throughout the week. It’s also easy to double if you’ve got a bigger family!

After making this orange sauce at least 20 times in the last year, I have all the tips for how to make it in bulk and use it in stir fries!

What‘s in Orange Chicken Sauce?

Traditionally, orange sauce is made with fresh orange juice, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, and orange zest. It also includes a thickener like cornstarch or arrowroot. It’s a sauce that is associated with orange chicken, which is and Chinese-American dish created by Panda Express. The dish was actually created in the US, and is rarely found in Chinese restaurants in China.

In this recipe, I’ve made a few simple swaps to make it fresh, easy, and healthy. It’s made with fresh orange juice, unseasoned rice vinegar, coconut aminos (or soy sauce), garlic powder, dried ginger, and sweetened with coconut sugar. You can thicken it with arrowroot or cornstarch—whatever’s in your pantry!

Ingredient Notes

• Fresh orange juice – For the best flavor, use orange juice that you’ve squeezed yourself or purchase freshly squeezed juice from the store
• Coconut sugar – This is a natural sugar available at most grocery stores. It’s dark brown and has a nice maple color. Coconut sugar is sourced from the coconut palm tree.
• Unseasoned rice vinegar – Make sure to grab unseasoned rice vinegar, which doesn’t have any adding flavorings or sweeteners.
• Red pepper flakes – this is optional for kick! When I’m making this for my kids, I leave it out.
• Arrowroot flour – This is a white powdery starch extracted from the root of a tropical plant. You can find this in the baking section in most grocery stores. Arrowroot is corn free and acts similar to cornstarch as a thickener.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions

If you find yourself short, you can make a few easy swaps to make the recipe fit your needs:

• Coconut aminos: Totally fine to also use soy sauce! Low sodium works best, but either will work.
• Coconut sugar: Use brown sugar, cane sugar, or any other granulated sugar.
• Arrowroot flour: As a thickener, this can be swapped easily for corn starch.

How to Make Orange Chicken Sauce

I love how easy this recipe is! Just throw all of the ingredients into the pan, simmer, and let it cool! Here’s how to make it in four easy steps:

1. Combine: In a medium saucepan, add the orange juice, water, coconut aminos, coconut sugar, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Stir until combined. Bring the sauce to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and let it cook for 2 minutes. 

2. Thicken: In a separate bowl, whisk the arrowroot and water together. Add the arrowroot mixture to the sauce and stir well. Simmer the sauce until it starts to thicken, about 5-7 minutes.

3. Toss: Remove the pan from the heat and let the sauce cool. Toss immediately with cooked chicken, beef, or roasted vegetables, or store it in a sealable glass container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Cooking Tips

• While I love using fresh oranges for the juice, you can purchase freshly squeezed bottled orange juice from the grocery store and get the same result.
• This recipe can be cooked up in a small 1.5 quart saucepan.
• Want to make this recipe more spicy? Start with the ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, and add a pinch more at a time to taste.
• This recipe is easy to double! When doubling the recipe, you’ll get 1 ½ cups of sauce. You can split the recipe in half and store the extra in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• When using this sauce, you can use sesame seeds or diced green onion as a garnish.

Recipe FAQs

How to Use The Sauce

• Use it as a dipping sauce for spring rolls or nuggets
• Toss and coat cooked protein, including chicken, beef, or seafood!
• Toss it with noddles, like rice noodles
• Pour it over steamed or roasted veggies
• Use it as a stir fry sauce

Stir Fry Instructions

You can toss orange sauce with cooked chicken, beef, shrimp, or roasted cauliflower, or drizzle it on top of rice or steamed or roasted vegetables. You can also use it as a stir fry sauce! Here’s how to use it in a stir fry:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add 1 pound of protein (thinly sliced beef, cubed chicken breast or thighs, or peeled and deveined shrimp) and cook until browned and just cooked through. Remove the protein from the pan and transfer to a clean plate.
3. Add 1 more tablespoon of oil and 4-5 cups of raw cut up vegetables to the pan. I like to do freshly diced onion, broccoli florets, sliced bell peppers, sliced mushrooms, chopped asparagus, or snow peas. Stir fry until crisp-tender, about 4-5 minutes.
4. Return the protein back to the pan and add the sauce (about ¾ to 1 cup). Stir until everything is evenly coated and continue to cook until the sauce thickens, about 2-3 minutes.

Storage and Freezing

STORE: The best part about this sauce? You can make it ahead of time and use it for weeks! If you’re not using the sauce immediately, transfer it to an airtight glass container and store it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

FREEZE: Place the sauce in a freezer-safe airtight container and store it in freezer for up to three months.

More Healthy Dinners

• Healthy Orange Chicken
• Homemade Healthy Sloppy Joes
• Healthy Chicken Tikka Masala
• Paleo Chicken Tenders
• Garlic Butter Steak Bites and Potatoes

Recipe by: Noelle Tarr / Coconuts and Kettlebells | Photography by: Casey Colodny / The Mindful Hapa