Instant Pot Orange Chicken Recipe

[mv_video doNotAutoplayNorOptimizePlacement=”false” doNotOptimizePlacement=”false” jsonLd=”true” key=”iHcob0VMG” ratio=”16:9″ thumbnail=”https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/v1670612962/lalrsopuv9gmie7wn8di.jpg” title=”Instant Pot Orange Chicken” volume=”70″] Instant Pot Orange Chicken is made with fresh oranges, Asian flavors, and is so quick and easy to throw together in under 30 minutes!  It is a healthy, gluten-free, and dairy-free Instant Pot chicken recipe that can easily be made Paleo and Whole30 friendly.

Want a few other healthy Instant Pot chicken recipes?  You might also enjoy this Instant Pot Yellow Chicken Curry, and this Chicken Vegetable Soup.

Instant Pot Orange Chicken – Beginner Recipe

When I first received an Instant Pot for Christmas a few years ago, I was COMPLETELY overwhelmed by all of the buttons and functions.

After about a week of shying away from it, and about 3 batches of incredible bone broth and shredded chicken my husband was brave enough to make, I finally gathered up the courage to experiment.

For some reason, Instant Pot Orange Chicken was engrained in my head.

(I later realized this was the first Google result after searching for “Instant Pot recipes.” LOL)

So I set to work creating this gluten-free orange chicken recipe with only a slight bit of trepidation of the almighty pressure release valve.  (For real, you need to be careful with that thing!)

Since then, I have learned all of the ins and outs of How to Use an Instant Pot – and this orange chicken is a great beginner recipe to start with!

Ingredients

The ingredients you will need to make this classic Chinese recipe are rather simple to find.  It may look like a lot, but trust me – you don’t want to leave any of them out to get the best flavor!

• Chicken – One pound of chicken breasts are tenderized and then cut into cubes.
• Starch or Flour – This gives the chicken a nice coating so it can get crispy in the Instant Pot.
  • Use tapioca starch if on a Paleo or Whole30 diet, or a gluten-free 1-to-1 blend if not.
• Oranges – Fresh orange juice and orange zest really pump up the flavor and natural sweetness in this dish.
• Garlic & Ginger – It’s best if you use both FRESH garlic cloves and ginger.
  • I like to buy the jars of ginger paste from the produce section so I can easily scoop out what I need.
• Sweetener – Pure maple syrup is used as the sweetener in this recipe, but coconut sugar, brown sugar, or even honey can be substituted.
• Chili Garlic Paste – Depending on how spicy you like your orange chicken, you can use anywhere from 1 to 2 teaspoons.
• Soy Sauce – Regular soy sauce, gluten-free soy or Tamari sauce, or coconut liquid aminos can all be used interchangeably.

Preparing the Chicken

In order to get the most juicy and tender chicken, you’ll want to make sure and tenderize the chicken breasts before cooking.

It may seem like an unnecessary additional step, but trust me – you’ll get melt-in-your-mouth chicken if you do this!

After you’ve pounded it to about 1-inch thick, cut the chicken into similarly sized 1-inch cubes.

Add the chicken to a bowl and toss with the starch or flour, salt, and pepper until it is completely coated.

Easy Orange Sauce

The key ingredient to this orange sauce recipe is that you MUST use FRESH orange juice and zest.

Please make sure you DO NOT skimp and buy the orange juice from concentrate.  The dish just won’t taste NEARLY as good.

Also, make sure you ZEST the oranges before juicing.

Add the orange juice, zest, soy or Tamari sauce, maple syrup, and chili paste to a medium sized bowl and whisk to combine.

You can store this healthy orange sauce in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days if meal prepping ahead of time.

How to Make

The process of making this orange chicken is actually rather easy, making it a great recipe for Instant Pot beginners.

1. Add oils, garlic, and ginger to the Instant Pot while it is set to the Sauté function. Sauté for 1-2 minutes.
2. Add chicken cubes and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.  After sautéing, scrape the bottom of the pot to ensure any bits are no longer stuck.
   1. This step is HUGELY important.  If you do not scrape the bottom of the pot you’ll end up getting that dreaded BURN error.
3. Pour sauce over chicken and be sure to lift it off the bottom of the pan so it does not burn.
4. Place lid on Instant Pot and close pressure valve. Using the manual pressure cook function turn to High Pressure and set the timer for 5 minutes.
5. Keep the lid on and the valve closed for an additional 10 minutes after the timer goes off. (This is called a 10 minute natural pressure release, or NPR.)
6. Turn the Instant Pot off, and open the pressure valve. Once the lid has unlocked, you can serve your orange chicken over cauliflower rice with sesame seeds and green onions.

Serving

While this Instant Pot orange chicken tastes delicious when served over regular white rice or Instant Pot Basmati Rice, you can also keep it Paleo and low-carb by serving it with cauliflower rice.

Sprinkle a bit of finely chopped green onions and sesame seeds on top for a pop of color.

If you want it a little spicier, serve it with additional chili garlic paste or a bit of red pepper flakes.

Make it Paleo and Whole30

A few simple substitutions to the gluten-free orange chicken recipe can easily make it Paleo and Whole30-approved:

• Use tapioca starch is instead of the gluten-free flour to coat the chicken.
• Coconut liquid aminos should be used instead of soy or Tamari sauce to make it free of soy.
• Pure maple syrup or another unrefined sugar should be used as a sweetener.
• Chili garlic PASTE is used instead of Sriracha.  (Sriracha tends to have sugar added to it.)
• If on a Whole30 diet, use 2 tablespoons date paste or date syrup instead of the maple syrup to sweeten it up.

How to avoid the burn error?

One of the most common mistakes people run into when making this recipe is the dreaded burn error.

To avoid this, make sure you thoroughly scrape the bottom of the pot before pressure cooking.

If any bits of food are stuck, the Instant Pot will think it’s burning and not allow you to cook your chicken.

What Kind of Instant Pot is Best?

After a bit of research, I found that the 6-quart Instant Pot is the way to go.  It has enough room for large batches of soup, but it is still a great size to fit into your cabinets with ease.

I have the Instant Pot Duo Plus 6-quart, 9-in-1, and it works for just about any and every use you can imagine!

However, if you think you will be making A LOT of bone broth, or enormous batches of soup, you might want to look into the Instant Pot Duo Plus 8-quart.

Want more recipes like this?

Thai Yellow Chicken Curry with Carrots and Potatoes

Sweet & Spicy Baked Thai Chicken Wings

Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry

Instant Pot Potato Corn Chowder | Vegan

Instant Pot Tacos al Pastor

Tap stars to rate!

4.44 from 46 votes

Instant Pot Orange Chicken Recipe

Instant Pot Orange Chicken is made with fresh oranges, Asian flavors, and is so quick and easy to throw together in under 30 minutes!  It is a healthy, gluten-free, and dairy-free Instant Pot chicken recipe that can easily be made Paleo and Whole30 friendly.

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Yield 4 servings

Prep 10 minutes mins

Cook 20 minutes mins

Total 30 minutes mins

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Ingredients 

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• ▢ 1 lb. chicken breasts cut into 1-inch cubes
• ▢ ¼ cup gluten-free 1-to-1 flour all purpose flour or tapioca starch
• ▢ ½ tsp. salt to taste
• ▢ ¼ tsp. pepper
• ▢ 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• ▢ 1 Tbsp. sesame oil toasted
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic crushed
• ▢ ½ tsp. ginger crushed
• ▢ ¾ cup orange juice fresh
• ▢ 1 Tbsp. orange zest
• ▢ 3 Tbsp. Tamari sauce soy sauce, or coconut liquid aminos
• ▢ 2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup coconut sugar or brown sugar
• ▢ 1-2 tsp. chili garlic paste depending on desired spice level
• ▢ Sesame seeds
• ▢ Green onions
• ▢ Cauliflower rice
• ▢ See this recipe in Meal Plan #9

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Instructions 

• In a one gallon-sized zip-top bag combine chicken cubes, tapioca starch, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat chicken completely.
• Add oils, garlic, and ginger to the Instant Pot while it is set to the Sauté function. Sauté for 1-2 minutes.
• Add chicken cubes and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.  After sautéing, scrape the bottom of the pot to ensure any bits are no longer stuck. (This step is HUGELY important.  If you do not scrape the bottom of the pot you'll end up getting that dreaded BURN error.)
• In a medium-sized bowl combine orange juice, zest, coconut aminos or soy sauce, maple syrup, and chili garlic paste. Whisk to combine.
• Pour sauce over chicken and be sure to lift it off the bottom of the pan so it does not burn.
• Place lid on Instant Pot and close pressure valve. Using the manual pressure cook function turn to High Pressure and set the timer for 5 minutes.
• Keep the lid on and the valve closed for an additional 10 minutes after the timer goes off. (This is called a 10 minute natural pressure release, or NPR.)
• Turn the Instant Pot off, and open the pressure valve. Once the lid has unlocked, you can serve your orange chicken over cauliflower rice with sesame seeds and green onions.  Enjoy!  

Tap stars to rate!

4.44 from 46 votes

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Notes

A few simple substitutions to the gluten-free orange chicken recipe can easily make it Paleo and Whole30-approved:

• Use tapioca starch is instead of the gluten-free flour to coat the chicken.
• Coconut liquid aminos should be used instead of soy or Tamari sauce to make it free of soy.
• Pure maple syrup or another unrefined sugar should be used as a sweetener.
• Chili garlic PASTE is used instead of Sriracha.  (Sriracha tends to have sugar added to it.)
• If on a Whole30 diet, use 2 tablespoons date paste or date syrup instead of the maple syrup to sweeten it up.

Nutrition

Calories: 308kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 25g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 72mg, Sodium: 991mg, Potassium: 552mg, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 145IU, Vitamin C: 30.1mg, Calcium: 28mg, Iron: 0.9mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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