This post contains affiliate links. Click here to see what that means!
That being said, we only promote authors, products, and services that we wholeheartedly stand by!
If you visit Grazed and Enthused, you will find a variety of Middle Eastern-inspired AIP recipes like my AIP Hummus, Beef Shawarma, Lebanese Chicken & Stuffing, and Lamb with Olive Tapenade Rice. These are the dishes I grew up devouring, and craving as a youngster. Our limbic systems, the emotional memory center of the brain, drive us to food reminiscent of family gatherings and childhood. That’s why some people continue their peanut butter and jelly habits far into adulthood and why others just HAVE to make a Chocolate Yule Log every Christmas for fear the holiday will be forever ruined. Personally, I cherish memories of my grandmother patting raw kibbeh (ground meat) with her rosewater and cardamomscented hands as a chicken roasted in the oven. Sharing these family traditions with readers and introducing them to new flavors and ingredients is one part of blogging I really enjoy.
This recipe is one you’ll be craving once you try it, too! It has a light, flowery orange-blossom flavor with hints of cinnamon, ginger, and garlic — all mainstays in a Middle Eastern kitchen. The glaze is thick and naturally sweet while the chicken stays incredibly juicy and tender once marinated in the citrus. Orange blossom water, likely a new ingredient in your pantry, can be found in Middle Eastern grocers, spice stores, or in the international aisle of your local store.
- 2 lbs chicken thighs, bone-in and skinless
- ½ cup orange juice
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ tsp orange blossom water
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp sea salt
- Place chicken thighs in a large glass baking dish in a single layer. Whisk together remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Marinade in the fridge for 2 hours.
- Transfer chicken thighs to a large skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. Reserve the marinade.
- Cook for 5-6 minutes until the bottom side of the chicken turns a medium golden brown. Flip and let the other side cook for 4 more minutes.
- Pour reserved marinade over the thighs and cover with a lid. Let the marinade come to a low boil then turn the heat to medium low. Cook for 6-8 more minutes until each thigh is cooked through and the marinade has reduced to a glaze.
- Transfer the chicken to a serving dish, salt lightly, and pour the glaze from the pan on top of the chicken to serve. Serve warm.
15 comments
What is Coconut Amino and Orange Blossom water??Where do you find them??
Julie – Coconut aminos is a popular Paleo and AIP soy sauce substitute that can be found in health food stores, on Amazon.com, and on the Coconut Secret website (that is the brand I use). Orange blossom water is a widely used fragrant water distilled from orange blossoms that is found in either the international aisle of your grocery store, in Middle Eastern markets, or online as well. I use Cortas brand.These aren’t incredibly common ingredients in the American diet, but they are lovely flavorful additions to the AIP kitchen that you be very creative with!
This looks fantastic, Alaena! I’ll give it a shot without the aminos.
[…] Middle Eastern Glazed Chicken – Autoimmune Paleo […]
can I substitute the orange juice and orange water with another fruit juice and a substitute for the water?
What would you serve this with? I see arugula in the picture, perhaps on a bed of it or with a salad, maybe some cauliflower rice? It looks great, and I just discovered a middle eastern market in my area, I bet I can find the orange blossom water there.
I served with mashed cauliflower and asparagus. It was fantastic!
[…] and the floral notes of rose water and/or orange blossom. In fact, I shared a delicious recipe for Middle Eastern Glazed Chicken which used the […]
I’m sugar sensitive (sucrose) and the tree sap in coconut aminos breaks down to 16% sucrose according to the folks at Coconut Secret. I’ve been eating an AIP diet for 2 months and would love to make your recipe. Any ideas for an AIP friendly substitute?
I can’t eat aminos as they make me sick. Can I substitute coconut water or milk? If so, should I use the same amount?
Made this for dinner and it was fantastic, quick and easy too! Thanks!
I was very excited to make this. I was a little disappointed. After looking back over the recipe and double checking my steps, and then looking at the photos a little more carefully – it looks like there is skin on the chicken in the photos. Is that what the problem was? Was I supposed to be using skin ON chicken? Because the chicken released too much liquid and never even started to brown, and the glaze never thickened. The chicken tasted okay, but it didn’t look anything like the photos and I really missed that Maillard flavor and what I hoped was going to be a glaze. I followed the recipe. Suggestions?
When you say “remaining ingredients” in the first step, what do you mean? What ingredients are used first? Thank you for the clarification.
Loved this, my fussy other half went back for seconds! It took a while to thicken up and I left out the rose water as I didn’t have it. I will definitely be making this again!! Thank you 😊
This dish is so good! I just need to tend to the chicken a bit more closely so it doesn’t burn in the glaze at the end (I had some burn and some not brown much at all – I think I need to use a smaller skillet). I also want to marinade it in the morning so it can go all day, unless you think that would be too long. The orange blossom water makes it!
It goes great with sides of cauliflower rice (I used a Moroccan rice from Phoenix Helix) and sautéed chard + garlic.