This Chicken in Orange Sauce (Pollo a la Naranja) dish is popular in Latin America and Spain. The sauce adds a delicious citrus flavor to the chicken legs and I am sure that everyone will love this recipe.
About this Easy Chicken in Orange Sauce Recipe
The orange juice is wonderful, it caramelizes and absorbs the chicken juices, spices and vegetables as they cook, creating a delicious thick sauce that you can spoon over the chicken
This is a great dish all year round, but you can make it with turkey pieces for a small Thanksgiving gathering.
Ingredients You'll Need
The printable recipe card with exact amounts and cooking directions is below.
Chicken: I like to use bone in whole chicken legs for this recipe, but you can use just the drumsticks, thighs or even chicken breast if you prefer.
Vegetables: I like to use onions, garlic, red bell pepper to make this chicken in orange sauce.
Spices: Salt and Black Pepper.
Orange Juice: Is one of the main ingredients you need to make the sauce.
Chicken Broth: It helps to create a flavorful sauce and to cook the chicken.
Oil and Butter: I like to use a combination of olive oil an butter to cook the vegetables, because it gives a delicious flavor.
Brown Sugar: It helps balancing the orange flavor and gives the sauce a wonderful flavor and consistency. You can replace it with honey.
Fresh Cilantro: To garnish, you can replace it with parsley if you prefer.
How to Make Chicken in Orange Sauce
- Place the olive oil and butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onions, red bell pepper and garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring often until the vegetables are soft.
- Add the chicken legs and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 1 minute and turn to the other side and cook another minute.
- Add the Chicken broth, orange juice and cook for about 2 minutes scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the brown sugar and cover the pot. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked.
- Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve over white rice. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
What to Serve with Chicken in Orange Sauce
This dish is perfect for a simple weeknight meal for your family, but still crowd-pleasingly accesible. You can serve this dish with white rice and broccoli or a potato salad during the summer.
More Chicken Recipes
Colombian Style Breaded Chicken Breast
Roasted Chicken Legs Colombian Style
Chicken in Orange Sauce Recipe (Pollo a la Naranja)
Ingredients
- 4 whole chicken legs Bone-in and skin on
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup white onion chopped
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 3 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt or to your taste more if needed
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ cup orange juice
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Place the olive oil and butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onions, red bell pepper and garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring often until the vegetables are soft.
- Add the chicken legs and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 1 minute on each side.
- Add the chicken broth, orange juice and cook for about 2 minutes scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the brown sugar and cover the pot. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked.
- Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve over white rice. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
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