Instant Pot Orange Chicken – 30 Minutes
I love using my Instant Pot to make easy and delicious dishes, and this Instant Pot Orange Chicken is the most popular recipe on the blog. I can assure you that it is way better than takeout, made with tender chicken in the most amazing, sweet-and-tangy Asian orange sauce. Highly versatile and easy to make, this dish is ready in just 30 minutes and is one that the whole family will love, even the picky eaters.
If you are an Asian food lover like me, you have probably had this dish at your local Chinese restaurant and wondered what they put in it that gives it its deep, zesty orange flavor. Well, now you can make it yourself, thanks to the best foolproof recipe. I serve it with egg fried rice or pressure-cooker white rice, which can be cooked simultaneously; I explain how in my Expert Tip section. This is a meal I can rely on that my family will ask for seconds, even my picky 4-year-old daughter.
Table of contents
This is one of the recipes that I am really proud of, and that has been viewed by millions of visitors. It always gets rave reviews, and I fully understand why. This Instant Pot version is a must-try. The end result is nothing short of spectacular. The chicken is soft and tender, and the sauce is like a delicious orange glaze. The fresh zest is the star of the recipe, and you will instantly notice it’s a simple, fuss-free way to elevate your weeknight dinner.
Why you will love this recipe
- Make it in minutes: I developed this recipe to take just under 30 minutes, making it perfect for busy weeknights or special occasions. Either way, it requires minimal time and effort.
- It’s easy to make: As a trained chef, I strive to deliver to my readers lots of flavor with minimal effort. This easy recipe is no exception. Sauté the meat (optional), then transfer it to the pan and cook with the other ingredients.
- One pot to clean: I made sure this popular takeout dish was a one-pot meal, so there’s only one dish to wash. Also, I found a way to cook the rice at the same time.
- Everyone loves it: This easy recipe is neither too spicy nor too sweet. It’s right in the middle.
What you will need
- Chicken – I prefer boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into one-inch pieces.
- Vegetable oil – Canola oil for searing the chicken, but this is an optional step.
- Orange – Using fresh orange zest and juice is essential for a fantastic orange sauce that will captivate your taste buds. First, zest the orange, then juice it.
- Tomato sauce – While this is optional, I love the tangy flavor it adds, helping balance the sweetness of the sauce.
- Aromatics – Freshly grated ginger and pungent garlic, to add to the sweet-and-savory sauce, deepening and enriching its flavor profile.
- Sweetener – I use a combination of white and brown sugar, but honey or agave also works well.
- Flavor boosters – Rice wine vinegar adds a lightly sweet, mildly tangy vinegar flavor. Soy sauce for saltiness and Sriracha sauce for a little bit of heat.
- Thickener: I make a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce.
How to prepare
Sauté the meat: I turn the Instant Pot ON, select “sauté” mode, and adjust the heat to medium. Then, I add the oil to the bottom of the pot and add the boneless chicken breasts. I sauté the meat for about 2-3 minutes, stirring a few times, until it just starts to get golden. When sautéing, it’s important to stir constantly to prevent sticking. This step is optional and can be skipped if you are in a hurry.
Make the sauce: Once the meat is browned, I add all the sauce ingredients to the pot, stirring to combine with the tender chunks of chicken. I close the lid, select the manual setting, and set the cook time to 5 minutes on High Pressure. Make sure the vent is closed.
Natural pressure release: After, allow a 10-minute natural release.
Quick pressure release: Open the vent and quickly release the remaining pressure.
Add the cornstarch: Finally, I add the cornstarch to the mixture and gently stir until all the ingredients are combined and there are no lumps. I cook it on the Sauté function for a few more minutes, stirring gently, until the sauce thickens.
Serve: I enjoy it warm with some white or brown rice, sprinkled with sesame seeds, chopped green onion, and orange zest, and served with steamed broccoli on the side.
Expert tip
The pot-in-pot method
To reduce time and effort, you can use my pot-in-pot cooking method. This is where you cook other food in small heat-proof bowls or pans inside your Instant Pot’s cooking pot. It is a practical way to cook a whole meal in one pot without having to mix everything. It also makes cleanup much easier and is very time-efficient! This works when you want to steam and reheat multiple dishes.
So, to use this method, follow all the steps for making the orange chicken, then, right before closing the pot, place a long-legged trivet inside on top of the chicken and put the rice in a stackable steamer pan on top of the trivet. I have tested it, and the cooking time stays the same. Then, when the chicken is ready, the rice will be ready too. Check the details about the pot-in-pot method described here.
More tips to consider:
- Fresh zest is an essential part of this recipe; I use the zest of one whole fresh orange for an incredible orange flavor.
- Besides the orange, the chicken is essential, so get high-quality organic, skinless chicken.
- Remember to scrape the bottom of the pot well after you finish sautéing so you do not end up with the dreaded BURN notice.
- Also, remember that sauteing the chicken is optional; if you are short on time, just dump all the ingredients, except the slurry, stir, and cook.
- Use a cornstarch slurry, not flour, to thicken. Flour will make your sauce too clumpy.
- Using orange juice in the cornstarch slurry is a trick to make everything taste even better.
Recipe variations
- Lemon lime chicken: I have tried this with lemon and lime for a different flavor. I enjoyed both, but when I mixed them, it was incredible.
- Barbecue orange chicken: Take everything to the next level with your favorite barbecue sauce instead of tomato sauce. This adds a whole other layer of flavor.
- Orange flavor: Intensify the citrus flavor by adding 2 tablespoons of orange marmalade instead of the brown sugar.
- Extra spicy: I always have to have an extra-spicy version of everything because there are so many spicy-food lovers out there. Toss in some poblano peppers or cayenne pepper for extra heat.
- Turn off the heat: On the other hand, if you do not want any heat, leave out the sriracha sauce.
- Other meat: For a different taste and texture, use pork, turkey, beef, or ham instead of chicken.
How to serve:
Sweet-and-savory Instant Pot orange chicken pairs well with a variety of side dishes. My kids love it with soba noodles, this coconut rice with a tropical twist, and crispy egg rolls on the side. For a Friday dinner feast, I like to make a variety of veggies so everyone can choose. This involves my cauliflower rice, perfectly roasted asparagus, and roasted bok choy.
This meal is so good, and believe me when I tell you that people go crazy for it, that I make it for guests and special occasions. In those cases, we start with a traditional Asian soup, such as this hot-and-sour soup, and on the side, I have my signature pineapple fried rice served in pineapple boats. For dessert, everyone usually expects my old-fashioned creamy rice pudding.
How to store leftovers:
- Refrigerate: The best way to store leftovers is to let them cool completely first. After that, transfer them to an airtight container and refrigerate for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: In addition, to freeze this meal, just transfer the cooled leftovers to a freezer-safe container or freezer bag. Next, freeze for up to 2-3 months.
- Thaw: Finally, when ready to serve, transfer it to the refrigerator section and thaw overnight.
- Reheat: Reheat on the stove over medium heat.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can use frozen chicken in this recipe. If you use frozen chicken, skip the sauté step and dump it all in for 10 minutes under high pressure. This is a faster, easier process, but it does not mean you get better-tasting orange chicken. I do not recommend this cooking method unless you are in a big hurry and absolutely do not have the time to wait for your chicken to thaw out or to get fresh chicken.
First, keep in mind that the sauce DOES NOT thicken while pressure cooking. When you open the pot, it will be thin and kind of watery. Adding the cornstarch slurry and cooking it on Saute is what makes it thick andglossy. If you want to thicken it further, add another shot of cornstarch slurry made with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons of water or orange juice.
When chicken turns chewy, it is almost always because it is overcooked. It is easy to overcook chicken in the Instant Pot, especially with boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I like to use chicken thighs for this recipe because they are juicier and have a meatier flavor. When chicken is overcooked, the moisture is removed, making the protein fibers chewy and rubbery. It does not matter how much liquid you cook it in. If they are overcooked, they will still be dry. The cooking time for this recipe is five minutes.
Yes, this is a great recipe for meal prep. The leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days or frozen for 2 months. I also recommend mixing the raw chicken pieces with the sauce ingredients, adding the mixture to a ziplock bag, and freezing it. Thaw it under warm water before adding it to the Instant Pot and cooking.
More instant pot chicken recipes:
Loved this recipe? I’d love to hear from you! 💛 Leave a 5-star rating ⭐️ in the recipe card below and share your thoughts in the comments – I read and appreciate every single one!
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Instant Pot Orange Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken breast or thighs cut into 1-2 inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Sauce:
- 1 cup orange juice no sugar added
- 1 tablespoon ginger grated
- 6 cloves garlic minced – or use less, I like it garlicky
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar or dry white wine
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce optional
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup lite soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha or to taste
- zest from 1 orange
Cornstarch Slurry:
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
Garnish:
- 4 green onions sliced
- extra orange zest
Instructions
Sauté (this step is optional and can be skipped if you're in a hurry).
- It is important that the chicken has no extra moisture. Dry it with paper towels, then cut it into 1- to 2-inch chunks.
- Heat up your pressure cooker: press Sauté, then click the Adjust button and select More to activate the Sauté More function. This means that the food will be sautéed over medium-high heat. Wait for the Instant Pot indicator to read HOT.
- Add the oil to the hot Instant Pot, add the chicken, and sauté for 2-3 minutes, stirring a few times. Cook until it just starts to get golden. When sautéing it, stir constantly so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
- After sautéing the chicken, check for any bits that may be stuck to the bottom of the pot. If you find any, deglaze the pot with 1/4 cup of orange juice, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up the stuck bits. Leaving these bits on the bottom can lead to burning or may prevent the pot from reaching pressure.
Sauce and Pressure Cook:
- Combine the sauce ingredients in the pot: 3/4 cup of orange juice, minced garlic, ginger, soy sauce, white sugar, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, orange zest, and Sriracha sauce. You can omit the Sriracha sauce or add more if you like your food spicier.
- If you choose to use tomato sauce, add it to the recipe. The sauce adds a tangy flavor that complements the overall sweetness, making it taste more savory. Ultimately, it's up to your personal preference. I enjoy it both ways: with and without the sauce. You can use less sauce or leave it out entirely if you prefer a pure orange aroma.
- Stir gently until all the ingredients are combined and coated in sauce.
- Close the 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.
Thicken and serve:
- Select the Sauté function again on LOW. In a medium bowl, combine two tablespoons of cornstarch with the orange juice, whisking until well combined and free of lumps.
- Add the mixture to the Instant Pot and gently stir to combine. Cook on the Sauté function for a few more minutes, stirring gently, until the sauce thickens. Simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- If you want the sauce even thicker, mix one more tablespoon of cornstarch with orange juice and add it to the pot.
- Let the Orange Chicken stand for 5-7 minutes; the sauce will thicken more.
- Serve over rice and garnish with fresh chopped green onions and extra orange zest.
Video
Notes
The pot-in-pot method
To reduce time and effort, you can use my pot-in-pot cooking method. This is where you cook other food in small heat-proof bowls or pans inside your Instant Pot’s cooking pot. It is a practical way to cook a whole meal in one pot without having to mix everything. It also makes cleanup much easier and is very time-efficient! This works when you want to steam and reheat multiple dishes. So, to use this method, follow all the steps for making the orange chicken, then, right before closing the pot, place a long-legged trivet inside on top of the chicken and put the rice in a stackable steamer pan on top of the trivet. I have tested it, and the cooking time stays the same. Then, when the chicken is ready, the rice will be ready too. Check the details about the pot-in-pot method described here.More tips to consider:
- Fresh zest is an essential part of this recipe; I use the zest of one whole fresh orange for an incredible orange flavor.
- Besides the orange, the chicken is essential, so get high-quality organic, skinless chicken.
- Remember to scrape the bottom of the pot well after you finish sautéing so you do not end up with the dreaded BURN notice.
- Also, remember that sauteing the chicken is optional; if you are short on time, just dump all the ingredients, except the slurry, stir, and cook.
- Use a cornstarch slurry, not flour, to thicken. Flour will make your sauce too clumpy.
- Using orange juice in the cornstarch slurry is a trick to make everything taste even better.
I’m always looking for new instant pot recipes! Love the flavors in this recipe!
I am new to the instant pot and am making the orange chicken today. The recipe says to use the manual setting, there isn’t a manual button so I’m not sure how to program the cook time. Can anyone help? Thanks, Gail
Hi, the Manual button has been replaced with ‘pressure cook’ button on newer models.
I believe it’s the pressure cook button
Oh my. This looks amazing, Can’t wait to try ut!
HECK YES! I need to try this IP-o-goodnesss stat! Love it girly!
This is one of our favorite take out dishes! Can’t wait to try this one at home!
This looks so much better than takeout!
I need to get myself an Instant Pot pronto!
NEED this for dinner tonight!
Love one pot dinners! So easy!
So I made this for dinner tonight. I did add some red and green pepper and onion. This is only the second dish I have made in the IP. I would like to know how to cook the chicken without the vegs disintegrating. The last thing I made was Sweet potato, coconut chicken curry. The time called for 15 mins under pressure. The vegetables disintegrated. Same thing with this recipe on the poultry setting for only 7 mins. Do you, or anyone else out there have a solution for this? BTW, the flavor was awesome. Served over Cauli-rice.
Hi there 🙂 I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe 🙂 but if you liked it so much why did you give four stars? 🙂 just curious. Ok, so moving onto the veggies, yes they will disintegrate, cause if they are not in some type of broth, they are being over cooked. The red and green peppers need only 1-3 minutes of cooking on High Pressure and only 5 on Low Pressure, so they are being overcooked.
There are a few things you can try if adding veggies to a recipe that doesn’t ask for some, you can steam them in the instant pot before you start on the recipe, it just takes a few minutes and you can mix them in later or serve on the side.
Other option, when you open the instant pot, like in the Orange Chicken Case, you can select the Saute function, add the veggies and cook for a few minutes, this would work for peppers, snap peas, thinly sliced mushrooms.
Let me know if that helps!
Cut your veggies bigger and throw in raw.
Can we add the rice to the pot all together?
No, not for this recipe, sorry.
Can I double the recipe? and if I can do I add some additional time? How much?
no need to adjust the cooking time.
Actually you very much can cook rice with it, in the Instant Pot (or “IP). I’ve done it many times, without any burn notices either. There are a variety of ways to do this. One way is to make a “bowl” with non-stick foil (you can use one of your mixing bowls as a mold, just don’t make the bowl high) Another way is to use a springform cake pan that fits inside with at least 1 1/2 inches of space all the way around in the IP or use stackable IP dishes, then set it on top of the stew, add 1 cup of additional broth or water and it will steam the rice. There is no need to add additional time to the recipe and when it’s done, just mix it all up together. I have laid the rice right on top of the stew, but without mixing and it’s worked perfectly for me.
I try to avoid vegetable oil. Do you know if this recipe would work with olive oil?
Yes, it will 🙂 I am happy to say that I actually tried it with olive oil 🙂
Yum! I didn’t have tomato sauce, so I used tomato paste and added some more orange juice. I will probably add some red pepper flakes next time since I like ?! I made enough for a several meals, and I can’t wait to see how this sauce carmelizes when I heat it up on the stove tomorrow night. Definitely going into my Pepper Plate file!
Hi Gayle 🙂 so excited that you loved the recipe. Yes! You can add more pepper flakes to make it as HOT as you like! Thank you very much for coming back to let me know how it turned out!
Can I make it without a pressure cooker? My husband’s brother was burned from a pressure cooker and he won’t have one in the house
Hi nance, what a horrible experience. Yes, you can, I offer slow cooker suggestions in the post under Tips & Tricks, on how to make it in the slow cooker. You can just make it on the stove top too. Brown the chicken, add the rest of the ingredients, add the slurry and the end.
Hi there
I am making this tonight for dinner, just got my new instant pot duo! Can i double the recipe?
Yes, you can! Lem me know how it turns out!
I am new to the instant pot and this is the third recipe I’ve tried making and so far, the best! We had it over white rice. We made 2 substitutions, sesame oil instead of vegetable oil and tomato paste and some water instead of tomato sauce. I’ll use tomato sauce when I make it again. The paste seemed to make the sauce a little thicker, and once I added the corn starch it got really thick-we just added a little more water, since we used fresh squeezed oranges and ran out of juice. Maybe I didn’t use enough water to thin the paste, I’m not the best cook! Either way, this had great flavor and turned out really good!
Very happy that you liked it, use more water/juice to make the sauce thinner if you prefer it that way! thank you for commenting with your results!
Any suggestions on substitutions for the soy sauce? Allergic 🙁
can you have tamari sauce?
I use Coconut Aminos instead of Soy sauce in everything.
Very helpful H. Delvin! Newly discovered my allergy to soy and was having a hard time to figure what best to replace with whenever recipes call for soy sauce. I’m very happy to find that Coconut Aminos is both gluten-free and soy-free. Thank you!
Enjoyed it! I used red pepper flakes instead of sriracha sauce. Next time I think I will add it while it thickens instead of cooking it in. Yum!!
Erin – I have a child with Celiac and cook almost everything we eat. Whenever soy sauce is called for, I substitute tamari sauce and get great results. San-J offers a low sodium variety as well as regular and organic. Hope that helps!
-Gina
PS- I just found this recipe today and am going to make it for dinner tonight. I’ll post about how it came out. We are very excited to try it b/c we love Chinese food and can’t find it GF anywhere!!
Just made this last night for a big family supper and everyone loved it !! Great recipe thanks !!
So happy that you enjoyed it! Thank you for letting me know!
Can this be done with frozen chicken breast tenderloins? What modifications should I make?
You will have to increase the cooking time to 12 minutes.
The cooking time should stay the same. It will take longer to come to pressure though if the chicken is frozen
Strangely, although I have an instant pot, on the poultry setting I could not program it for less than 10 minutes. So instead I chose manual on high pressure for 7 minutes and it was burnt on the bottom of the pot. Next time I’ll try medium pressure I guess. Otherwise it is delicious and I’ll be making it again.
This is my second time making this dish. We LOVED it the first time which was just last week. We have been craving it again so making it tonight. However, I would like to double the recipe in my insta pot. Do I need to add more time to the poultry setting? Would it need more than 7 min for 4lbs of chicken?
I would not do more than 10 mins with a 10 min manual release. I am very happy you like the recipe 🙂 Its one of my most popular ones!
Sounds wonderful, I can’t wait to try this!
For the person looking for a soy sauce substitute: https://www.google.ca/amp/www.geniuskitchen.com/amp/recipe/soy-sauce-substitute-216380#ampshare=http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/soy-sauce-substitute-216380
My instant pot doesn’t have a poultry setting – any suggestions?
Just use the manual setting for the minutes asked in the recipe 🙂
Love your reply! Seriously I’m always amazed at what people will post! Thank you for this recipe and all your crap:) very helpful!
haha thanks Shirley 🙂 yeah sometimes people amaze me too!
I LOVE orange chicken but Wow. 1/2 cup of sugar is A LOT!! I’m going to try and make this Whole30 compliant, eliminating the sugar and using chopped dates, and substituting coconut aminos for the soy.
Let me know how it works out so I can update the post 🙂
I made mine with fresh squeeze OJ and half the sugar and thought it was plenty sweet.
How did it turn out? I would like to try without all of that sugar, as well. Let me know! Thanks!
I forgot to thaw my chicken today! Can I make this with frozen chicken as long as I can cut the breasts up?
Hi Andrea, skip the saute step and cook for 12 minutes.
Excellent instructions. Have not tried it yet, but plan to soon.
Can you do the rice at the same time but as “pot in pot” over the chicken?
I haven’t tried it, but based on cooking time and experience it might not work.
Did you try the pot in pot method? Curious to know how the rice turned out if you did. ?
Hi Melanie, no I haven’t tried that method with this recipe, but i plan on soon as I have had many requests.
Delicious ? Only thing I did different was substitute liquid aminos for soy sauce.
Trying this tonight…it’s my first Instapot attempt! Mine doesn’t have a poultry setting though so i selected Meat/Stew…should this work ok?
It should, next time just use Manual setting for the specified time on High.
My husband and I are always looking for ways we can cook tasty, healthy meals in our Instant pot. Well we made this last night. It was so easy and amazing and spot on for the flavors. This is what we call a KEEPER. We are so blessed to have found your blog and look forward to making more of your outstanding recipes! P.S. I followed the recipe to a T. Thank you so much, Stephanie
Hi Stephanie! I am so happy that you both loved this recipe! It is so easy, right? And the end result is a restaurant type meal!
My IP Duo doesn’t have an “adjust” button so for the sauté setting, how do i get it to say more?
Just wait for it to read HOT.
Hi, I’m in the same boat. Your second saute mentions a low setting. How do I do that with no adjust button? Thanks!
Just use the Sauce then, and watch the food closely, as it may get done quicker.
If you press sauté again it will change to low…so hit sauté and automatically I believe it will be “high” sauté, hit it again and it should be “medium” sauté, and a third time should be “low”. The way to tell is the think red lights will flash as you press sauté. I hope this makes sense…
The tomato sauce was overpowering so we added additional sriracha, orange zest, squeezed an orange slice over the chicken once plated and added ginger powder. Then it was phenomenal! I love how easy this recipe is to tweak to your liking. It makes a really great Asian chicken base. Next time, however, I may cook it with half as much tomato sauce and add more sriracha as well as add some whole ginger. Thank you for this recipe!
Home run! In a family of 5, it’s hard to find new recipes that everyone likes. I made this for a night when everyone would be eating at different times due to our crazy schedules. Each person commented about how much they liked it, even my picky 13 year old! She even declared it better than the takeout from the local Chinese restaurant. Will definitely make it again and give some of your other recipes a try. Thanks!
FYI: I tripled everything, but next time I could get away with triple the chicken and double the sauce. I browned the chicken in a skillet before adding to the InstantPot and added the cornstarch slurry at the end. I also steamed some broccoli and added that before serving. So easy!
wow I am so happy everyone loved it!!! Thank you for your feedback 🙂
Did you change the cook time to triple it? We have a family of 6 so usually triple our recipes… Thanks!
hm, tripling this recipe may be too much, start by doubling it, as its a large one to begin with. When it comes to cooking, I would do 10 mins if double the recipe and the 10 min NPR.
Thanks Catalina! Making it tonight.
How did the Doubling work out? I love instapots- but I have a hard time getting recipes to cook correctly when I double them- and I really dislike cooking for just one night- I usually just do 2 or 3.
How did it work out? is doubling doable?
it would be nice if you could just download and print out the recipe. there is way too much crap going on to just print this out.
The crap that is going on is called a blog post. You can skip the crap that bothers you and click on print, didn’t you realize that? It actually prints the recipe for you. By the way, it took you more time to leave me this crappy message, you could’ve printed the recipe 10 times. Just saying.
An excellent response!
Some people have no filter. I’m sorry you had this kind of feedback.
Ridiculous
#whereistheeyerollingemoji?
lol thanks I look for that emoji a lot
I think she might have meant the 6 or so advertisements breaking up the blog/recipe not your blog portion ? ❤️. But I could be wrong. Ads suck! Not your fault. Trying the recipe right now and excited to report back! Thanks for sharing your recipes! ?
oh no, do you see 6 ads? these shouldn’t be that many in the recipe card, it should be only one. I am sorry, I will check. But I think she complained about many other things, including too detailed instructions 🙂
The “print” button is grayed out. What am I missing?
some type of error that is across the board on many blogs, should be fixed soon, sorry!
I love that this turned out with the flavor of natural oranges and not tasting like an orange jelly was melted on the top. The flavors are amazing. Great job on this recipe & thanks for sharing.
My daughter-in-law loves Orange Chicken. We are giving her and my son and Instant Pot for Christmas and I am going to include this for them to try! Sounds great!
No rating because we did not try it.
great gift, hope she likes it!
My mini instant pot arrives tomorrow. This will be my first recipe to try. Can’t wait!
I use minced garlic when cooking, do you know approx how many tsp or tbsp it would equal? Tia!
I used a lot of garlic, you can use 2 tablespoons or just one, depending on your preference.
I made this last night (first dish in my new Instant Pot) and it was great! I did use minced garlic and a lot of it, 2-3 tablespoons actually. We like a lot of garlic in our dishes and it was perfect. I was feeding a crowd of 6 and hoping for leftovers for a few days so I doubled the recipe and increased the cooking time to 10 minutes. It was so good that unfortunately there were only enough leftovers for one big lunch or maybe two small lunches if you really stretch it!
Wow! My first recipe in my new Instant Pot and it turned out amazing. My husband and I loved it. I followed the recipe exactly as it was and it was delicious. Thank you!
Happy that you loved it 🙂 its always a hit!
If i couldn’t find no added sugar and i use regular orange juice with no pulp how much do i reduce from the sugar
I would skip the 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, or just use 1 tablespoon.
What is a serving size? It says serves 6 but not how much. Is it 1cup per serving? Thanks.
about 1 – 1 1/2 cups.
Tried making this today and I got then got “burn” message before it got up to pressure. I have an 8qt do I needn’t more liquid?
Did you deglaze the pot? You have to make sure that there is no stuff stuck to the bottom, otherwise it will burn. I didn’t have to add more liquid, but you can add 1/2 more of orange juice.
This looks so delicious!
Am I missing something or does this not say how much chicken?
it says 2 lb aka 2 pounds
Made this for dinner tonight and it was amazing! I added some bell pepper at the end along with the green onion and cooked them with the sauce. I think some pineapple added at the end would be good too! Thank you for this great recipe!!
Those are great additions Michelle! You should try my Instant Pot Sweet n Sour chicken recipe if you like pineapple and belle pepper 🙂
my instant pot doesnt have poultry setting (mini) is beef,stew about same ?
Just use high pressure for the time specified.
Hello! Just tried this for my first ip recipe. I really enjoyed it but have a question. The recipe says it makes 6 servings. I didnt see a serving size though. I only ask because the wife and i track what we eat. Thanks!
about 6 cups and I am so glad that you liked it!
What size instapot do you use? Do I need more liquid when cooking in my 8 qt size?
I use a 6qt IP, I dont think you need more liquid, to be safe you can add another 1/2 cup of Orange Juice.
This was my first IP meal and it was a hit! Now that I have the base recipe down I know the tweaks I’ll make next time. I put this over cauliflower rice and it was fantastic!!
I am so happy that you liked it! Yes, you can tweak it to your own liking 🙂
New to the instapot. Will this work in the “mini” version of the instapot lux series?
It should work, I haven’t tried it, but based on measurements, it should work.
First time using the instant pot, would it change the cook time if I used chicken thighs instead?
nope, same time!
Loved it & so did the hubs. It’s going to be in our regular rotation from now on. I switched the sugars to coconut palm sugar & only 1/3 c and thought that was just about right sweetness wise. Also added some green beans when I put in the corn starch. So good!! Than you for the recipe!!
Great idea with the green beans, thanks for the feedback 🙂
I’m really excited to try this recipe, I miss Orange Chicken from P.E. and this looks like it’s a close match. I do have one question, do you think I could substitute Honey for the Sugar? Thank you.
hi, yes you can, add the honey and taste and adjust the sauce for sweetness if you need more.
THANK YOU, Thank You, thank u! This was a huge hit, for all 7 of us to like it, I’d say that was a successful IP recipe! Only bad thing I can say is that there certainly ain’t no leftovers to enjoy later, not with my big family! Just found ur site, looking fwd to trying more of the recipes you’ve posted. This was only my 4th meal in my Crockpot Express Pot and fortunately, it was a success, first 2 times not so much. Definitely still getting over the learning curve so very grateful for great recipe sites such as yours. Gracias!
OMG you are so sweet! Thank you for this amazing comment, I am so happy to hear feedback and I am very glad that your family loved this recipe!
Made this tonight really enjoyed it – a little too much sauce – if I increase the chicken to 3lbs and keep the liquid the same do you think it will work? Same cooking time? Thank you I just got my instant pot today!
Yes, it should work 🙂 I am glad that you liked it!
Turned out really good! I used Xyla…a natural sweetener…no sugar!
Still learning with my Instant Pot I got fir Christmas. Just made this tonight… HOME RUN! We loved it and hubby went for seconds – so it’s a keeper for sure! Thanks for the great recipe!
Thank you for the feedback! So happy that you enjoyed it!
What brand rice wine do you use and where can I buy it?
You can find it in the Asian section of most grocery stores. I don’t use a specific brand, I just get the one that is cheaper lol
I made this for the second time tonight. It’s a huge hit! Tonight, after I got the recipe half way made, I realized I didn’t have tomato sauce. I used a can of tomato soup instead and it worked great! It tastes basically exactly the same as the first time I made it. Just wanted to let the world know in case they run into the same problem!
That you Beth for the feedback and the great tip!
That is a great tip~I bought a case of tomato soup recently after my daughter went on a tomato soup kick. Apparently her craving was satisfied, because she hasn’t touched the case! This will be a good way to use it up (though I have already donated a bunch of it).
Tried this tonight and it turned out great! I used peanut oil, my go-to oil for anything remotely Asian. I added about a tablespoon fresh grated ginger, because I had it on hand, and would definitely recommend it in this. I subbed crushed red pepper instead of Sriracha for heat. And I mixed in some lightly steamed broccoli at the end (because my favorite restaurant version has broccoli). Best homemade orange chicken I’ve ever had!
thank you for the feedback! 🙂 I am very happy that you loved it!
would it be the same if I did a quick pressure release or do I need to wait the 10 minutes?
You need to wait 10 minutes, it is important, the chicken will be more rubbery if you don’t and also when you open the valve it may release some sauce.
Happy Thursday! I have a question . I prefer to brown my meat on the stove top, as opposed to the IP (yes, I know that somewhat defeats that “one pot” purpose). I can just brown a lot of meat faster way.
Here’s the question: When I brown outside of the pot, do I have to adjust cooking times or do anything special when I add the meat to the IP to make my recipe, as the pot is not yet heated (like it would have been if I browned the meat in the IP)?
Hi Mikel, yes, I love the stove from browning too, I said many times that the IP is probably not the best for this if you want a truly golden chicken. However, with that said, make sure you don’t over cook the chicken when you brown it on the stove. Also, you can easily make this recipe on the stove, others have tried it with success, brown the chicken and add the sauce ingredients, let it simmer for 5 minutes on low and add the cornstarch slurry and bring it to a boil.
If you want to use the IP, add the browned chicken and don’t adjust the cooking time, use 7min on High Pressure with a 10NPR. Hope this helps.
Catalina
We made this last night with pork instead of chicken, and it was very good.
This recipe looks super yummy! I want to take sugar out and substitute it….I tried looking in the comments didn’t see one but maybe I missed it. I was thinking of using honey to replace the white sugar and maple syrup to replace the brown sugar. And if so would the measurements be the same? Any thoughts or recommendations? TIA!!
I would use 1/3 cup honey and taste and adjust and if you need more, add 1/4 cup of maple syrup.
No big deal, but the fractions in the instructions don’t seem to add up for the OJ. We start out with 1 cup and add 2/3 cup, leaving 1/3 cup – but the instructions say to save the other half. Later, we add 1/4 cup of OJ. It’s all a bit confusing. 🙂
lol sorry juts updated those! thanks
Excellent! Made this last night with the addition of ginger and pineapple and it was fantastic. We were hoping for leftovers but it was too good to resist seconds! Looking forward to trying some more of your posted recipes. Thanks for sharing!
Happy that you liked it!
Could you use fresh squeezed orange juice for this recipe?
Yes, sure!
This looks awesome – can’t wait to try it! I have a couple of questions:
1) is lite soy sauce the same as low sodium soy sauce?
2) is there a substitute for rice wine?
Thank you
yes, low sodium and you can use dry white wine.
So my wife was wanting an instant pot. I got one yesterday and began looking for recipes online. I came across this one (and I LOVE orange chicken) and decided I’d make it for lunch today. Nothing but clean plates afterward. This was by far superior to any Chinese restaurant’s orange that I’ve ever eaten. I’m also a huge fan of General Tso’s chicken and saw that you have a recipe for that…. YESSS!!!! Thanx
so happy that you loved it!
What do I do if I don’t have rice wine? I couldn’t find it at the grocery store. I wanted to make this tonight but not sure what to do about the rice wine substitute. Thanks!
You can use dry white wine.
Made this tonight. This was the first time using my ip. I did not add the tomato sauce, and I only used 1/4 cup of sugar. I also added garlic chili sauce for the spice. It was delicious!
so glad that you liked it!
This is simple to make, quick, and delicious. I used coconut aminos instead of soy sauce and it turned out great. It’s a keeper recipe for this household.
Yum! thanks for the feedback 🙂
I cooked this tonight. My second instant pot meal. Your photos, instructions, and videos made this meal a delicious success! We had over brown rice and broccoli on the side. I’m so glad to have found your site. Thank you for sharing your talent! I will definitely share this with friends and family! I made just as instructed.
Hi Pennie, you are so sweet and that you very much for taking the time to comment! You made my day! I work so hard to produce beautiful content and to make it easy for my readers to follow my recipes, that it makes me incredibly happy when I hear that it helped someone! Have a good one and stay in touch 🙂
I tried this recipe tonight as my first attempt at using an instant pot. It was delicious! My husband and I loved it, and my 2 year old actually asked if I would make it again tomorrow! Um, yeah, that was a first.
I didn’t have any rice wine, so I had to omit that ingredient but tried to follow the rest of the recipe closely, opting for organic chicken breasts, and including the tomato sauce.
I was a little skeptical that this would be as tasty as restaurant style (as in my experience that is usually breaded and less healthy), but I actually think I liked this better! Thanks so much for the recipe! I will definitely make this dish again.
Hi Carolyn! I am so happy that your family loved this recipes, especially that your toddler asked if you will make it again. My son also loves it and asks me to make it all the time for him. Thank you very much for your feedback and enjoy your IP. Definitely check my Pineapple Chicken recipe, kids go nuts for it!
I made this last night and it was perfection! Way better than any take out place! Adding this to the list to make again and again-thank you so much for a great recipe! Trying your sweet and sour chicken next as that is one of our all time favorites!!
Tried it tonight with brown rice. Love the flavour.
I made this last night. I couldn’t find rice wine at the grocery store and didn’t have time to search elsewhere, so I just bought my favorite white wine, Kendall Jackson chardonnay. I know that’s not that dry, but it worked! Other than that I followed the recipe. Except I mistakenly doubled the Sriracha sauce. This was the first recipe in our Instant Pot. It was a little hot, but still delicious! After reading many of the comments, I’ll try to reduce the sugar by half. Orange Chicken was one of my favorites when we go out. That is breaded. This is not and I didn’t miss it one bit. My wife said that we should make this often. I will! Thank you
amazing dish!
Does it say anywhere how many people this serves?
Sorry! Just found it!!
Just made this in 8 qt Power Cooker Plus (similar to Instant Pot). I used liquid aminos instead of soy sauce and 1/2 was tbs rice wine vinegar instead of rice wine since it seemed to have plenty of sweet to balance. Halved the brown sugar. Did not use tomato sauce but used the sriracha. Browned the chicken on the stove instead of in the cooker. This was DELICIOUS! Plenty of sauce. A huge hit! Can’t wait to make it again.
hi there 🙂 I am happy that you loved this dish, its always a hit 🙂 and so easy to make!
AM PREGATIT!SOTUL A RAMAS INCANTAT!MERSI!
Delicious flavor and my husband said, “Keep this recipe – it’s one to make again!” One question, though, many times when you order orange chicken, it’s has a crispy coating on it – did I miss a step or is this one without that crunchy bit? It’s hard to tell from your picture. Thanks!
Oh this one is not crunchy, I guess thats how it looks in photos because of the sauce 🙂
This was great! I fed this to 5 kids (one nine year old, three six year olds, and one three year old). Everyone liked it. I did 1/2 the sugar based on other reviews. I think it was probably even better with more sugar, but I loved it at 1/2 sugar. I used arrowroot starch instead of cornstarch.
Just finished my meal and yummmmmm. Only thing I’ll add next time is sesame seeds on top! Thank you for sharing!
Yes, I love sesame seeds on top!
I was wondering about using Panda Express orange chicken sauce. Only because my teenager loves their sauce. It would be healthier to cook the chicken this way instead of frying it.
After reading all the rave reviews, I made this for dinner last night (as written but a little lighter on the garlic an hot sauce and 1 T of ginger paste). Excellent!! My husband loved it exactly as written. I mentioned adding some green pepper to the leftovers and he nixed it. I love green pepper so might give it a try. Thanks for the recipe. A winner in our house.
I’m making this recipe it’s in 5min pressure right now
So it’s good but way too sweet for all of us I may use less than half sugar next time.
Please stop posting these pictures as you are making me hungry! The dishes all look delicious and I like that the instapots reduce the cook time and make for low maintenance cooking. I think most people enjoy a home-cooked meal (and it’s not difficult to learn how to cook if you can read and/or watch a video), but they don’t have the time. I know someone who bought an instapot and they use it a lot. In fact, they’ve found some great recipes and have been on a cooking spree.
Excellent recipe just as written. My family loved it
Exceptional! Husband asked me to add it to my rotation of his favorites. I fresh squeezed my oranges and used liquid aminos in place of soy sauce but otherwise followed everything else – fresh grated ginger, garlic, orange zest, tomato sauce, shiracha, etc served over jasmine rice. Planning to make it for a friend (and her family) who’s having surgery. Thank you for blessing us all with this deliciousness!
Turned out very tasty! Served it with rice and steamed broccoli. The only thing I changed was using 1/4 c of tomato sauce instead of 1/2 c. Great recipe!
This was a huge hit at my house! Thank you!!!
happy that you liked it 🙂
That was a delicious recipe, I followed it exactly except I went a little heavier on the ginger, I also took your advice and browned the chicken thighs on stovetop for that nice browned look. This is definitely going into one of the top rotations! Thanks!
I’m going to try it tonight but I’m a little confused. When do you add the orange juice because is has it with the sauce ingredients and then at the end with corn starch???? How can you mix with corn starch when you have already added the orange juice?
This dish was fabulous! I browned my chicken on the stovetop only because I was making brown rice in my Instant Pot at the same time. I thought the chicken was a bit dry because I kept it on the stove too long. I only had tomato paste and was happy to see in reviews that this worked fine mixed with water, and replaced the soy sauce with liquid aminos, and sesame oil in place of vegetable. I also added the tbsp of fresh ginger (I wouldn’t skip this, the flavor stood out wonderfully!), and only put in the 1/4 c of brown sugar, which we thought was plenty sweet! We added some frozen stir fry veggies at the end and lots of green onions. Funny that others made this for someone recovering from surgery, my boyfriend requested this as he is recovering from wrist surgery. I will definitely make this again!
so happy that you liked it, I also like how you adapted the dish 🙂
I used tomato paste, but “cooked” it, which is needed for raw tomato paste, vy adding it to the chicken once browned, this allowed it to xook some. Then continued on with recipe.
I received this recipe from a friend and have made it twice already. I mixed breast and thighs the first time, and just thighs the second time. Both came out wonderful. So easy and the combination of sweet and spicy is perfect. The bright orange taste really makes this dish!! It is a keeper for sure!!! Thank you!!
you have good friends 🙂 happy that you liked it 🙂
Hi, I am trying to see how to adjust cooking times if you are using bone in drumsticks? Looks like it should be 22 mins, (in the instantpot), does that sound right to you? Thank you
If you sauce them before cooking, you will need to do High Pressure 10 mins and a 10 Minute NPR, after that remove the drumsticks. click Saute and add the cornstarch. You can broil the drumsticks for 2 minutes if you want, before adding them back to the pot.
That was quite good, thanks! I did notice that my chicken pieces (thigh meat) ended up falling apart. So I didn’t see chunks of meat like in your photo. It was more like a shredded chicken. I will try chicken breast next time to see if I get different results.
This was delicious and very simple to make. Thank you for the recipe. I used a tightly packed 1/8 cup dark brown sugar and it was plenty sweet but my orange juice was from concentrate if that makes a difference. I used pre-minced ginger and very little Sriracha but then I enjoyed dousing mine with more Sriracha after.
Thank you Cat!
This orange chicken recipe is awesome!
Thank you so much for sharing it.
Very good, but I did have a problem maybe you could help me with. I dried my chicken but it rendered so much liquid as I tried to sauté. So I let it dry in the pot and sadly it over cooked the chicken and it got stringy. Your thoughts?
I’m preping the ingredients now, and was wondering about how much orange zest do you use? The oranges at the store today were HUGE and I can’t imagine using all of it.
Use about 1 tablespoon.
I won’t buy the frozen stuff from Costco any more. This recipe is by far so much better! I keep a fresh root of ginger in my freezer that is cut up in pieces and this makes it a cinch to grate up a tablespoon for dishes like this after a quick run under the hot water faucet and peeling it. Thank you for sharing this! My family loved it!
I am so glad you liked this recipe!
Very, very good; a winner for sure. I think this recipe screams for sweet peppers. Next time. The only changes I made was in using Basmati rice (It’ what I had), and cooking it in a 50/50 water and OJ mix. I used my homemade tomato sauce, and halved the sugar, using a total of 1/4 cup of palm sugar.
Great suggestion on the sweet peppers! I am happy that you liked the recipe!
This made for an outstanding weekday dinner! I love that most of the ingredients are in my pantry/freezer/refrigerator at all times, the prep was super-easy, and the flavours absolutely extraordinary. I prepared it exactly as written the first time, then tweaked it tonight with a tablespoon of toasted sesame oil added to the sauce and about 3/4 cup of sliced mixed sweet peppers added along with the slurry. They cooked slightly that way, but remained crisp. My husband–who is relentlessly suspicious of new dishes–requested that this be added to our “rotation” of favourite recipes. High praise, indeed! An unexpected bonus is that the post-cooking aroma fills the house with the most heavenly orange-cinnamon scent…
I am very happy that you loved this recipe!
Just made this recipe tonight. A keeper—will definitely make again. Easy, tasty. The orange sauce is very flavourful. Thanks so much.
Love this idea for a weeknight dinner! I need to try this!
The cutest summer recipe, honestly.
The instant pot seems to make the easiest dinners! I need one!
I love the flavors together!
Thank you so much! This recipe is AMAZING!
I have to admit that this has turned into my most favored dish. I did make a minor change. I no longer keep brown sugar in the cabinet. I use molasses and add it to my own taste, since brown sugar is only molasses and sugar. However, I was pretty sure the brown sugar was a sub for hoisin sauce and sugar. Not everyone keeps hoisin sauce around but we eat a LOT of Asian foods from Chinese to Japanese to Korean etc. Then for Chinese we eat a lot of Hunan, Mongolian, etc. AnI keep a tiny jar in the fridge and so I added a small scoop of that and measured a 1/2 c. granulated sugar. I could definitely taste the hoisin but it gave it a great authentic flavor. It was still very delicious!
Unfortunately, I have an instant pot that stinks. By now so many are aware at how bad the Ultra is and naturally that’s the one I got. It just doesn’t pressurize properly… EVER… since I’ve owned it. I’m not alone. I used this recipe the first time I used the IP. It turned out dry and scorched the bottom but it was incredibly delicious. We just had to add more liquid when it was over.
So! Any suggestions on how to cook on the stove top or slow cooker? I think I can still use the IP as a slow cooker but I haven’t tried. I am sick to death though because I ditched my slow cooker that I LOVED and now may have nothing at all.
Making this recipe again tonight as it was a huge hit in my house a few weeka ago!! Flavors are amazing and the instant pot just makes it so easy! Thank you for sharing!!
Glad that you like it Amber!
Tried this last night. I was a little skeptical when it looked so juicy before the cornstarch but it really thickened up nicely. It was so delicious! I have to stop myself from making it again tonight! Can’t wait to try some of your other recipes!
Delicious! Recommended by a friend as a ‘Must Try’ in my new Instant Pot. Every member of my family loved it. 5Stars
Made this for dinner last night with rice and steamed broccoli. The family loved it, even my picky eaters. I decreased the amount of sugar by omitting the granulated sugar entirely and cutting the brown sugar in half (so I only added 1/8 cup) and it was just fine. I served it with red pepper flakes and hot sauce on the side b/c not everyone likes it spicy. It was a big hit and I’ll definitely be making it again. It’s great to have a gluten free Chinese themed dinner to turn to – I made it gf by using tamari sauce in place of the soy sauce.
This was the best orange chicken I’ve ever had. I didnt use tomato paste. I did a huge no no. I bought bone in skin on thighs. Ugh. Took so long to cut. I wont make that mistake againt. I also browned on stovetop. Next time I will be tripling this recipe for my gang. 2 lbs of chicken was enough for 2 people…not 6. I added rice to help feed all the hungry men in my family.
This looks delicious ?! Will the cooking time be the same if I half the recipe? Can I half the recipe? Thank you ?! Can’t wait to try this!
You can use half the chicken, but still same amounts for sauce, as it needs enough liquid to come to pressure, maybe reduce the orange juice a bit. Cooking time stays the same.
simple and delicious, love IP!
Hi I’m making this tonight and forget to get tomato sauce. If I use tomato paste how much should I use ?
tomato sauce is optional, many make the recipe without it, you can use 1 tablespoon of tomato paste for flavor.
Tried this tonight! We love this!!!! I will leave out the tomato sauce next time but I wanted to make this exactly as listed first the maybe change it depending on taste. My 12 year old loves it and he doesn’t like half of what I make lol.
This recipe is a hit with kids 🙂 glad that you guys enjoyed it!
This was the first dinner I made in my new Instant Pot, and WOW – I will admit that it is one of the most delicious meals ever! The chicken is so tender, and the flavor is great. I used 1/4 cup maple syrup instead of the sugars. I’d like to try it with honey next time instead of the syrup, but the syrup gave it another layer of flavor with the maple. I also used Frank’s hot sauce instead of Siriacha since I prefer that flavor, and it added just the right amount of heat. I’ll definitely be making this again soon!
This recipe is so good, that my husband and son request it weekly. Delicious, easy, and healthy!! I serve on top of brown rice or riced cauli. So good with fresh zested orange.
Hi there!
Thank you for sharing this yummy recipe! I followed it pretty much the same except, instead of tomato sauce I added a couple squirts of ketchup! Ive made it twice now and it turns out perfect! My only suggestion is if you’re planning on cooking for more than 3, double the recipe!
Hi Susan, thank you for the great feedback 🙂
This is an absolutely terrific dish, and very easy to make. This will be a regular in our household. Thank you so much for sharing this.
I am very happy that you liked it 🙂
Has anyone one tried to meal prep this and freeze it with all ingredients raw? I absolutely love this recipe and have made it several times. I’m just the kinda person that would much rather have one day of prepping for the week and then just dump it in the IP real quick when I get home from work. Thanks in advance!
Did you ever try this?? I was scrolling through the comments looking for an answer about prepping ahead and freezing. Thanks!
Has anyone juiced oranges to use for the sugar-free juice in this recipe? Couldn’t find sugar free OJ in the grocery store today so figured I’d just juice fresh oranges. Hoping I don’t screw up the flavor since fresh squeezed sometimes seems to taste sweeter.
Use those and just some honey for the sweetness.
I don’t think I have ever seen such an exceptionally well written recipe as yours for your orange chicken. Very precise and easy to follow step by step instructions. Were you by chance a technical writer in a previous life?
At any rate it was a pleasure finding such a well written recipe.
Thank you very much Dave!! I try to be very precise and detailed in my recipes as I remember when I first started cooking I was confused and frustrated when the recipes were too general. I am very happy that you found it helpful and thank you for the time you tool to leave me this beautiful comment.
The photo of the finished dish looks like the chicken was fried (with a batter on it)??
no, it was not fried, some of the chicken has shredded and with the sauce it makes it look like that in the photo.
These instructions were frustrating to follow. In the future, please keep long comments out of the actual cooking directions. Nothing is more frustrating than having to read through several sentences between each of the individual “steps” of a recipe. Also, when I need to scroll back up to the ingredients to look for quantities to add for each new step, it is frustrating to have to scroll through so much text back and forth each time. I understand and appreciate that you want to teach new techniques to beginners, and you did most of that before the actual recipe, but being concise when it comes to the actual cooking instructions makes for a much more user-friendly experience. Thanks!
mmm wow ok thank you
Wow. Absolutely delicious. I just got an instant pot, so I’m still kind of learning how to use it. Not only was this recipe the most delicious thing I’ve cooked in it.. well maybe the most delicious thing I’ve cooked period.. but your directions were Soo descriptive, it made it a breeze to follow the recipe and cook in this rather frightening appliance! Thank you so much!
I’ve made this three times and I am currently making this and I plan on straining it to make the Orange Chicken . This Recipe is very good and Thanks for your help!
Thank you Alicia, I am very happy that you love it!
Just got my instant pot and found your beautiful site. Can’t waIt to make this recipe. I read many of the comments but didn’t see this question addressed – can I use 1 lb chicken instead of 2? Would I need to decrease other ingredients as well as the cooking time? Thanks for any help – I’m looking forward to mastering this amazing new appliance.
cooking time stays the same, just adjust ingredients. 🙂 hope you like it
Ok so I have a couple things to say, but first this recipe is amazing because i messed up so much and it still turned out delicious!
First it took me 2 hours to make, not 30 minutes because its my first time using instant pot, and mincing and chopping so much stuff takes forever!
I didn’t have granulated sugar so i just double brown sugar, I could not find my grater and had to use a peeler and then chop up the zest, lol. I also accidentally had “keep warm” setting pressed at the begin and so I cooked it for like 5 more minutes than needed…
So after all that, it looked nothing like your images, but more like bbq chicken you can get at panda express. But the orange flavor was there and amazing! The sauce didnt thicken like it was suppose to and I regret tossing so much sauce out I should have saved it and simmered more chicken in it. i love it and am looking forward to the 2 more servings I have divided for lunch.
I’ve been searching for more instant pot recipes to use, and I stumbled upon your Instant Pot Orange Chicken recipe, and it look so delectable. This recipe sounds amazing! I can’t wait to try it! Thanks so much!
I’m always on the lookout for IP recipes full of flavour like this one! Appreciate all the options for changing up — and my cauliflower rice will be perfect with this too! Thanks for adding the WW points! Helpful!
Listen. This does not look at all my beloved Panda OC but the flavor is really delish. Next time, I may use the suggestion to cook the chicken on the stove top but not sure if it’s worth the effort. If you are a flavor hound, do not cut back on a thing (garnish excluded). I even added a smidge of lime juice just as an extra but honestly, not necessarily. Also for you foodies, don’t skimp on the ginger. I will make again.
Hi Jeff, I am so happy that you loved the recipe 🙂 yes, it doesn’t have the texture of Panda OC, but like you said, the flavors are really good 🙂 thank you for the feedback!
This turned out so well! The leftovers were almost as good as the firsts.
so happy that you liked it!
Love this recipe ! The orange chicken looks soooo flavorful and the orange juice is naturally sweet. Thanks!
Very delicious. Much healthier than the deep fried chicken version from Chinese carryout. I do recommend browning the chicken first, as it adds a lot of flavor. I added some pineapple chunks and the juice, as well. Ketchup works wonderfully instead of tomato sauce, it has a lot more ZING. Very good recipe!!! Don’t skimp on the orange zest! If you want to add veggies, such as bell peppers and onions and pineapple, keep them in 1 inch chunks and throw them in after the first pressure cook (step 9) and pressure cook for another 3 minutes. That way the veggies do not disintegrate.
The orange zest is the best part! I am so happy that you love it, thank you for sharing your feedback and great tips!
Thanks for this excellent recipe! I appreciated all of the comments from other cooks too. I followed the recipe as directed and used the optional grated ginger and tomato sauce. I steamed broccoli florets and sliced carrots ahead of time, then added them to the pot to warm up while thickening the sauce. Also, I used a rack and an uncovered small stainless steel bowl and made jasmine rice (1 cup rice, 1 cup water) at the same time as the chicken – it was perfectly cooked. I’m new to the Instant Pot but recipes like yours are helping me develop some skills and learn some successful recipes. Thanks again.
I made it ago days. It looks pretty good and it also yummy. Thanks you very much
I am so happy that you liked it 🙂
Hi! Having trouble finding rice wine. Any tips on what kind you use and where you can find it?
It can be replaced with an equal amount of dry sherry mixed with some sugar. For a tablespoon of dry sherry, use less than half a teaspoon of sugar.
I made this tonight in my Crockpot Express and it is delicious! Honestly, I’ve never ordered it at a restaurant, so I don’t have anything to really compare it to. I did use the tomato sauce and I think I will continue to do so in the future. Thank you for posting this recipe
Thank you for the feedback Katherine! I am very happy that you enjoyed this recipe!
I absolutely love orange chicken but I haven’t seen a good recipe for it. Definitely want to try this one. This will probably be the only chicken dish my cat won’t bother me to try as he doesn’t like orange. It was cool learning how you make orange zest. It’s a little prep work, but it sounds like it’s worth it.
lol more for you 🙂
I’m confused on the orange juice part.
It says to add it with the other ingredients.
Then again with cornstarch you’re supposed to whisk it with more orange juice? So how much.?
Mine came out a little runny and I added more cornstarch to thicken it because the directions weren’t clear. I even re read them the next day to se where I went wrong
I loved this recipe it was the first one I made. And I’ll definitely make it again
Hi Travis, I am so happy that you enjoyed the recipe, its definitely a favorite here on the blog. I have checked the recipe directions, and actually if you look under cornstarch slurry it says to mix the 2 tbsps of cornstarch with 2 tbsps of orange juice. I hope that helps, you can always add more or less, depends how thick you like the sauce.
This recipe is fantastic and is definitely going into the regular rotation!! It was a little on the sweet side but once I added a little more soy sauce and siracha, it was perfect for mine and my husband’s tastes. Have any suggestions for some veggies to add? 🙂
Hi Sarah, I am so happy that you loved it 🙂 you can add some carrots or mushrooms with the chicken, I also like to add thawed frozen broccoli at the end when I add the cornstarch, this way the broccoli wont be overcooked. Same way you can add some sweet peas 🙂
Just give us the recipe, a 10 page write up about what you think is not needed or wanted. I had to fight through pages and pages of opinion and useless banter just to find the damn recip, and by the time I found it, broken up in pieces between more useless opinions I wanted to write this nasty letter.
We are here for recipes, not your pointless prattle and inane babel. I stayed on this page just long enough to write this, then I moved on to a website that gets to the damn point!
Fail! Nobody cares what you think, give us the information.
If you don’t care what I think and what I recommend about this recipe, cooking techniques, how to make it better, please find another blog. I wish you all the best.
Not only is this the FIRST google search result it is also my very 1st insta-pot dish cooked in my brand new, Santa delivered, Intant Pot IP-DUO ?. LOOOOOOOVE this recipe. Next tile I will add maybe a tablespoon of sugar just because I like my chicken more on the spicy vs sweet side. WONDERFUL!!! Thank you for sharing… (at this very moment I’m making your Mongolian Beef recipe w a bit less sugar and sooooo excited!!)
Please keep posting recipes. I NEED YOU . We all do since this new Insta-Pot fad!!!
Your print options do not work. have been trying for 5 days
sorry it should be fixed soon, my IT guy is on vacation.
This is SO good!!! I’ve made it every week for about a month now because I keep craving it and we all love it!! Thanks for such a great recipe!
This was my first Instapot dish and it came out delicious! Thank you for this delicious recipe, it’s a keeper. And, I appreciate your website and pointers. Cheers to a happy & healthy 2019!
Made this for dinner tonight, it was fabulous and everyone loved it! I’m new to the IP, but I already love it!! The directions were easy to follow. This will be a recipe I make again and again. Thank you for sharing.
I made this tonight. It was the first dish I made for my Hubby in the IP. This was a gift for Christmas. I have the 3qt mini. It was delicious! I made as directed with no siracha sauce. Thank you for the recipe! I will have to try some of your others. I’d like to find some breakfast recipes too. ?
I used hot taco seasoning and sweet corn. Also seasoned with garlic, pepper, and creol seasoning when done. Used two chicken breast and had to cook 16 mins instead of 8 mins. Chicken was not done, rice was hard, and it was very soupy after 8 mins. After 16 mins it was perfect.
I also got my IP for Christmas. This was the first recipe I made in it tonight. It was delicious. Because I am counting my macros, I put all the info in my calorie tracker. I just couldn’t find what the serving size is. I am guessing 1 cup?
I am looking forward to trying more recipes!!
about 2 cups, 1 1/2
This recipe was delicious! Thanks, Catalina, for sharing. I added the tomato sauce that was suggested. Yum!
It was my first adventure in IP land and it turned out great! Thanks for the detailed instructions, I had no clue what I was doing.
Made this for wife tonight, we both loved it! So easy and delicious, cant wait to try more of your recipes.
This was my second recipe in the insta pot and let me tell you all of my family members including my kids enjoyed this and it was quickly gobbled up. Wished I had doubled the recipe, it was so good. We did make it without the tomato sauce per husband request and it was very tasty!
So delicious! My four year old granddaughter had two helpings! Just getting into Pressure cooking and this will be made again!
HUGE hit. I loved it. Super easy; should have doubled.
Can you skip the sugar or reduce the amount?
yes, you can reduce or replace with honey.
Can you make this with frozen chicken
Hello, yes you could but you will have to increase the cooking time in the pressure cooker by a few minutes. Please check out this post where we explain how to cook frozen breasts. Hope this helps:
https://sweetandsavorymeals.com/how-to-cook-frozen-chicken-breasts-in-the-instant-pot-pressure-cooker/
I made this today,AMAZING,I put a bowl of 1 c washed white rice and 1 c water on a egg trivet and set it on top of the chicken then proceeded as instructed.Perfect fluffy rice with my meal
Wow! You did an incredible job with this recipe! It’s delicious! My entire family loved it. Thanks so much for sharing!
In the recipe you say I can substitute red pepper flakes for the Sriracha….how much? Is there a straight conversion from Sriracha to red pepper? Would like a little heat but not overwhelming
about 1 tablespoon or less
Silly question but is it rice wine vinegar?
My first instant pot dinner, a great success! I used semi-thawed chicken tenderloins from Costco and stewed tomatoes because that’s what I had. I also didn’t zest the orange because i’m lazy af. OH and I did this as a “dump” meal and didn’t saute the chicken ahead of time. Seriously delicious, will definitely make again.
Looks delicious and I want to make this dish, can you tell me how many servings this recipe makes? I have a family of 6 but they eat like a family of 12.
Hi, depending on how much chicken you use, we usually make it for a party of 4 and is plenty especially if mixed with rice. If you have a hungry family, I would suggest doubling up on the ingredients, or at least by 50%. Give it a try, thanks!
I have now made this 3x. I am fairly new to instant pot but this hands down is amazing!!! We would prefer this over any orange chicken we would order because it feels healthier because it’s not fried, but insanely delicious! We did exactly what the recipe said for spices but added a bit less of the ginger as I felt the ginger was a little overwhelming from the first time. After I looked at comments from the first time of making- I did sauté the chicken in a separate pan on medium high/high because I felt like the first in the instant pot it took a long time, and it definitely helped. I also sauté it for a bit longer after it’s done after you add the cornmeal and orange juice to make it a little thicker. But so, so good. I will continue making this and recommend it to my friends!
So easy to make and so tasty! We made it twice already 🙂
FABULOUS recipe
I am also new to the Instapot scene and have discovered it is now my favorite kitchen appliance I have ever had, I tried this Orange Chicken recipe the first time and thought it was great then. Both my wife and stepdaughter loved it. It is so easy and it was so good that I had it again tonight. The first time I added broccoli and this time since I didn’t have any broccolli, so I added some green beans. Broccolli by far is better. At the end this recipe is a keeper.I
I am so happy that you loved it, this recipe is always a hit 🙂
Thanks for your blog. I made this tonight. I used fresh chicken breast and browned on stove. I followed cooking directions for IP and chicken was dry. I think I overcooked when browning? Browned over med heat until visibly browned. Ended up using mixer to shred it so there was more sauce contact (to deal with dry texture). Next time I think I will try without the tomatoe sauce, maybe lightly sauté in IP, or maybe not sauté at all? Have you ever tried it without sauté? Or maybe I should use thighs? Love to hear your thoughts. Used 2 teas Siracusa but tempted to try chili paste or chili flakes next time. Served over rice with steamed broccoli. (Ignore those rude people. Hope they go elsewhere quickly!)
Thank you Louise, it made me very happy!
I have a 3 quart IP. How long would I cook it? Do I cut the ingredients in half, too? Cannot wait to make this recipe. Thsnk you!
My 6qt is half full when I make this, so I would say to cut it in half. I hope you like it!
Thank you. I will let you know how it works out. ?
This recipe was our first pressured cooked dinner. It was delicious. It fit perfectly in my 3 quart InstaPot I have a broken arm and couldn’t zest an orange so i used orange peel granules instead. We will definitely make this again.
Catalina, what a great idea! I love chicken. Your version really pleases me very well, with ingredients that I often use in cooking too.
Catalina, bravo! What a great idea! Love this. I’m sure this is incredibly delicious!
I just got a 3 quart instapot. How do i adjust the amount of ingredients and the amount of time it cooks? There are only 2 of us. Thank you.
Hi Ruth, I would cut the ingredients in half if you plan to use only half the sizes. Please try to follow the recipes, and reduce the ingredients by about half. Hope this helps. thank you!
I absolutely love orange chicken but I haven’t seen a good recipe for it. Definitely want to try this one. This will probably be the only chicken dish my cat won’t bother me to try as he doesn’t like orange. It was cool learning how you make orange zest. It’s a little prep work, but it sounds like it’s worth it.
Hi and thank you for stopping by. Yes this is a nice and delicious dish, easily made in the IP. We highly recommend it!
Thanks for this recipe which inspired me to try something different! I LOVED the orange sauce. It still tasted very good without using any soy sauce. I avoided it due to my soy allergy. So for people who are concerned about soy in this recipe, it’s still WORTH trying without it.
I also reduced both brown sugar and white sugar from 1/4 cup to 2-3 tablespoons only. Just to keep things a little healthier for me.
After I zested the orange, I asked myself what to do with the orange itself? So I diced it up and threw half in with the sauce and half after cooking – just to see which way I like better. If you like more texture in your sauce, I’d suggest adding the diced orange after cooking. If you like everything more blend in, throw in at the beginning before cooking.
One thing I look forward to trying differently next time is having the chicken breast slow cooked in the sauce instead of high-pressure cooking it. This really comes down to my preference of wanting that soft juiciness of the meat retained from slow-cooking.
Thank you for this WONDERFUL recipe!!
I was used the lemon in my chicken dish. When I discover this recipe, my dish will become extra flavorful because of the orange ingredients. Simple and easy to prepare
Hello Kimberley and welcome to sweetandsavorymeals.com We are very glad that you have given it a try and loved it. It is really one of the easiest dishes to make, and one of the best you can make in the pressure cooker. Hope you enjoyed it!
This was excellent. My husband was super skeptical of orange chicken that wasn’t fried and even he liked it!
Hello Meghan and thanks for posting. Yes, this is one of our favorite dishes to make in the pressure cooker as well. We are delighted that you have liked it, and enjoyed with your friend.
This looks absolutely perfect in every possible way!
They look great! From color to taste, I can feel it. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I will do it right now. thanks again
At 1st sight, I wasn’t so sure if it was gonna be good…
Boy Was I WRONG!
This recipe is AWESOME!
That’s so great, just 30 minutes for a delicious dish for dinner or weekend meal, my family will like this, thanks for sharing.
Ive had my instant pot for a couple of months now..this recipe has been my go-to..ive read thru all the comments..a lot of little changes here and there in the suggestions but for me this has turned out really great every time. The more i make it the easier it gets. I take the ip to work on sundays and have it ready for coworkers..if they keep asking for it im going to keep making it. I stay fairly healthy in my cooking..a lot of chicken..rice..and olive oil..the recipe as is is easy and no left overs…thats a good and bad thing..thanks for this..roll tide 🙂
Love the recipe!! Great flavor. I’m a bit confused on step 5. What am I doing with 3/4 cup of the sauce mix? Thanks
DONNA
Hi Catalina, I have been wanting to try making orange chicken with healthier chicken. I had it once at a noodle place. And once I got over the shock of uncoated, grilled chicken I decided I liked it. And you skip some fat and carbs. Your sauce is the bomb!!!! Exactly what I wanted. I decided to skip the instant pot since I didn’t intend to coat and fry the chicken. I did one pound of chicken and a container of Asian veggies from Trader Joe’s. I sauté the veggies and set aside. Then I sautéd the chicken until the outside was cooked. Added the sauce and let the chicken and sauce simmer a few minutes til the chicken was cooked thru. Thickened the sauce as the recipe calls to do. Added the veggies back to the pan and cooked a few more minutes to ensure it was heated thru. Turned out a great! No side dish required. My husband and I both loved it. Sorry to butcher your hard work but I will be using your sauce recipe and my method to make this again soon. Yum!!!!
Doubled the recipe, which worked well. I personally would lessen the srichacha but otherwise the flavor is incredible! We didn’t use sugar free OJ so we reduced the sugar by 1/3. Thanks so much!
I just made this and it’s pretty good. Added red pepper flakes and the sriracha to make it spicier. Wondering if there’s a substitute for the wine?
Also I needed to add a *lot* of salt to bring out the flavors. Is that normal? Assumed?
Just made this and wow- delicious! I didn’t have tomato sauce so I subbed 1/4 cup tomato paste and 1/4 water (thanks Google!) Ok, also, I used my trivet and a 3-cup glass pyrex bowl to make rice in the pot as well. I did 1 cup jasmine rice with 1 cup water and a splash of oil and salt. Came out perfect. While the pot came to pressure I took a bag of mixed veggies (broc, cauli and baby carrots), tossed them with oil, salt, and a little leftover garlic from the chicken recipe, and roasted them at 425 for about 12-14 minutes. Total score! Thanks!
I’m usually cooking right after work while helping kids with homework, so I’m searching for recipes that work for a busy evening. This one was great. I found it yesterday and stopped for oranges and juice on the way home.
I also used tomato paste (no sauce in my cupboard), and I couldn’t find good oranges so I got some mandarins which were great for the zest.
I used fresh garlic and frozen cubes of ginger. Mixed the sauce while the chicken sauté’d. I really like recipes that use the saute function to start. Although the instant pot isn’t as consistent as a good pan on the stove, it works fine, heats up quick, and the convenience factor is totally worth it.
I also really like this recipe as a base, which came out fantastic the first time. And next time I might add more zest, or try more sriracha, or whatever else to suit my taste.
Great recipe, my family loved it. Will be making this again.
This is one of the best IP recipes I have made in the year i have used it. It came out perfect. Did not add the tomato sauce but may next time just to see the difference. I made Brown rice ahead of time, and put the orange chicken on top of the rice. Also made broccoli for a side. All together a great meal!
I made this tonight exactly as written for my (gluten-free) dinner and also lunch prep for the next few days. Amazing. I’ll be making it regularly, I’m sure. Thank you so much!
Insta pot Orange Chicken is the best, made it for dinner this evening served on a bed of riceWill never Oder it again from any take out.Oh so good.
Thank Mardi, glad you have enjoyed it! This is indeed a super delicious dinner that is quick to make, and beats any takeout! :)))
You can use the pressure cook button to adjust the time
I didn’t have tomato sauce so I used crushed tomatoes & cut the sugars in half as well. FABULOUS! I may add a bit more heat… This is going to be a go-to for us.
I’m trying this tonight! My husband’s been craving orange chicken so I’m excited for this recipe. Is there a substitute for the wine? I cannot use rice or white wine. Is there something non alcoholic I could use instead?
just skip it 🙂
Good recipe. I substituted orange marmalade for the granulated sugar, which made it sweet enough and boosted the orange flavor.
Just made this tonight. I didn’t have tomato sauce so I just added a tablespoon of tomato paste. It really came out lovely!
Hi there! I’m wondering, can I substitute the granulated sugar for honey? Thanks!
yes, you can!
What type of sauce do you use?
what do you mean? I make it in the recipe.
I had company last night. We raved over this recipe. Thank you. Due to an allergy, I left out the garlic & green onions. I also skipped the white sugar. We had to hold off on dinner for 30 min and it thickened beautifully.
Excited have to share. I made orange chicken tonight for dinner. My teenager son only eats few things. Very picky. He tried this tonight came back for seconds. Even went as far as saying mom I give this a five star..
One caution with xylitol is it can kill your family dog & doesn’t get thick! Thx
This was DELICIOUS!! Will definitely make again. I used all brown sugar instead of brown and white granulated sugar … turned out great!!
Do you think I can lightly coat the chicken pieces in some corn starch and then saute the chicken so that it has a crispy exterior? Will it effect the thickness of the sauce later in the recipe?
it will NOT have a crispy exterior after pressure cooking, so just save yourself some time and effort.
I found an easy fix to this. Depending on the amount of vegetables, I put them in a no stick pan with oil and put it between medium and low. Leave some room in the middle of the pan to let steam escape. Do this while making the rice. After rice is done take the pan off the burner an d now both are ready. do not take the top off the rice to keep it warm. After doing the chicken, layer with rice first, then veg, then that wonderful orange chicken. Looks both visually appealing and so so tasty!
i Forgot to buy corn starch so my sauce was pretty runny but the flavor was great!
Can I use ketchup instead of tomato sauce?
preferably not, or mix it with some water.
This is the best instant pot recipe I have made. It is so easy to make, and super delicious! My family loved it, and I am super happy that I made it. The pressure
Cooker did a nice job. Loved this recipe and highly recommend it!!
Glad you enjoyed it Fei! Thanks for your review!
Just press the pressure cook button and use + or – to adjust your time.
My son loves to eat chicken and i think that your recipes give me the new one to make him surprise at the end of the weekend. It is so delicious and nutritious. Thank you so much for your tips and sharing.
Glad you loved you and your son loved it Zamrie. Thanks for your feedback!
This was very tasty. I loved the sauce! Served with jasmine rice and snap peas.Thank you.
I made this tonight..WOW! Awesome! Definitely a keeper! We are satiated to the max. Thank you!
What a great home take on a favorite restaurant dish! It was awesome! My husband ate two big bowls before I even finished my portion lol. I was out of tomato sauce and subbed a little ketchup so I cut down the sugar to compensate. It was so good. I did white rice in the rice cooker and steamed some veggies in a basket over the rice. If you start the rice a few minutes before the chicken, it will finish right about the same time. This is going into our recipe rotation for sure.
Thanks Kendra for your review. Glad you loved it! ))
Making this for the second time. The first try my work friends raved! Added a little more sriracha this time. Perfect recipe, easy and delicious!
Glad you liked it Liz. Thank you for your feedback!
It was perfect! Definitely recommend this recipe and will be making it again when I’m craving orange chicken.
Thanks for your review! Glad you loved it!
Got an IP for Christmas and this recipe popped up when I did my initial google search of IP recipes. Couldn’t resist as orange chicken is one of my favorites. One switch I made was that I used sesame seed oil instead of vegetable oil for sauteing the chicken for a more authentic Asian experience. 5 stars on the flavor but the sauce was a bit too thin as there was a lot of liquid, even with extra corn starch and longer sauteing at the end to reduce the liquid. I will definitely make it again. Next time I’ll drain the liquid after sauteeing the chicken and use tomato paste instead of sauce so the sauce is extra thick.
I just made this last night. I only used 1/4 cup tomato sauce and I was out of sriracha so there wasn’t a lot of heat. But WOW! This is so amazing. My sons and I loved it and it’s going to be a permanent part of our menu from now on. (with a little heat).
This is always a success 🙂 happy that you enjoyed it
I would give this 8 stars if I could! This is a fabulous, “lick the plate clean” recipe that my husband and I loved! Truly, a fine-dining restaurant recipe, that can be made at home….WIN!
I used all the garlic and Sriracha, and used the entire 8 oz. can of tomato sauce. You end up with more sauce, but it is so yummy and it stretches the amount of servings!
Served this with a rice pilaf with steamed mixed vegs (recipe from a friend) and it was deemed a HUGE success, that we can proudly prepare for company.
Thank you SO MUCH for sharing this, and all the time that goes into tweaking recipes so they can be successfully duplicated by others. Looking forward to more delish recipes from your blog. Happy New Year!
Thank you, and happy new year to you and your family as well!
My family loved it…even my picky three year old grandson! I’m not a great cook, but this was easy! We used less garlic and added the tomato sauce.
Thanks!
Wondering is I could add some apple cider vinegar for a tang since I’m out of tomato sauce. Also this time I’m going to try Siracha Dry seasoning I have. It a combo of red pepper flakes among others but all with the Siracha flavor.
Wondering if I could use Apple cider vinegar for a tang in place of the tomato sauce, if so how much would you recommend, also I’m going to try Siracha seasoning instead this to round and see how that works!
You can use a teaspoon of vinegar, and the siracha works great!
This. Was. AMAZING! Next time I’ll double the recipe, my two teenaged boys demolished it. Thank you for such a delicious recipe!
Way to go, great reply!…making your recipe as I type this. I’m very good at judging a recipe before putting it together, and this one fills the bill. Can’t wait to serve this tonight! I will report back, ASAP
Have you tried putting all the ingredients together and freeze it before you cook it? I was wondering if I could prepare this recipe and then freeze it for another time?
Yes, this works great for this recipe.
all recipies are delicious. i like taco pasta the most one.
Absolutely delicious!! Thank you for sharing. This will definitely be a regular in our home! The sauce is fantastic!
My second time making this. I used fresh squeezed mandrian oranges juice. This really upped the orange flavor. I also added balsamic vinegar instead of rice. Steamed a bag of stir fry vegetables and threw it in at the end. Absolutely fantastic! Thank you!!
thanks!
The biggest problem with this recipe is that I never want to eat anything else! I made beef with broccoli and, while it was good, I kept thinking, “It needs to be sweeter… It needs orange flavor… It would be good with chicken.” I finally realized I would just rather be eating this orange chicken! Is it weird to serve it every night?
It is the + or – symbols. I’m not sure if you still needed this info but there you are. I to didn’t know after purchasing my insta pot i found it very annoying that insta pot could not include some basic instructions on use. Yes folks I understand i could easily look it up but that’s not my point. I made a purchase and then have to search on how to use it on the internet rather then finding instructions with my purchase, come on now.
Oh great recipe, my wife and I loved it.
Made this although I passed on the tomato sauce and should have added it because it was a bit on the sweet side I still give 5 stars. Turned out good otherwise.
This was delicious! It was a hit with the whole family. My Instant Pot did not ‘brown’ the chicken like I would have liked, but nobody else seemed to mind. This will be a repeat request for sure!
I don’t add veggies until the last 5-10 minutes of cooking depending on the type of vegetable.
Made this for dinner tonight. It was a hit with everyone.
yay so happy
Super Yummy! I made this and served it on a bed of brown rice with oven roasted vegi’s. I’ve been eating the leftovers for lunch, and it gets better every day!! Thanks for sharing your recipe!!!
glad that you enjoyed it
Quick & Easy! Based on other reviews, I halved both sugars which was perfect for our tastes. If in doubt, one could try less than the original recipe amount since more sweetener can be added to taste if needed. Since didn’t use the tomato sauce, I added 1/4 cup more orange juice. Will make again.
This was absolutely delicious! I used Rice wine vinegar instead of the rice wine and it turned out perfect.
manual is the same as pushing the pressure cook button and then changing the time to 5 min 🙂
This was delicious!!! Entire family loves it. Even the hardest to please!!! Will DEFINITELY be making it again!!!!!!
Thank you recipe me and my family like it so much that my wife That’s on a diet broke her diet today by eating three times very good recipe taste fabulous I suggest everybody try it
Is everyone who’s making this recipe using tomato sauce? Just curious cause don’t think Panda uses tomatoes sauce🤔or do they??
Based on the comments people try it both ways and they seem to like it with and without.
We made this and it was so delicious, but two of us easily ate it all in one meal. We want to make a bigger batch next time for leftovers. I am new to the IP. Can I just double or triple the recipe and keep cooking times the same?
yes, just double and use the same cooking time.
I would luv to try the recipe but have yet to be a le to find the portion sizes for the items
what do you mean? everything is listed in the recipe card.
Hi, I just got an instant pot and am excited to try this recipe. One question: If I want to halve the recipe, does this change any of the cooking times? Or can I leave the sauce quantities the same and just use half the amount of chicken? Thank you very much!
The cooking time doesn’t change.
The first time I made this recipe, it was so delicious! A nice beautiful deep orange, like the one in the video, and so much flavor. But lately when I make it, it is a lighter orange, with not as great of a taste. I pat down my chicken over and over to remove water. I am using the same orange juice, tomato sauce, and following the recipe but it still tastes and looks a little diluted. It is still good but not like the first time. When it is made right, it is the best orange chicken, and one of our favorite recipes. I am trying to figure out what I am doing wrong or differently from the first time I made it.
Can you use ground or chopped Ginger?
yes, sure!
You can if you are using the Pampered Chef Quick Cooker! 🙂
Thank you for this recipe. I am trying it out tonight!!
Wonderful flavors. I didn’t get the chicken saute right, though. So much liquid came off the breast that it would never really brown – seemed to be steaming in the juices instead. Advice? Also, if I wanted to add some broccoli, green peppers, or snap peas, when would I add them. Thank you for this recipe!
I would add the pepper and the snap peas with the rest of the ingredients to pressure cook.
If you are looking for something without alcohol, apple juice or white grape juice are good substitutions. The acid in the juice acts as a tenderizer, making it an acceptable replacement for rice wine in stir-fry marinades. However, keep in mind that the flavor won’t be quite the same and, in fact, a bit sweeter.
Can I use tomato ketchup in place of the tomato sauce? I want to make this tonight and don’t have tomato sauce and with Shelter In Place I am not going to grocery store.:(
I would not recommend it, but in this case, I guess you could give it a try. The taste might be different, so please keep that in mind. I understand that with lockdown now, it is not perfect for anyone. Please let me know how it turned out. thanks
Can I use ketchup instead?
Instead of tomato sauce? I would say no, I would not recommend it.
Made this tonight for supper. It was excellent! I found it a bit spicy hot, so next time will add a little less fire.
I absolutely loved this recipe. I followed your instructions down to a T and I used all ingredients (including the tomato sauce) except the rice wine. I did not have rice wine so I ended up using a mixture of vegetable broth and lemon juice as a substitute. Everything turned out superb! The chicken was cooked perfectly… not overdone or under. And the sauce… WOW! Talk about a flavor bomb in my mouth. I loved how tangy and zesty and flavorful the sauce is. This has easily become my favorite IP recipe and I cannot thank you enough for sharing this with the world.
I absolutely love this recipe. I followed your instructions down to a T and I used all ingredients (including the tomato sauce) except the rice wine. I did not have rice wine so I ended up using a mixture of vegetable broth and lemon juice as a substitute. Everything turned out superb! The chicken was cooked perfectly… not overdone or under. And the sauce… WOW! Talk about a flavor bomb in my mouth. I loved how tangy and zesty and flavorful the sauce is. This has easily become my favorite IP recipe and I cannot thank you enough for sharing this with the world.
thank you for your feedback, so happy that you loved it! It is one of our favorite IP recipe of all time as well!))
Loved the instructions, tips and recipe!! Very delicious!! I omitted the white sugar due to not wanting it too sweet..its a keeper!
99% of recipe sites are BLOGS. They have to build an audience and community, so the talking a lot is a part of that, because a blog needs a personality and a face. I’m not a fan either but this is how they get repeat people coming back (a lot of women and other bloggers mostly), and show up higher on Google search. These are passion projects and they deserve to get paid by having more traffic to their site, so just click the print button and accept that this is how the recipe world works, dude. It’s not the end of the world.
Also, great recipe!
Thank you, this is a great and very to the point comment. I don’t include anything personal on the blog, no chit chat, but just a LOT of helpful tips related to the recipe. I also have a Jump to Recipe button, to skip all the text. So you are right, those who don’t need the extra story, they can just skip to the recipe. But it takes a LOT of work to run a blog, so we appreciate every click and visit.
Wow! So good! Reminds me of the Orange chicken I get at the Thai restaurant I love. I added broccoli and peppers just like they do at the restaurant. Next time, I would add cashews for the true thai experience. Thanks for sharing!
Will definitely make this again. So easy and delicious!
Should you double everything?
Yes, you can!
Great recipe! I have Celiac disease so I used gluten free soy sauce and GF cornstarch. Used chicken breasts instead of thighs and omitted the tomato sauce. Prepared jasmine rice in the instant pot prior to cooking dish. Made for an excellent meal. My husband was please that we had leftovers for his lunch 🙂
My daughter shared this recipe with me and I made it tonight and it was just yummy! Even my picky husband loved it. Will definitely be making this again.
Love this recipe! I’ve made it a few times. Due blood sugar issues, I use sugar free marmalade and water, instead of the OJ, and swerve, erythritol or monkfruit instead of sugar, but it turns out amazing every time. I also add sweet peppers during the cornstarch slurry step, and garnish with dry roasted peanuts in addition to the green onions. Thank you for this truly delicious, easy to follow recipe.
Can you use lesser amounts of sugar? I have a diabetic in the family.
Yes, you can even substitute for honey.
Amazing! Best orange chicken ever!!!
Thank you for the feedback!
Great recipe! Thank you so much. Easy to make and tastes delicious. The addition of tomato sauce and your ever-helpful pre-recipe suggestions were great as well. I look forward to making more of your recipes.
I am happy that you enjoyed it! Its one of my most popular ones!
I know your comment is really old but for future reader I’d like to answer anyways:
Manual release refers to pressing the release yourself.
Natural release is allowing the pressure cooker to release pressure over time on its own.
In this case wait until the timer rolls over to 10 minutes and press the pressure release button beside the gasket on top.
Amazing!! This is a home run recipe. I used 1 tsp of Crushed Red Pepper Flakes instead of the Sriracha and skipped the tomato sauce. Thank You for this recipe! Sweet meets Spicy, and it completely works. I’ll be visiting your site to try out more of your Instant Pot recipes, for SURE!!
Made this tonight, everyone loved it. Added the tomato sauce and followed recipe exactly. Just wish the instructions weren’t so wordy. But I get it.
Excellent recipe first made it 2 years ago and went back numerous times to make again
happy that you enjoyed it!
My first time using a pressure cooker after growing up watching my dad use one in the 70s and the 80s. I made this on a gas stove with a Presto Model 40 six-quart pressure cooker. I used all of the optional ingredients except for the Sriracha (but added 1/8 tsp. of crushed red pepper flakes). Dead easy, came together quickly, and the family loved it.
Next time I make it I’ll brown the chicken in batches. Two lbs. of chicken breast was too crowded in the bottom of my pressure cooker and I didn’t get any browning on the chicken. That’s probably the only change I’ll make.
Great recipe for a newbie wanting to try cooking with a pressure cooker.
This looks so good! Does this sauce work for an orange chicken if its not using instant pot?
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
Love this recipe! It’s the closest recipe to a restaurant version of the dish I’ve tried. This is probably my 4th time making it. However, this time someone drank the last of the orange juice without me realizing it until I was already cooking the chicken for it. Thankfully, I remembered I had a full jar of orange marmalade in the pantry. I used 3/4 cup of water and about 1/2 cup marmalade. Still turned out great. 👌🏽
In the interest of full transparency, I’m a true southern cook so I usually use recipes as a guideline rather than a rule book. I have a problem following exactly so I never put rice wine or fresh ginger since I never use it in anything else. Instead I use a teaspoon ground ginger. Makes me wonder how much more awesome it would be with the real deal. I will say I’ve done the recipe with and without the tomato sauce and have found I like the texture and flavor much more with it. It helps start the sauce off much thicker and cuts down on it being too sweet.
Hi Monica, I am so happy you love this recipe! Trying to adjust the taste based on your preference is totally cool. Thank you for your review!
Problem solved. The reason my sauce was coming out diluted is from the chicken still having moisture after patting it down. I dry the chicken with many paper towels but I learned that when you think the chicken is dry, repeat the process and repeat again. I leave the chicken out for 45 minutes after patting down, and use more paper towels to pat the chicken pieces after cutting into pieces. By taking these steps, it comes delicious every time. Since finding his recipe, I don’t order orange chicken for delivery anymore. I just follow this recipe. It tastes so much better! I am going to try your season chicken recipe next.
I’m such an awesome stud. I made this dish my bitch. I added a few chicken feet to make it more authentic from the motherland. Tasted like I was eating it at a 4 star restaraunt, but then again, everything I make does.
This one’s a keeper for sure! I’m new to Instant Pot cooking, but found this one quite easy. I added some fresh green beans and a half a bunch of green onions to the pot (had to use them up!), to fairly good effect, as long as you don’t mind super-soft beans. The orange flavor was spot on, thanks!
I put the rice in a seperate bowl then use the trivet. Put the bowl of rice on the trivet and cook the recipe like you normally would. then take the rice out before you thicken the sauce.
This recipe is absolutely fantastic. I am an experienced cook, but this recipe is perfect for beginners. Follow the recipe exactly as written. My son and gentleman friend said this was superior to any orange chicken they have ever eaten. It’s the perfect weekday dinner. I served mine over white rice (also made in the IP). The fresh ginger gives this dish a bold flavor that makes it irresistible! Tha k you for this delicious recipe. Excellent instructions for any skill level.
This was so good! And so quick and easy to make! I’m glad I read the comment to make a full recipe of sauce even with half the amount of chicken. It came out perfect!
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!!!
This sound so good! Can’t wait to try! Is there a substitute for the wine or is it a must have in this recipe?
grape juice works well
So delicious. I love your recipe. It is so easy to make. It’s fun to make this dish. It reminds me of when I was a child, my mother used to make this dish for my whole family, I ate it the most. Yesterday, I made this recipe according to your recipe for my kids. They love to eat this dish. Your recipe is easy to make and effective. Thanks for the great article.
I am so happy that you liked it, its a favorite too!
Wow.. So impressive1 I love your imagine much, I will try it asap! Great ideal with chicken.
“Close the lid, and cook on Sauté function for a few more minutes, stirring gently, until the sauce thickens.”
Instructions with the IP and what I’ve always read and been told are to not ever close the lid when sauté is on. (However, it’s okay to use the glass lid that can be purchased separately.) After getting burn notices, I reached out to IP to double check. They said lid is only for pressure cooking.
I’ll definitely try this great looking recipe – just wanted to toss that in.
Restaurant quality dish! SO good. I added a little more honey at the end to cut the heat a bit and it was perfect!
thank you!
This was super delicious! Thanks so much for the recipe!
I am so happy that you loved it!
Simple and delicious! I made some mods, as I like to reduce sugar as much as I reasonably can, and it was still delicious! Subbed Swerve brown for the brown sugar, swerve granulated for the white sugar. Used Trop50 no sugar added OJ, rice wine vinegar (because I had it) and subbed a few strips of lemon zest for the orange, as that’s what I had. My only objection to how it came out was that it was not very orange-colored, but who really cares, right? Definitely going into our regular chicken rotation!
Very good! Whole family said this recipe is a keeper.
yay so happy to hear that
Perfect! I made it in a 8 quart instant pot with only a 1/2 tbs of sriracha and it turned out great. Super easy to make too.
Everyone loves this recipe! 🙂
Wow, it looks so tasty . I love your recipe very much. I think your dish is very delicious. I will make this recipe for my family and my friend. I hope you have more recipe like this. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, this is a great recipe!
This was delicious and easy! Will definitely make again. Two changes: I love the flavor of the sauce but used half the sugar, and was plenty sweet. Also too much sauce for us. I will cut back on liquid to 3/4 cups. the cook time was too long for me: I cooked for 5 min and then released pressure after 2 minutes, and the chicken was overcooked. Next time will cook for 3 min and release pressure after 2 min or less. Also, that way you can add some veggies without cooking them to mush. Thanks for the delicious dinner!
Happy that you enjoyed it!
Coconut aminos!
there’s ginger in the instructions but not in the ingredients. how much ginger do you use?
it says 1 tablespoon of grated ginger in the ingredients
I hope you didn’t take off a star because your vegetables disintegrated. No where in this recipe does it say to add vegetables.
Made this again using the tomato sauce. We like it both ways (with or without tomato sauce). So, if you are debating, definitely give it a try. What to do with half a can besides freezing it? Add to spaghetti sauce, stuffed peppers, soup, tacos, or chicken parmesan.
Loved this recipe!! Turned out great!!
I’ve made this dish multiple times, first go around was a little sweet for my taste so I halved the sugars going forward and it’s just as delicious! I’ve never tried it with the tomato sauce.
I am very happy that you loved it, thanks for the feedback!
Really easy to make and so delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
Yum! I want to try this! I made orange chicken recently but tried it in the air fryer. I was underwhelmed. I’ll try this!
I had read the reviews on this and also thought it called for quite a bit of sugar so I halved the amounts for both of them and found it sweet enough! I also didn’t have any wine so I added a touch more orange juice, this was amazing and I’ll definitely be making again!
This dish was so good! Next time I will double up the recipe and get more leftovers for lunches! I also added a little bit of rosemary to white rice and also added in some Cajun spices for an extra kick 😋
Delicious! Easy to prepare. Love it. Thank you Catalina.
I am so happy you enjoyed the recipe! thanks for the feedback!
Does the sriracha make is spicy …. am thinking about eliminating it because of a sensitive stomach
you can adjust it based on your preference.
Can the rice wine be substituted with anything else? Maybe rice vinegar?
rice vinegar will work well
Turned out pretty good. My chicken did disintegrate which was a bummer. I used chicken thighs which are less tough…so maybe that was issue and I should cut back the cook time next time?
Hi, thank you so much for the feedback 🙂 and yes, cook a minute less.
Has anyone tried freezing this recipe? I’ve made it several times and my family loves it! We are going on a family trip and are planning on sharing it for dinner one night but I was thinking it would be so much easier to make ahead and just thaw out.
You can try it, it freezes very well!
Can you make this w/frozen chicken breasts? I’m bad at remembering to thaw.
yes, just add 5 more minutes to the cooking time.
Wow!! This recipe is amazing. I nixed the tomato sauce and you are so right… it was perfect without it too!
I put extra rice on my plate just to soak up all the amazing sauce. I want to bake some crispy tofu and try it with this sauce next!
Thank you so much!
I used the frozen chicken breast cubes from Costco, omitted the tomato sauce. Cooked 10 minutes, plus ten before release. Very delicious, everyone loved it! Thank you for this great recipe. Perfect for a busy night!
Great! And thanks for your review!
Made this recipe for the first time tonight. It was very good and the husband loved it. We have leftovers that I will freeze for another night. I served the orange chicken over rice with a cucumber salad for the side. I grilled the chicken in a cast iron pan and did the sauce in the pressure cooker. I will definitely make this recipe again in the future. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Loved it. I did cut the sugar in half and used low sugar ketchup for tomato sauce. Also tried it with chicken meatballs. I could drink the sauce.
I made this last night. My hubs doesn’t much like chicken, but loved this.
I made it as written. We both ate ours to the last drop.
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for the recipe. Just got my Instant Pot and this was the second recipe I used. So easy and quick. Used the tomato sauce but no ginger or Srachai sauce. It was delicious and orangey.
Hi THere
Love to try this recipe when you say tomato sauce does this mean Heinz
If I want to make it with fresh oranges and orange marmalade, how much of each should I use?
Under your variations section, you mentioned using orange marmalade to intensify the flavour. What quantity would you recommend, and would it replace any of the set ingredients?
1-2 tablespoons would be enough, also, you can reduce some of the sugar if add add the marmalade.
This is the perfect recipe for a family dinner. All of the ingredients that you need are included in the instructions, and it’s really easy to make.
Really good. I couldn’t find an orange for zest (literally not in stock at the grocery store today, must be one of the current food shortages!), and discovered I only had tomato paste, not sauce, so I used a tbsp of tomato paste and a bit extra orange juice. The orange flavor is amazing even without the zest. I placed this over pineapple fried rice, but the sauce is so good I’ll just do regular white rice next time!
Thanks for the instant pot orange chicken recipe.
http://www.fooddoz.com
I made this i doubled the recipe it made.for 4 people maybe 5
I love it simple and easy i didnt add the tomato sauce nor the anything spicy
Its delicious
Orange zest is you take an orange and just lightly grate the outer skin .
1. Wash the orange
2. Get a grater use the tiny holes
3. Lightly grate the orange only orange part not white part
4. Then juice the orange
Would it work to double this recipe? If so, would cooking time change?
No, the cooking time will stay the same.
Wow…made this exactly as the recipe states, with the tomato sauce and red pepper flakes. Amazingly delicious!! A definite keeper…can’t wait to make it again!
We’ve made this recipe several times and love it! I use 1/4 cup honey instead of sugar and it’s great too.
I want to double the recipe. How long would I cook it?
One question. I’m about to make this and I have rice vinegar or white wine vinegar, but no rice wine vinegar. I can’t find it in any local grocery stores. Can I use one of the 2 I have?
Rice vinegar is fine
Delicious, I didn’t use tomato sauce just sriracha sauce. Definitely in my favourite pile
Made this for my family w/o tomato sauce. I added a ton of broccoli and lo mein noodles. So good!!!
This recipe was so delicious. I almost didn’t add the tomato sauce, but I’m glad I did. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Every recipe from the list turns out so well for me. I have almost tried out all and will make them again. There was no need for any modifications and there is nothing that I would change about them. Definitely a must-have.
so happy that you liked it, thank you for the feedback!
Hello,
I’m really looking forward to trying your receipt, would you be able to tell me how long the cook time would be if I doubled the receipt?
This recipe is deliciously perfect!! I added sesame seeds as a garnish…superb! Thank you for sharing your recipe 😊
The best orange chicken I have ever had. Highly recommend
so happy that you liked the recipe! than you for the feedback!
I never, and I mean NEVER have commented on a recipe page. I made this. I subbed the sugar for marmalade and it was fantastic. Definitely will make again. Thank you so much!
so happy, thank you for the feedback Kate
Just made it for the 1st time. My picky son said it was great. I loved it. Easy and delicious; my kind of recipe.
Made this for the first time. I didn’t use the instant pot (I cooked the chicken in one pan, the sauce in another, then cooked them together to coat). I want to try the instant pot method too. The flavor was AMAZING! I ended up doing 1/4th cup plain tomato sauce, which I think was a good balance for us. My kids and husband absolutely devoured it too. This will become one of our regulars! Thanks for sharing!
so happy, thank you for the feedback
I can’t wait to try your recipe! Can I replace fresh garlic with garlic powder?
yes, sure!
This is my 3rd time making this! So so good, my family loves it! I used extra chicken thighs this time bc it’s so dang good! Thank you for a good one!
thank you very much for the feedback, I am happy you loved the recipe.
This was quite good and easy. I made the following changes: replaced 2T oil with 2T butter, only used 2T sugar, added 1/2 tsp black pepper, added 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes. Next time I will probably increase the Sriracha to 2T as well. I used frozen chicken breasts which were already pounded thin and did 8 minutes low pressure with 10 minutes natural release. Chicken was very tender and I think the low pressure helped. I ate it as-is with rice, but next time I will add veggies, maybe broccoli and bell peppers would be nice to give some textural variety.
thank you very much for the feedback, I am happy you loved the recipe.
Made this today. It was outstanding.
My hubby loved it 2!
Thank you for sharing.
thank you, we also love this recipe 🙂
The flavor was really delicious! I used about 1/4 cup tomato sauce. I think I did something wrong because the chicken was dry and pretty tough. Maybe I sautéed it too long? I’m giving it 5 stars anyway because I think it was something I did. I’ll make it again with the hope that the chicken turns out more tender.
I have to tell you this. This orange chicken recipe is so delicious me and my family have eaten it 27 times in the last 2 months. Tonight will make time number 28. The only thing I changed which by the way nothing needs to be changed was I added two cans of Mandarin oranges to it at the end simply
because my family likes Mandarin oranges. The recipe is awesome thank you for sharing.
Great flavor! Everybody loved it!
This Instant Pot Orange Chicken recipe is amazing! The fresh orange zest and juice add incredible flavor, and the instructions are easy to follow. I love the tips and variations. Thanks for sharing such a delicious and simple recipe! Can’t wait to try it!
Tum! My family loves orange chicken, and I can’t wait to try this recipe! Thanks for another great post.
Loved this! I made it for company. The chicken was so tender and tasty. I added a tablespoon of mild miso and omitted the white/granulated sugar. So easy and so good.
Thank you very much for your feedback, I am happy you liked the recipe.
Finally someone not afraid of flavor.
Thank you for the feedback!
Absolutely easy and great tasting recipe! My husband and I love it!
Absolutely easy and great tasting recipe! My husband and I love it!
Excellent recipe! Like many other reviewers, I used just half the amount of sugar (1/8 c white, 1/8 cup brown) and it was plenty sweet! My orange juice, squeezed from navel oranges, tasted extra sweet so I added a teaspoon of lemon juice for tartness. Used a Tbsp each of rice wine vinegar *and* rice wine. Besides the grated zest from one orange, I also peeled thin strips from the second orange’s surface (using a vegetable peeler) for additional orange flavor and textural interest. Worked great! (It took 2 navel oranges to yield 1 cup of juice.) Like you, I thought the full 6 cloves of garlic and 1 full Tbsp of Sriracha was “just enough.” Any less, and I might have missed them. The tomato sauce is a great addition, and adds just the right amount of umami. And finally, I finished the dish by stirring in a teaspoon or two of toasted sesame oil. Delicious!
Thank you for the feedback, happy that you loved it!
Great recipe! It came out near perfect! Thank you!