This keto orange chicken skillet meal is a one-pan recipe that’s perfect for busy moms and dads who don’t have a lot of time to prepare complicated meals. It teaches you how to make everything from scratch, complete with an outstanding homemade orange sauce that’s OMG-good!

How to Prep Your Chicken Thighs to Make This Keto Chicken Skillet

When making this recipe, the very first thing that you’ll want to do is a bit of prep work in order to prepare your chicken thighs.

Prepare the chicken. Use paper towels to pat the chicken thighs dry. Then, season the thighs with salt and black pepper.
Prepare the egg mixture. Combine 2 large eggs and the unsweetened almond milk in a shallow dish.
Prepare the dredging mixture. In a separate shallow plate, combine the coconut flour and ½ teaspoon of salt.
Coat the chicken. Dip each piece of chicken into the egg mixture before then dredging in the coconut flour mixture.
Prepare the frying pan. Add about one inch of cooking oil (we recommend extra virgin olive oil) to a heavy, deep frying pan and heat the oil to 350℉.
Cook the chicken. Add the chicken thighs (being careful not to overcrowd the pan), and cook for approximately 8-10 minutes or until they turn golden brown.
Drain. Remove the chicken from the pan and drain all but approximately one tablespoon of oil from the pan. Put the pan back over medium heat when finished.

How to Make a Keto Orange Chicken Skillet

After frying the chicken thighs, you’ll be all set to prepare the homemade orange sauce. Here’s how to make it:

Combine the ingredients. Add the freshly squeezed orange juice, orange zest, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, a low carb granulated sweetener like Stevia, minced garlic cloves, sugar-free ketchup, and water to a bowl and mix to combine.
Whisk. Add the xanthan gum and whisk quickly. Make sure there are no clumps.
Simmer. Pour the sauce into the same cooking pan that you used for the chicken thighs and bring to a simmer while stirring frequently. Cook until the sauce has thickened to your liking.
Add the chicken. Add the chicken thighs back into the skillet and spoon the sauce over the top.
Cook. Cook the chicken for an additional 1-2 minutes.
Garnish. Remove the chicken from the heat and sprinkle with sliced green onions.
Serve. Serve the orange chicken skillet with cauliflower rice.

2 Quick Tips for Cooking Chicken Skillets

Here are a couple of useful tips to keep in mind when cooking chicken skillets in order to make sure that they turn out perfectly every time:

Don’t be afraid to use dark meat. Many people shy away from dark cuts of meat when making skillets in favor of boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead. Don’t make that mistake. There’s a reason why this recipe uses chicken thighs.

Dark meat cuts of chicken retain a ton of moisture when frying, making them an ideal choice for skillet recipes like this one.

Give the chicken time to rest. After you’re done cooking the chicken, set it on a plate for about 5 minutes to rest. That should be an adequate amount of time for the juices to circulate throughout the chicken before serving.

Can I Freeze This Keto Orange Chicken Skillet?

This recipe is an ideal candidate for a make ahead meal, but it isn’t such a great pick for freezing any leftovers.The reason for that is you can definitely freeze both your chicken and your orange sauce separately, but I wouldn’t recommend freezing them together.

If you have already combined the chicken and sauce, then you’ll want to keep any leftovers stored in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.

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