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Home Blog Course Main Course

Instant Pot Orange Chicken

Sam Guarnieri
Sam Guarnieri Posted: 03/04/21 Updated: 12/15/21
4.75
/5
7 Comments
Jump to Recipe
DF Dairy Free GF Gluten Free

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Pin graphic for Instant Pot orange chicken
Pin graphic for Instant Pot orange chicken
Pin graphic for Instant Pot orange chicken
Pin graphic for Instant Pot orange chicken
Pin graphic for Instant Pot orange chicken
Pin graphic for Instant Pot orange chicken
Pin graphic for Instant Pot orange chicken
Pin graphic for Instant Pot orange chicken
Pin graphic for Instant Pot orange chicken

This Instant Pot orange chicken is bursting with bright citrus flavor! Fresh orange juice and savory soy sauce serve as the base for this better-than-takeout recipe. Simply throw everything in the Instant Pot, and 10 minutes later you’ll have a delicious meal the whole family will love!

Instant Pot Orange Chicken

What Makes This Recipe So Good

  • The Instant Pot as your only cooking tool means cleanup is a breeze! From start to finish, everything for this orange chicken cooks in the Instant Pot. This recipe really couldn’t get any easier.
  • The combination of orange and lemon juice add a fresh citrus kick to this dish. This Instant Pot orange chicken is light and satisfying.
  • Sweet and savory ingredients create an award-winning combo. Savory soy sauce is brilliantly balanced by a touch of brown sugar and orange juice.

Key Ingredients

Orange Juice – Take a nice, big juicy orange, slice it in half, then squeeze as much of the juice out as you can. Avoid using store-bought orange juice, it will taste too sweet and not at all fresh.

Orange Zest – Consider it your secret ingredient! Orange zest will truly take this dish up a notch. Simply take the orange you juiced, run it across a grater, and then measure out a tablespoon of fresh zest.

Ginger – Fresh ginger adds a nice spice to this dish, but it’s totally optional. If you don’t have ginger or can’t find any at the store, leave it out.

Cornstarch – Cornstarch is very important for thickening the orange chicken sauce. Fully dissolve the cornstarch in water before adding it to your sauce. If you’d like to make this recipe paleo, use arrowroot starch instead.

Chef’s Tips

  • Don’t fully cook your chicken breast chunks in Step 1. Sauté in olive oil to lightly cook the outside edges, and then Step 2 will take care of the rest!
  • Add in the cornstarch, and then wait for your sauce to thicken and immediately turn off the heat. Be careful not to overcook the sauce, otherwise it will be too thick.
  • You can easily double this recipe if you’d like! I used a 6-quart Instant Pot, but some sizes of Instant Pot are large enough to hold up to three times the ingredients below. This recipe is perfect for company because the Instant Pot just makes it so easy!
Instant Pot Orange Chicken

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Hey – you’ve made it this far, so now we’re basically best friends! If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a quick review & star rating ★ below. Make sure you follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and Facebook, too!

Instant Pot Orange Chicken
4.75 from 4 votes

Instant Pot Orange Chicken

Prep:10 minutes minutes
Cook:10 minutes minutes
Total:20 minutes minutes
This Instant Pot orange chicken is bursting with bright citrus flavor! Fresh orange juice and savory soy sauce serve as the base for this better-than-takeout recipe. Simply throw everything in the Instant Pot and 10 minutes later you'll have a delicious meal the whole family will love!
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4 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds chicken breast
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup orange juice from one large orange
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 5 cloves garlic minced
  • ¼ cup soy sauce see Notes
  • ½ cup brown sugar see Notes
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger optional
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch see Notes
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • ¼ cup green onions sliced
  • cooked white rice for serving, optional

Equipment

  • Instant Pot

Instructions 

  • Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Turn Instant Pot onto sauté setting. When Instant Pot reads "HOT", add in olive oil, chicken, and salt. Cook for 2 minutes.
    Instant Pot Orange Chicken Process Photo 1
  • In a bowl, mix together the orange juice, orange zest, garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice, and ginger. Add to Instant Pot with chicken. Secure Instant Pot lid. Set to manual pressure cook for 5 minutes. Manually release steam before removing lid.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and water until cornstarch has completely dissolved. Set Instant Pot back to sauté and add in the cornstarch slurry.
  • Stir everything for a couple minutes until sauce has thickened. Turn off Instant Pot and garnish chicken with sliced green onions. Enjoy on its own or serve on a bed of rice.

Notes

  • Make it Paleo: Use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce, coconut sugar instead of brown sugar, and arrowroot starch instead of corn starch.
  • Make it Refined-Sugar-Free: Use maple syrup or honey instead of brown sugar.
 
Recipe yields approximately 4 servings. Nutritional values shown reflect information for 1 serving. Nutritional information does not include rice. Macros may vary slightly depending on the specific brands of ingredients used.
To determine the size of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed, then weigh the entire recipe when finished. Divide the total weight (not including the weight of the bowl, pot, or plate the food is in) by 4. Result will be the weight of one serving.
Recipe was made in a 6-quart Instant Pot.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 452kcal, Carbohydrates: 40g, Protein: 50g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 145mg, Sodium: 1229mg, Potassium: 1022mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 30g, Vitamin A: 200IU, Vitamin C: 29mg, Calcium: 56mg, Iron: 2mg, Net Carbs: 39g

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

 

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

 

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

© Author: Sam Guarnieri

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Sam Guarnieri

Meet Sam Guarnieri

Sam is a travel, food, and fitness enthusiast from the New York metro area who loves creating new and inventive recipes. Her love of food goes all the way back to her early childhood, cooking alongside her mom and Nonna – the two best cooks she knows! She's a big believer that good-for-you food can still explode with flavor and (most importantly) be easy to make. When she's not in the kitchen, Sam can usually be found planning her next vacation, spending time outdoors, or bingeing the latest Netflix docu-series.

Read more...

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  1. Jackie says

    Posted on 2/10/23 at 7:45 pm

    This was delicious! I had one orange and a cava cava orange so I used that. We added a little garlic chili sauce to spice it up a bit and cut the sugar in half. Would make again and again! Thanks for this it will be I. Our quick and easy dinner rotation!4 stars

    Reply
    • Molly | 40 Aprons TeamMolly | 40 Aprons Team says

      Posted on 2/13/23 at 3:00 pm

      Glad you enjoyed, Jackie! Thanks for the review!

      Reply
  2. Sal says

    Posted on 6/17/22 at 3:45 pm

    This recipe is fantastic just as written. No changes necessary. This is definitely going to be a regular around here. Thank you for sharing it.5 stars

    Reply
    • Megan | 40 Aprons TeamMegan | 40 Aprons Team says

      Posted on 6/17/22 at 4:03 pm

      So happy you enjoyed it, Sal! Thanks for leaving a review!

      Reply
  3. Jeannie Loncar says

    Posted on 3/10/21 at 5:04 pm

    Served this dish last night. It was very good. Will make again. I did add green pepper and mandarin oranges for a e tra pop.5 stars

    Reply
  4. Kelly says

    Posted on 3/7/21 at 4:05 pm

    The brown sugar is missing from the instructions. Step 2??? Cant wait to try but not sure where sugar goes..

    Reply
    • Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says

      Posted on 3/8/21 at 10:17 am

      Sorry about that, the brown sugar is in step 2. We’ve updated the recipe to reflect the correct changes!5 stars

      Reply

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