Recipe Chicken Thighs Orange Juice

A naturally sweet and savory marinade, this Easy Orange Juice Chicken Marinade is a simple family-approved recipe perfect for busy school weeknights. Thank you to the Florida Department of Citrus for sponsoring this post. 

During the week, when it comes to quick and easy dinners I can whip up in a flash on a busy school night, it’s hard to beat pairing a simple marinated chicken recipe with a veggie or a grain. It’s one of those dinner options I always have in the back of my mind when I don’t have time to pour hours into meal prep or meal planning because I know it’s easy to make and serves as a nutritious, satisfying meal for our family. Now that the school year is in full swing in our house (even if it is a little modified over here right now), I am feeling the perks of a routine but also the laundry list of “to dos” that come along with keeping our family moving forward on a schedule with commitments on the calendar again. Having a few go-to recipes on hand that our family loves and will eat well at dinnertime is key for me and the recipe I’m sharing with you guys today is a family-approved favorite in our house — perfect for this busy, back-to-school season of life!

When it comes to marinating chicken, I love the way changing up a simple marinade changes the flavor of chicken in a flash so it keeps things interesting without feeling overwhelming. Changing up a marinade can breathe new life into an otherwise basic chicken dinner and when you find a marinade recipe that works — one that your family simply loves — it feels like you hit the jackpot!

Orange Glazed Skillet Chicken Thighs

A full cup of 100% orange juice serves as the base of this recipe and knowing that incorporating vitamin C-rich Florida Orange Juice into my family’s diet can help support a strong immune system makes this mama happy, especially during these crazy times. It’s also incredibly versatile so incorporating it into recipes is fun and delicious. I love using Florida OJ in everything from homemade salad dressings and simple stir-fries to muffins and baked goods. An 8-ounce glass of 100% OJ is also a good source of a myriad of essential vitamins and minerals such as potassium, folate, and thiamin and it  serves as the perfect way to add a little citrus-y sweetness to this marinade in a healthy way. If pouring our kids a glass of Florida Orange Juice and incorporating OJ into our family’s recipes can help support healthy immune systems in our boys as they head back to preschool, I’m all about it!

My favorite way to use this Easy Orange Juice Chicken Marinade is on grilled boneless, skinless chicken thighs because chicken thighs = more flavor! The marinade joins my favorite Paleo Chicken Thigh Marinade as one of my favorite go-to healthy weeknight recipes I keep in my back pocket when I don’t have the time or energy to really give a lot of thought to dinner and just want something EASY but nutritious to make for our family. I love that I can throw everything I need to make this Easy Orange Juice Chicken Marinade together in the morning while the boys are at preschool and know that I have dinner taken care of by the time 5 p.m. rolls around and chaos in our house reaches an all-time high. (Seriously though, what is it about kids reaching peak levels of craziness in the early evening every day?)

This recipe pairs well with everything from brown rice or quinoa to roasted broccoli, sauteed zucchini and more. It’s also fantastic as leftovers and I love slicing it up and using it in grain bowls for lunch the next day. Pair it with a tangy orange vinaigrette and it takes on a whole new flavor profile!

Simple Orange Baked Chicken

Please let me know if you give this recipe a try! We absolutely love it in our house and I always love hearing what you guys think!

Keywords: easy chicken marinade, chicken marinade, easy orange juice chicken marinade, orange juice chicken marinade, chicken thigh marinade, orange juice chicken thigh marinade, orange chicken marinade

I'd love to connect with you! I am always so grateful when you let me know you tried one of my recipes or workouts and tag me in your photos or updates. Thank you so much!!!

Oven Baked Chicken (breasts Or Thighs)

My name is Julie and I am a full-time blogger, new mama, fitness enthusiast (certified personal trainer and group exercise instructor) and food fanatic (mostly healthy... but also not-so-healthy) living in North Carolina with my husband, dog and baby boy. Thank you for visiting Peanut Butter Fingers! I hope you enjoy little glimpses into my life and have fun trying the sweaty workouts I frequently share and making some of my favorite recipes along the way!This sticky sweet and spicy orange chicken sauce with ginger and garlic dresses up juicy chicken thighs for a fast and easy dinner.

In the world of family cooking, unless you’re a vege/pesca/non-chicken-eating/atarian, you can never have too many easy chicken recipes in your recipe rolodex.

Spicy and sweet, just like me. Or maybe that’s just how I see myself in my own mind? It’s quite possible. I’ll ask my husband. Wait. Scratch that. I’ll just keep the visions to myself.

Italian Baked Chicken Thighs With Garlic And Lemon

Orange chicken. The thought of it brings childhood memories of takeout boxes filled with chunks of chicken glazed in a sweet orange sauce that left me craving more. A memory to be dashed by my adult realization that those chicken particles were most often barely distinguishable mini poultry pieces overtaken by clumpy, fried nuggets in a too sweet, what’s-in-the-mystery sauce?

In fact, Smudge ordered orange chicken the other day at lunch. I was eager with anticipation for her lunch to arrive so I could per usual steal a bite of hers before even tasting my own. I know, it’s a terrible habit I have.

Then it arrived. And my excitement flip-flopped to disappointment with the first taste. No ying. No yang. Just hard, crusty clumps of over-fried chicken in an odd-ly orange-ish (was it even made with real ingredients?) sauce.

Crockpot Orange Chicken Recipe

Today’s landscape is all about eating seasonal and with winter soon to arrive we’re moving into the months that bear the best that citrus has to offer. This recipe calls for juice squeezed from fresh oranges for ultimate citrus flavor. If you must, use a pre-made juice in the interest of time or patience, but please choose a high-quality juice rather than a frozen concentrate.

I make this recipe with skinless, boneless chicken thighs. They’re juicy, tender and pair well with the sauce. I skip the skin because while some recipes benefit from chicken with the skin’s crispy texture, the chicken in this recipe is cooked in the orange chicken sauce. So if you used chicken with the skin it has a tendency to turn into a mushy liner and isn’t really needed in my opinion.

I prefer to use a garlic press for my garlic and a grater for my ginger rather than mincing. I feel it spreads the flavors through the sauce better this way, but if you prefer to mince (like my husband did this time for the photos), go for it.

Grilled Orange Chicken Thighs Recipe: How To Make It

Working in batches, sear the chicken thighs on both sides in an oiled skillet, then transfer to a plate. Whisk together the orange chicken sauce and pour it into the skillet. Let the sauce reduce a bit before adding the chicken back to the skillet.

Once the glazed orange chicken comes out of the oven, remove the chicken from the fry pan and transfer to a serving platter, reserving the glaze in the pan. Tent the chicken with aluminum foil to keep it warm, then continue cooking the orange chicken sauce until it’s reduced.

Technically, yes. But in this instance I highly recommend using thighs as they cook a little faster and they’re much juicier than chicken breasts.

Spicy Orange Marinated Chicken Recipe

I’ve only made the orange chicken sauce as written, so I can’t speak to how this dish would taste if you used a sugar substitute like honey in the sauce. If you use something else in place of the brown sugar, please leave me a comment letting me know how it turned out!

To keep this a one-skillet meal, make sure to use an oven-safe skillet for this easy orange chicken recipe. If you don’t have an oven-safe skillet, simply transfer the chicken from the skillet to a baking dish when it’s time to pop the meat into the oven.

In case you were curious, I used a zester like this one for making the skinny orange pieces for garnish. It’s great for cocktails too.

Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs

This orange glazed chicken pairs nicely with white or brown rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice. To keep things super simple, serve with peas or steamed broccoli.

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Bookmark this recipe and leave a comment below,  or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #eats.

Calories: 523 kcal | Carbohydrates: 52 g | Protein: 46 g | Fat: 14 g | Saturated

Chicken Thighs With Orange Juice Glaze Recipe