What can I make with oranges?
Oranges is not only for dessert - it balances salt, chilli, and fat in savoury cooking too. Below are recipes using oranges, then ideas for fruit that is slightly past its best.
12 recipes with oranges
Tacos Al Pastor
A flavorful and colorful Mexican dish inspired by shawarma, made with marinated pork, onions, cilantro, and pineapple, served in a warm tortilla.
Mexican75m4Feijoada
Slow-cooked black bean and pork stew over rice.
Brazilian170m8
Chinese Orange Chicken
Make the orange sauce: Whisk together sauce ingredients in a medium bowl.
Chinese4
Thai drumsticks
step 1 Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and line a baking tray with foil.
Thai4
Apricot & Turkish delight mess
step 1 Place the mascarpone, yogurt, sugar and orange flower water into a large bowl and whisk until thickened.
Turkish4
Slow-cooked, Wadadli-spiced Cubano pork belly
Blitz all the marinade ingredients in a food processor or with a hand blender.
4
Spotted Dick
Put the flour and salt in a bowl.
British4
Honey Yogurt Cheesecake
Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3.
Greek4
Cornes de Gazelle (Gazelle Horns)
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
Algerian4
Tunisian Orange Cake
Preheat oven to 190 C / Gas 5.
Tunisian4
Meang Nem
Rinse the rice, soak in water for about 10 minutes, then drain well.
4
Chicken in Orange Sauce Recipe (Pollo a la Naranja)
Place the olive oil and butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat.
4
Sweet and savoury ways to use oranges
- 1Raw: a squeeze of citrus and a pinch of salt makes oranges taste noticeably brighter.
- 2Roasted or pan-caramelised with a little butter, the sugars concentrate and it turns into a dessert on its own.
- 3Blended into a dressing or sauce, oranges balances chilli, vinegar, and salty cheese.
- 4Overripe fruit is not waste - it is the best candidate for baking, smoothies, and quick compotes.
What goes well with oranges
Oranges is at its best with cinnamon, honey, yogurt, lemon, butter and oats. Any two or three of those, plus oranges, is already a dinner rather than an ingredient list.
Storing oranges
Ripen oranges on the counter, then move it to the fridge to slow things down. Keep it away from bananas and apples, which release ethylene and speed everything nearby toward overripe. Freeze pieces on a tray for smoothies.
Substituting oranges
If you are out of oranges, look for something that behaves the same way in the pan rather than something that tastes the same. Match the moisture level, the cooking time, and the richness, and adjust the liquid slightly if your substitute releases more water. When in doubt, describe what you actually have in the chat and Mr. Chef will rewrite the recipe around it.
Oranges recipes: common questions
- What can I make with oranges and not much else?
- Plenty. With oranges plus an onion, garlic, oil, and salt you already have the base of a skillet dinner, a soup, or a simple sauce. Add a starch - rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes - and it becomes a full meal. The recipes above are ordered so the ones needing the fewest extra items come first.
- What is the quickest oranges recipe?
- Look for the entries above marked 20 minutes or less. As a rule, anything cut small and cooked in a hot pan beats anything roasted whole, and one-pan recipes save more time in cleanup than in cooking.
- Can I substitute oranges?
- In most recipes yes, as long as the replacement plays a similar role - similar moisture, similar cooking time, similar richness. Swapping across roles (a watery vegetable for a starchy one, for instance) usually needs a change in liquid or cooking time too.
- How do I use up leftover oranges?
- Fried rice, a frittata, a grain bowl, a soup, or a quesadilla will absorb almost any leftover oranges without a recipe. If you want something specific, tell Mr. Chef exactly what is in the fridge and it will build a recipe around it.