Paleo General Chicken

Paleo General Chicken (or General Tso’s Chicken) is crispy tender breaded pan-fried chicken engulfed in delicious sauce.

This soy-free, refined sugar-free, gluten-free General Chicken recipe is a healthier take on the classic takeout dish.

Is anyone else here a self-proclaimed annihilator of General Chicken?

Certainly, I’m not the only one!

I’ve mentioned this before here on The Roasted Root, but I basically ate my way through grad school on Panda Express. Double General Chicken (or orange chicken) and all the fried rice, hold the noodles.

…is my order, if you please.

Well, here we are, making this glorious takeout favorite in the comfort of our own home.

And we’re making it grain-free, refined sugar-free, and soy-free. Don’t worry! This beauty is a nearly perfect replica of our much coveted Chinese takeout.

In case you aren’t familiar…

What is General Chicken?:

General Chicken, also known as General Tso’s Chicken or General’s Chicken, is one of the most popular Chinese-inspired dishes found at Chinese restaurants in the U.S. While I’m no historian, a quick google search leads me to conclude General Tso’s Chicken is not authentically Chinese, but more of an American adaptation. It is deep-fried chicken swaddled in a sticky sweet and sour sauce, and let’s just call a spade a spade: it is DELICIOUS.

Ingredients for General Tso’s Chicken:

Sauce: Coconut aminos, molasses, pure maple syrup, rice vinegar, tomato paste, sesame oil, garlic, and sriracha. It may seem like a lot, but you likely already have most of these ingredients on hand. See my Recipe Adaptations section below to see what substitutions you can make. All ingredients combined together results in crazy delicious sweet and sour sauce with just the slightest kick.

Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts (or thighs), egg, tapioca flour, avocado oil for cooking. We chop the chicken, douse it in one well-beaten egg and toss it in tapioca flour to bread the chicken. This ensures the chicken gets nice and crispy and the tapioca flour helps thicken the sauce to ensure that sauce is extra sticky and amazing. 

For Serving: Green onion and sesame seeds – you can skip either/or, but both add to the experience!

How to Make General Chicken:

Add all the ingredients for the sauce to a bowl and whisk together until combined. Set aside until ready to use.

Whisk the egg in a mixing bowl and add the chopped chicken. Use a spoon to stir the chicken and egg together until all of the pieces are well-coated.

Add the tapioca flour to the mixing bowl with the chicken.

Stir well until the chicken is coated in egg and tapioca flour. Note: the longer the chicken sits in this mixture, the more it will stick together, so try to cook it as soon as you can to avoid the chicken sticking together.

Heat the avocado oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. 

Add half of the chicken and cook (in a single layer), stirring occasionally, until browned and crispy, about 2 to 3 minutes. There’s no need to cook the chicken through just yet. Note: if the chicken is sticking together when you transfer it to the skillet, use two spoons to pull the pieces apart while it is cooking. 

Transfer the first batch of chicken to a plate, then brown the remaining chicken. Add the first batch of chicken back into the skillet so that all of the chicken pieces are in it. Pour in the sauce and bring to a full boil.

Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is very thick and chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in the green onion and sesame seeds.

Serve general chicken with choice of cauliflower rice or steamed white or brown rice. 

If you want to be a real winner about it, you can serve it up with Cauliflower Fried Rice. Or if you do grains, you can go for Red Curry Fried Rice, Basil Fried Rice, or Pineapple Fried Rice. 

Recipe Adaptations:

• Replace the coconut aminos with liquid aminos or soy sauce.
• Use virtually any sweetener in place of the molasses and pure maple syrup. Coconut sugar, honey, and brown sugar work great! You can also play with the portions depending on your personal taste.
• Substitute arrowroot flour for the tapioca flour.
• Add 2 to 3 teaspoons of grated fresh ginger to the sauce if you’re a big ginger lover.

More Healthy Takeout Recipes:

• 30-Minute Paleo Orange Chicken
• Healthy Kung Pao Chicken
• Sesame Ginger Cashew Chicken
• Thai Paleo Panang Curry
• 30-Minute Thai Basil Chicken
• Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao) With Ground Turkey

Bringing home the takeout!

My cookbook, Paleo Power Bowls, is now available! CLICK HERE to check it out. Thank you for your support!

If you make this recipe, please feel free to share a photo and tag @The.Roasted.Root on Instagram!

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Paleo General Chicken

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Paleo General Tso's Chicken made grain-free, soy-free and refined sugar-free for a healthier takeout recipe

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Ingredients

Sauce:

• 1/3 cup coconut aminos, or liquid aminos
• 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup, or honey
• 1 Tbsp molasses, or coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 to 3 tsp sriracha, to taste, optional

Chicken:

• 2 large chicken breasts, (1 to 1.5 lbs), chopped
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup tapioca flour, or arrowroot flour
• 2 Tbsp avocado oil

For Serving:

• 2 tsp sesame seeds
• 2 stalks green onion, chopped

Instructions

1. Add all the ingredients for the sauce to a bowl and whisk together until combined. Set aside until ready to use.
2. Whisk the egg in a mixing bowl and add the chopped chicken. Use a spoon to stir the chicken and egg together until all of the pieces are well-coated.
3. Add the tapioca flour to the mixing bowl with the chicken.
4. Stir well until the chicken is coated in egg and tapioca flour. Note: the longer the chicken sits in this mixture, the more it will stick together, so try to cook it as soon as you can to avoid stickage.
5. Heat the avocado oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
6. Add half of the chicken and cook (in a single layer), stirring occasionally, until browned and crispy, about 2 to 3 minutes. There’s no need to cook the chicken through just yet. Note: if the chicken is sticking together when you transfer it to the skillet, use two spoons to pull the pieces apart while it is cooking.
7. Transfer the first batch of chicken to a plate, then brown the remaining chicken.
8. Add the first batch of chicken back into the skillet so that all of the chicken pieces are in it. Pour in the sauce and bring it to a full boil.
9. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is very thick and chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in the green onion and sesame seeds.
10. Serve general chicken with choice of cauliflower rice or steamed white or brown rice.

Nutrition Information

Yield 4 Serving Size 1 of 4
Amount Per Serving Calories 410Total Fat 16gUnsaturated Fat 0gCarbohydrates 19gFiber 1gSugar 15gProtein 39g