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Chicken is a great base for any recipe. It is healthy and lean meat and it works with a variety of sauces and seasonings so you can make a wide range of chicken dishes.

This recipe is for chicken in orange sauce. But what exactly is orange sauce? Is it sauce that is orange in color? Is it sauce that tastes like oranges? Read on to find out.

Easy Orange Chicken Sauce

Well, if you thought that orange sauce was the sauce that was orange and/or sauce that tastes like oranges, you were right…on both counts.

The primary ingredient in our orange sauce is orange juice and that’s what’s responsible for giving it it's orange color and flavoring.

Other ingredients like ginger, brown sugar and soy sauce contribute to the taste.

Best of all, the recipe is exceptionally simple to make. You just mix the ingredients to make the sauce, pour it over the chicken and put it in the oven to bake. It’s that easy!

You can serve the orange chicken with any side you would like but we recommend putting it over rice. That way, the rice can absorb the sauce, so it becomes infused with that great tangy flavor.

Of course, there are many variations on the orange sauce recipe. You can add ingredients like white sugar, vinegar, garlic, and red chili flakes to enhance the flavor and give it a kick.

And beyond adding orange sauce to chicken, it can also be added to duck, steak, pork or any protein you choose.

If you are looking for orange sauce recipes, you may also stumble across a few that are recommended to put over waffles or pancakes as a breakfast treat. Although recipes for this type of orange syrup can vary, the one we recommend uses sugar, cornstarch, orange zest, orange juice, and butter.

Start by combining the sugar, cornstarch, and zest. Stir in the orange juice and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture have thickened to a syrupy consistency. Remove from heat, whisk in butter and pour over the breakfast treat of your choice.

This type of orange sauce makes a healthy alternative to maple syrup, but it may not taste great when added to meat!

Healthy Orange Chicken Sauce

One of the nice things about our orange sauce is that it ranks pretty high on the health scale. Here are the ways the ingredients can benefit you.

Orange Juice: Orange juice is high in antioxidants and nutrients. It also may boost heart health, prevent kidney stones and decrease inflammation.

Ginger: Ginger has powerful medicinal properties. It can relieve nausea. It also may relieve muscle pain and soreness, decrease inflammation, lower blood sugar, reduce the risk of heart disease, treat menstrual symptoms, lower cholesterol, treat indigestion, reduce the risk of cancer, boost brain health and fight infections.

Soy Sauce: Soy sauce is high in sodium and may also contain certain chemicals, but it also provides several health benefits. It is known to promote digestion and it is a good source of antioxidants. It also may reduce allergies, promote the immune system, have anticancer effects and it may reduce blood pressure.

Brown Sugar: While sugar should be limited in any diet, brown sugar undergoes less processing than white sugar. It also contains trace amounts of minerals that can boost health.

Overall, this recipe for orange sauce provides several health benefits and it is also a low-calorie way to flavor your chicken. The chicken itself is a great source of protein, calcium, and phosphorus making this a meal you can feel good about serving your family.

To make the sauce even healthier, you can add your choice of spices. Herbs and spices have been shown to fight inflammation and reduce cellular damage. They are rich in phytochemicals and because they are so flavorful, they make it easy for you to cut back on salt, sugar and added fat.

Though you can choose which spices will taste best in your orange sauce, here are some healthy ones you will want to try:

Turmeric
Cardamom
Chili peppers
Cumin
Garlic
Rosemary

Chicken makes a great start to any meal. This healthy and delicious orange sauce will elevate the taste and provide another variation in your arsenal of dinner recipes. What will you be serving your orange chicken with tonight?

If you enjoyed this recipe, make sure to check out our Summertime Chicken and our Sweet and Saucy Chicken.