Orange basil chicken with snap peas and coconut rice is an incredibly flavorful meal that comes together in only 30 minutes. It's totally worth ditching the take-out over!
Could we get anymore “Wednesday” with this meal? It’s midweek and we’re 90% tempted to just call in a take-out order, but we also know the chances of that happening tomorrow and Friday night will steadily increase. Ergo, we need a meal that is quick and easy, yet still healthy and flavorful. Enter: These bowls!
I madly love a good rice bowl. Give me a steaming pile of jasmine rice (trader joe’s makes a brown jasmine that is my all-time fav!), some sautéed veggies, grilled chicken or shredded pork with a flavorful sauce and I’m in heaven. They also make for the ultimate leftovers.
This is no P.F. Chang’s Orange Chicken. Everything about this meal tastes super fresh and flavorful and for about 3,000 mg less sodium than restaurant varieties. We sear the chicken over HIGH heat till nice and crisp while letting the orange sauce reduce to a sweet and sticky glaze that coats the chicken like a dream. The delightful aromas of fresh citrus, fragrant garlic and ginger will fill your kitchen and invigorate your senses.
And stimulate your appetite beyond belief!
I couldn't think of a better match for this chicken than coconut rice. This may become your new favorite way of preparing rice because it is SO simple!
All we’re doing is replacing the water (or broth) with coconut milk. It’s the perfect way to make your rice a little extra special with literally no extra work. The addition of coconut milk makes the rice incredibly soft and fluffy with a creaminess comparable to risotto. It can even transform brown rice which tends to have a more earthy, “toothy” texture.
I’m also totally hooked on adding pepitas to my rice after trying it at our favorite local Mexican restaurant. The texture-freak in me went wild over the idea.
This whole meal comes together in 30 minutes. 30 minutes! It takes me longer to blow dry my hair.
We’ve been enjoying this for leftovers all week while I desperately try to clean out the refrigerator before we leave for vacation. We fly out tomorrow morning to spend 5 days in Arizona! We will be exploring Phoenix, Sedona and the Grand Canyon so if any of you have recommendations on things to do, sights to see and places to eat, please comment down below!
If you try out this recipe, be sure to leave a comment below to let me know how you liked it! If you're on Instagram, be sure to snap a pic and tag #dishingouthealth so I can see your beautiful creations!
30 Minute Orange Basil Chicken with Coconut Rice
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
- ½ cup orange marmalade I used a low sugar variety
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1-2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger sub for ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- Juice of 1 whole orange
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil sub for vegetable oil
- 2 cups sugar snap peas
- ½ cup fresh basil
- 1 cup jasmine or basmati rice
- 1 cup lite coconut milk
- 2 tablespoon roasted pepitas pumpkin seeds
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Begin by preparing rice according to package instructions. Cooking times will vary, but the idea is to cook the rice in 1 cup lite coconut milk and 1 ½ cups water. Season rice with ½ teaspoon sea salt. While the rice cooks, heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-HIGH heat.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the following ingredients: orange marmalade, garlic, rice wine vinegar, honey, ginger and fresh orange juice. Add chicken and toss in marinade until fully coated.
- Pour chicken onto heat skillet and saute for ~4-5 minutes, until browned. Toss in snap peas, reduce heat to medium and cook for another 6-8 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and sauce reduces. During the final 1-2 minutes, add fresh basil and and toss to combine. The basil should quickly begin to wilt.
- Once rice has soaked up all liquid, stir in 2 tablespoon pepitas.
- To assemble: spoon ¼ of rice into a bowl, top with orange chicken and add additional toppings as desired: green onion, sesame seeds, orange zest. Serve!
Nutrition
Amy
This one did not work out for me. The marinade had a lovely flavor, but my chicken basically stewed in it, and it never thickened or formed a glaze. I’m not sure what I did wrong.
Jennifer
Like all of Jamie’s recipes, this had such good flavor. The pepitas are a must. Used Thai basil bc they were out of regular and it was great. I’d brown the chicken a little next time by itself and then add the sauce after it has some color. Maybe it is because I made a double batch but mine had too much sauce to brown with the sauce.
I think there’s also an error in the recipe text. I think it should be 1.5 total cups of liquid for one cup of rice. So I used 1 cup of coconut milk and 1/2 cup water (not 1.5 cups). Thanks for such good recipes!
Erin Maynard
Delicious and easy to make even for a novice like my husband. I recently found out I'm Celiac and whey intolerant so I'm on the hunt for new recipes for our normal dinner rotation. I've followed you on IG for a while and made a few tasty recipes. With my new dietary marching orders, I've decided to focus on eating healthy rather than make weird gluten and dairy swaps in our usual meals that just make us feel like they aren't as good as they used to be. Your site makes it so easy to filter on the recipes that will meet my dietary needs. Thank you for creating healthy and yummy meals. Yours is my new go-to site while I navigate this new eating regimen.
Jamie Vespa
Hi Erin- I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review.
Jessica @ Nutritioulicious
This looks delish! I'm not a big fan of Chinese food, but my husband loves it so I definitely have to make this! I love adding coconut milk to rice - so much more flavorful and creamy! And it takes less time to make than to blow dry my hair - sold! Hope you're having fun in Arizona!
dishingouthealth
Ha I'm usually not a fan of Chinese either - at ALL, although if I could order this, that could definitely change! Arizona was amazing but coming back to reality is ROUGH lol
Kaleigh @Lively Table
This looks amazing! I'm a sucker for anything in a bowl. Can't wait to try it!
dishingouthealth
Thank you, Kaleigh!! Hope you enjoy! 🙂