Paleo Candied Orange Peels (Gluten-Free)
Paleo Candied Orange Peels recipe. A sugar-free candied orange peel recipe where fresh orange peels are candied in honey. Perfect to snack on or to use in other recipes!
Have you ever tried a chocolate covered candied orange peel or a chocolate bar full of candied orange peels? It’s my new flavor combination obsession! And it inspired me to learn how to make Paleo Candied Orange Peels, which has been on my to-do list for a long time now.
And I do have to say, it’s really not that hard to do! 3 ingredients is all you need to make a refined sugar-free version of candied orange peels.
I used two different recipes for guidance. One from Bright Eyed Baker and one from Allrecipes.com.
Once I got the hang of what I would need to do and how I could create a version with honey instead of sugar, I came up with this Paleo Candied Orange Peels recipe.
Ingredients needed to make these Paleo Candied Orange Peels
- oranges
- honey
- water
How to make candied orange peels without sugar:
Grab two fresh navel oranges.
Cut ¼ inch off from each end of each orange, and “score” the peel/ rind into quarters.
How to score the rind of an orange:
To score the peel, gently yet firmly press into the orange peel with a knife until you feel a bit of a pop and the knife goes through the white pith of the orange.
Don’t go deep enough to hit the fruit of the orange, though.
This process is much easier with oranges that have a thicker white part, or pith.
Then, peel off the rind section by section.
Since I cut each orange peel into quarters, I had 8 large pieces of orange peel.
Then, cut the peels into ¼ inch strips.
Next, fill a pan with water, put the strips of orange peels inside, and boil them for about 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, drain the orange peels and let them dry in a colander/ strainer.
Then, put 1 cup of water and 1 cup of honey into the pan and brought the mixture to a boil.
Let this cook for 5 minutes on medium-high heat and then 5 minutes on medium heat mixing often to keep the bubbles down. The result is a golden syrup of sorts.
Next, add the orange peels to the syrup and let everything simmer over low-medium heat for 45 minutes.
Cook the orange peels until they became translucent.
Then, remove the honey candied orange peels from the pan and let them dry on parchment paper for 10 minutes.
They dry surprisingly fast…. and are really so beautiful covered in the caramelized honey syrup which forms while these simmer.
I found it difficult to not try to eat them as soon as they were done!
Simple as that! And now I can’t wait to use these candied orange peels without sugar in them in muffins, granola, and of course, chocolate desserts!
Oh and PS- if you want to check out a little sneak peak of my recent wedding, you can see a quick little article about it in the Irish times! 🙂
Other desserts with orange that you may enjoy:
Chocolate Orange Fudgy Brownies (Paleo, Gluten-Free)
Paleo Orange Cranberry Muffins (Gluten-Free, Grain-free, Dairy-free)
Paleo Candied Orange Peels (GF)
Ingredients
- 2 navel oranges
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup honey
Instructions
- Cut ¼ inch off from each end of each orange. Then score the skin into quarters. Press gently yet firmly into the orange peels with a knife until there is a bit of a pop and you go through the white pith of the orange. Make sure to stop before hitting the orange fruit.
- Then, using your hands, remove the skin from the orange, including the pith (white part). You should have 8 larger pieces of orange peel.
- Cut the peels into ¼ inch strips.
- Put the strips of orange peels into a large pan, fill the pan with water and bring it all to a boil. Once the water is boiling, cook for 20 minutes, drain using a colander/strainer and set aside.
- Mix, 1 cup of water and 1 cup of honey in a large pan and heat on the stove top over high heat until the mixture boils ( about 1-1.5 min), then lower the heat to medium high and cook for 5 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and cook for another 5 mins. Make sure to mix periodically at the start, and then to mix it often to keep the bubbles down. The result will be a golden syrup.
- Add the peels to the syrup and heat over low-medium. Let everything simmer for 45 minutes. (check regularly to make sure that there is always a little bit of syrup in there… if it runs out, it will burn)
- The candied orange peels are done when they are translucent.
- Remove the orange peels from the pan, and lay them out to dry on parchment paper for about 10 mins.
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19 Comments on “Paleo Candied Orange Peels (Gluten-Free)”
What is the purpose of boiling the peel before preserving in the honey syrup? I’d love to do this without boiling the peel first. Wouldn’t you lose lots of the active ingredients, oils etc?
Good question 🙂 I am not totally sure, I just based this recipe on other candied orange peel recipes that I had made in the past.
If you try it without boiling them and it works, let me know!
If you’re still curious, the boiling in water is supposed to reduce bitterness! I’ve read recipes that say to do it as many as three times. I’ve made candied orange peels a few times before, always with sugar. Does this version taste the same as the traditional recipe, or does it have a different taste and texture? This looks like a really cool variation!
It tastes similar, but I honestly have never made traditional candied orange peels before so I can’t say 100%. It has the same texture and I love using it to make other baked goods. 🙂
I believe to take any bitterness out. I make lemon preserves and I soak the slices in hot water then refrigerate for a whole day then discard the water and again heat another pot of water up to when you can still safely touch it with slices of lemon in it and refrigerate later one more night before I cooked it in syrup the next morning. No bitterness in there whatsoever.
Every recipie I have seen has sugar being added to water to make a syrup. I wonder if just boiling them in maple syrup after they have been blanched would be the same thing?
I don’t see why not! I usually use honey to replace white sugar, but I think maple would work as well… plus I bet it would add such a good flavor!
I’m making them now….but I’m skipping the first process of boiling them first since I want to preserve as many of the peel’s nutrients as possible. I decided to let it simmer in a pan on low heat for an hour. I’m thinking that I’ll save any glaze that might be left over to add to tea if it isn’t hard as a rock (in which case I may go ahead and eat it as candy!?). I’ll be sure to let you know how they turn out!
Yes please let me know how it worked out!!
Do you think the candied orange or lemon peel recipe would work with maple syrup instead of honey?
Yes I think it would work with maple syrup instead. I haven’t tried it but I don’t see why not. 🙂
I will definitely try this!
Do you think it would work with clementine/tangerine peel?
I’m also wondering how to store the finished product and how long it keeps?
I do think it would work but may take less time since clementine peels are thinner. I would store it in a tupperware in the fridge. I am not totally sure how long they last, but I did some research on candied orange peels and found that they can last anywhere from 2 day to several months…. sorry that’s not much help!
Hi, I have a question as to how to store the candied orange peel?
I just made my first try at it and it worked out wonderfully.
I’m so glad! I would store it in an airtight container in between rows of parchment paper. You could refrigerate it if you want it to last longer.
I’ve done this now with lemon peel and with mandarin orange peel, and used a mesquite honey with each (honey harvested from bees whose pollen is exclusively from mesquite trees, not smoked honey). The lemon really needed to cook longer, as it came out much too bitter and the rind was too thick and chewy otherwise.
However, this is a great recipe! I appreciate you posting it.
I love how this turned out! I put the rinds in a dehydrator overnight and then I rolled them in monkfruit sugar to keep them from sticking together! My kids really love it and it’s so much more healthy than typical fruit snacks from the store. So yummy! Thank you!
I’m so so glad to hear that. I love the idea of adding monkfruit sugar!