Marinated in a spicy fresh orange sauce and grilled to smoky perfection, this orange marinated chicken will quickly become a cookout favorite.

Bringing the heat to your grill game today! It’s orange chicken, meets spicy, meets grilling and the result is one flavor bomb of a dinner.

While this recipe certainly is very different from your typical orange chicken, a lot of the flavors are similar only with the addition of red pepper flakes and a little smoky flavor from a quick trip to the grill.

Hope you brought your heat chops today, because things are about to get spicy.

We’re also keeping things super low-maintenance here today since you can prep the entirety of this chicken in advance, let it marinate up to 12 hours, and forget about it until you’re ready to grill.

Worth the wait, trust me.

This Grilled Chicken features…

A sweet and spicy fresh orange marinade
Super juicy grilled chicken thighs
Easy to prep ahead of time and marinate up to 12 hours

Making the Grilled Chicken

(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)

Ingredients You Will Need

Garlic
Ginger
Rice wine vinegar
Brown sugar
Soy sauce
Orange
Red pepper flakes
Chicken thighs
Green onions
Sesame seeds

Choosing Your Chicken

I recommend using boneless skinless chicken thighs for this recipe. This cut of chicken is fast to cook up on the grill and turns out super tender and juicy every time especially after being marinated.

If you don’t have thighs on hand, boneless skinless chicken breasts will work great instead, however, you may need to adjust the cook time slightly if they are thicker breasts. Always use a kitchen thermometer to test the internal temperature of meat.

Tips for Perfect Grilled Chicken

Use fresh orange – fresh orange juice and zest adds an unmatchable flavor to the marinade.
Marinate chicken at least 2 hours – a good rule of thumb with marinating is 2 hours if you’re in a hurry and up to 12 if you’ve got some extra time.
Marinate chicken on bottom shelf of fridge – it’s always a good idea to keep raw meats away from fresh produce and on the bottom shelf of your fridge to reduce risk of cross contamination.
Save the marinade – don’t throw out the marinade after removing the chicken. Simmer marinade on the stove several minutes to cook it through and save it for drizzling over chicken after grilling.

Recipe Variations

Try these ideas for a different twist on this chicken.

Adjust heat level – you can skip the red pepper flakes in the marinade if you’re sensitive to spice. Start with 1-1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes for a spicy flavor and up the spice to taste.
Use another citrus – try using half lemon/half orange or half lime/half orange.
Revamp leftovers – chop up any leftovers of this chicken and put it on a salad or in a wrap.

Stovetop and Oven Instructions

Follow these instructions for how to cook the chicken indoors instead of on the grill.

Stovetop: Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet (or brush over a large cast iron grill pan) Once pan is hot, add chicken and sear on both sides until chicken registers 165F, adding more oil to pan as needed. Note: if you are using a thicker cut of chicken, such as a chicken breast, I recommend searing chicken on both sides, then finish cooking in a 400F oven 5-10 minutes.
Oven: Arrange chicken in a single layer on a greased sheet pan. Bake at 400F 20-25 minutes until chicken registers 165F. Optionally, broil chicken 1 inch from heat 2-3 minutes to crisp up the outside.

This is one firecracker of a chicken dish, lemme tell you! The sweet orange flavor really comes through in the marinade and then you get that little punch of heat in the background.

Your new grill favorite awaits!

Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.

These other grilled chicken recipes are a must-try!

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