Paleo General Tso Chicken

When I look back through my recipes, many are inspired by either a) the necessity of getting creative with ingredients left in the house or b) food cravings. But some are inspired by dishes I taste at restaurants or spy at other tables. This Paleo General Tso Chicken Recipe  — which I’m also calling General Tso’s Skinny Cousin — was inspired by a dish my sister and I shared at The Goods Cafe in Portsmouth, New Hampshire when I was visiting her.

We stopped in for iced lattes and a snack but decided to split the healthy meal above rather than eat something sugary. And WOW — was that a good decision!! It was full of flavor and incredibly healthy!

Remaking a Restaurant Dish

Armed with a photo of the dish’s description on the menu board and my taste buds’ memories, I was determined to recreate it when I got back home from my vacation. After a couple attempts, I created a version that matches the original (or as close as memory serves me). I’m really happy with this dish. It’s packed with flavor, but not with carbs, bad fats, sodium or chemicals. And despite being low-carb, it’s really satisfying and keeps me full longer than most low carb dishes (the struggle is real).

Paleo General Tso Chicken – a.k.a. General Tso’s Skinny Cousin

To make it paleo, low carb and whole 30 diet-compliant, I made one major change by using riced cauliflower instead of regular rice.

This isn’t a quick 20 minute, one pot meal. It also doesn’t take hours of prepping and cooking. I only say that to set expectations and to point out that this dish is worth every minute. Good news: you get a little down time while the chicken is baking.

During my first attempt, I tried sauteing the chicken and broccoli to make this a one pot meal. But baking the chicken, steaming the broccoli in a steamer basket and making the sauce in a pan creates a much better version of this masterpiece.

For this dish, I marinate the chicken while I chop and prep everything. If you can, don’t skip this step. It truly makes a difference in how tender and juicy the chicken is.

Looking for more paleo-friendly recipes? Visit Kitchen Gone Rogue’s paleo recipes.

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Paleo General Tso Chicken

Looking for a Paleo General Tso Chicken recipe? You'll want to make this General Tso's Skinny Cousin! It's paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free, whole30-compliant and packed with flavor.

Course

Main Dish

Cuisine

Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Paleo

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

45 minutes

Servings

people (or more)

Ingredients

Marinated Chicken

• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (I use Bragg's)
• sprinkle of salt and pepper
• pinch of cayenne pepper

Veggies and Sauce

• 3 cups fresh, chopped broccoli (uncooked)
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• handful of washed raw spinach for each plate
• 1 medium-large orange all the zest (about 1 Tbsp); juice 1/2 of it; chop up the other half
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp coconut aminos (a soy sauce alternative)
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 2 cups organic, free range chicken broth
• 1 12 oz package of frozen riced cauliflower
• extra crushed red pepper to add spice if you like

Course Main Dish Cuisine Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Paleo Prep Time 20 minutes Cook Time 45 minutes Servings people (or more) Ingredients Marinated Chicken 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts 1/4 cup olive oil 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (I use Bragg's) sprinkle of salt and pepper pinch of cayenne pepper Veggies and Sauce 3 cups fresh, chopped broccoli (uncooked) 1 shallot, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced handful of washed raw spinach for each plate 1 medium-large orange all the zest (about 1 Tbsp); juice 1/2 of it; chop up the other half 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 Tbsp coconut aminos (a soy sauce alternative) 1 tsp ground ginger 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper 2 cups organic, free range chicken broth 1 12 oz package of frozen riced cauliflower extra crushed red pepper to add spice if you like

Instructions

1. Combine the chicken, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar and spices in a large baggie or other container and put in the refrigerator to marinate while you prep everything.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
3. Chop the shallot, mince the garlic and chop the broccoli
4. You are going to use just about every bit of a medium-large sized orange. First, zest the orange (the whole thing should equal roughly 1 Tbsp of orange zest). Second, slice the orange in half. Juice one half of it and save. Remove the peel of the other half and chop the orange (it will be messy/juicy - that's ok - use all of it)
5. Pull the chicken out and put it and the marinade in a cast iron skillet or baking dish and bake 20 minutes covered; 25 minutes uncovered (or until cooked through)
6. While the chicken is baking, make the sauce. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in pan on medium-high; saute shallot and garlic until soft. Add the orange juice, chopped orange, orange zest, ground ginger, liquid amino acids, and crushed red pepper. Stir.
7. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. As soon as it comes to a boil, reduce the temperature to medium-low for 5 minutes and then down to a low simmer.
8. Taste the sauce. I have made this when the oranges were on the sweeter side and the sauce needed no additional sweetener. I have also made it when the oranges were light on sweetness and a little more sour/bitter and it needed 1/2 to 1 tsp of honey to balance it. If you aren't eating paleo or whole30, you can use sugar instead of honey if you prefer.
9. About 10 minutes before the chicken is done (don't forget to pull the cover or alum foil off after the first 20 minutes), bring a pot that fits your steamer basket in it to a boil. Once it's boiling, add the basket with broccoli and cover and steam until just soft (4-6 minutes). You want the broccoli to be soft enough to eat, but far from mushy (and still bright green). If you don't have a steamer basket, I highly recommend getting one ... but until you do, you can buy a bag of frozen broccoli meant to be steamed in the microwave. 🙂
10. While the broccoli is steaming, turn up the sauce to medium heat, add the whole bag of riced cauliflower to the pan of sauce and let cook for 5 or so minutes.
11. When the chicken is done, pull it out of the oven, then out of the pan and cut it into bite-sized pieces, then add it to the sauce.
12. Toss a handful of spinach on each plate or in each bowl. OR, if you want a pretty presentation or picture, arrange the spinach neatly like in my pictures (note: on a regular night in, I'm just tossing those leaves in ... it tastes the same - lol. 🙂 Add a ladle or two of the hot chicken/riced cauliflower and sauce mixture on top of the spinach and then add some broccoli to the top (or you can mix the broccoli in with the chicken/sauce first). Add some extra red pepper flakes if you want more spice. Dig in and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

© Kitchen Gone Rogue. www.kitchengonerogue.com