This sweet and sticky Instant Pot Orange Chicken is a weeknight winner that’s full of bold flavor. The savory sauce is perfectly balanced with a zesty punch of citrus, warm ginger, and garlic—it’s quick, delicious, and pairs beautifully with rice, noodles, or your favorite veggies!
This is my favorite copycat Chinese takeout recipe. It tastes even better than ordering it from a restaurant and it’s cheaper, too. I love the authentic orange flavor in the sauce mixed with the salty soy sauce and spicy sriracha to provide the perfect balance of flavors. Trust me, the orange sauce is magical and addictive.
The Instant Pot gives the chicken a crispy texture and then cooks in the delectable sauce until it becomes like a glaze that perfectly enrobes each piece. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Why You’ll Love This Instant Pot Orange Chicken
- It pairs with various sides. This orange chicken pairs well with any side dish from various types of rice like jasmine rice, brown rice, or basmati rice to vegetables or even noodles! It’s a very versatile recipe. I love to create entirely different meals every time I make this chicken.
- It’s ready in 30 minutes. Not only is this recipe super flavorful, it’s quick and easy to make! From start to finish, it’s ready to eat in under 30 minutes. It’s perfect when you want a home-cooked dinner but you’re short on time.
- It’s budget-friendly. The ingredients used are simple and easy to find at any grocery store. I love to make this recipe because it doesn’t break the bank and I can feed the entire family something delicious.
What You’ll Need
Below are all of the components needed for the crispy chicken and the rich orange sauce. It’s easy to make and ready in less than half an hour.
- Chicken: I cube boneless skinless chicken breast for this recipe. I find it’s much easier to coat and cook evenly. You may use chicken thighs, but they take a little extra time to cook through.
- Oil: Vegetable oil works great to lightly fry the chicken pieces. Canola is a fantastic alternative if you don’t have vegetable oil.
- Cornstarch and flour: I use a combination of cornstarch and flour to achieve a light and crispy texture on the chicken. Some of the cornstarch is reserved for the sauce as well to act as a thickener.
- Egg: I use this to get the coating to stick to the chicken. It also helps it crisp up as well.
- Orange juice: You will need orange juice for the sauce and to make the cornstarch slurry. This prevents it from diluting the orange flavor.
- Ginger and garlic: These are classic Asian ingredients that are necessary to flavor the sauce and the chicken. The ginger has a little kick while the garlic is pungent. Together they make magic!
- Rice wine vinegar: A subtle punch of vinegar flavor plays off the citrus and brightens the recipe. Rice wine vinegar is a little sweet so it doesn’t make the final product too sour.
- Sugar: The sweetness counteracts the salty soy sauce and spicy sriracha to ensure it’s perfectly balanced and thick.
- Soy sauce: Feel free to use regular or low-sodium soy sauce for this pressure cooker orange chicken.
- Sriracha: This adds the perfect amount of heat to the orange sauce and compliments the other ingredients wonderfully.
- Crushed red pepper: I like the zing of red pepper flakes and this adds great flavor to the chicken.
How to Make Instant Pot Orange Chicken
This is an incredibly easy one-pot orange chicken recipe. If you have an Instant Pot, you have to try this meal.
- Prepare the chicken. Pat your chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Then, cut them into 1-inch chunks.
- Make the dredge. Whisk the eggs in one bowl and then the flour and cornstarch in a separate bowl.
- Coat the chicken. Dip the chicken into the egg mixture and then the flour mixture. Shake off the excess and set the coated pieces to the side.
- Heat the pressure cooker and add oil. Set your Instant Pot to saute. Once it’s hot, add the oil.
- Cook the chicken. Carefully place the chicken into the pot. Allow them to brown for 2-3 minutes and continuously toss them to brown all sides. Remove them from the pot and set aside.
- Deglaze and make the sauce. Pour in ¼ cup of orange juice into the pot to deglaze and scrape up any bits on the bottom. Add the remaining sauce ingredients minus the extra cornstarch and orange juice.
- Add chicken and pressure cook. Put the chicken back into the Instant Pot and toss the chunks in the sauce. Cook for 5 minutes on manual high pressure. Let it naturally release for 10 minutes, turn off the heat, and do a quick pressure release to release any remaining pressure.
- Make the slurry. Switch it back to saute and combine the cornstarch and orange juice.
- Add and simmer. Pour it into the pot and stir it gently. Simmer the orange chicken for 2-3 minutes.
- Let it thicken. Then, turn it off and let it sit to thicken for about 5 minutes.
- Serve. Garnish it with green onions and orange zest and serve it with your favorite side dish.
Serving Ideas
Here are some of my favorite side dish recipes to serve with this Instant Pot orange chicken.
- White Rice
- Sauteed Green Beans
- Glazed Carrots
- Roasted Broccoli
- Cauliflower Rice
- Asian Coleslaw
Tips and Tricks
Make it on the stovetop. Use a large deep skillet, wok, or a heavy-bottomed pan. Follow the same directions as above, except just allow the chicken to simmer in the sauce over low heat to finish cooking. It’s easy and takes a similar amount of time.
Don’t let the chicken get soggy. Patting the raw chicken dry and then placing the brown chicken on clean paper towels to trap grease are great ways to prevent the chicken from getting soggy. The sauce is thick and sticky which should affect the breading too much.
Don’t over-reduce the sauce. Be careful when you simmer the sauce after adding the slurry. If you overreduce the sauce, it will become overly thick and start to burn to the bottom of the pot. Just watch it closely and you’ll be fine!
Proper Storage
Store leftover orange chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Store leftovers in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat it in a skillet over medium heat for 5-7 minutes or in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.
Instant Pot Orange Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breast cut into 1-2 inch pieces
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 large egg
Sauce:
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 Tablespoon ginger paste
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 Tablespoon rice wine
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Cornstarch Slurry:
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons orange juice
- Garnish: 4 green onions sliced extra orange zest
Instructions
- Pat the chicken dry with a few paper towels and after that cut the chicken into 1-2 inch chunks.
- In a small bowl add your 2 eggs and whisk.
- In a separate bowl add your corn flour and all purpose flour. Mix to combine.
- Dip the chicken chunks into the whisked eggs and then into the flour mixture. Shake off to the excess and set to the side. Repeat until all chicken is coated.
- Heat up your pressure cooker: press Sauté. Wait for the Instant Pot indicator to read HOT. Add the oil to the hot.
- Add the chicken to the instant pot and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Turn your chicken over and over for an even cook. Cook until it just starts to get golden brown. Remove the chicken and set to the side. Deglaze the pot with 1/4 cup orange juice and scrape them with a wooden spoon.
- Add the Sauce ingredients to the pot. Stir gently until all the ingredients are combined. Add the chicken and toss until they are coated in sauce.
- Close lid, select Manual, and select 5 minutes on High Pressure. Make sure the vent is closed. Use a 10 minute Natural Release. Turn off the heat. Release the remaining pressure by opening the vent. Open the lid. Select again the Sauté function.
- In a medium bowl combine 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with the orange juice, whisk until all combined with no lumps.
- Add the mixture to the Instant Pot and gently stir to combine. Simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Turn the instant pot off. Allow the chicken to thicken for 5 minutes.
- Serve over rice and garnish with fresh chopped green onions, red chilis, and extra orange zest.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Notes
Nutrition
Leave a Review!
We LOVE hearing from you! Submit your question or comment here.
Your email address will not be published.
3 comments on “Instant Pot Orange Chicken”
Each time I make this recipe, everyone falls in love with it. My only advice is to use simply orange for orange juice. It gives it the most fresh orange flavor. When I tried other brands/off-brand, the orange flavor just wasn’t there.
Thank for the comment and rating C!
Liked this recipe ,used dark meat instead of the breast. FYI there are some typos in your information