Orange Ground Chicken Rice Bowls

This Ground Orange Chicken is an easy twist on your favorite American-Chinese takeout. Today we're simplifying every step of this dish and making orange chicken with ground chicken! It's simple to make, colorful and pairs great with broccoli and brown rice for a healthy and delicious meal.

Recipe: $5.56 | Per Serving: $1.39 | Yield: 4 Servings

Note: This recipe was originally posted in December of 2015 when I lived in Japan and has been updated it in March 2022 because it is SO GOOD and SO popular! Thank you for being here and supporting me and my blog.

This is not your average takeout Chinese Orange Chicken. This orange chicken and rice is much faster and much easier! This ground chicken recipe is a riff on the classic flavor combination - but ready in a quarter of the time!

The first time I made this dish, I was living in Japan and craving some sort of orange chicken. Probably because the Japanese mikans (clementines or tangerines) are so sweet and delicious and cheap in the winter. Winter citrus is really the best!

The task of making an all-out coated and fried Chinese Orange Chicken recipe (a la Panda Express) is rarely in the cards. So, I opt for my go-to cheat: ground meat. It's the perfect solution!

If you're looking for more ground chicken dinner ideas try my ground beef and cabbage stir fry or this ground pork stir fry and swap the ground meat for chicken!

Why You Will Love This Orange Chicken Rice Bowl Recipe

• A Super Easy 30-Minutes-or-Less Type of Thing. It requires minimal effort with no cornstarch and no frying, but lots of delicious orange flavor. You basically brown the ground chicken (or turkey...or even pork!), add some seasoning, simmer, and it's ready to go.
• Unbelievably Delicious. Pile it all on brown rice and add some steamed broccoli and it's a very happy meal. Or, you can mix the rice and broccoli together in the pan for easy serving.
• Budget-friendly Weeknight Meal. Ground chicken, or really any type of ground meat, makes an inexpensive meat for dishes.

Is Orange Chicken Healthy?

What a tricky question! First, yes I would certainly call this dish very healthy - it is a homemade meal with protein and broccoli and brown rice and homemade sauce with no added sugar. All of these things are very 'healthy.' (Sincerely, your nutritionist blogger friend.)

But I also invite you to question what 'healthy' means to you.

• Does healthy mean relaxing with your family on a Friday night instead of cooking and doing dishes and the whole dinner time scramble?
• Does healthy mean going to a restaurant to escape the confines of the four walls of your home - where you may also be working from home and raising kids - in order to support a local business and enjoy a meal with family and friends?
• And what about symptoms - does healthy mean eating foods that don't cause symptoms of discomfort? Does healthy mean eating in a way that limits exposure to inflammatory compounds?
• Sometimes healthy means different things to different people and on different days of the week based on your own personal bandwidth.

I would not call takeout Chinese orange chicken (or any other Panda Express fried meals) a super nutritious meal, but it can be nourishing to you in other ways, especially if it is a once-in-a-while way to save your sanity. So be easy on yourself!

Ingredients

Classic orange chicken sauce consists of orange juice, sugar, soy sauce, garlic, some type of thickening agent like cornstarch or arrowroot, and sesame seeds or oil. For this recipe, we are simplifying it even further. Here's a look at what you need:

• Ground chicken: I use whatever ground chicken I can find - it is usually a mix of minced white bean and minced dark meat. You can also use ground turkey here!
• Sesame oil and seeds: The oil adds a nutty flavor to dish. It has a low smoke point so it isn't commonly used for sautéing but I like the flavor it adds. You can use a different oil if you prefer. The sesame seeds at the end make it look pretty!
• Aromatics: Fresh ginger and fresh garlic infuse the sauce with more depth of flavor.
• Asian-style spicy sauce: I love using sriracha or sambal oelek, or any chili-garlic sauce here. However, if you don't have that on hand, you can use about ½ a teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
• Soy sauce or tamari: This adds a boost of savory and salty flavors to the sauce. Use tamari for gluten-free, or coconut aminos for soy-free.
• Orange zest and freshly squeezed orange juice: The zest infuses the sauce with plenty of orange flavor. It's even better if you use the juice from small sweet oranges like clementines, mikans, mandarins, or tangerines! I would not recommend using boxed orange juice.
• Vegetable: You can use whatever vegetable you like here! Broccoli is a classic choice, but broccolini and Chinese broccoli would work equally well. You can also serve with steamed green beans or a freaking amazingly delicious sesame cucumber salad.
• Starch: Of course white rice or brown rice are the standard choices for orange chicken, but soba or other noodles would also be a great pairing!

Dietary Modifications and Substitutions for this Recipe

• Paleo: Not as is, but you could use cauliflower rice instead of brown rice and replace the soy sauce with half coconut aminos and half fish sauce to make it Paleo!
• Vegetarian: No, cause of the chicken. I would recommend some version of Orange Tempeh, which is also delicious.
• Low FODMAP: Skip the garlic, use only broccoli florets (not dense stems). White rice is lower FODMAP than brown rice so you can make that swap as well. Those three changes will make the entire recipe Low FODMAP. 

How to Make an Orange Ground Chicken Rice Bowl

Step 1: Cooking the rice. Cook the rice according to your preference or package directions.

⭐️ PRO TIP: You can also toast the rice in a little oil ahead of time for extra flavor!

Step 2: Brown the meat. Cook the chicken in a large pan or wok with sesame oil over low-medium heat. It doesn't need to be fully cooked at this point.

Step 3: Add the orange sauce. Add the ginger, garlic, spicy sauce, orange juice (and zest), and tamari or soy sauce to the chicken and bring to a simmer. Simmer on low heat for 3-5 minutes or until sauce has reduced and thickened. Stir well and remove from heat.

Step 4: Steam the broccoli. Cook the broccoli florets and steam in a steamer basket over a pot with 1 inch of water. Steam for four minutes or to your desired tenderness.

⭐️ PRO TIP: If you have a rice cooker with a steamer basket you can cook your broccoli in the rice cooker at the same time as the rice!

Step 5: Serve up the ground chicken and rice. Divide the brown rice among four bowls and top with the chicken and broccoli. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and enjoy!

Expert Tips

• Use pre-cooked brown rice. If you're looking to save time, you can get pre-cooked organic brown rice packets in the freezer section of most grocery stores these days - and they're time savers for busy weeknights!
• Buy frozen broccoli! I love buying organic frozen broccoli florets to save time - and I especially like them for making weeknight dishes like this one even simpler. 
• Cook the broccoli with the chicken. Add the broccoli to the same pot on top of the chicken while it is simmering! Cover it with a lid to allow it to steam. This will release more water into the chicken and prevent the sauce from thickening, but it's a good hack to make this even faster with fewer dishes. 
• Cooking chicken safely. The safe internal cooking temperature for chicken is 165ºF. 
• Thicker sauce? If you want a thicker sauce for your Asian chicken rice bowl you can make a cornstarch slurry and add it right at the end of cooking.
• Store: Store leftovers in the fridge for up to four days. Reheat in a skillet over medium heat or in the microwave. You can also freeze it for up to two months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight before reheating.

Recipe FAQs

More Healthy Ground Chicken Recipes

Here are some of my favorite ground meat recipes that will also work well with ground chicken!

Did you like this recipe? If so, please take a moment and give it a 5-Star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and leave a comment further below! Don't forget to follow me on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest for more delicious recipes!

Orange Ground Chicken Rice Bowls

Caitlin Self, MS, CNS, LDN

Easy orange chicken using ground chicken, ginger, and fresh orange juice! Paired with broccoli and brown rice, this is a delicious, healthy, and easy weeknight dinner!

4.91 from 10 votes

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Weeknight Dinner

Cuisine Chinese-American

Servings 4

Calories 395 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup brown rice
• ▢ 1 ¾ cups water or broth for the rice
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
• ▢ 1 pound ground chicken
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons ginger freshly grated or minced
• ▢ 4 garlic cloves minced or grated
• ▢ 3 Tablespoons organic soy sauce or gluten-free tamari
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon Asian spice sauce or maybe ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes* try chili-garlic sauce, sambal oelek, or sriracha
• ▢ 1 teaspoon orange zest optional
• ▢ ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice preferably from small oranges like mikans, mandarins, or clementines
• ▢ 2 medium heads fresh broccoli about 6-7 cups florets
• ▢ sesame seeds for garnish

Instructions

 

• Cook brown rice according to your preference or package directions, I usually prefer a Japanese rice cooker and short-grain brown rice. You can also toast the rice in a little oil ahead of time for extra flavor!
• Typically, I rinse my rice three times, then place in a large pot. For each 1 cup of brown rice, I use about 1 ¾ cups of water. Bring this to a boil, then immediately reduce to a simmer and simmer for the duration recommended by your package, usually 20-35 minutes. Then, without lifting the cover, remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes to finish cooking.
• In a large pan or wok, warm sesame oil over low-medium heat. Add chicken and brown on all sides. (Doesn't have to be fully cooked yet.)
• Add the ginger, garlic, spice sauce, orange juice (and zest), and tamari / soy sauce. Stir well and bring to a simmer. Simmer on low heat for 3-5 minutes, or until sauce has reduced and thickened. Stir well and remove from heat.
• Meanwhile, fill a pot with 1 inch of water. Add steamer basket and add chopped broccoli florets & stems. Cover and steam for 4 minutes.
• If you have a rice cooker, most rice cookers also have a steamer basket. Check and see if you can cook your broccoli in the rice cooker at the same time as the rice!
• Make the bowls by dividing the brown rice among four bowls and topping with chicken and broccoli. Top with sesame seeds and enjoy! We also like to squeeze a little extra orange juice over the top.

Notes

• Drizzle with a little more sesame oil or soy sauce / tamari as desired.
• I have made this orange sauce with Lee Kum Kee Chili Garlic Sauce, and their spicy chili sauce, as well as Huy Fong Foods Sriracha, and their Vietnamese Chili Garlic Sauce. You could also use about ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes or Vietnamese spicy chili peppers.
• One commenter mentioned that the red pepper flakes make it too spicy, so I recommend adding your spicy component in small amounts to avoid this!
• I highly recommend freshly squeezed orange juice. If they're not in season, or if the juice comes from a box/jug, it won't have the same fresh orange flavor.
• You can steam fresh or frozen broccoli, or even add the broccoli to the same pot as the chicken while it is simmer, cover with a lid and let it steam atop the chicken! You can then remove the lid and let it cook another 2 minutes to evaporate any water released, if necessary. You may have to add a little more soy sauce / Tamari and hot sauce to compensate for the water released from the broccoli.

Nutrition

Calories: 395kcalCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 25gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 98mgSodium: 917mgPotassium: 844mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 73IUVitamin B1: 0.4mgVitamin B2: 0.3mgVitamin B3: 9mgVitamin B5: 2mgVitamin B6: 1mgVitamin B12: 1µgVitamin C: 20mgVitamin E: 0.4mgVitamin K: 2µgCalcium: 39mgCopper: 0.3mgFolate: 24µgIron: 2mgManganese: 2mgMagnesium: 104mgPhosphorus: 357mgSelenium: 12µgZinc: 3mgCholine: 76mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @FrugalNutrition or tag #frugalnutrition!

PIN THIS RECIPE FOR LATER! ↓