Instant Pot Orange Chicken recipe made with delicious sweet and spicy citrusy orange sauce. This is an easy healthy meal that is so much better than takeout!
My favorite types of meals for dinner are all-in-one-pot recipes that are easy to prepare. Life is getting too busy to cook every day…so when creating this recipe you will have enough servings for multiple meals.
Since I purchased my Instant Pot, I tried to convert my stove top recipes to Instant Pot versions.
My favorite Orange Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe is mouthwateringly delicious but takes at least two hours to cook. So I simplified the recipe for an Instant Pot while still keeping my signature sweet and sour flavor.
How to make Orange Sauce
Here is what we need to make sweet and spicy Orange Sauce:
- Orange juice
- Apple cider vinegar
- Soy sauce
- Ketchup
- Brown sugar
- Maple syrup
- Red pepper flakes
Just mix all the ingredient together and set aside until ready to use.
How to make Orange Chicken in Instant Pot
-
Sauté the Chicken.
Dice the chicken breasts in to bite size pieces. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
Set your Instant Pot to Sauté on high heat by pressing “SAUTE” button. I like to brown the chicken in three batches, not to overcrowd the pot. Otherwise, your chicken will boil in released juices instead of sautéing to achieve a beautiful golden color. So, sauté each batch of diced and seasoned chicken for about 5 minutes until it has a beautiful golden color. The chicken doesn’t need to be cooked through, since we are going to cook it again.
-
Add Orange Sauce and Cook.
Add all the sautéed chicken in Instant Pot, pour the orange sauce and mix it. Cover with a lid and cook on Manual high pressure for 7 minutes. Make sure that the venting knob is turned to “Sealing”!
When it is done, let the pot naturally release the pressure for 5 minutes. Then switch the knob to venting position to release the steam. Make sure the steam is fully released and the valve is completely down before opening the pot!
-
Thicken the sauce.
Set the Instant Pot to “SAUTE” function again. As soon as the liquid starts boiling, add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with ¼ cup of water. Continue to simmer until the sauce thickens to the desired consistency.
What to serve Orange Chicken
I like to serve Orange Chicken with rice and broccoli. Also, you can sprinkle some sesame seeds and green onions on top.
Enjoy your delicious quick and easy Instant Pot Orange Chicken!
MORE INSTANT POT RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE:
- Instant Pot Pulled Pork
- Instant Pot Turkey Meatballs
- Instant Pot Chicken Wings
- Instant Pot Boneless Short Ribs
- Instant Pot Pasta with Alfredo Sauce
- Instant Pot Pulled Chicken
- Instant Pot Pot Roast
- Instant Pot Oatmeal
- Instant Pot Turkey Chili
- Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup
- Instant Pot Minestrone Soup
- Instant Pot Barley Soup
Did you make this recipe?!? I’d love to know how it turned out! leave a comment and a rating below👇 thank you!
Instant Pot Orange Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken breasts diced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ½ cup orange juice
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons ketchup
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Dice the chicken breasts in to bite size pieces. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
- In a medium size mixing bowl, mix together orange juice, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, maple syrup, and red pepper flakes.
- Set Instant Pot to Sauté on high heat by pressing “sauté” button twice. Sauté chicken in three batches for about 5 minutes, until golden color. After the chicken is done, scoop it out to a different bowl.
- Add sautéed chicken back to Instant Pot and add orange marinade.
- Cover with a lid and cook on Manual high pressure for 7 minutes. Make sure that the venting knob is turned to “Sealing”!
- When it is done, let it naturally release the pressure for 5 minutes. Then switch the knob to venting position and release the steam. Make sure the steam is fully released and the valve is completely down before opening the pot!
- Set the Instant Pot to sauté again. As soon as the liquid starts boiling, add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with ¼ cup of water. Continue to boil until the sauce thickens to the right consistency.
Video
Notes
- When you brown the chicken, it's better to do it in two or three batches, not to overcrowd the pot. Otherwise, your chicken will boil in released juices instead of sautéing and won't the golden color.
Nutrition
Very good but next time I’ll change a few things. There is a lot of cooking time, so I’ll minimize the browning to about 2-3 minutes to avoid drying it out. Also, to give it more Asian flavor, I’ll add some ginger and a tiny bit of sesame oil. I did use the 50% less sugar OJ to make it healthier.
Fast and easy meal for the family. So far I’ve made it twice. My 9 year old requested that I make it every week now ;D
Thanks !
Yaay! Thank you, Diana! I’m so glad you and your family loved the recipe 😉
Very good. Surprisingly had a bite to it with the cayenne pepper. We had rice and broccoli with it. Very impressed. Thanks.
Thank you, Stacy! Glad you liked it!
Hi Veronika,
We all enjoy this wonderful meal
You were right : maple leaf syrup is a great idea
Only our daughter (20 years) didn’t enjoy the “orange juice”, but she is sometimes complicated
We used rice ans green beans
There was just enough sauce to humidify the rice
The green beans, because my father (88) can’t bite on broccolis, but he enjoyed really the nice taste
It stays a great easy meal for us all
Thank you so much for the recipe
Nadine, Didier, Michel, Cédric and Gwenaëlle
Hi Didier! I am so happy you and your family enjoyed this meal! This is the best reward for me when I read reviews like yours! Wishing you well and hope you will try other recipes of mine!)
My chicken was dry any ideas why.
Hi Jen! It’s hard to tell you why it came out dry without seeing it… The only reason I can think is you could overcook it while browning. During this step, we don’t need to cook the chicken through, as we will continue to cook it more later with the sauce.
this looks yummy, could it my frozen for lunches?
Hi Tammy! I usually like to refrigerate it and have for lunch for the next couple of days. But you can freeze it too. It just will take a bit longer to thaw and heat it up)
Really fresh! Next time we will add orange zest for more flavor. Great otherwise!
Thank you, Kim) I am glad you liked it) Orange zest will bring up more flavor!)
Oh my goodness, this looks amazing! I still haven’t jumped on the Instant Pot bandwagon, but this Orange Chicken recipe would be worth it!
I’m all about quick and simple recipes without compromising on the flavors! This orange chicken is just that! Chicken looks amazing, I bet it tastes as good as it looks
Citrusy chicken is a fantastic idea for a weeknight meal. Plus, Instant Pot is my number one kitchen tool and I am always open to try something new !
I love how the orange chicken turned out! Looks so nice and juicy, it definitely puts the instant pot on my radar.
I’m a big fan of orange chicken so this is a good reminder that I really need to get an instant pot so I can try this!
Oh I love orange chicken at restaurants, but not all the fat and calories. I’m always on the lookout for Asian recipes like this one that keep the flavors but are healthier
What a tasty looking orange chicken recipe! I love the chili in there too. Just the right amount of heat!
im all about quick easy dinners too and this orange chicken looks delish!
I have an regular pressure cooker, but I do think that I want to get my hands on an Instant Pot! That orange sauce looks on point! Yum!
I don’t have an Instant Pot…but I do have a pressure cooker. I know I could adapt this recipe to work. Who needs takeout when you can make this wonderful food at home.
This insta-pot chicken is perfect for busy weeknight dinners. I also love anytime I can skip eating out some of my favorite meals and this is one of them.
I’m currently having a pretty intense love affair with my instant pot. I can’t wait to try this recipe!