This Easy Instant Pot Orange Chicken is sweet, citrusy, tender, slightly spicy, and OH SO delicious! This easy recipe is made with simple ingredients and is ready in under 30 minutes. It’s also eggless. Better than any take-out. Pressure cooker and slow cooker directions included.
Oriana’s Thoughts On The Recipe
If you love orange chicken but don’t love the long prep and messy frying, I’ve got just the thing for you! My Easy Instant Pot Orange Chicken is bursting with bold, citrusy flavor, and it’s made without eggs. It’s quick, satisfying, and saucy in all the right ways—basically, everything I want dinner to be on a busy weeknight. This has quickly become a family favorite at our house, and I have a feeling it’ll be one at yours, too.
What I Love About This Recipe
Ingredients Notes & Substitutions
- Chicken: This version of the popular takeout dish is made with boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces, dredged, and then lightly fried until crispy. Feel free to use boneless chicken thighs if that’s your preference.
- Shaoxing wine: If you don’t have or find Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine), substitute it with dry sherry.
- Cayenne Pepper: Adjust the amount of cayenne pepper in the sauce to your liking. ¼ teaspoon was too much heat for my kids, so I am planning to add just a pinch next time.
Food Allergy Swaps
- This recipe is naturally egg, dairy, nut, peanut-free, fish, and shellfish-free, making it suitable for most dietary needs. However, always check labels for hidden allergens.
- Soy-Free: Instead of soy sauce, use coconut aminos, tamari (soy-free version), or liquid aminos. Instead of vegetable oil (which may be soybean-based), use avocado oil, sunflower oil, or olive oil.
- Gluten-Free: Instead of soy sauce and Shaoxing wine (which may contain gluten), use gluten-free tamari or coconut aminos, and dry sherry or mirin labeled gluten-free.
- Sesame-Free: Instead of sesame oil and sesame seeds, omit entirely or use avocado oil for cooking and toasted sunflower seeds for garnish.
Step By Step Recipe Photo Tutorial
Step 1 – Make the Sauce
Place orange juice, sugar, honey, soy sauce, vinegar, Chinese wine, garlic, sesame oil, ginger, cayenne pepper, and orange zest in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
Step 2 – Coat the Chicken
Place the cornstarch, salt, and pepper together in a gallon-sized zip-top bag. Add the chicken pieces, seal the bag, and shake until the chicken is well-coated.
Step 3 – Brown the Chicken
Turn the Instant Pot ON, select “sauté” mode, and adjust the heat to “more”. When hot, add oil. Add the chicken in batches, making sure not to crowd the pot, and cook for about 2 minutes per side or until the cornstarch coating is slightly crispy and dry. Transfer the chicken to a plate and repeat with any remaining chicken. Press “cancel”. NOTE: You can also sauté the chicken in a skillet over the stove
Pro Tip: Browning meat in the Instant Pot can be tricky. The trick to brown meat in the Instant Pot is to do it in small batches and not turn until they have formed a crust on the bottom, or they will stick.
Step 4 – Add the Sauce and Cook
Return chicken to the pot and pour the sauce over it. Secure the lid to the Instant Pot, close the pressure valve, and select “manual” or “high pressure” and cook for 10 minutes. When the time is over, carefully turn the valve to “venting” to release the pressure. Then remove the lid. Press “Cancel”.
Turn the Instant Pot ON and select “sauté” mode, adjust heat to normal. Mix the cornstarch and water in a small bowl until no lumps. Pour the mixture over the chicken; mix to combine. Simmer for 1 – 2 minutes until the sauce thickens.
Serving Ideas
Serve orange chicken with fluffy white rice, fried rice, or cauliflower rice.
Storage and Freezing Instructions
Storage: Let the orange chicken cool completely before storing. Transfer leftovers to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. When reheating, warm in the microwave or in a saucepan over medium-low heat until hot, adding a splash of water or broth to loosen the sauce if needed.
Freezing: This recipe freezes beautifully! Once cooled, place the orange chicken and sauce in a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag, removing as much air as possible. Freeze for up to 2 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then warm in a skillet or the microwave until heated through. The sauce may thicken slightly, so feel free to add a little water to bring it back to the right consistency.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Recipe Card
Easy Instant Pot Orange Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- Salt and black pepper to taste (I added 1 teaspoon salt + ½ teaspoon black pepper)
- 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts – or thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch + 1 tablespoon water
- Sesame seeds to garnish (optional)
- Green onions, sliced (optional)
For the orange sauce:
- 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
- 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (from 3-4 oranges)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine Shaoxing wine (see notes)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil (I used toasted sesame oil)
- 1 teaspoon grated peeled, fresh ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (see notes)
Important
You can find step-by-step photos above in the post and/or right here on the recipe card. They’ll walk you through the process and make everything super clear! Just click the camera icon button below on the right to show or hide them. Turn them off before printing if you prefer a cleaner copy!
Instructions
Make the sauce:
- Zest 2 oranges. Reserve zest. Squeeze 1 cup of orange juice from the fresh oranges.
- Place orange juice, sugar, honey, soy sauce, vinegar, Chinese wine, garlic, sesame oil, ginger, cayenne pepper, and orange zest in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
Make the chicken:
- Place the cornstarch, salt, and pepper together in a gallon-sized zip-top bag. Add the chicken pieces, seal the bag, and shake until the chicken is well-coated.
- Turn the Instant Pot ON and select "sauté" mode, adjust heat to more. When hot, add oil. Add the chicken in batches, making sure not to crowd the pot, and cook about 2 minutes per side, or until the cornstarch coating is slightly crispy and dry. Transfer the chicken to a plate and repeat with any remaining chicken. Press "cancel". NOTE: You can also sauté the chicken in a skillet over the stove
- Return chicken to the pot and pour sauce over it. Secure the lid to the Instant Pot, close the pressure valve, and select "manual" or "high pressure" and cook for 10 minutes.
- When the time is over, carefully turn the valve to "venting" to release the pressure. Then remove the lid. Press "Cancel".
- Turn the Instant Pot ON and select "sauté" mode, adjust heat to normal. Mix the cornstarch and water in a small bowl until no lumps. Pour the mixture over the chicken; mix to combine. Simmer for 1 – 2 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Serve chicken with rice. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and sliced green onions, if desired.
Slow Cooker:
- Follow the same steps to make the sauce and to saute the chicken. If your slow cooker does not have "saute" mode you might need to do that over the stove.
- Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours on the LOW setting or 45 minutes to 1 hour on the HIGH setting., or until chicken reaches 165°F on an instant-read thermometer.
- This recipe is naturally egg, dairy, nut, peanut-free, fish, and shellfish-free, making it suitable for most dietary needs. However, always check labels for hidden allergens.
- Soy-Free: Instead of soy sauce, use coconut aminos, tamari (soy-free version), or liquid aminos. Instead of vegetable oil (which may be soybean-based), use avocado oil, sunflower oil, or olive oil.
- Gluten-Free: Instead of soy sauce and Shaoxing wine (which may contain gluten), use gluten-free tamari or coconut aminos, and dry sherry or mirin labeled gluten-free.
- Sesame-Free: Instead of sesame oil and sesame seeds, omit entirely or use avocado oil for cooking and toasted sunflower seeds for garnish.
I appreciate your feedback, and it helps others, too!
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
The best orange chicken
Hello Shannon! Great to hear that it was a hit! Thanks a lot for the review and good feedback.
I have an Instapot Mini. Would this recipe work or do I need to adjust the quantity/cooking time?
Hello Elena! For an Instant Pot mini, I would recommend halving the recipe, same cooking time. Thanks for your interest in my recipe. Please come back and let me know how you like it =)
Super yummy!!! The whole family loved it!! Thank you!
Hello Lisa! So glad everyone enjoyed it. Thanks so much for trying my recipe and taking the time to come back and let me know. I hope my recipes inspire you to continue cooking and baking. Please make sure to reach out if you have any questions or special requests. I am happy to help!
LOVED IT!! Did mine on the stove so I could use my Instant pot for the rice.
Thank you!
Hello Donna! So glad you enjoyed this, thanks so much for trying my recipe!
I have a bowl of this in front of me at this moment. I cheated… had KFC tenders for lunch and didn’t eat them all, so brought them home and made the recipe with them. It’s marvelous! I was too impatient to measure everything precisely, so I did it, as the French say, “au pif” ~ in the US we might call it offhand or flying by the seat of our pants.
Hello Muddy! So glad you enjoyed this, thanks so much for trying my recipe!
This was delicious. I followed the recipe and only left out the salt as we are very low salt due to health issues and I didn’t have any sherry so I left it out. The Instant Pot was licked clean. Tastes just as good if not better than any take out. This is a big keeper and will be on rotation. I said we are salt free…I did use low sodium soy sauce. The next 3 days we won’t use any salt or packaged or prepared food. Once again,.,,thank you for a delicious recipe.
Hello Maryanne! Sounds like you nailed it =) Thanks so much for trying my recipe and for taking the time to come back and let me know!
I see four different listings for cornstarch in the list of ingredients but only see two instances in the recipe instructions where it’s used unless I’m missing something. I’m confused on how to use it.
Hello Sharon! Thanks so much for letting me know. For some reason, the cornstarch got duplicated. You just need 1/4 cup to coat the chicken before browning and then the slurry to thicken the sauce. I fixed the recipe card. Please let me know if you have any other question. Thanks for your interest in my recipe. Please come back and let me know how you like it =)
Unfortunately the dish turned out pretty soggy, not crispy at all. The sauce is decent but my boys wouldn’t eat it because they like “crispy” orange chicken. Not sure what I did wrong because I followed the recipe to a tee. Also, very labor intensive.
Hello Sarah! I am sorry this recipe didn’t work for you. The trick is to brown the chicken very well. Thanks for trying my recipe though.
I made this a week ago and it had great flavor, I just couldn’t get past the jelly like texture. I decided to try again tonight, this time leaving out all of the corn starch except what’s on the chicken. I also used a little more oil and fried the chicken on the stove. With those changes, it turned out perfect!! This is one of our new favorites. ?
Hello Connie! Thanks so much for your feedback and for trying my recipe ?
So mine didn’t turn out nearly as dark as yours…ideas on how to fix this?
Hello Brett! I have not idea why…are you using the same ingredients? I hope you liked the taste. Thanks so much for trying my recipe!
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!!!!
Hello Laurie! Nothing to be sorry about. I love to see how everybody add their personal touch to my recipes, it also helps me for future recipe creation. I’m SO GLAD you love the sauce. Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know!?
How in the heck do you cook this chicken with 4tbsp of oil. It’s all just sticking and burning to the bottom.
Hello Sean! You have to add the chicken in batches, making sure not to crowd the pot, and cook about 2 minutes per side, or until the cornstarch coating is slightly crispy and dry. The idea is to brown the outside not to cook the chicken all the way. Hope this help. Thanks for your interest in my recipe.
I had the same issue. The cornstarch just goobers up and sticks to the bottom. Are you sure you don’t mean cornflower or cornmeal? I never breaded chicken in cornstarch before. Also, since it all sticks to the pot, you have to deglaze and scrape it all lose before pressure cooking or you just get the dreaded “burn” message.
Hello Amy! Thanks so much for trying my recipe. Yes, I am sure it’s cornstarch. Sometime browning meat in the Instant Pot can be a little tricky. You have to make sure that the pot is HOT and you have to brown the meat in batches. Don’t turn the meat until it has a crust. If you follow this tips it shouldn’t stick to the pot at all. If you wish you can do the browning in a skillet over the stove too.