This Instant Pot orange chicken is an easy recipe that lets you enjoy the flavors of your favorite Asian restaurant in a quick and tasty homemade meal. Boneless chicken breasts are cooked in the Instant Pot until perfectly tender and juicy.
Then the chicken is combined with tangy BBQ sauce, sweet orange marmalade, savory soy sauce, and spicy chili oil, for a sauce that’s bursting with bold Asian flavors.
Instant Pot Orange Chicken
There’s nothing better than an easy and delicious meal that tastes like it took hours to make, and this Instant Pot orange chicken recipe gives you exactly that. I just love Instant Pot recipes, because they make the preparation and clean up so easy, and this dish is no exception. It’s simple enough for busy weeknights but delicious enough that you could take it to a party or a potluck and have a house full of happy guests.
With perfectly tender chicken, tangy sweet orange sauce, and a hint of spice, this dish is so good that everyone will be back for seconds!
Why We Love This Easy Pressure Cooker Orange Chicken
- It’s quick and easy, even for Instant Pot beginners, so you can make a restaurant-quality meal any night of the week.
- It has just five basic ingredients, so if you have a well-stocked pantry, it may not even require a trip to the grocery store!
- It’s full of lean protein – just add some rice and veggies and you’ll have a healthy and delicious meal that the whole family will love.
- Instant Pot cooking makes cleaning up super easy and convenient.
- It tastes just as good the next day, so you can make extra and enjoy the leftovers later.
Recommended Tools
- Instant Pot
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- wooden spoon or spatula
Ingredients
- boneless skinless chicken breasts
- orange marmalade
- soy sauce
- chili oil (or red pepper flakes)
- BBQ sauce
How to Make Instant Pot Orange Chicken
Here are the simple step by step instructions
Step One: Cook the Chicken
- Add the trivet to the inner part of your Instant Pot and add in one and a half cups of water.
- Season the chicken breast with salt and pepper on both sides and place it on top of the trivet.
- Set your Instant Pot to high pressure for a 13-minute cook time and close the sealing valve. Once the cooking is complete, open the pressure valve to release the remaining pressure manually.
- Open the lid. Using a meat thermometer, check the temperature at the thickest part of the breast and make sure that it has reached 165°F.
- Remove chicken from the instant pot and transfer it to a cutting board. Cut the chicken breasts into bite-size cubes.
- Remove the trivet and the water from your Instant Pot.
Step Two: Make the Orange Sauce
- Place the diced chicken back into your instant pot and add in the remaining ingredients to make the sauce.
- Turn your Instant Pot to the sauté function (you may need to press cancel prior to selecting sauté mode). Mix all the sauce ingredients together with the chicken cubes so that the chicken is thoroughly coated.
Step Three: Finish Cooking and Serve
- Sauté your chicken until the sauce begins to bubble and thicken. This should take about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Remove the orange chicken from the Instant Pot, and transfer to a bowl. Serve over white rice and enjoy!
Tips and Suggestions
- You can enhance the delicious orange flavor of this dish by grating a bit of orange zest into the sauce right before serving.
- If you want to cut down slightly on the sweetness, look for an all-natural orange marmalade that’s made with less sugar.
- This is a great recipe for trying out lots of different sides. You can serve it over jasmine rice or brown rice instead of the white rice. For a lower carb option, you can substitute cauliflower rice or steamed veggies. It even tastes great with udon or rice noodles.
- Serve with green beans
- Cut chicken into bite-size pieces – but adjust your cooking time as it will take less time to fully cook the chicken
Variations
- If you like it spicy, you can add some extra chili oil or crushed red pepper flakes to the sauce for a bit more heat.
- Add some color and texture to this dish by tossing in some toasted sesame seeds or diced green onions along with the other sauce ingredients.
- If you prefer dark meat, you can substitute boneless skinless chicken thighs for the chicken breasts.
- If you’re looking for a gluten free substitute for the soy sauce, you can use coconut aminos instead. You can also substitute low sodium soy sauce if you’re watching sodium intake.
- Add some grated fresh ginger
How Do I Store Instant Pot Orange Chicken?
Store your leftovers in an airtight container. They’ll keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, but they never last that long in our house!
Can I Freeze this Dish?
Yes – feel free to make extra and freeze a batch to enjoy later. Just wait until it has cooled completely, then transfer to a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
What if I Don’t Have an Instant Pot?
Don’t worry, this dish also works on the stove top. You can sauté the chicken until it’s cooked through, then remove from heat and cube it. Return the chicken to the pan with the sauce ingredients and continue to cook until the sauce has thickened.
Instant Pot Orange Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. chicken breast
- 2/3 cup orange marmalade
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoons chili oil or red pepper flakes
- 2/3 cup BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Add your trivet to the inner part of your instant pot. Add one and a half cup water.
- Place your chicken breast on top of the trivet. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Set your instant pot to high-pressure for 13 minutes. Close the sealing valve. Once the cooking has completed, open the valve to release pressure manually.
- Open the lid. Use a thermometer to make sure that your chicken has reached the temperature of 165°F at the thickest part of the breast.
- Remove the chicken from the instant pot, and transfer to a cutting board. Cut your chicken breasts into small cubes.
- Remove the trivet from the instant pot. Remove the water from your instant pot.
- Place your diced chicken back into the instant pot. Add in the remaining ingredients.
- Turn your instant pot on to sauté mode (you might need to press cancel on your instant pot prior to selecting Sauté mode.) and mix all of your ingredients together so that the chicken is fully coated.
- Sauté your check in until you start to see the sauce bubbling, and thickening. They should take about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Remove your orange chicken from the instant pot, and transfer to a bowl. You can serve this on top of white rice, brown rice, and/or mixed vegetables! Enjoy!
Nutrition
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