My keto orange chicken recipe features tender chicken pieces swimming in a sticky orange sauce. It’s ready in 20 minutes and tastes WAY better than Panda Express! 5 grams net carbs. 

Table of Contents

1. Why I love this recipe
2. Key Ingredients
3. How to make keto orange chicken
4. Arman’s recipe tips
5. Keto Orange Chicken (Recipe Card)
6. More keto takeout recipes

Key Ingredients

• Chicken breast. Skinless chicken breast fillets, chopped into bite-sized pieces. I have also made this with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, which worked well, but needed an extra two minutes.
• Heavy cream. Room-temperature cream helps create the mock batter traditional orange chicken has.
• Eggs. Mix with the cream to create a thick batter. 
• Coconut flour. To help the chicken get crispy. If you don’t have coconut flour, I also had success using blanched almond flour. 
• Salt and black pepper. Just a pinch. The sauce will add plenty of flavor.
• Oil. To fry the chicken. Use oil with a high smoke point, like peanut oil or vegetable oil. 

For the keto orange sauce:

• Orange juice. Since we’re only using a small amount, you won’t be kicked out of ketosis. 
• Sugar-free sweetener. Either a brown sugar substitute or a powdered sugar substitute to sweeten the sauce. I don’t recommend erythritol or monk fruit, as it makes the sauce grainy.
• White vinegar. It brings out the tang of the orange juice and balances the other flavors. 
• Soy sauce. You can also use gluten-free tamari or coconut aminos if you need this to be gluten-free. 
• Garlic. Freshly minced garlic, please. Dried garlic just doesn’t have the same flavor.
• Xanthan gum. My preferred cornstarch substitute; it thickens the sauce and helps it adhere to the chicken.

How to make keto orange chicken

I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Step 1- Make the sauce. In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the sauce ingredients except the xanthan gum. Simmer for 3-4 minutes, then whisk in the xanthan gum until no clumps remain. Continue simmering for 5-6 minutes or until thick and glossy. 

Step 2- Dredge the chicken. In a bowl, combine the eggs and heavy cream. Add the chicken. On a large plate, combine the coconut flour, salt, and black pepper. Dip each piece of chicken in the flour mixture. 

Step 3- Fry. Add oil to a large pot over medium heat. Once the oil reaches 350F/180C, add the chicken in an even layer. Fry for 2-3 minutes, then flip and continue cooking for another minute. Transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with remaining chicken. 

Step 4- Assemble. Once the chicken is cooked, toss it through the orange sauce and serve. 

Arman’s recipe tips

• Prefer a thinner sauce? Omit the xanthan gum. I do this for my partner because he prefers an almost syrup-like sauce.
• Test the oil when frying. Maybe I’m being pedantic, but I like using a meat thermometer to check the oil temperature before frying. The ideal temperature is 350F, which cooks the chicken quickly and consistently.
• Skip the breading. The batter gives the chicken a restaurant-worthy texture, but you can skip it and sauté the chicken instead (i.e., omit the cream, egg, and coconut flour).
• Add more orange flavor. Add a tablespoon of sugar-free orange marmalade or fold in fresh orange zest. 
• Give it some heat. I usually add a teaspoon of red pepper flakes or a couple of drops of hot sauce.

More keto takeout recipes

• Keto stir fry
• Keto beef and broccoli
• Keto ramen
• Egg roll in a bowl