Instant Pot Orange Chicken

This is the best healthy 3 ingredient Instant Pot orange chicken recipe (no breading) made in 4 minutes. We've love it with boneless skinless chicken breasts, orange marmelade and bbq sauce.

We love this dinner! Get your orange zest tastebuds ready to be wowed. The first time we made it our kids thought it came from Panda Express (without breading) and wanted seconds, that is when we knew it was one of our best Instant Pot recipes.

We have to say that this may be our favorite quick and easy meal! We've made Crockpot orange chicken for years but now with this favorite 7 in 1 appliance we can make it much faster. You only need 3 ingredients for the main ones with another that is optional. Add heat with some spicy seasonings if you like or leave sweet.

Instant Pot Orange Chicken with Frozen Chicken

We have used small breasts and followed our frozen chicken in Instant Pot recipe first, and then tossed meat with this mixture of sauces. You could add them at the beginning but the cook time would change to 12 minutes with a 3 minute natural release. Thawed meat is better cut into bite size pieces as directed because the flavor is more intense.

Ninja Foodi Orange Chicken

You don't have to have an IP brand. It's one of our favorite Ninja Foodi recipes too using the lid that is not attached. As long as you have an electric pressure cooker then you are set. Served over a bed of rice it is so good, and in our regular rotation.

What Kind of Chicken to Use

Chicken breasts or thighs should be boneless and skinless in order to be diced into bite size pieces. This is key to getting the meat to absorb all of those wonderful flavors in the sauce.

Barbecue sauce of your choice is used for the rest of the sauce. We love sweet Rays original style. Do NOT use honey style as is not best in pressure cookers as there is a lot of sugar content and can cause the burn notice to appear.

Orange marmelade is what gives it that classic flavor. You can find it near the rest of the jams and jellys in the grocery store. It is pretty potent (with zest included) so you can adjust more or less depending on how tart you want it to be.

If you have ever had this jam on toasts you know it is wonderful. Using it as a sauce for chicken is even better. Similar to our apricot chicken but that one has an apricot twist to it of course. Same idea, fruit spread with tender meat and WOW.

What else can you add?

You could add some white onions diced or sliced, they are a great add in we think to add a bit more texture. They will soften under high pressure quite nicely. To make spicy you can use red pepper flakes or chili powder which you likely have in your cupboard already.

Soy sauce is optional but we would highly suggest using it to counteract the sweetness, you could use the low sodium variety

You could add a bit of chives or green onion to the top and serve it over rice! We call this “sweet chicken” in our house and our kids all love it! Cornstarch can be whisked in at the end if you want to thicken sauce.

This is how to make the solid Instant Pot white rice to serve this on top of. Next time you go to the store, pick up these few items and give it a whirl this week!

How Long to Cook Orange Chicken in Instant Pot

It will take 4 minutes cook time when your meat is fresh or thawed, cut into bite size chunks. This doesn't include the time it takes to reach pressure (about 15 min) and releasing the pressure but still so fast compared to other methods.

How to Thicken the Sauce

Keep in mind that the sauce thickens as it sits so you don't need a lot of cornstarch. add a bit into a small bowl with some of your hot liquid if you feel like you need it. If you do we would remove your chicken first and set aside. Leave the sauce in there and set to the saute function. It will begin to bubble. Whisk a bit of that liquid in a small bowl with your arrowroot or corn starch until smooth. Pour it in and let it bubble as you stir. It doesn't take much or long for the texture of it to change.

Before you make it, watch the video in the recipe card first so that you can see how we have made it year after year, then you will be able to throw it together easily yourself. Adjust the heat as you like but be light handed at first as a little goes a long way with that if you ask us.

Tips for Success

This entire thing is easy to adjust to your liking. Want intense fruit flavors, add a decent amount of marmelade. Use less if you want a hint. The soy sauce counteracts the sweetness to add more of a savory element. If you want some heat do so a little at a time. Add 1/4 tsp when cooking, taste when done, and can add another 1/4 if you want to intensify.

We use 1/4 cup of marmelade but if you like bold flavors then you can increase that to 1/3 or 1/2 of a cup. If you have a larger household double it too. We will say that it is pretty intense so start with what is listed below and adjust the next go around if you feel like you want to use a heavier hand.

Kitchen questions

What is orange chicken made of?

Typically chicken is chopped, battered, and fried. Then they're coated in a sweet orange flavored slightly spicy sauce which thickens and looks like a sort of glaze. Our version is batter free without any breading on the outside. Orange marmalade is solid for the flavors you love.

Is orange chicken healthy?

Well everything should be eaten in moderation of course. Our version is much healthier than others since it is meat and sauce. To lower the caloric intake you could choose a bbq sauce with less sugar.

Can you make orange chicken spicy?

It is easy to adjust the heat levels for sure if you make it yourself at home. Chili sauce, or a spicier barbecue sauce can be added to make it spicy.

Instant Pot Orange Chicken Recipe

By Easy 3 ingredient Instant Pot orange chicken recipe! Use fresh or frozen chicken breasts or thighs to make this healthy one pot meal. Prep: 10 minutes minsCook: 4 minutes minsTotal: 14 minutes minsServings: 4 Save Recipe Saved! Pin Recipe Comment Print Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients

• 2 medium chicken breastsboneless, skinless, bite size pieces, can double recipe if you want 4 breasts
• 2 cup barbecue sauce, do not use honey style as there is too much sugar and may display burn message
• 1/4 cup orange marmelade
• 1/4 cup water, or chicken broth

Instructions

• Cube your chicken and add to your IP along with your bbq sauce and water or chicken broth (optional add now would be: 1/2 cup chopped onion if you want and 3 tbsp soy sauce)
• Stir so chicken pieces are coated well.
• Put lid on and close steam valve. Turn your Instant Pot on pressure, high, for 4 minutes.
• When it beeps do a quick release and carefully lift the lid. Turn IP to saute.
• If you want to thicken the sauce add 1 tbsp cornstarch in small bowl with some hot bbq sauce from pot in with it and whisk together until smooth. Add back into pot and stir.
• Add marmelade, stir and allow mixture to bubble for about 2 minutes, stir.
• Turn off IP and serve over rice.

Nutrition

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

Additional Info

Course: Entree, Main CourseCuisine: American, Japanese Tried this recipe?Mention @thetypical_mom or tag #thetypicalmom!

Serve it with

We typically serve it over Jasmine Ninja Foodi rice. Cauliflower rice would be a low carb and gluten free option as well. Brown rice is a healthier option

Other Instant Pot Meals You'll Love

Find many more Instant Pot recipes on our site using the tab at the top of our main page. There are a few more Instant Pot chicken recipes below too! Instant Pot chicken parmesan casserole is a great one pot meal with pasta, meat and sauce cooked together at the same time.

Pressure cooker chicken and rice is one of the most popular recipes on Pynmi. Creamy chicken and rice casserole is a bit different than the one above as it has some heavy cream in it

Instant Pot butter chicken is an Indian favorite of ours served with some naan on the side.