Instant Pot Orange Chicken—tender bites of chicken in a flavorful orange sauce. And it’s made fast and easy in your Instant Pot.
Related: SLOW COOKER orange chicken recipe
Instant Pot Orange Chicken
Orange chicken is so tasty and it’s a popular option at Chinese takeout restaurants. Why not make it at home instead? My version is probably much healthier than most restaurants since the chicken is not breaded and fried. The sauce tastes amazing and the little secret is that there’s not only orange juice in the recipe but lemon juice. This gives a great citrus taste but believe me the chicken doesn’t taste lemon-y at all!
How do I zest an orange?
The other secret to orange chicken is using fresh orange zest. It just bring so much orange flavor. Don’t skip this ingredient!
- Wash the orange.
- Use a microplane* or the smallest holes of an ordinary grater.
- Gently grate the skin off of the orange part only. Avoid grating off the white pith of the orange. It’s very bitter! Rotate the orange until all the orange part is grated off.
- Scrape the grated orange peel off of the grater/microplane and use in your recipe.
Can I use chicken breasts instead?
I know that many of you will be asking if you can use chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs. You can. I’ve made it both ways. By far I prefer the chicken thighs because the meat is much more tender and it has a lot more flavor. If you use chicken breasts use a 3 minute pressure cooking time instead of 4 minutes.
What should I serve with orange chicken?
White, basmati or jasmine rice are all good options to serve with orange chicken. I haven’t tried the pot in pot method with this recipe but I think that it would work! If your rice isn’t quite done when you open the pot then cover the rice and allow the rice to steam, while you are tending to your chicken. I like to use my stainless steel pan* to cook my rice in. Sometimes I use a Fat Daddios cake pan*.
Some other good options to serve with Instant Pot orange chicken are stir fry vegetables, steamed broccoli, riced cauliflower, fried rice or lo mein noodles. I really liked having the rice to soak up some of the delicious sauce.
Here is a Instant Pot rice cooking chart that may be a good resource for you:
More Recipes You’ll Love…
Instant Pot Chicken and Veggie Korma
What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot Orange Chicken I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly. It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.
Instant Pot Orange Chicken
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
Tender bites of chicken in a flavorful orange sauce. And it’s made fast and easy in your Instant Pot.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (or breasts, see note)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- Zest from one large orange
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 2 Tbsp diced green onions
- 1 tsp sriracha
- 1 cup brown sugar (see note)
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch + 3 Tbsp cold water
Instructions
- Prepare your chicken. Blot it dry with a paper towel. Then trim off excess fat. I like to use kitchen shears. Then cut the chicken into bite size chunks.
- Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. When the display says HOT add in the oil and swirl it around. Add in the chicken, salt and pepper and saute for 2 minutes. Then turn off the Instant Pot.
- In a bowl stir together the orange juice, zest, lemon juice, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, onions and sriracha. Pour the mixture into the Instant Pot.
- Cover and secure the lid. Make sure the valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 4 minutes. When the time is up let the pot sit for 5 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Turn the Instant Pot to the saute setting. Stir in the brown sugar. In a small bowl stir together the cornstarch and water. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the Instant Pot and let the sauce thicken for a couple minutes. Turn off the pot.
- Serve the orange chicken with extra green onions and sesame seeds, if desired. Serve the chicken over rice, if desired.
Notes
If you use chicken breasts use a 3 minute pressure cooking time instead of 4 minutes.
There is lots of sauce for this chicken. You can increase the amount of chicken by 1 pound and not increase the amount of sauce.
Brown sugar: I use 1 cup of brown sugar in this recipe. Many people have made it with half that much or even less.
For the 3 quart pot: Keep the recipe the same, no changes. For the 8 quart pot: Increase the sauce 1 1/2 times so that the pot can come to pressure. Alternately you can make it pot in pot and keep the same ratios as above.
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Asian
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
A family favorite! Very sweet 😀
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Very good. Would recommend using 1/2 cup or less of brown sugar, 1 cup was way to sweet for us! 🙂
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Thanks for the 5 stars! Good tip about the sugar.
If I were to marinate the chicken then remove it from the marinade to brown it a bit it would probably burn because of the marinade residue, correct?
I assume it would, but I’m not 100% sure
I do not have any cornstarch on hand. Can I use flour instead question
Yes you can do that 😊
Thank you for sharing recipes. I look forward to using my InstaPot soon. We are in process of moving and it was Xmas gift from brother. His girlfriend loves hers uses everyday and I have shared many of your recipes with her. Again TY so very much.
I hope you can use it soon too! You will love it! Thanks for sharing the love.
So darn good!
my picky husband said this is one of the top five meals I’ve ever cooked for him, I was shocked. Especially since he loves orange chicken from the Chinese restaurant and I wasn’t sure how he would like it without it being breaded and fried.
I skipped the Sriracha because I don’t like spicy stuff. And we didn’t have green onions, so I used like a half teaspoon of onion powder instead
Otherwise, I made it exactly as it said.
For health reasons, although I loved the sweetness of the sauce, I would maybe try not packing the brown sugar into the cup and just having a loose one cup of brown sugar. Should still be plenty sugary and sweet but save us some calories hopefully.
Oh, and I didn’t see your note about adding more sauce if using an 8 quart pot. I made it as you listed the ingredients in my 8 quart pot and didn’t have any problems! Whew!
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Okay great that the 8 quart pot worked with original recipe. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! And the sugar is probably right, you don’t need as much as it calls for.
Hi Karen, your picture shows color to your sauce/chicken. Mine came out pale following your instructions. How can I add color? We loved the taste but pale chicken wasn’t appetizing.
Also, please tell me how to do pot in pot to cook rice at same time.
Thank you! You are my go to for cooking!!!
For pot in pot rice you can follow along with this video: https://youtu.be/YZ5OGunf60Q
I would marinate the chicken in the sauce for a couple hours. That should help with color and flavor!
I have a questions regarding your Notes below the Orange Chicken Recipe: about the amounts, the size of pot & pot-in-pot.
I noticed if you have an 8 quart, to increase amount of sauce or do pot-in-pot. Also I would actually like to use only ONE pound of chicken. Do I add the chicken & sauce ingredients to my Round Pyrex dish that fits nicely within my 8 qt., water (how much?) to the bottom of the pot, then place the dish on the trivet? Do I need to also COVER the pyrex dish? hope those questions make sense.
Yes place the pyrex on top of a trivet with the chicken and sauce inside. It doesn’t need to be covered. Will work great!
Plan on making this for dinner tonight. Can I use dry sriracha? Or does it have to be the liquid?
I’ve never used dried sriracha. Is it ultra concentrated? I bet it will work fine. Go easy on it…you can always add more
Delicious, despite my many substitutions and deletions. I halved the recipe, then used the pot-in-pot method to cook it.
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Glad it worked out!
Loved this!
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So glad to hear it Crystal!
I have a 8 quart pot. i am not sure what do i add to Increase the sauce 1 1/2 times so that the pot can come to pressure.
I would use:
¼ cup + 2 Tbsp orange juice
Zest from one large orange
¼ cup + 2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp minced ginger
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup diced green onions
1 1/2 tsp sriracha
I dont understand because this does not come to the minimum 2 cups liquid for an 8 qt
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The chicken releases moisture so you don’t need as much liquid to come to pressure.
If I use half the chicken do I half the juice? Will it have enough liquid so it doesn’t burn?
I don’t think you’ll have enough liquid to bring the pot to pressure. So you may want to just keep the sauce part of the recipe the same.
This dish is delicious! Made it for the first time tonight. Served with basmati rice and peas. I have flagged it as a favorite and shared your link with all my sisters!
Yummm!
Thanks!!!
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Thanks for sharing Dawn! Glad you liked it!
Is the brown sugar supposed to be packed?
That’s how I do it!
Have not tried this yet, but I know I will love it. I have a 6 qt. pot, could I double the chicken and sauce. I am new to instant pot cooking, but looking forward to trying all your recipes.
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Yes you can! https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/how-to-double-instant-pot-recipes/
What if I don’t have brown sugar? What is a good substitute?
Maybe a little white sugar and some molasses?
Do you use fresh squeezed juice from the orange, or bottled orange juice? Does it matter?
I use fresh from the orange. Although you certainly could use bottle OJ.
Ohhhh I wish I had seen this comment earlier I used orange juice when I definitely should have used fresh squeezed! Too late it’s cooking now ! Can’t wait to try it thanks for the recipe
I did the same thing the first time. I made it. So I squeezed the juice & froze it for next time.
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I had a partial container of OJ concentrate in the freezer. Scooped out a generous portion.
The result was fantastic. Wife loved it too.
I love this idea Rich!
This was super delicious!! Left out the sriracha because neither my son nor I like spicy things, but without it, it was too sweet (I put in a bit too much brown sugar accidentally too, which didn’t help. LOL). Added some sriracha to my own bowl (& hubby’s), and added green onions and chopped peanuts because didn’t have sesame seeds, and it was perfect that way. Thanks so much for the recipe!!
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Good to know it worked in the end 😊
We don’t like sesame seeds so I stirred in a couple drops of toasted sesame oil for the flavor just before I serve it. A little pinch of Cayenne pepper or Frank’s Hot sauce (We put that sh*t on everything! Lol) subs well for Sriracha if u don’t have it on hand
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Great way to use chicken. I used a bit too much ginger for my family, but not for mr. Yumm!Candace
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Glad to hear you like it!
I used about 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, and added the slices of 2 clementines. Came out really good.
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Good! Glad to hear this Matt.
Karen
Do you up all liquids for an 8qt pot? I’m confused on that part.
Thank you
I would 1.5 times all these ingredients: orange juice, zest, lemon juice, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, onions and sriracha
You can 1.5 times the other ingredients too including the chicken, if you want. It would probably taste best that way.
The 8 quart pot needs more liquid to come to pressure than the 6 quart pot. https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/how-to-double-instant-pot-recipes/
I don’t like Sriracha sauce. Is it okay to omit or replace with something else? I don’t want to buy a whole bottle for just this recipe. Thanks
Hi Lisa, you can just omit!
I used a shake of cayenne instead.
Very delicious, I don’t miss the breading at all! I used a tangelo in place of an orange. Used only 1/2 cup of brown sugar and it was plenty sweet.
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Glad you liked it Carol!
I used the entire 1 cup of brown sugar. Would probably use 1/3 cup the next time. Really good though!
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Good to know! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Made it for a party 2 days ago, it was a hit! Thanks for the recipe. I only did 1/8 of brown sugar and added about 1/4 cup of light chicken broth. Because it came out liquid-y (but with tons of flavor) I also added more cornstarch to thicken the sauce. I didn’t have white sesame, so I added black sesame instead. It was served over coconut jasmine rice.
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Glad you liked it Angela!
I made it for dinner last night. I cut the Brown sugar in half. I would next time use a third cup of Brown sugar. The Orange juice was a lot of sweetness also. But very good.
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Thanks for sharing your experience Brian!
We have an 8 quart Instant Pot. Can you explain in greater detail what do you mean by increasing the sauce by 1 1/2 times? Do you mean increase the amounts by 50% or do you mean double it then add another 50%? I just want to be sure. Thank you so much.
Hi Carl, I meant if a recipe calls for 1 cup you would increase it to 1.5 cups. Make sense?
So logic would tell me to increase the sauce to 2 cups for a 10 quart?
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Yes probably. A 10 quart pot is so large it will take a bit of liquid to come to pressure!
Should I use lemon juice concentrate or fresh squeezed lemon?
both would be fine! I like fresh personally.
If you’re like me and don’t always have the right ingredients on hand…I just pulled out my blender (vita mix) and blended about 6 clementines in place of the orange juice and rind. Came out pretty great! Had some old clementines that needed to be eaten and didn’t want to have to run to the store for just an orange!
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I forgot that I doubled the recipe…so only 3
Clementines would be needed to replace one orange rind and the juice….
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Good way to improvise! I hate going to the store if I don’t absolutely have to.
Do you think it would taste right if I used Swerve Brown Sugar?
No idea! Sorry I’m not helpful but I have never used Swerve before 🙂
You can use swerve in place of the brown sugar. Replace 1:1. But as others have commented that 1 cup of brown sugar was too sweet, others recommended to use 1/2 cup instead. Just something to think about.
We loved this! I followed the recipe and it was perfect. Because of the extra sauce, I decided to add chopped broccoli at the end and just let it get tender in the pot after the chicken and sauce were finished cooking. Served it with jasmine rice!
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Thanks Heidi! I’m glad you liked it!
I often read comments and reviews, but rarely leave a recipe review – the recipe has to be really good.
My family (including protein picky child) loved this! I made a few modifications: omitted orange zest b/c no oranges on hand and reduced brown sugar to 1/2 cup. It still tasted fabulous. I used boneless skinless thighs, and it took a little time to trim fat so next time may try chicken breast with note to lower time. Also, I use the Ginger tube in refrigerated section of grocery. It is so easy to use and adds great flavor without all the peeling/chopping.
Much healthier than the Trader Joe’s breaded version 🙂
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Yay Laura! So glad you took the time to write this 🙂
Thank you , our family loved this recipe . You have so many lovely recipes on your site. This is always my go to site.
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Thank you so much Colleen!
OMG. I can’t say enough good things about this recipe!!! It is FABULOUS! I was a little leery because I’m accustomed to breaded orange chicken but was excited to give it a try as I eat very little gluten and was glad to eliminate that. But seriously, I love orange chicken and this is the best! I had two packages of chicken thighs that, when combined were more like 2 1/2 lbs. And I use Tamari instead of soy sauce b/c it is gluten free (but basically tastes like soy sauce. The only “major” change I made was to use 1/2 cup brown sugar, instead of a whole cup based on other comments. I’m SO glad I did. It was absolutely sweet enough (and I like sweet things for sure). I love, love this recipe! I’m new to Instant Pot cooking (though I cook a lot) and this is honestly the best recipe I’ve made in it. Don’t hesitate to give it a try!
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Nice Mary Ann, I’m so glad you loved it and thanks for sharing your experience!
I made dish tonight and it is extremely sweet. Any suggestions to make this not so sweet and still have enough liquid to pressurize?
You could halve the amount of brown sugar! That’s what I would do.
How would I prepare this dish if I don’t have time to thaw frozen chicken breasts?
I would skip the browning step. Just add the chicken to the pot. In a bowl stir together the orange juice, zest, lemon juice, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, onions and sriracha. Pour the mixture into the Instant Pot. Then I’d cook chicken for 15 minutes with a 10 minute npr.
Thanks for this advice Karen. I made the chicken and got two different reviews from family members. One thought it was too sweet, the other thought it was too “orangy”. I will make this again and adjust by not adding the orange zest and reducing the sugar. I, by the way, loved it!. 🙂
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Ha I guess you can’t please them all!
My instant pot doesn’t have a sauté cycle. What do you suggest?
Really? What brand is your pressure cooker?
Sent this to the wife and picked up the ingredients. She’s excited that I will make it for her.
Good work David!!
If you double the recipe, is the the time the same or does it change?
Time stays the same. https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/how-to-double-instant-pot-recipes/
Thanks for the quick response Karen!
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect since I’m most familiar with the breaded style of Orange Chicken, and I wished the chicken would of been a little more browned, but I liked it a lot!. Maybe it was too much chicken for a 3qt mini to get browned…
Looking forward to trying some of your other recipes!
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You’re welcome David!!
This recipe is absolutely fantastic! Tastes like one of our favorite Asian restaurants orange chicken!
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I’m so glad you liked it Melody!
I will use a bottle of orange sauce. Do I need to add liquid?
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It depends how thick or thin the orange sauce is. If it’s thick you may get the burn message without extra liquid added.
When you said prepare your chicken, did you mean cook it first?
No I meant that you’ll prepare it by Blotting it dry with a paper towel. Then trim off excess fat. I like to use kitchen shears. Then cut the chicken into bite size chunks.
Sounds delicious except for the 1 cup of brown sugar. Any ideas on how to decrease the sugar and make it healthier? Thanks!
You could experiment with less. You add it in after the food has pressure cooked so you could start with 1/4 cup and taste test and go up from there.
Karen,I was thinking of making the orange chicken tonight. I got looking at the instant pot receipt and noticed there is only a half of a cup liquid with the orange and lemon juice… Isn’t
this a BURN situation with such a small liquid amount…Please comment.Thank you
Also the soy sauce adds 2 Tbsp. The chicken puts off about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of liquid per pound. It came to pressure for me no problems.
I plan on trying this recipe tomorrow using the Pot-in-Pot method, with the Instant Pot Mini. I’m relatively new to Instant Pot, and have never used the Pot-in-Pot method. My question is do I still need to put water in the Instant Pot if liquid is in the individual pots (one for this orange chicken and the other for rice). Also, the Pot-in-Pot I purchased as two lids, one is perforated for steaming, and one is solid. The chicken goes in the bottom pot, with the other pot nestled on top if it, but do I use the perforated or solid lid for the rice?
Thanks!
David
Hi David,
You would just put the orange chicken ingredients in the bottom. Then put the pot in pot rice on top with the rice and water in it. No extra water needed. Also I don’t cover my rice with a lid. You can if you want though. I would use the solid lid.
This is excellent!!!! Chicken thighs take a little prep, but so worth it. Loved it!!
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Totally worth it! Glad you liked it!
Can I make this recipe in a crock pot?? What would the cooking time be ??
Thanks,
The recipe for the crock post is at the top of this post. I think this is the link.k
https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/slow-cooker-orange-chicken/
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Yes thanks Ken.
Here is the slow cooker version: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/slow-cooker-orange-chicken/
One of my favourite Thai dishes has chunks/wedges of orange (including the outer peel). How do you think this would hold up under pressure? I’d like to add them in here, but not if they’ll turn to mush. Have you made a recipe that included oranges?
Oh interesting. I’m pretty sure they would turn to mush, even with just a 4 minute pressure cook time.
Thanks for your reply!
Use half brown sugar
I’D LIKE TO TRY THIS WITH TOFU. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS/IDEAS?
Hi Susan, I’m so sorry but I have no experience cooking tofu in the Instant Pot! I have never tried it. But this post from Marci gives some great ideas: https://tidbits-marci.com/pressure-cooker-perfect-tofu/