Juicy chunks of chicken coated in a sweet and tangy orange sauce are served over broccoli rice (yes, broccoli as rice!) in this simple but filling recipe. Orange chicken bowls are a healthier take on the classic takeout dish, and they’re great for meal prepping on busy weeks.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“This recipe was SO delicious. Thank you for sharing and will definitely make it again.” -Chandra, FoodieCrush reader
Ditch the Takeout Menu and Make This Healthier Orange Chicken at Home
This orange chicken and rice (not white rice, silly, BROCCOLI RICE!) meal-in-a-bowl recipe comes from the new cookbook Nourishing Superfood Bowls: 75 Healthy and Delicious Gluten Free Meals to Fuel Your Day from my fellow food loving recipe maker and AASDN-certified nutrition specialist Lindsay Cotter, the creator of the gluten-free cooking blog Cotter Crunch where she shares always healthy, gluten-free, and mostly paleo recipes.
Leafing through the book to choose a recipe to share, I knew anything with chicken would be popular with my clan, but the easy way to meal prep it is what was popular with me.
If you haven’t tried meal prep yet, these chicken and broccoli rice bowls should totally be your gateway drug to join the rest of us in our winning, cooking ways.
Enjoy!
Heidi’s Meal Prep Tips
Easy meal prep is the strategic key that fits into just about every eating plan for any day of the week (lunches too). Some think they don’t have the time to set aside to meal prep, because why would you do things twice?
Here’s why: BECAUSE IT SAVES FRIGGING TIME, PEOPLE! Getting a few things chopped, mixed, and even cooked ahead of time will totally save in the long run.
Meal prep tip #1: The orange marinade can be made and mixed with the chicken the day before, then baked or grilled when you’re ready to eat.
Meal prep tip #2: Grill or bake the chicken ahead of time, and dinner is ready when you are. (Add the oranges to the grill or oven and roast for even more sweetness.)
Meal prep tip #3: While you could try and chop the broccoli to this fine consistency, whizzing in a food processor until fine, to me, is the way to go.
Meal prep tip #4: Assemble the ingredients in a bowl and drizzle with extra orange marinade (that never came into contact with the raw chicken) and toss with fresh herbs because that’s what makes it all so good.
What’s in This Recipe?
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Orange marinade — The marinade is a sweet, savory, and tangy combination of Asian-inspired ingredients like fresh orange slices, orange marmalade, chili garlic sauce, lime juice, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and a few choice spices.
- Chicken — I prefer using boneless skinless chicken breasts, but you could absolutely use chicken thighs. I bet ground chicken would work too, but you’d have to play around with drizzling the orange sauce over top of the meat as it cooks rather than marinating it.
- Broccoli rice — Lindsay provides step-by-step instructions on how to make your own using fresh broccoli florets and a little sesame oil, but I’ve spied pre-made broccoli and cauliflower rice in the frozen section of my local grocery store, too.
- Toppings — Red chili flakes, toasted sesame seeds, and grilled orange slices are a must for me.
Heidi’s Tip: I added a whole tablespoon more sesame oil to the broccoli rice than Lindsay’s original recipe, so add according to your own tastebuds, like so many other recipes out there!
How to Make Orange Chicken Bowls
- Make the orange chicken marinade. It’s a simple blender marinade that gets whizzed together in less than 5 minutes. The combination of fresh orange slices and sweet orange marmalade really drive home the orange flavor, while the soy sauce and lime provide saltiness and tang to balance out all the natural sweetness.
- Marinate the chicken. Lindsay makes meal prep fast and easy with a quick 20-minute marinade.
- Cook the chicken. Depending on the time of year, I’ll either bake the chicken for 20 minutes at 425ºF or I’ll grill it over high heat for 25(ish) minutes.
- Make the broccoli rice. I suggest doing this while the chicken is cooking to save time. The broccoli is steamed in the microwave, then blitzed in a food processor to make it into “rice.”
- Serve. Pile the orange chicken over the broccoli rice, garnish as desired, and dig in!
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.
Kickin’ Orange Chicken Bowls Recipe
Ingredients
Orange Chicken
- ½ cup peeled mandarin orange slices , plus more for garnishing or topping
- 2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce (or Sriracha)
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 3 tablespoons sweet orange marmalade
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic , pressed or minced
- ⅓ chopped red onion or shallot , plus more for garnishing
- 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- ¼ cup avocado oil (or olive oil)
- 3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce*
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
Broccoli Rice
- 1 pound broccoli florets , blended or blitzed fine in the food processor
- 1-3 tablespoons sesame oil to taste
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Toppings
- Fresh or grilled mandarin orange slices
- Crushed red chili flakes
- Fresh basil or cilantro
- Tamari or soy sauce*
Instructions
- Make the marinade. Blend the orange slices, chili sauce, lime juice, orange marmalade, salt, pepper, garlic, onion, and rice wine vinegar in a blender or food processor until mixed well. Add the olive oil and tamari or soy sauce and blend again until creamy.
- Marinate the chicken. Place the chicken breasts in a large bowl or gallon freezer bag and pour over the marinade jsut to cover, reserving ½ cup or more for using as a dressing for the bowls. Refrigerate the chicken for 20 minutes or overnight.
- Cook the chicken. Preheat the oven to 425°F or the grill to high heat. If baking, bake the chicken for 20-25 minutes and set the oven to broil for the last minute or two of baking.If grilling, place the chicken breasts on the hot grill. Cover and cook for 10 minutes then flip the chicken and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off one side of the grill and move the chicken to the other side and cook for 10 more minutes or until the breasts have an internal temperature of 165 degrees. The length of cooking time will depend on the thickness of the breasts. Remove from the grill and allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
- Make the broccoli rice. Steam the blitzed broccoli in a microwave-safe bowl with sesame oil for 45 seconds. Toss and taste before adding more sesame oil to taste. Top with the sesame seeds and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve. Divide the broccoli rice among the bowls, then add the chicken, fresh or grilled orange slices and garnish with lime, red chili flakes, and fresh cilantro or basil. Drizzle with the reserved sauce and eat up.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Variations
- Swap the orange chicken for chili crisp salmon, teriyaki chicken, sesame shrimp, sriracha meatballs, or another favorite Asian-inspired protein.
- Use my master Asian marinade recipe instead of the orange chicken marinade.
- Instead of broccoli rice, serve the orange chicken over cauliflower rice, cilantro lime rice, white rice, or fried rice.
- Sub in regular rice and serve the orange chicken with sesame broccoli or Asian broccolini for a slightly different take on this recipe.
More Chicken Bowl Ideas That Work for Meal Prep
- Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowls
- Master Buddha Bowl Recipe
- Mediterranean Chicken Quinoa Bowls
- Tex-Mex Chicken and Guac Bowls
- Vietnamese Chicken and Rice Noodle Bowls
More Orange Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
Check out more of Lindsay’s recipes on her recipe blog Cotter Crunch and buy her cookbook here.
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Chandra
This recipe was SO delicious. Thank you for sharing and will definitely make it again.
Glad you enjoyed!
Kim
The 5 Stars is from me! My guy was not quite so thrilled, but he did eat everything on his plate. Every, single bit. (Midwestern farm kid – he was probably hoping for beef last night.) We both loved the broccoli rice, and I am already thinking of places I can make that instead of cauliflower rice just to change things up a bit. Very yummy chicken and not at all difficult to make. Thank you for this!
Happy you enjoyed Kim!
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Stefanie Valencia
looks delicius i want to try. thank you for sharing
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Enjoy! Thanks Stefanie!
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A very good recipe. I want to try other recipes. Awaited other information. Thank you
Hid
Hi what can I use instead of the rice wine vinegar?
dannie
I think the use of broccoli rice balls will kill the chicken flavour.
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Love the marinade for this recipe! I was unsure about the broccoli rice, but the sauce makes this dish. Thanks for the recipe! This is my new favorite orange chicken recipe.
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