Instant Pot Orange Chicken

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Skip takeout and make Instant Pot Orange Chicken. Diced chicken is cooked quick and easy in an orange sauce for a delicious meal idea.

Orange Chicken on rice and served with chopsticks

Instant Pot chicken recipes make getting dinner on the table easy. This orange chicken recipe is one of my families favorite. Diced chicken is covered with a delicious orange sauce and served with white rice.

Make sure to check out more of our Asian Recipes. We love to make them at home to make them healthier. If you like instant pot orange chicken recipe, then you are going to love Easy Crockpot Pepper Steak Recipe, Easy Chicken Stir Fry Recipe and Easy Black Pepper Chicken Recipe.

Why We Love Orange Chicken:

Easy Instant Pot Orange Chicken is made with simple ingredients. In less than 30 minutes you can have dinner on the table that is full of flavor. The savory and sweet orange sauce is thick and delicious making the chicken oh so yummy.

If your kids love getting Chinese takeout, make this orange chicken recipe instead. It taste better and you know exactly the ingredients you are adding. Serve with your favorite side dish for a complete pressure cooking meal idea.

What is Orange Chicken?

You are going to love this orange chicken recipe. Chicken breast or chicken thighs are diced up into bite size pieces. Then simple ingredients are combined to make the orange sauce.

This delicious sauce is poured over the diced chicken in the instant pot and then cooked. It is traditionally served with white rice, fried rice and vegetables.

Orange chicken is a popular menu item at your local fast food Asian restaurant.

Ingredients:

Chicken Breasts (diced into bite size pieces)
Cornstarch
Black Pepper
Orange Marmalade
Low Sodium Soy Sauce
Rice Vinegar
Sesame Oil
Minced Garlic
Sesame Seeds
Green Onions, diced

Scroll to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe and ingredients in the recipe card.

Variations Ideas:

Change Chicken – This recipe can be made with chicken breast, chicken thighs, or chicken tenders.
Vegetables – You can easily add vegetables to cook with the orange chicken. We recommend adding slice bell peppers, broccoli, or snow peas. This adds flavor and texture to your orange chicken mixture.
Seasoning – Feel free to change the seasoning or add in seasoning to what you prefer. For an extra kick to this recipe add in a teaspoon of red pepper flakes. You can also add in brown sugar for an even sweeter taste.
Fresh Orange Flavor – To enhance the orange flavor, add in orange zest or a cup orange juice. This really gives this recipe so much flavor and one of our favorite addition.
BBQ Sauce – Feel free to add in sweet baby rays barbecue sauce to balance out the flavors. The sweet and savory combination really is delicious.

How to Make Orange Chicken in the Instant Pot:

Step 1 – Bread Chicken – Place chicken pieces in a bowl. Add the cornstarch and pepper. Toss to coat the chicken in cornstarch mixture.

Breading the diced chicken in a ziplock bag

Step 2 – Add Chicken – Add the chicken to the instant pot.

Step 3 – Mix Orange Sauce Ingredients – Meanwhile in a small bowl whisk together the orange marmalade and soy sauce. Add in rice vinegar, sesame oil, and minced garlic.

Combining the orange sauce ingredients in a bowl

Step 4 – Pour Sauce – Pour the sauce over the chicken and stir to coat in the instant pot.

Diced chicken in the instant pot with the orange sauce

Step 5 – Cover and Cook – Cover and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.

Step 6 – Pressure Release – After the cook time, let the pressure from the instant pot release naturally for 10 minutes. Then move the valve on the lid to the venting position to manually release the remaining pressure from the instant pot.

Step 7 – Serve and Enjoy – Serve topped with the remaining sesame seeds and the green onions.

What is the Orange Sauce made of?

The orange sauce is made with simple ingredients. What makes it orange flavor is the orange marmalade. Add in the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and simple seasoning makes this sauce so delicious.

These ingredients are combined easily in a bowl and then poured over the diced chicken. There is no need to heat the sauce before adding. Which makes less dishes to clean and all cooks easily in the pressure cooker.

What to Serve with Orange Chicken?

Orange chicken can easily be served with many different recipes. It is even delicious served by itself. These are some of our favorite side dishes that are easy to make with simple ingredients.

Instant Pot White Rice – Instant pot white rice is so easy to make. A great way to make a large quantity of rice. We do this all the time to freeze, meal plan and more. You will love how simple this and how much time and money you save. This is the perfect side dish.
Cauliflower Rice – If you are looking for a low carb option to serve with this orange chicken recipe. This is the recipe to make. Cauliflower rice is delicious and easy to make. My kids even will eat this rice when served with Orange Chicken.
Vegetables – Serve this dish with a side of green beans, broccoli and more. This orange chicken served with rice and vegetable makes for a complete meal idea. You can get this entire meal on the table within about 30 minutes.
Brown Rice – You can even make brown rice in the instant pot. We love to prepare ahead of time and freeze for an easy side dish.

Orange Chicken Instant Pot Recipe Tips:

Prepare Chicken – We made this recipe with thawed chicken so we can cut into bite size pieces. If you are starting with frozen chicken, you can still cook this recipe. Just thaw the chicken or cook whole and shred. You can cook frozen chicken in the instant pot.
Corn Starch – Coating the chicken with the cornstarch mixture creates a cornstarch slurry for a thicker sauce. Make sure to not skip this step.
Combining Ingredients – After mixing the orange sauce ingredients in a bowl. Then pour over the diced chicken in the instant pot. Make sure to stir the chicken and the sauce together to completely coat.
Cooking Orange Chicken – We recommend cooking this recipe on high pressure and then do a naturally release. Your chicken should cook perfectly. Cooking time will vary based on your pressure cooker and the size of your chicken.
Serving – Serve this orange chicken immediately after cooking.

Can you Freeze Orange Chicken?

Yes, you can freeze orange chicken. This is a great recipe to double and to freeze the leftovers. You can freeze this recipe either cooked or uncooked.

If you freezing the orange chicken after being cooked, make sure to allow the meal to cool completely. Store both cooked and uncooked orange chicken in a freezer bag and place in the freezer.

This freezer mixture can be store in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can even store in individual containers for smaller portion.

When you are ready to serve again, allow the orange chicken to thaw in the fridge overnight. Then reheat on the stove top or the microwave quick and easy meal idea.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How to Store Leftovers:

Refrigerate the leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You can easily meal prep for the week with this recipe. Divide cooked rice, vegetables and orange chicken in individual containers.
Store in the refrigerator for a quick lunch for the week. Making this recipe for the week allows you to save time and money.

Can I Make in the Slow Cooker?

This recipe can be made in the slow cooker easily. Place the chicken and the sauce ingredients in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for about 3 hours.
This is a great way to cook orange chicken if you do not have pressure cooker.