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Easy Orange Chicken Meal Prep Bowls

You’re sitting on the couch about to start your fourth run through of Breaking Bad, and you get a hankering for the classic Chinese-American takeout dish, orange chicken. You could order takeout, but DoorDash is challenging AirBnB for the most egregious taxes and fees award. So, I suggest saving some money and calories with my easy orange chicken meal prep bowls.

They’re made with ground chicken and a 4-ingredient sauce in about 20 minutes. Pair the chicken with some quick roasted broccoli and a blend of cauliflower and jasmine rice, and you’ll have high protein meals to get you to at least Heisenberg’s first appearance.

orange chicken garnished with sesame seeds, roasted broccoli, orange wedges, and rice garnished with scallions

The Easiest Orange Chicken Sauce

I recently came across a recipe similar to my Sweet and Sour chicken where you air fry chicken and toss it in a simple orange sauce comprised of the four ingredients below:

  • Sugar Free Orange Marmalade – I used Smuckers. You’ll find this around the jams and jellies in most grocery stores.
  • BBQ Sauce – I used the sugar free G Hughes from my chipotle BBQ ground chicken tacos.
  • Chili Garlic Sauce – Sriracha or any chili sauce or paste will work.
  • Soy Sauce – If you have Bachan’s Japanese Barbecue Sauce from my BBQ chicken fried rice recipe, you could kill two birds with one stone. (Or you could make my homemade Japanese BBQ sauce.

Instead of air frying chicken, I thought it would be even easier to cook ground chicken and throw the sauce straight in. It’s easier, and we all know reheating ground chicken and other proteins is a dream.

sugar free orange marmalade, sugar free BBQ sauce, chili garlic sauce, and soy sauce

Making Orange Chicken Meal Prep Bowls

Be sure to watch the recipe video in the recipe card for two ways to make easy roasted broccoli in an air fryer or on the stovetop. Twelve ounces of broccoli florets or about one head of broccoli makes the perfect amount for four servings of orange chicken.

For the rice blend, I used the same 3:2 cauliflower rice to jasmine rice ratio from my teriyaki ground beef bowls. You can obviously tweak the ratios or use all cauliflower rice to reduce the carbs. I’ve included the macros for the orange chicken on its own in the recipe card’s notes section so you can pair it however you see fit.

I’ll also mention, if you have a big appetite or plenty of macros to spare, you can easily double this recipe for larger/more servings.

holding a bowl of orange ground chicken with broccoli and rice

More Ground Chicken Recipes

We make a ton of stuff with ground chicken around here. If you like the style of these orange chicken bowls, I’m pretty confident you’ll dig some of the following recipes as well.

Okay then. Let’s cook.

orange chicken topped with sesame seeds and served with broccoli, rice with scallions, and orange wedges

Orange Chicken Meal Prep Bowls

Yield: 4 Servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes

Extra lean ground chicken with a 4-ingredient orange chicken sauce, roasted broccoli 2 ways, and a low carb rice blend make great meal prep bowls or quick weeknight dinners.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Ground Chicken
  • 1/2 Tablespoon (8g) Olive Oil
  • 1/2 cup (136g) Sugar Free Orange Marmalade
  • 1/4 cup (60g) BBQ Sauce (I used sugar free G Hughes)
  • 2 Tablespoons (30g) Chili Garlic Sauce or Sriracha
  • 1 Tablespoon (15g) Soy Sauce

For the Broccoli

  • 12 oz Broccoli Florets
  • Avocado Oil Spray (or about a tablespoon of oil)
  • Salt and Pepper, to taste

For the Rice

  • 3 cups (340g) Cooked Cauliflower Rice
  • 2 cups (280g) Cooked Jasmine Rice

Instructions

  1. Cook the rice and prepare the broccoli. Spray the broccoli with oil or toss with oil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Air fry at 400ºF for about 5 minutes. OR sauté in a pan with a tablespoon of oil, season with salt and pepper, add 2-3 tablespoons of water, and cover for a few minutes until tender.
  2. While the broccoli cooks, mix the marmalade, BBQ sauce, chili garlic sauce or sriracha, and soy sauce together. Set aside.
  3. Brown and fully cook the ground chicken in a half tablespoon of oil. Add the sauce and cook for 3-4 minutes until the sauce evenly coats the chicken and begins to caramelize around the edges. You can add a tablespoon or two of water to deglaze the pan if needed.
  4. Serve everything together and garnish with sliced scallions, toasted sesame seeds, and additional chili crisp or sriracha, if desired.

Notes

The rice blend makes about 20 oz or 5 cups of rice with 510 calories, 16g protein, 106g carbs, and 0g fat.

Macros for orange ground chicken only: 595 calories, 104g protein, 46g carbs, and 14g fat

The roasted broccoli (12 oz florets with 1 tablespoon of olive oil) has around 225 calories, 12g protein, 15g carbs, and 14g fat

This orange chicken sauce was adapted from Easy Dinner Ideas.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1/4th of the chicken and broccoli with 1 1/4 cup rice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 350Total Fat: 8gCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 33g

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Steve

Tuesday 2nd of August 2022

Just made this last night and it was delicious. Going on the favorites list for sure.

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