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Instant Pot Orange Chicken

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This Instant Pot Orange Chicken is sweet, tangy, and easy to make. This is a dinner that satisfies even picky eaters!

orange chicken in a white bowl with a bowl of rice and plate of orange chicken and rice in the background with title text reading Instant Pot Orange Chicken

I love Instant Pot recipes because they make dinner time less stressful. Unlike a slow cooker, I don’t have to be thinking about dinner before breakfast. And unlike a stovetop meal, I don’t have to babysit the dish as it’s cooking.

This Instant Pot Orange Chicken is a favorite in my house because of its deliciously sweet, tangy flavor. Served with Instant Pot White Rice with some mixed vegetables, it’s a quick and easy weeknight meal, just like my Instant Pot Butter Chicken.

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a plate of rice topped with orange chicken

How to Make Instant Pot Orange Chicken

Ready to get started? Here’s what you need to do.

Ingredients to Make Instant Pot Orange Chicken

To make this dish using your Instant Pot you only need a few basic ingredients:

  • 1 cup of Orange Juice
  • ¼ cup of Soy Sauce (want more make it a ½ cup)
  • 4 Garlic Cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons of Sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of Ginger
  • 1 ½ tablespoon of Sesame Oil
  • 2 lbs. of skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon of water

chopsticks holding a piece of chicken above a white bowl full of orange chicken

Instructions for Making Instant Pot Orange Chicken

To start, we need to make the sauce. In a medium bowl, combine the orange juice, soy sauce, garlic, sugar, and ginger.

I know it sounds like a strange combination, but trust me, they work beautifully together! Mix the sauce ingredients together well, then set the bowl aside.

Next, we need to brown the chicken. Press Sauté on your Instant Pot and wait for the display to read “Hot.”

When the pot is hot, add the sesame oil and chicken.

raw diced chicken in an instant pot

Cook, stirring frequently to cook all sides and prevent the chicken from sticking to the bottom of the pot, for about five minutes. The chicken should look like this:

a spoon in an instant pot filled with cooked diced chicken

Now it’s time to add the sauce. Pour the sauce over the chicken and stir to coat. Cancel Sauté mode.

Secure the lid of your Instant Pot and turn the valve to “Sealing.” Press “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” (depending on your model) and set the time for 4 minutes. The chicken is already mostly cooked so it doesn’t need long to finish.

When the timer beeps at the end of the cook time, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. While the pressure is releasing, mix the cornstarch and water together in a small bowl.

After 10 minutes, move the valve to “Venting” to release the remaining pressure. Remove the lid, press “Cancel” and then press “Saute.”

Add the cornstarch slurry to the pot and cook, stirring often, until the sauce reaches your desired thickness. Your Instant Pot Orange Chicken is ready to serve!

orange chicken in a white bowl with a bowl of rice and plate of orange chicken and rice in the background

More Instant Pot Recipes

If you like Instant Pot recipes, give these recipes a try:

Instant Pot Orange Chicken Recipe

Prefer to print out the recipe? Here’s the recipe card with exact measurements and step-by-step instructions.

📋 Recipe

close up of Instant Pot Orange Chicken

Instant Pot Orange Chicken

Corinne Schmitt
4.97 from 33 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 5
Calories 303 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup orange juice
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 ½ tablespoon sesame oil
  • 2 lbs. skinless boneless chicken breast cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon water

Instructions
 

  • In a medium bowl, combine the orange juice, soy sauce, garlic, sugar, and ginger and mix well. Set the bowl aside.
  • Press Sauté on your Instant Pot. Wait for display to read “Hot”.
  • Add sesame oil and chicken to the pot. Brown chicken for about 5 minutes.
  • Add the liquid mixture to the Instant Pot and stir to coat chicken.
  • Turn Sauté off and secure the Instant Pot lid.
  • Turn the valve to “sealing” and press manual or Pressure Cook, select high pressure and set time for 4 minutes.
  • Once the Instant Pot is done let it Natural Release the pressure for 10 minutes before moving the valve to “venting” for a quick release.
  • While pressure is releasing, mix the cornstarch and water together in a small bowl.
  • When pressure has fully released from the Instant Pot, remove the lid and press Sauté.
  • Add the cornstarch mixture to the Instant Pot and stir for about 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens to your preference.
  • Serve over white rice.

Video

Notes

Nutrition

Calories: 303kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 40gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 116mgSodium: 860mgPotassium: 805mgFiber: 1gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 154IUVitamin C: 28mgCalcium: 21mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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a collage of a white bowl filled with orange chicken with title text reading Instant Pot Orange Chicken Recipe

10 thoughts on “Instant Pot Orange Chicken”

  1. 5 stars
    Orange chicken is one of my favorite to order in famous restaurant…you made the dish look so simple…with instant pot, I’m sure it is a keeper

    Reply
  2. 5 stars
    The ingredients are stocked at my house, so this is super simple to put together. I served it with broccoli and not a bite was left!

    Reply
  3. 5 stars
    Woah! My family loves orange chicken but I hadn’t thought of making it in the Instant Pot. It was delicious and super easy!

    Reply
  4. I have a question re: a stew recipe.
    The recipes call for potatoes and carrots to be cooked along with the beef. I find the length of time to cook the beef is too long for the vegetables as they become too soft. Would it work to cook the beef, for let’s say 20 min, quick release, add the veg., reset for an additional 5 ? minutes. Couldn’t you do this for any vegetable?

    Reply

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