Get ready to make the BEST Instant Pot Orange Chicken recipe with fresh orange juice and easy-to-find Asian ingredients. This Chinese classic is ready in just 30 minutes and makes way less mess than frying in a skillet! It’s a picky eater dinner favorite and can easily be adapted to be gluten-free and dairy-free, if needed.
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Easy Instant Pot Orange Chicken
Who doesn’t love an easy take-out dinner? But you’re often left feeling uncomfortable and bloated.
Next time you’re craving Chinese take-out, skip the line, save your money, and make this Orange Chicken recipe in the Instant Pot.
You get all the flavor you love from your favorite Chinese restaurant, but it’s MUCH healthier. Your wallet will thank you, too.
This recipe just might be the perfect weeknight meal! It’s easy to make, the kids will love it, and it takes very little hands-on time.
Why We Love this Orange Chicken Recipe
- Ready and on the table in 30 minutes.
- Way fewer dishes and less mess compared to cooking it in a skillet.
- Picky eaters will love it!
- Better for you than a restaurant with healthy, natural ingredients, including fresh oranges.
Ingredients
- Chicken. One pound of chicken breasts is tenderized and then cut into bite-size pieces. You can also opt for thighs if you want even more flavor.
- Starch or Flour. This gives the chicken a nice coating so it can get crispy in the Instant Pot. Use tapioca starch if on a Paleo or Whole30 diet, or a gluten-free 1-to-1 blend if not.
- Oranges. Fresh orange juice and orange zest really pump up the flavor and natural sweetness in this dish.
- Garlic & Ginger. It’s best if you use both FRESH garlic cloves and fresh ginger. I like to buy the jars of ginger paste from the produce section so I can easily scoop out what I need.
- Sweetener. Pure maple syrup is used as the sweetener in this recipe, but coconut sugar, brown sugar, or even honey can be substituted.
- Chili Garlic Paste. Depending on how spicy you like your orange chicken, you can use anywhere from 1 to 2 teaspoons.
- Soy Sauce. Regular soy sauce, gluten-free soy or Tamari sauce, or coconut liquid aminos can all be used interchangeably.
How to Make Instant Pot Orange Chicken
Please see the recipe card below for more detailed ingredient amounts.
1. Prepare the Chicken
In order to get the most juicy and tender chicken, you’ll want to tenderize the chicken breasts before cooking.
It may seem like an unnecessary additional step, but trust me: you’ll get melt-in-your-mouth chicken if you do this!
After you’ve pounded it to about 1-inch thick, cut the chicken into similarly sized 1-inch cubes. Add the chicken to a bowl and toss with the starch or flour, salt, and pepper until it is completely coated.
2. Make the Orange Sauce
The key ingredient to this orange sauce recipe is that you MUST use FRESH orange juice and zest.
Please make sure you DO NOT skimp and buy the orange juice from concentrate. The dish just won’t taste NEARLY as good. Also, make sure you ZEST the oranges before juicing.
Add the orange juice, zest, soy or Tamari sauce, maple syrup, and chili paste to a medium sized bowl and whisk to combine.
You can store this healthy orange sauce in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days if meal prepping ahead of time.
3. Add to the Instant Pot
I have the Instant Pot Duo Plus 6-quart, 9-in-1, and it works for just about any and every use you can imagine!
However, if you think you will be making A LOT of bone broth, or enormous batches of soup, you might want to look into the Instant Pot Duo Plus 8-quart.
Set the Instant Pot to the Sauté function, then carefully add the oils, garlic, and ginger. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
Stir in the cubed chicken and sauté for another 2 to 3 minutes. Pour the orange sauce mixture over the chicken, being sure to get some of the sauce ingredients under the chicken pieces so it doesn’t burn.
One of the most common mistakes people run into when making this recipe is the dreaded burn notice.
To avoid this, make sure you thoroughly scrape the bottom of the Instant Pot with a wooden spoon before pressure cooking.
If any bits of food are stuck, the Instant Pot will think it’s burning and not allow you to cook your chicken.
4. Pressure Cook and Serve
Place the lid on the Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker, being sure to set the steam release valve to closed. Set a manual timer to cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. When it’s done, allow for a 10-minute natural release of the pressure before opening the pressure valve.
Then, turn off the Instant Pot and open the pressure valve for a quick release of the remaining pressure. Be careful of steam!
Serve the orange chicken over white rice or cauliflower rice with sesame seeds and green onions.
What to Serve with Orange Chicken
When you’re ready to dig into this healthy orange chicken recipe, all you need is rice and maybe some veggies to round it out.
Choose your favorite rice, like White Rice, Cauliflower Rice, Jasmine Rice, or Basmati Rice. You can also make your own Chicken Fried Rice.
Green veggies like Steamed Broccoli, Chinese Green Beans, or Roasted Asparagus are healthy, or opt for Air Fryer Carrots.
More Easy Asian Dinner Favorites
Skip the takeout and whip up any of these Asian favorites next time the craving strikes.
- General Tso’s Chicken
- Mongolian Beef
- Instant Pot Yellow Chicken Curry
- Thai Basil Chicken
- Honey Garlic Chicken Stir-Fry
- Thai Yellow Chicken Curry with Carrots and Potatoes
- Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry
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Instant Pot Orange Chicken Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 lb. chicken thighs or breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour or gluten-free 1-to-1 blend
- ½ tsp. salt to taste
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- 2 Tbsp. oil olive or avocado
- 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- ½ tsp. ginger paste or fresh, finely minced
- ¾ cup orange juice freshly squeezed
- 1 Tbsp. orange zest
- 3 Tbsp. soy sauce Tamari, or coconut liquid aminos
- 2 Tbsp. brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 1-2 tsp. chili garlic paste depending on desired spice level
- Sesame seeds toasted, optional
- Green onions optional
- Basmati rice or cauliflower rice for serving
Instructions
- Prepare the Chicken: In a large bowl combine chicken cubes, flour or starch, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat chicken completely.1 lb. chicken thighs, ⅓ cup all purpose flour, ½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. black pepper
- Make the Sauce: In a medium-sized bowl combine orange juice, zest, soy sauce, sugar, and chili garlic paste. Whisk to combine. Pour sauce over chicken and be sure to lift it off the bottom of the pan so it does not burn.¾ cup orange juice, 1 Tbsp. orange zest, 3 Tbsp. soy sauce, 2 Tbsp. brown sugar, 1-2 tsp. chili garlic paste
- Add Everything to the Instant Pot: Add oils, garlic, and ginger to the Instant Pot while it is set to the Sauté function. Sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add chicken cubes and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. After sautéing, scrape the bottom of the pot to ensure any bits are no longer stuck. (This step is VERY important. If you do not scrape the bottom of the pot you'll end up getting that dreaded BURN error.)2 Tbsp. oil, 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil, 2 cloves garlic, ½ tsp. ginger paste
- Pressure Cook: Place lid on Instant Pot and close pressure valve. Using the manual pressure cook function turn to High Pressure and set the timer for 5 minutes. Keep the lid on and the valve closed for an additional 10 minutes after the timer goes off. (This is called a 10 minute natural pressure release, or NPR.)
- Serve the Chicken: Turn the Instant Pot off, and open the pressure valve. Once the lid has unlocked, you can serve your orange chicken over rice with sesame seeds and green onions. Enjoy!Sesame seeds, Green onions, Basmati rice or cauliflower rice
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Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Even my normally picky husband likes this! We do serve it with rice but everything is as written! Thank you for a great recipe I can add into my rotation!
Yay, Sydney! I am so happy you and your hubby enjoy the recipe so much. Thanks so much for your comment and rating!
This recipe looks great! I have a ton of lemons I needs to use though. What do you think about subbing the orange ingredients for lemon? I found a couple other Chinese lemon chicken but none with these yummy ingredients so I wanted to try this but with lemon?
Hi Jenna!! LOVE the idea to use up what ingredients you have on hand. And yes! I think lemon juice would be spectacular in this, but I would reduce the amount of juice to 2/3 cup and increase the maple syrup to 1/3 cup to balance out the lemon’s tart flavor. Would love to hear how this turns out for you!
Thanks for the reply! I will be making it tonight so I will let you know!
You’re very welcome, Jenna! Can’t wait to hear what you think 🙂
This was EXCELLENT! I do think the number of servings is a little under estimated. I swapped out boneless, skinless, chicken thighs and doubled the recipe. I made my own garlic pepper paste and used fresh squeezed/zested oranges. It was more involved than I had expected – largely because I took extra steps – but regardless, until you are familiar with the process, I recommend considering the prep time when putting this in the dinner rotation. So happy with this recipe, it gets a place of honor in our family favorites cookbook. Thank you for sharing it!
Oh wow, Marie!! So honored to be in the family favorites cookbook! And I bet it tasted SO good by using fresh oranges. Definitely worth the extra step. Thanks for your comment and rating 🙂
Sauce turned out really well
Yay, Rachel! So happy to hear that. Thanks for the comment and rating!
Hey there!
I was wondering if instead of maple syrup you can use honey or would that not give it the same flavor?
You absolutely can, Abby! And I often encourage making swaps of honey, maple syrup, and agave nectar according to what you have in your pantry 🙂
I have made this quite a few times and my kids and husband love it!!! So good. Thank you!
Hi Angela!! I’m so happy you and your fam have enjoyed it so much! Thanks so much for your comment and rating 🙂
This recipe was great. We have made it twice now. My family loves it.
Yay, Michelle!! I am so happy you and your family enjoyed it so much. Thanks so much for letting me know and for leaving a comment/rating!
We love this recipe! It has become one of our family’s favorites – thank you! One question – we are wanting to make bigger batches than our InstantPot can handle, so we were thinking of doing a big batch in our dutch oven. Do u know what the conversion time/temp would be for that? I was thinking about 1 hour at 325 f? Would you put more liquid? THanks!
Hi Morgan!! I am SO happy you all enjoy the recipe so much. I think doing a big batch in your oven would be a great idea. I would try 325 degrees for about 30-45 minutes (or until the chicken reaches an internal temp of 165 degrees). I don’t think you will need additional liquid, but do make sure it is covered with aluminum foil! Would love to know how this turns out for you!
So yummy!! I doubled the recipe and used cornstarch because my grocery store didn’t have tapioca starch. It came out perfectly cooked and I was skeptical of the sauté then 5 minute only cook time. This is only the 2nd thing I’ve made in the Instant Pot, but it is magical! The flavors are great in this. I added some steamed broccoli and served over cauliflower rice. Thanks for this recipe!
Oh I love your idea to add the steamed broccoli and serve it over cauli rice. So happy you enjoyed the recipe, Marla! Thanks for the comment and rating!!
Oh em gee! Just finished eating this and it’s DELICIOUS. Instead of cauliflower I roasted broccoli florets and tossed them with the chicken when it was done. SO GOOD! Will make again for sure!
That was such a great idea, Stephanie! So happy you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for your comment and rating! 🙂