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plate or rice, instant pot orange chicken, and broccoli above
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4.77 from 17 votes

Instant Pot Orange Chicken

This Instant Pot Orange Chicken is tastier and healthier than Chinese take-out! This recipe is kid approved and couldn't be easier. 
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Total Time30 mins
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American, Chinese
Keyword: chicken breast, healthy, instant pot
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 286kcal

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1/4  cup freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1/2  cup seasoned rice vinegar
  • 1/2  cup soy sauce or gluten free alternative
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • cloves garlic minced or pressed
  • tablespoon grated orange zest about 1 orange worth
  • teaspoon red pepper flakes  more or less to taste
  • 1/4  teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4  teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 1/2  pounds uncooked boneless skinless chicken breasts I use 3 (8 oz) chicken breasts
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2-4 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
  • Green onion sliced for garnish
  • Cilantro chopped for garnish
  • Sesame seeds for garnish
  • Cauliflower rice, brown rice, etc for serving

Instructions

  • Grease Instant Pot with cooking spray. Set aside.
  • Whisk together broth, 1/4 cup orange juice, vinegar, soy sauce, honey, garlic, orange zest, red pepper flakes, ground ginger, and black pepper.
  • Pour half into Instant Pot.
  • Place in chicken breasts.
  • Pour remaining sauce over chicken breasts. 
  • Cover and lock lid (ensure steam releasing handle is pointing to “sealing").

  • Cook using the manual button (set to high pressure) and adjust timer on the Instant Pot to 12 minutes.*
  • The Instant Pot will beep when it's finished. 
Flip the valve to "venting" for a quick release.
 
  • Remove chicken and set aside.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch with 2-4 tablespoons of orange juice.***
  • Whisk that mixture into the Instant Pot.
  • Press the saute button on the Instant Pot and bring the sauce to a simmer.
  • Add chicken back in and simmer until the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes. 
  • Shred the chicken directly in the pot as the sauce is thickening. 
  • Taste and re-season, if necessary and serve!
  • Take 5 seconds to rate this recipe below. We greatly appreciate it!

Video

Notes

*Cooking time varies on size of chicken breasts, 12 was good for me for 3 (8 oz) breasts. But you can always add more time from there, by closing the lid, sealing, and cooking for an additional 2-5 minutes.
**It takes time for the Instant Pot to come to pressure, THEN the timer will start counting down from 12 minutes.
***Less liquid and you’ll have a thicker sauce, more liquid and it’ll be a little thinner.

Nutrition

Calories: 286kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 108mg | Sodium: 1978mg | Potassium: 786mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 480IU | Vitamin C: 20.8mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1.7mg