Heart Healthy Orange Roasted Chicken

(5.0)
By Judy Capodanno
Published 2/7/2022
Dietitian Reviewed: Jane Schwartz, RDN, CLT
Approved for These Diets:
Heart Healthy | Gluten Free | Diabetic
Heart Healthy Orange Roasted Chicken

This heart healthy Orange Roasted Chicken is packed with the sweet and savory flavors of orange juice, fresh rosemary, and ginger. It's a low sodium roasted chicken dinner that's also low in fat and low calorie. This is a great healthy chicken meal for people following a gluten-free or diabetic-friendly diet.

Discover more heart healthy chicken dinner ideas for flavorful inspiration!

Total Time
120 minutes
Servings
6
Calories
228
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Why You’ll Love This Orange Roasted Chicken

When you’re looking for a chicken dinner recipe that looks like something special and tastes like a million bucks, it’s hard to beat the flavors of orange rosemary chicken. Combining the fresh tastes of citrus with herbs creates a flavor sensation that permeates through the chicken for a roasted chicken that’s anything but ordinary. This heart healthy chicken recipe is low calorie, low fat, low sodium and low cholesterol. It’s also gluten free and diabetic friendly. But what you’ll like most is that you can serve this roasted chicken with orange marmalade and herbs as a family friendly meal any night of the week or for a special occasion.

Chicken is one of the leaner proteins you can eat, although it’s leanest when eaten without the skin. When you want to serve a whole roasted chicken, making a savory sweet glaze can impart loads of flavor so you make the most of your meal. This low calorie chicken recipe relies on fresh citrus, onions, vinegar and herbs to impart a delicious taste and adds no additional fat to the recipe, other than what naturally occurs in the chicken. That makes it a low fat chicken dish in addition to being low calorie, which is good for your heart.

The taste of orange pairs beautifully with chicken and it’s easy to make an orange chicken marinade that adds fresh and vibrant flavor. In this recipe, we used orange juice, orange zest, orange marmalade and whole oranges to create an orange seasoning for chicken that really stands out. The combination of these citrus ingredients adds a depth of flavor and pairs well with the fresh rosemary, ginger, onions and vinegar.

You’ll find that there is no shortage of healthy sides that can be served alongside a roasted chicken dish. Here are some of our favorites:

Putting a whole chicken in the oven is as easy as it gets, but these other one pan chicken recipes are also simple to make:

Health eCooks Cookbook on Amazon

Ingredients

Recipe yields 6 servings

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How to Make Orange Roasted Chicken

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 350°. Season chicken with the salt and pepper. Place half of the orange segments into the chicken cavity.

  2. Step 2

    In a shallow roasting pan, arrange the onion and the remaining half of the orange segments. Add the sherry vinegar. Place the chicken, breast side down, on top of the onion mixture. In a cup, combine orange juice, ginger, orange zest and rosemary. Brush the orange juice mixture over the chicken. Roast for 30 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Turn the chicken, breast side up, and brush with orange marmalade. Roast for 1 hour, basting the chicken every 20 minutes. The chicken is done when a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165°. Let stand for 10 minutes before carving. Garnish individual servings with the unpeeled orange slices.

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Nutrition Facts

Serving Size:
4 oz chicken

228
Calories
3
g
Fat
79
mg
Cholesterol
292
mg
Sodium
20
g
Carbs
1
g
Sat. Fat
1
g
Fiber
24
g
Protein
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Other Recipes Like healthy Orange Roasted Chicken

Chicken is a versatile source of protein that can be made into a variety of meals, no matter what your flavor preference. We have plenty of healthy chicken recipes that are as delicious as they are nutritious. Chicken can often be prepped in advance, so check out these chicken meal prep ideas if you’re looking to get lunch or dinner on the table fast.

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