Instant Pot Orange Chicken Recipe (2024)

Need a new go-to dinner recipe? This Instant Pot Orange Chicken is SO simple - it takes just a few minutes to throw together and it always tastes amazing!

I have been making easyInstant Pot recipesfor years now, and I’ve slowly been making my normal recipes inside of the Instant Pot with trial and error.

When making this recipe, be sure to add your cornstarch AFTER your chicken as already cooked. Don’t pressurize the cornstarch because it will kill your recipe!

After I mastered Mongolian BeefI thought I would give this Orange Chicken a try!

WHAT IS AN INSTANT POT?

Haven’t jumped on theInstant Potbandwagon yet? Well, you may want to consider it just for this recipe alone!

Instant Potis a seven-in-one multi-cooker that works as an electric pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker, steamer, warmer, and sauté pan all in one.

Sounds a little too good to be true, but we promise it’s worth every penny! I haven’t used my slow cooker in weeks, which is saying a lot for this 3-4 times a week slow cooking girl!

Check out the reviews on the Instant Pot on Amazon and join the 1000’s of people who LOVE it! You can read about itHERE.

One of our favorite Instant Pot recipes is our Creamy Chicken Soup – our readers give it rave reviews!

HOW TO MAKE ORANGE CHICKEN IN THE PRESSURE COOKER

1. Put 4 chicken breasts on the bottom of the Instant Pot.

2. Mix the BBQ sauce, water and soy sauce on top of your chicken.

3. Cook the Chicken. Put lid on Instant Pot and turn vent knob to the sealed position. Hit manual and then adjust the cook time by using the plus or minus buttons to 20 minutes. After cook time is done do a quick release.

4. Finish your orange sauce. Turn Instant Pot to saute. Make a cornstarch slurry by mixing cornstarch with 1/4 cup of the liquid from your instant pot. Add cornstarch slurry, Orange Maramalade and orange juice to the Instant Pot and stir for 2-3 minutes.

5. This Orange Chicken is great served over steamed rice or with cauliflower rice.

Can you make orange chicken with frozen chicken?

Yes, you can absolutely make Orange Chicken with frozen chicken. However, you will need to keep a few things in mind.

Instead of cutting up your chicken, you just add the ingredients for the sauce along with the frozen whole chicken breasts.
Increase cook time from 7 minutes to 22 minutes.
Once the cook time has elapsed, Do a quick release and remove chicken breasts to cutting board and cut into large chunks or shred chicken.
Turn Instant Pot back to saute. Make a the cornstarch slurry. Add cornstarch slurry to pressure cooker and stir and boil for 2-3 minutes. Mix the chicken into the sauce and serve.

Turn this into a freezer meal:

Place chicken, BBQ sauce, orange juice, and soy sauce into a gallon-sized freezer bag. Place freezer bag into freezer and it will last up to 90 days.
When ready to use, dump ingredients from bag into Instant Pot and add 1/2 cup of water in with the frozen food. Place the lid on top, move the valve to SEALING, and press the MANUAL button. Set timer for 25 minutes. Do a 5 minute NATURAL RELEASE when the timer is done. Follow the rest of the instructions as written.

Looking for more freezer meals just like this? Click here for our top100 Instant Pot Freezer Meals!

Related recipe: This Instant Pot Sesame Chicken tastes better than take out and is so easy to make! Get the recipe HERE!

Need some help making this in the Instant Pot? Watch exactly how I make it HERE:

Sometimes the Instant Pot can be intimidating. Every Monday I share a new Instant Pot Recipe on our Youtube channel so you can actually watch how each recipe is made.

Watch how to make Orange Chicken on our YouTube Channel!

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More Instant Pot recipes you will love!

Instant Pot BBQ Country Ribs
Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Fajita Soup
Instant Pot Pork Chile Verde
Instant Pot Easy Sesame Chicken and Rice
Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast

Serves: 4

Instant Pot Orange Chicken Recipe

3.67 from 3 votes

Need a new go-to dinner recipe? This Instant Pot Orange Chicken is SO simple - it takes just a few minutes to throw together and it always tastes amazing!

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ cup BBQ Sauce
⅓ cup orange juice
½ cup water
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
⅔ cup orange marmalade

Instructions

Combine chicken, BBQ sauce, water and soy sauce in the pot and stir to combine.
Secure the lid, making sure the vent is closed.
Push MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK and set the timer for 12 minutes (20 if frozen).
When the time is up, quick-release the remaining pressure.
Carefully remove the chicken from the pot to a cutting board and cut into bite-sized chunks.
Remove 1/4 cup of cooking liquid and mix with cornstarch.
Stir cornstarch slurry, chicken, orange juice and orange marmalade into the pot for 5-6 minutes until sauce has thickened, returning to SAUTE mode as needed.
Serve over cooked rice and garnish with sesame seeds or green onions

Notes

Turn this into a freezer meal: Place chicken, BBQ sauce, orange juice, and soy sauce into a gallon-sized freezer bag. Place freezer bag into freezer and it will last up to 90 days. When ready to use, dump ingredients from bag into Instant Pot and add 1/2 cup of water in with the frozen food. Place the lid on top, move the valve to SEALING, and press the MANUAL button. Set timer for 20 minutes. Do a 5 minute NATURAL RELEASE when the timer is done. Follow the rest of the instructions as written.

Nutrition

Calories: 470 kcal · Carbohydrates: 54 g · Protein: 50 g · Fat: 6 g · Saturated Fat: 1 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 2 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 145 mg · Sodium: 1165 mg · Potassium: 1002 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 46 g · Vitamin A: 223 IU · Vitamin C: 16 mg · Calcium: 48 mg · Iron: 1 mg

Equipment

Instant Pot

Recipe Details

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Asian

Join The Discussion

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Kristen D. says:

What happens in the IP if we double the recipe? I imagine longer cook time (which I would have no idea what it would be) but what about the quality of the food? Does the IP accommodate doubling recipes? #tryingtofeedalargefamily :)
Cyd says:

You would need the biggest instant pot if you are doubling a recipe.
Vanessa B Klimczak says:

20 minutes left my chicken so dry
Sasha says:

Is the chicken frozen or thawed chicken?
Kristi says:
See Also
Instant Pot Chicken Pho - The Best Pho Recipe!

Question on the pressure cooking part hi or low for the setting? Thanks
Desiree says:

This recipe sounds delicious! Question. In the notes, it states that if using frozen chicken to increase cooking time from 7 minutes to 22 minutes, however in the recipe it states to cook fresh chicken for 20 minutes, 25 minutes if using frozen. Can you clarify? Thank you! It seems 20 minutes for fresh chicken in the IP would be too long!
Danica says:

I really wanted this to be good...but all we could taste is the marmalade. If I was to recreate this recipe, I would likely omit the marmalade and use hoisin instead of BBQ sauce. Maybe more soy sauce if needed.
Wendy Steward says:

May I cut this recipe in half for the 3 qt IP?
Cyd says:

Yes, that will work great.
Linda Creswell says:

When you call for rice, I'm assuming you mean regular rice, not instant. Just checking. And, I'm thinking that wild rice would take longer than regular rice but not being familiar with the Instant Pot, I'm not certain. Thanks for ALL the good stuff you make!
Cyd says:

Yes, we usually use white rice in our instant pots.
Diane A. says:

Tried this recipe, and it was delicious!!! Even the husband said it was a "keeper" !!!
Nicole says:

I came back to see if you responded to my comment/review regarding brands of various ingredients... only to find my review gone! What a shame. I think people need to be wary of this recipe as the brand/type of sauces/juice you use could have a huge impact on the outcome. Unfortunately our leftovers are still in the fridge as nobody wants to eat them. Anyway, I was going to leave a positive review on a different recipe that I tried but now I'm put off. I think I'll stay away from your site from now on.
Momma Cyd says:

We are so sorry that this recipe didn't appeal to your tastes. It's one of our favorites. You can always tweak the ingredient amounts to your own liking. Have a terrific week.
Johan says:

I had exactly the same question, and it is a MAJOR flaw. Can't believe it was ignored and not answered. When cooking boneless skinless chicken breasts in an IP, the CORRECT cooking time is 7 minutes, with a quick release. Frozen should go 15-20 minutes, with quick release. Author needs to fix this.
Momma Cyd says:

We like to cook thawed chicken breasts about 10-12 minutes in the instant pot and frozen chicken breasts for about 20 minutes.
Jodi says:

This is an easy and delicious recipe! It worked well for my mother in law who doesn’t eat anything spicy or tomato based.
Shannon J says:

I kinda agree with Danica....I really really wanted to like it, but was left unsatisfied. I think your copycat Walt Disney chili is rockin' love love love that one!
Brenda says:

This recipe was very good. My family liked it and was all for me making it again.

About The Author:

Kristen Hills

Kristen lives in northern Utah with her husband, Ammon, and her four daughters. She’s the blog’s YouTube guru and she loves running in her spare time.

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