This healthy air fryer orange chicken is crispy, saucy, and better than takeout, plus it's super easy since we use simple ingredients. We'll show you how to make it lower carb too, without cornstarch!
🌟 What You Need to Know
If you love take-out but want a healthier version at home, this air fryer healthy orange chicken is a must-try. It's become our go-to whenever the craving hits, especially since we started tracking macros and eating lighter overall.
Once we tested this air fryer version… we were completely hooked and we haven't ordered takeout at all since this is so much better!
The chicken gets perfectly crispy in the air fryer and it's coated in a thick, sticky-sweet orange sauce that'll have you licking the spoon. It's made with real orange juice, a touch of natural sweetener, and simple pantry staples to keep it healthier than takeout.
The recipe is dairy free, low carb, gluten free when you use tamari sauce instead of soy, and refined sugar free when you use coconut sugar or golden monk fruit as your sweetener.
Make a complete Asian inspired healthy dinner with our air fryer crispy egg rolls or our low carb cauliflower fried rice.
Ingredients list
- Chicken: It's fine to use chicken thighs instead of boneless skinless chicken breasts.
- Corn starch: Helps to get the chicken extra crisp. Arrowroot powder is a great 1:1 low carb option.
- Sea salt & Freshly ground black pepper
- Garlic minced garlic, jar, or frozen Dorot cubes are great.
- Sesame oil
- Soy sauce: Use low-sodium soy sauce, coconut aminos, or gluten-free tamari sauce.
- Orange juice: Fresh orange juice will give you the best flavor. For more orange flavor, add orange zest to the orange sauce.
- Chicken broth
- Golden sweetener: Brown sugar, coconut sugar, or use golden golden monk fruit for lower carb.
- Olive oil spray: I used olive oil cooking spray but you can use avocado oil, coconut oil spray, or your preferred vegetable oil spray.
- Garnishes (optional): Sesame seeds and sliced green onions.
** Please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the exact quantities **
How to Cook Orange Chicken in an Air Fryer
Marinate The Chicken
Add the chicken pieces and marinade ingredients to a bowl. Cover and place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
Make the breading
Remove the chicken from the marinade and add it to a Zilpock bag with the corn starch (or arrowroot powder). Close the bag and shake it until the chicken pieces are well coated. Using tongs, put the chicken pieces in the air fryer basket in a single layer.
Spray the chicken on all sides with olive oil or canola oil cooking spray.
Cooking time & temp
Air fry the chicken for 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees F until it turns crispy and golden brown, turning it halfway through cooking.
Make the orange sauce
Whisk the orange sauce ingredients together. In a small saucepan, simmer it over medium heat.
Combine water and cornstarch to make a slurry, add it to the orange sauce, and whisk to combine. Saute until it starts to thicken. Set aside.
Transfer the crispy chicken to a medium bowl and toss it in the orange sauce.
Serve the orange chicken over rice or cauliflower rice, you can garnish it with sesame seeds and sliced green onions. Enjoy!
Jenn's Tips
- Avoid overcrowding the air fryer basket, and cook the chicken in batches. Overcrowding will result in soggy chicken pieces.
- A pinch of red pepper flakes can be added to increase the heat
- Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. Crisp the chicken back up by reheating it in your air fryer.
More healthy air fryer chicken recipes
FAQs
Can I make air fryer orange chicken without cornstarch?
Yes! You can easily skip the cornstarch to make this a low carb orange chicken. The chicken will still get nicely browned and crispy in the air fryer-just be sure to spray it lightly with oil. You can also use a low carb alternative like arrowroot starch or simply go without a coating.
How do you reheat orange chicken in an air fryer?
Layer the bottom of the air fryer with foil. Add the leftover orange chicken. Reheat the orange chicken in the air fryer at 375°F for 3-5 minutes, or until warmed through and crispy. Keep a close eye on the sauce since the sugars in it can burn easily. If needed, cover the leftovers to continue heating but avoiding burning the sauce.
Is orange chicken keto?
Orange chicken is not a keto recipe because of the orange sauce and breading. Our air fryer recipe includes low carb swaps like using arrowroot powder or monkfruit for the sweetener, but the orange juice is still too high in carbs for a keto diet.
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Recipe
Easy Air Fryer Orange Chicken (Best Healthy Recipe)
Equipment
- Tongs
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds Boneless skinless chicken breasts cubed
Chicken Marinade Ingredient
- 2 tablespoons Cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
- 3 cloves Minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon Sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon Soy sauce or wheat-free tamari sauce
Breading Ingredients
- ⅔ cups Cornstarch
- Olive oil cooking spray
Orange Sauce Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Soy sauce or wheat-free tamari sauce
- 1 cup Fresh orange juice
- ¼ cup Chicken stock
- ½ cup Brown sugar coconut sugar or golden monk fruit
- 1 tablespoon of Cornstarch
- ¼ cup hot water
- Sesame seeds and sliced green onions for garnish
Instructions
Marinate the chicken
- Add the chicken cubes, 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch, salt, black pepper, garlic, sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce (or tamari sauce) to a medium sized bowl.
- Cover the bowl and put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes up to 24 hours.
Air fry
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 F.
- Add ⅔ cup of cornstarch and the chicken pieces to a Ziplock bag and add the chicken pieces to it. Close and shake the bag until all the pieces are evenly coated.
- Using tongs, transfer the meat to the air fryer basket in a single layer. Spritz the chicken pieces with olive oil or cooking spray.
- Air fry for 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until they turn crispy and golden brown (and they're cooked through to 165 F), turning halfway through cooking.
Make the orange sauce
- While the chicken is air frying, heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in 2 tablespoon of soy sauce (or tamari sauce), orange juice, chicken broth, and the sweetener. Stir occasionally until it comes to a simmer.
- Combine the hot water with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to make a cornstarch slurry. Add it to the orange sauce and whisk it to combine. Set the sauce aside once it begins to thicken.
Serving
- Transfer the crispy chicken to a bowl and toss them in the orange chicken sauce until each piece is evenly coated.
- Serve the chicken over rice or cauliflower rice and garnish it with sesame seeds and sliced green onions. Enjoy!
Notes
- Leftovers will keep 3-4 days in the fridge. Reheat it in the air fryer to get the chicken crispy again, keep a close eye on it so the sauce doesn't burn.
- Feel free to use chicken thighs instead of cubed chicken breast.
- Lower carb option: use arrowroot powder instead of corn starch and use golden monk fruit instead of brown sugar/coconut sugar.
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