34 Foods That Are Orange (orange food ideas)

Eat foods that are orange each day to ensure that you are consuming a high level of vitamin C and other essential nutrients specific to orange foods. Eating naturally orange foods, along with a rainbow of others carries nutritional benefits and ensures a well-balanced diet. An ideal recipe is the chocolate orange smoothie you'll find at the bottom of this post.

Eating foods that are orange each day ensures a balanced array of nutrients that are specific to orange foods.

Eating the rainbow is a great way to ensure your body gets a broad array of essential nutrients. In my how to eat the rainbow post, I explain the benefits of eating red, yellow, orange, green, blue, purple and white foods each day. I also have for you a free rainbow food chart that is useful inspiration to eat each color daily.

Jump to:

• Why Orange Foods Are Healthy
• A List of Common Orange Foods
• Other Less Known Orange Foods
• How to Dye Foods Orange
• FAQS
• More Color Themed Foods
• 📖 Recipe

Why Orange Foods Are Healthy

Orange colored foods - we are talking fruits and vegetables - get their bright color from the antioxidant beta-carotene, a vital antioxidant that supports healthy skin, hair and vision. If you find you are craving orange foods, it's most likely because you need more vitamin C. This color also indicates high levels of vitamin A, perfect for vision and immunity, anti-inflammatory phytochemicals such as flavonoids and carotenoids, and immune-boosting phytonutrient xanthophylls. Read on for a list of orange foods, fruits and veggies, to incorporate into your diet, along with a few useful recipes and orange food ideas.

A List of Common Orange Foods

Apricot
Apricots, small and round with a velvety orange skin, more tart in flavor than peaches, offering a good dose of vitamin A and vitamin C. Popular types include moorpark and tilton. Perfect to eat on their own, or in a fruit platter or fruit smoothie.

Beet (orange)
Orange beets, called golden beets, have a sweeter taste compared to their red counterparts. Not commonly found, but delicious when used in the way you would red beets. Golden beets are high in folate, manganese, and beta-carotene, as well as potassium, copper, and fiber and iron.

Bell Pepper (orange)
Crisp and sweet, orange bell peppers, with their blocky shape and bright color, are rich in vitamin C and other antioxidants, promoting overall health. Try them in any cold salad recipe including my chickpea cucumber salad. Popular types include california wonder and orange sun.

Butternut Squash
This squash, with its pear-shaped body and smooth, tan skin, has a nutty, sweet taste. It's rich in vitamins A and C, as well as fiber. Not only is butternut squash great as a vegetable in main entrees, but it's also awesome in desserts, including my 2-ingredient butternut squash fudge. Popular types include waltham and butterbush.

Cantaloupe
This soft sweet melon is high in vitamin A and C, magnesium, potassium and folate. A cup contains only 50 calories. In 2023, there were a rash of recalls from common grocery store pre-cut fruits because they were contaminated in the cutting process, but that is not reflective of a problem with the melon itself - just buy a whole melon and cut it yourself to ensure cleanliness. Popular types include athena and hales best jumbo.

Carrots
Carrots, with their long, slender form and bright orange color, are crisp and mildly sweet, rich in beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A for eye health. Eat carrots on their own or add raw to smoothies or cook them and add them to things like my shiitake mushroom stir fry or my chickpea cucumber salad. Popular types include imperator and danvers.

Cauliflower (orange)
Orange cauliflower is a variety that contains higher levels of beta-carotene, giving it a vibrant orange color. Popular types: cheddar and sunset.

Clementine
These small citrus fruits, resembling mini oranges, are sweet and easy to peel, offering a dose of vitamin C and dietary fiber. Use them in any recipe that uses oranges including my gingerbread oatmeal and my citrus smoothie. Popular types include marisol and fina.

Corn (orange)
You are more familiar with yellow and white corn, but there is an orange corn, and it is considered higher in beta-carotene than the other types which makes sense considering the bright orange color. Popular types include golden bantam, peaches and cream, dziekuje from Argentina, and otto file from Italy.

Habaneros
Habaneros are a very hot chili pepper used in many different dishes, both savory and sweet. They are high in vitamin C and A, potassium, iron and calcium. Their spicy levels can also assist in digestion.

Kumquat
Kumquats, tiny and oval with a thin, edible skin, have a unique sweet and tart flavor. They're a good source of vitamin C. Popular types include nagami and marumi.

Mangoes
Mangos, with their oval shape and vibrant orange skin, are tropical fruits with a juicy, sweet flavor, providing vitamin C and A, along with antioxidants. Try it in a fruit platter in my mango coconut overnight oats or use it as a fruity thickener in most smoothies. Popular types include ataulfo and alphonso.

Nectarine
Nectarines, similar in appearance to peaches but with smooth skin, are juicy and sweet, providing vitamin C and dietary fiber for digestive health. Popular types include fantasia and independence.

Onions
Yellow onions are high in a viricide called allicin which actually supports digestion.

Oranges
This citrus fruit, with its vibrant orange hue and round shape, is sweet and tangy, packed with vitamin C, promoting a healthy immune system. Different types include tangerines, clementines, cara cara, navel, tangelo, pomelo, and valencia oranges. Try them on their own as a delicious snack, juice, or in a recipe such as my gingerbread oatmeal , my citrus smoothie or my chocolate orange smoothie found in the recipe card below.

Orange Pepper (non-bell)
Other types of orange peppers, like the Hungarian Wax pepper, are not bell-shaped but still offer a sweet and mild flavor. Popular types: hungarian wax.

Orange Cauliflower
This cruciferous vegetable is more commonly eaten white, but the yellow version is quite high in vitamin C. Try it in my many cauliflower recipes, including my cauliflower ice cream and my cauliflower brownies. Popular types: cheddar and sunset.

Papaya
Papayas, with their oblong shape and orange flesh, are tropical fruits with a sweet and vibrant taste, known for their high vitamin C content. Popular types include solo and red lady.

Passionfruit
A small fruit, the size of a baseball, holds orange seeds and gel that hold a very sweet, delicious scent. High in vitamin C, this fruit makes a delicious fruit filling or smoothie. Popular types include fuyu and hachiya.

Peach
Peaches, with their fuzzy skin and round shape, are sweet and juicy, containing vitamins A and C, and antioxidants like beta-carotene. There are 300 varieties, but all are divided into two types, clingstone and freestones.

Persimmon
Persimmons, with their round, tomato-like shape and orange color, are sweet, tart and high in vitamins A and C, potassium and fiber. Slice to eat alone, on a platter or in a smoothie. Popular types include fuyu and hachiya.

Pumpkin
Pumpkin is great for eye support. That's because of the antioxidant lutein, beta-carotene, and vitamin E. Eat it cooked or canned, just be sure to choose canned pumpkin puree, not the sugar-ladened pumpkin pie fill. I use pumpkin puree in dozens of desserts instead of oil, including in my healthy chocolate cake and my healthy chocolate cupcakes. Popular types include sugar pie and cinderella.

Squash
There are several orange squashes, including butternut, delicata, kabocha and acorn. This delicious vegetable is a member of the pumpkin family, and its orange meat can be eaten fresh or canned. It works like pumpkin puree in any dessert including my healthy chocolate cake which uses puree instead of eggs, and even my butternut squash fudge, only 2 ingredients.

Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes, with their orange flesh and tapered ends, have a sweet taste and are high in vitamin A, contributing to skin and vision health. Sweet potatoes are also low in calories, one is 100 calories. Try it in my sweet potato brownies or my sweet potato ice cream. Popular types include beauregard and jewel.

Tomatoes (orange)
These juicy vegetables are sometimes debated that they are fruits. Either way, they are sweet, tangy, high in vitamin A and C. Use them in any cold salad recipe including my chickpea cucumber salad. Types include orange slice, sun gold, amana orange, brandywine, Lillian's yellow heirloom, orange russian 117.

Turmeric
Turmeric, a powder and key ingredient in the Middle Eastern dish curry, is high in potassium, vitamin C and iron and is considered a superb anti-inflammatory. Try it in my homemade turmeric shots and my cozy golden milk.

Yam
Yams are a root vegetable similar to sweet potatoes and have a sweet flavor. They are high in vitamins A and C, fiber and potassium.

Other Less Known Orange Foods

And other lesser-known orange foods count too in helping you well-round your diet, including orange lentils, squash blossoms, and orange mushrooms. And not to forget the edible flowers, calendula, chrysanthemum, nasturtium, and marigolds.

Expert tip: I recommend natural foods. Processed foods dyed orange with artificial food dye are not part of the orange foods that help you eat a rainbow diet. These include artificially colored candied fruit, candy corn, skittles, M&Ms, tortillas, processed Mac & Cheese. Yes these are festive and fun for a party, but not for daily consumption to eat the rainbow.

How to Dye Foods Orange

Don't use artificial food dyes full of chemicals. Use natural foods to color your edibles instead. To make food orange, turmeric ground spice is the best option. Dissolve ⅛ teaspoon in a tablespoon of warm water and add to anything you want to add an orange tinge to, even my 2-ingredient sugar cookies.

FAQS

Be sure and visit the USDA for more detail on the nutrition make up of fruits and vegetables. And remember to run any specific medical questions by your own doctor, as well as to get confirmation that my information works for you as I am not a medical professional.

More Color Themed Foods

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📖 Recipe