This honey orange sesame chicken dish is an easy, healthy takeout fake-out recipe you can make in minutes at home. Sticky, sweet and delicious!
The amount of Chinese food + couch lounging + Netflix watching that goes on in our house in the winter is kinda embarrassing.
Let’s just say that the Peking Court man knows my voice by now and starts our conversation with “you want large wonton soup, right?”
Yes, yes I do, kind sir.
I go on to order whatever else we’re in the mood for at the time and then proceed to wake up no less than 2 times in the middle of the night completely parched from all the salt I consumed earlier.
I tell myself I should just make my own “takeout” (like sweet and sour tofu) and then forget about it until the next 3 am water wakeup.
Today, we’re making that happen though.
You order Chinese and you want, sticky, sweet, saucy goodness, right?
This orange sesame chicken recipe made with honey is all those things, minus the truck load of salt (and god knows what else) and made in 20 minutes flat. It’s like gochujang chicken just without the fiery kick.
Craving seafood, try this general tso’s shrimp instead. Same deal with the addicting sauce and only 10 minutes start to finish for that dish!
Sorry, Mr. Peking Court, it might be awhile until we meet again.
Looking for a slow cooker version of Chinese takeout?
Try this slow cooker honey garlic chicken recipe, it won’t disappoint!
And my Kung Pao chickpeas are the perfect vegetarian take on that Chinese takeout menu favorite!
Love this honey orange sesame chicken recipe?
Try these other Chinese recipes: Chinese Chicken Zoodles, Hot and Sour Egg Drop Soup, and Spicy Beef and Red Pepper Rice Bowl.
This garlic chicken bite recipe also uses bite-sized chicken breasts for an easy one skillet meal.
Honey Orange Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs cut into small chunks
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons flour
- juice of 2 oranges
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 small clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil for cooking
- 1/2 pound green beans, trimmed
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- Toss chicken with salt, pepper and flour in a large bowl until fully coated with the flour.
- Add the coconut oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Once hot, add the chicken to the skillet and brown on one side.
- While chicken browns, whisk together the orange juice, honey, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, minced garlic and soy sauce in a small bowl.
- When the chicken is browned on the one side (about 5 minutes), turn the pieces over and add the green beans. Cover with a lid and cook for about 5-7 minutes until the green beans are cooked but still crispy.
- Remove the lid from the skillet, add the sauce, toss to combine and cook, uncovered over medium heat for another 3-5 minutes until the sauce reduces, thickens and coats the chicken and green beans.
- Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top and serve with cooked rice.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Your take out situation sounds like ours. I hate all the sodium. This looks so much better!
This looks delicious!!! I’m with you – love Chinese but not a fan of the high sodium!!!
Thank you for another great recipe, RTtK! On this one, I substituted sliced almonds (toasted) for the sesame seeds because the ones I had have been around for a very long time (so long they were really one big sesame seed!) so I tossed them. And I ended up using Tyson’s Grilled & Ready Chicken Strips because (if you can believe this – the grocery store was out of chix breasts) – well I was shopping at 5pm on NYE. That proved to be a nice time saver. The kids liked it, we adults liked it, so yay a new favorite!
I’ve been craving Chinese food lately and now I can make it at home. Thanks for the great recipe.
thats how we are with Thai food.I love orange chicken with that sticky sauce though. I will def be trying this soon now that oranges are in season. thanks for sharing :)
Another recipe I can’t wait to try!
Thank you for the nice recipe. Have a great day and weekend!
Love,love,love this recipe! Homemade Chinese food is one of our favorites! Thanks for such an easy recipe!
Me and the hubs were totally planning to make our own takeout tomorrow and it was my goal to find a great recipe today! Now, I have a billion more hours of extra time because I don’t have to look any further…thanks girl! :) Look deeeeelish
We’ve eaten a whole lot of takeout recently and I need to get back on the cooking-from-scratch wagon. This is an excellent place to start!