35 Orange Foods With Recipes—Have You Tried Them All?

Do you need the ultimate list of orange foods?? Look no further! Here you'll find orange foods organized by categories: orange fruits, orange vegetables, orange snack foods, and other orange foods. I even threw in some orange drinks, plus recipes for many of the foods on the list.

Whether you're cheering for your favorite sports team that wears orange, celebrating a local school win where the team wears orange uniforms, or cooking for kids who love orange foods for some odd reason, you've come to the right place to get lots of ideas for orange foods and how to cook with orange foods!

Be sure to also check out my list of 75 Yellow Foods and 75 Red Foods and Drinks!

Orange vegetables

• Carrots
• Butternut squash (try this bright orange butternut mash, or check out these butternut squash recipes)
• Pumpkin
• Sweet potato (try this sweet potato breakfast recipe or these sweet potato recipes)
• Orange bell peppers
• Golden beets (they're orange on the outside, but typically more golden yellow on the inside - try them in this salad with beets and blue cheese or in beet carpaccio)
• Orange tomatoes (though technically, tomatoes are a fruit)

Orange fruit

• Papaya (check out this papaya shake!)
• Persimmons (amazing when chopped and served over yogurt with honey. Read how to tell when a persimmon is ripe)
• Kumquats
• Apricots (try this apricot tomato relish or apricot ice cream)
• Cantaloupe
• Some peaches are orange on the outside and/or inside
• Nectarines
• Oranges
• Clementines
• Tangerines
• Mandarin oranges
• Cara cara oranges
• Mineola oranges
• Ugli fruit
• Some mangos have a more orange color than yellow (try this mango oatmeal)

All of these orange fruits can be enjoyed on their own as a snack (kumquats are pretty tart but I still love them!). But if you want to use orange fruit in recipes, they are great when added to salad - especially peeled citrus fruit. I have a whole collection of mango desserts you can check out. 

Orange snack foods and desserts

• Cheez its (my addiction!!)
• Cheese puffs
• Candy corn
• Orange lollipops
• Cheetos (try this cheetos crusted chicken)
• Goldfish crackers
• Doritos
• Creamsicles (made with orange juice)
• Orange ice pops and icies
• Butterscotch chips have an orange color and can be used almost anywhere where chocolate chips are used - check out these butterscotch blondies!
• Pumpkin cheesecake
• Mango cheesecake

Other orange foods

• Orange chicken (the classic American-Chinese dish with a sticky sweet orange sauce)
• Cheddar cheese (this Mexican lasagna is topped with cheddar and is orange on top!)
• Mimolette cheese (check out these mimolette stuffed mushrooms!)
• Salmon (try these blackened salmon bowls)
• Salmon roe
• Lox (smoked salmon - you can make lox yourself!)
• Trout (try my trout tacos!)
• Turmeric - the spice itself is orange-yellow, though it typically dyes food a deep yellow-orange color, or more of a yellow color when used in smaller amounts (try this turmeric couscous salad)
• Annatto is typically sold as a dried powder and comes from the seeds of the achiote tree, which is native in areas from Mexico to Brazil

Orange drinks

Orange drinks come from orange foods, of course, but here are a few popular orange drinks out there:

• Mimosa (orange juice + champagne or sparkling wine)
• Screwdriver (orange juice + vodka)
• Mango lassi (an Indian yogurt drink blended with mango)
• Frozen mango margaritas (with mango, tequila, triple sec)
• Tequila sunrise
• Orange soda 
• Orange Fanta

Orange foods for a party

If you're just here for orange party food (and not that interested in the fact that apricots are orange), here's a list of orange foods to serve at a party:

Orange appetizers

• Salmon roe toasts
• Lox appetizer platter
• Cheese platter with cheddar cubes
• Put out a few bowls of doritos, cheez-its, and goldfish crackers
• Cheddar or mimolette cheese stuffed mushrooms
• Hummus with a pinch of turmeric to make it orange
• Sweet potato bites topped with guacamole (thinly slice sweet potatoes into circles, season with salt, pepper, and paprika, roast them until soft but still firm enough to pick up, top with guacamole)

Orange dinner ideas

• Start with a spinach salad with mandarin orange slices
• Air fryer orange chicken with turmeric rice instead of white rice
• Mayo baked salmon, and add some shredded cheddar cheese to the mayo topping
• Butternut squash alfredo pasta or get some butternut squash ravioli for an orange surprise on the inside

Check the list above for orange dessert ideas and orange drinks for a party, and you should be all set!

What makes foods orange?

The natural orange color in foods often comes from the antioxidant beta-carotene, which converts to Vitamin A in the body. 

Of course, some foods are artificially dyed orange (hello Cheetos!). Naturally dyed snack foods typically get their color from turmeric and annatto, as well as from dehydrated carrots or sweet potatoes, or from carrot juice or sweet potato juice.

I hope you find this list of orange food ideas useful! 

Is there anything on this list you haven't try but will try now that you've read about it?? Let me know in a comment below! And make sure to save this article for later on Pinterest!