Honey orange shrimp is Asian-inspired and totally delicious. In less than 30 minutes, you’ll have this shrimp in orange sauce on the table!
If you’re anything like me, you love to grab Chinese take-out every once in awhile.
But as delicious as it is, Chinese take-out is probably one of the worst things you can eat. It’s loaded with salt, sugar, MSG, and all kinds of artificial additives and flavors that can leave you feeling bloated and hungover the next day.
Fortunately, there are ways to make your favorite take-out foods healthier, more natural, and all-around nutritious.
I give you honey orange shrimp. By using real oranges, honey, and fresh ginger, you can make some seriously delicious shrimp in orange sauce in less than 30 minutes.
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What does it taste like?
Orange shrimp is sweet, sticky, and super delicious. The sauce is slightly thickened, so it just sticks so well to the shrimp and stir-fry vegetables.
If you’ve never had orange shrimp, think about the kind of sauce that comes on orange chicken. Now, imagine that sauce covering sauteed shrimp and vegetables. So tasty!
Ingredients
Sesame oil – This is a key flavor in this recipe. Sesame oil adds an Asian-style flavor that can’t be replicated. You can buy it at most grocery stores, around where they keep the coconut milk and Sriracha sauce.
Shrimp – Make sure to use a medium-to-large sized shrimp. I used 21/25 shrimp, meaning there are 21-25 shrimp per pound. I also use precooked shrimp, but you can use raw as well.
Garlic – A must-have ingredient. Garlic adds a lot of flavor to this shrimp recipe.
Soy sauce – This balances all the sweetness from the honey and orange flavors, and adds a nice savory flavor to the orange sauce.
Honey – This adds most of the sweetness to the sauce, and it is an essential flavor for this recipe. If you have a toddler under 2, make sure to use pasteurized honey. And remember, babies under 1 year old cannot have honey at all.
Orange – You will use both the zest and the juice from an orange, and I would suggest you zest before you juice it. It’s much hard to zest an orange you’ve already squeezed!
Fresh ginger – Such an awesome flavor, fresh ginger adds a lot of flavor in very small amounts. If you don’t have fresh ginger, you can use dried ginger, but only use about half the amount the recipe calls for.
Corn starch – This will ensure the orange sauce is thick and sticks to the shrimp and vegetables evenly.
Carrots – Make sure to shred these or cut them up matchstick style. They will cook faster and also look really pretty if you do.
Bell peppers – Cut them up fajita-style!
Instructions
- Whisk together the orange juice, orange zest, garlic, soy sauce, honey, ginger, and corn starch, until no clumps remain. Set aside.
- Remove the tails from the shrimp and devein, and set aside.
- Saute the bell peppers and carrots over medium heat until tender (10-15 minutes). Set aside.
- Add the deveined, tail-off shrimp to the skillet, and saute for 4-5 minutes. If using raw shrimp, saute until they turn pink.
- Add the sauce to the skillet with the shrimp. Heat until the sauce is slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.
- Add the peppers and carrots back to the skillet and toss until everything is coated in the orange sauce. Serve over rice, and sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds if desired!
Tips & FAQ
Yes it does! Similarly to other types of meats and seafood, cooking shrimp kills the bacteria found on and in the raw shrimp. Make sure to heat your shrimp to 145 degrees to kill any harmful bacteria.
Orange sauce found at Chinese restaurants is typically made with loads of sugar, oils, MSG, and sometimes artificial flavors and ingredients.
By making orange sauce from scratch with natural ingredients, you can feel good about skipping the take-out without sacrificing any flavor!
Simply whisk together orange juice, orange zest, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, honey, and corn starch. Heat it up on medium heat until it thickens, then remove from heat. Voila! Orange sauce from scratch!
According to most of the seafood industry, deveining and removing the tails from your shrimp is optional, and just based on your preference. I personally like to devein and remove the tails from my shrimp so I don’t have to do so while I’m eating.
Nutritional Info
This healthy orange shrimp recipe is low calorie, low sodium, and has a good amount of protein.
It’s also free of artificial flavors and harmful additives that most take-out restaurants serve. I love natural, whole foods, and I’m willing to bet you do, too!
To keep this recipe low sodium, look for frozen shrimp that have less than 200 mg of sodium per serving, and make sure to use low-sodium soy sauce, too!
Total nutritional content per serving is:
- Calories: 241 calories
- Protein: 16 grams
- Sodium: 423 mg
- Carbohydrates: 28 grams
- Fiber: 2 grams
*This nutritional information is an estimate and calculated based on the ingredients used to create the recipe. The nutritional value of your ingredients may differ slightly. Furthermore, this food is not intended to prevent, diagnose, cure, or treat any disease.
Pricing Info
This entire recipe costs about $9.97, or roughly $2.49 per serving. The most expensive part of this recipe is the shrimp, at just about $6.50 per lb here in Oregon. Even though that’s a pretty expensive protein, it’s still very budget-friendly compared to ordering take-out!
All in all, it’s so much cheaper than you could get at a Chinese restaurant, and so much healthier, too!
Sides
You may be asking yourself, “what goes with orange shrimp?”. Here are some side ideas:
- Coconut rice
- Yakisoba noodles
- Fried rice
- Cold cabbage salad
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Recipe
Honey Orange Shrimp w/Stir Fry Vegetables
Ingredients
- ¼ cup fresh squeezed orange juice (about 1 large orange)
- 1 tbsp orange zest
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp low sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tsp fresh ginger minced
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 2 tbsp sesame oil divided
- 1 red bell pepper sliced fajita style
- 1 green bell pepper sliced fajita style
- 1 cup carrots cut matchstick style
- 1 lbs medium or large shrimp
- green onions & sesame seed (optional)
Instructions
- Combine the orange juice, orange zest, garlic, soy sauce, honey, ginger, and corn starch. Whisk until no clumps remain, and set aside.
- Remove the tails from the shrimp, and set aside.
- Heat 1 tbsp sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add bell peppers and carrots, and saute until tender (10-15 minutes). Set aside.
- In the same skillet, heat 1 tbsp of sesame oil over medium heat. Add the deveined, tail-off shrimp and saute for 4-5 minutes. If using raw shrimp, saute until they turn pink.
- Add the sauce to the skillet with the shrimp. Heat until the sauce is slightly thickened, stirring occasionally, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the peppers and carrots back to the skillet and toss until everything is coated in the orange sauce. Serve over rice, and sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds if desired!
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Orange shrimp with stir fry vegetables is one the most flavorful and easy seafood recipes you’ll ever make! Skip the take-out, and eat out at home this week!
xoxo Megan
Megan, I was recently served this at my sisters house and it was so yummy, even her daughter had some! Amazing work!!!
I’m so glad to hear that!
Delicious! Love this recipe. We had it tonight again and the family really can’t get enough.
So good. Made it just as it says. Would make again!